“Yes, well, let’s just say my stint in rehab was greatly exaggerated. Yes, I have a glass of wine or three occasionally, and when my cousin, Tyler, manages to persuade me to go clubbing, I’ve been known to down a tequila shot or four. But I don’t do drugs.”
“Good to know. But you are acting differently.”
She tilts her head. “Different good or different bad?”
I press my lips together, mulling over the question. “Good.”
A smile lights up her face. “I crack jokes when I’m nervous.” She shrugs. “And also, today in your office was kind of …” She blows out a breath. “Weird. I get quiet when I’m nervous too.”
“So you get quiet or you crack jokes? Which is it?”
She arches an eyebrow at me. “Depends on the type of nerves, I guess.”
I run my fingertips over the base of her neck and down the exposed skin of her back, suppressing a smile when she shivers at my touch. “And what form of nervous are you feeling right now, Melanie?”
Her eyelashes flutter against her pink cheeks. “The first-date kind.”
I shift closer. “Have you had many first dates?”
She grins. “Not as many as you, Mr. James.”
I swallow a laugh at her snappy comeback.
“Yeah, I do my research too, Iceman.”
Wincing, I suck in air through my teeth. I got that nickname in college, and it’s followed me through my career. While I don’t mind being known as a man with ice in his veins, it’s still uncomfortable to be called that to my face.
She laughs softly. “It’s okay, I get it. Top Gun fan, huh?”
I shrug. “Who isn’t?”
She leans closer, and her breath dusts over my cheek, making my already twitchy cock stiffen. “I’ll let you in on a little secret about me, Nathan. Top Gun is one of my favorite movies, and I always preferred Iceman to Maverick.”
Closing my eyes, I draw in a breath, and my nose is flooded by her sweet scent. She’s flirting with me, which I didn’t expect at all. When I open my eyes a second later, she’s smiling at me like she knows exactly what’s happening in my pants right now.
I stretch my neck. If she wants to play, we’ll play. “Would you like some champagne to calm those nerves of yours, Melanie?”
Her lips curve at the edges, and her bright green eyes sparkle. I’m ashamed when I examine her pupils for signs of drug use, but as I already suspected, I see none. So what the fuck happened between leaving my office and now to bring about this change in her? She’s like a completely different woman. And while I liked the woman I met in my office, I must admit I like this one even better.
“Hmm. Yes, please, Nathan.” I swear she fucking purrs my name, and all I can think about is how it will sound tumbling from her lips when I make her come.
Chapter
Nine
MELANIE
Iceman? Nathan James is hotter than the fiery pits of hell. I was too nervous to appreciate his fineness in the boardroom earlier, but he’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a guy—at least as far as looks go.
There’s a reason almost every woman in this restaurant has cast an admiring glance his way tonight. He’s tall, at least six-two at a guess. Broad too. His shoulders and biceps strain against the taut material of his shirt when he rests his arms on the table. His jawline looks like it was chiseled by the gods themselves—or rather, the goddesses like Aphrodite and Hera, who knew exactly what a fine-ass man should look like. He might be a cold-blooded shark in the courtroom, but sitting opposite me in this fancy restaurant while I try my best to find out what his buttons are and how to push each and every one, I swear his dark eyes are twinkling with barely suppressed mischief. The man has a deviant side, I can tell.
And while he’s yet to crack a full smile, his lips do occasionally twitch with the hint of one. I guess Tyler was right, Nathan isn’t the worst guy I could have been set up to marry, and I should enjoy this while I can because who knows if we will even make it down the aisle.
I peer out the window, envious of the couples walking hand in hand in the warm summer New York air. Dinner was delicious and delightful. Nathan was charming and surprisingly funny, and I must admit that I’m not quite ready for this night to be over. “It’s such a nice night. Shame we couldn’t have walked a little.”
Nathan presses a button to speak to his driver. “Pull the car over. We’re going to walk the last few blocks.”
“Of course, sir,” comes the reply. “I’ll wait for you outside Miss Edison’s apartment building.”
We walk in silence, and despite the warm night air, I shiver and wrap my arms around my torso.
“Shit, you’re cold?” Nathan shrugs off his jacket and drapes it around my shoulders. The residual heat from his body warms me all over, and I shiver for an entirely different reason.
“Thank you.” I pull his jacket tighter around myself. “Such a gentleman.”
He arches an eyebrow. “You seem shocked by this revelation, Miss Edison.”
A laugh tumbles out of me, and I guess my amusement must melt the ice in his veins because he rewards me with a real, full-on smile that reaches his eyes.
“Oh, wow.” I bump my arm against his as we fall into step beside each other. “You do smile.”
He rolls his eyes. “Only when the occasion calls for it.”
I stop walking and place a hand over my heart. “I’m so honored to be present for such an occasion.”
He comes to a stop beside me, his dark eyes scrutinizing my face, but the hint of a smile remains on his lips. “Why do I feel like you’re constantly testing me?”
We discussed some of the legalities of the contract during dinner, but that discussion didn’t last long. Most of our evening was spent getting to know one another, and it seems he got a pretty good read on me. “Maybe because I am. I mean, if I’m going to marry you, I need to learn some very important things about you. You know, to see if we’re compatible.”
