“Not good enough,” she countered as she lifted her spoon to her mouth.
Tag smiled, his insides twisted with anticipation because he found so much enjoyment in watching her eat. Everything she did was sinfully erotic, even eating, and he wanted to sit there and watch her.
“It’s my way of giving back. I’ve been blessed, I won’t deny it, and as far as I’m concerned, if I don’t need it, there are some very deserving people who do.”
Realizing he had somehow led them back into a personal territory neither of them seemed comfortable with, Tag decided on a much more appropriate question. “Since you’re so interested in what’s in my closet, I’ve got a question of my own,” he said as he watched her take another bite of crème brulee.
“Only if you let me see what’s in your closet,” McKenna teased.
“From where I sit, it won’t be long before you have a personal tour.”
To his satisfaction, McKenna blushed, her freckle dotted cheeks turning a pretty pink.
“What’s your question?” she asked, obviously trying to distract him from watching her.
“If the police were to pull you over tonight, what’s the most interesting thing they would find in your car?”
Tag knew the question was absurd, and based on the way she laughed, she knew it too. He didn’t find it much different than the one she had thrown out to her readers in her last article though, so he waited patiently for her to answer.
“You’re serious?” she asked.
“Very.”
“Why would you think I have anything out of the ordinary in my car?” she questioned, still smiling.
“I don’t know. Why would you think I have anything out of the ordinary in my closet?”
“Touché.”
“Ok, forget that question. I’ve got a better one for you,” Tag said seriously. “How many dates am I going to have to take you on before I get to know what color your bed sheets are?”
~*~*~
On the drive back to her office, McKenna suddenly realized she wasn’t quite ready for the night to end. She also realized, it was in her best interest to get over that little disappointment, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.
When Tag stopped the car in front of her office building, McKenna fumbled with her seatbelt. It’d been a long time since she went on a date, especially one that had gone as seamlessly as this one had, and she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do now.
“Thanks for dinner.” She could at least thank him. That was a start.
When his warm hand touched her arm, McKenna stilled. It was totally insane of her to want something from this man, but when he touched her, even so innocently, she had a sudden craving for so much more. Getting to know him on a much more intimate level had done the exact opposite of helping her to stop thinking about him.
Glancing down, she noticed the drastic difference between his bronzed fingers against her pale wrist, and that led to much more inquisitive thoughts. Like what the rest of him would look like against her.
“I had a good time,” he said, but his voice wasn’t laced with the confidence or the arrogance she was used to. No, there was something much hungrier in his tone.
Knowing she shouldn’t, McKenna turned slightly, glancing over at Tag’s handsome face, her eyes grazing over his angular jaw, his perfect nose, and then to his eyes and the incredibly thick, dark lashes that would make most women jealous. Then she made the mistake of looking at his luscious lips. She had successfully avoided looking at his mouth for the better part of the evening because when she did she found herself fantasizing about what exquisite pleasure she might find in those lips.
When his hand came up, his fingers tilting her chin so that she faced him more directly, McKenna was transfixed on the way he moved closer to her. She held her breath, waiting, desperately hoping he would kiss her while praying he wouldn’t because she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to resist a man like Tag. And she should resist him. She knew she should.
Oh, God.
When his soft, firm lips met hers in the sweetest, gentlest of kisses, she had to hold back the urge to crawl over the center console and settle into his lap.
He didn’t push for more, nor did she, but their lips lingered for long seconds before he pulled back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
McKenna nodded, her fingers instinctively going to her mouth as though she were trying to hold on to the feel of him. She wasn’t sure what to say, so she didn’t say anything at all. As gracefully as she could manage, she opened the passenger door and escaped the tight confines of Tag’s extravagant car. She hurried to her own car, never looking back.