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With a lingering lick on her bottorinned, his dark eyes intense and hazy

"I can’t believe you did that" Flustered, she tried to scoop herself another spoonful Her white plastic spoon skittered onto the tabletop

She grabbed for it, but his hands wrapped around hers In the next instant, he was kissing her again--sweet, closed-mouth kisses that still felt scandalous And too delicious to resist The gelato shop dropped away The people disappeared In that moment, it was just her and Michael, the taste of ice crea lips

• • •

As Michael eased his tongue between Stella’s parted lips, the chilled silk and mint chocolate sweetness of herher He even forgot why All he kneas her taste and the hot sighs of her breath He wanted to devour her

Did she know she wassounds as she returned his kisses? Or that her cool fingers had snuck beneath the cuff of his shirt and were caressing his wrist?

He wanted to slide his hands up her bared thighs and slip theain But the last time he’d done that, he’d scared the hell out of her

Because she didn’t want to make him feel the way she had with those three assholes

Clients never worried about hi with his head

"Easy,voice interjected "You’re in a public establishers to her red lips She’d surprised hi her hair down in loose waves She even wore loss That was fine Like this, she was alroup of wiseasses at the next table started clapping and cheering, Michael expected her to grow flustered and embarrassed She didn’t She ducked her head in that shy way she had and laughed along with them Her soft smile and the luminous look in her eyes, however, were just for hile-handedly vanquished an army He was the one she saw, the one she smiled at, no one else

His plan to seduce her out of her anxiety orking He had no doubt that by the ti boxes on her lesson plans He should have done this fro Everyone knew if you wanted inside someone’s pants, you didn’t start in the bedroo were for That hat these ice crea on hier his attraction to her grew--and not just physically If he couldn’t check all her boxes within the next two lessons, he’d feel obligated to extend the length of their arrange stupid and fall for her

Never once did he i out of such a scenario Not only were they worlds apart in terms of education and culture, but Stella was rich If she learned about his dad and the shitty things he’d done to get his hands on money, she’d never be able to trust Michael There was a reason they had sayings like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, like father like son, and a chip off the old block He fought against it and hated his dad for it, but he carried that sa time bomb, and he didn’t want Stella to be around when his endurance ran out and he exploded, hurting everyone around him

Sex was the way out of this Check the boxes, finish the lessons, move on Only now that he knew her better, he wanted to do ive her the best nights of her life

Tonight, he was giving her fireworks

Chapter 10

After dinner at a fusion restaurant, Stella walked with Michael down streets lined with posh departe banks Pedestrian traffic--one part tourist, one part native city dweller in Windbreakers, one part young partygoer dressed to the nines--choked the sidewalks and spilled onto the roads, where cars passed at a slol

This was the Bay Area at night, soly, she was having a good tie He was great both in and out of bed His very public kisses should have embarrassed her, but instead, she’d loved the kissed by Michael where people could see and adreen with envy? He held her hand every chance he got, and he was easy to talk to She didn’t usually enjoy new things, but Michael made her feel safe With hiht, not just an onlooker There was so in a crowd and not feeling alone

They neared a set of red velvet ropes where scantily clad wo lines A bouncer raked coldly appraising eyes over Stella’s body and face,her lean into Michael

"Is this the club?" she asked, feeling her anxiety resurface

He wrapped an arm around her and nodded To the bouncer, he said, "We should be on the list The name is--"

The bouncer tipped his buzzed head toward the entrance "Go on in"