6. LARA: LATE NIGHT DINNER AND GOODNIGHT KISSES

If his suit wasn’t anything to go by, his car sure as hell was. The man had money and he wasn’t afraid to show it. Silas led me to a sleek silver car parked at the curb. Pulling the keys from his pocket, he unlocked the car. My lips twitched when he opened the door for me. I slid into his luxurious car and watched as he walked around the front of the car towards the driver’s side.

The car smelt of leather and his cologne. I sucked in another breath as I relaxed back against the leather seat. Silas glanced at me before he started the car and pulled away. That uncomfortable silence stayed between us all the way to my apartment.

Silas carried the bags of food upstairs toward my apartment. My hand shook as I unlocked my apartment door. Pushing it open, I entered and stepped aside for him to enter. After closing the door, I made my way into the kitchen. Silas placed the bags on the counter and then started to unpack the contents.

The smell of food made my stomach growl in hunger. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until then. I grabbed some plates and set it down before turning to get two glasses. After searching the fridge, I realized that I only had a carton of milk, sparkling water, and a half empty bottle of soda. Slamming the fridge closed, I turned towards him with an apology on my lips. But the sight of the bottle of wine made the words die down.

“You got wine,” I whispered.

His head snapped up as if he heard me. “You don’t like wine?”

I shook my head as I made my way over towards him. Licking my lips, I stared at the bottle for a few more seconds before glancing up at him. Instead of uttering a lie like I usually would do to please others, I told him the truth.

“I’m not a fan of alcohol.”

He gave me a slight smile. “Then it’s a good thing. It doesn’t contain any alcohol. It’s grape.”

“Oh.”

“Where do you want to eat?”

“Here’s fine,” I told him.

I took a seat opposite him and handed him a plate and some cutlery. Once our plates were filled and the wine poured, Silas glanced up at me again. Our eyes intently locked again. My heartbeat increased at he continued to stare at me.

“I really like your eyes.” My eyes widened when I realized that I spoke out aloud.

His body jerked slightly and his eyes widened too. He held my gaze for a few more seconds before looking away. Swallowing, I reached for the glass and took a few sips. Silas still hadn’t said anything. He cleared his throat a few times and then glanced back up at me.

“You’re the first person to ever tell me that,” he said softly.

“The first? That’s hard to believe.”

He shook his head. “I mostly avoid eye contact because my eyes scare them—especially kids. It also makes me feel like a freak.”

“A lot of people have mismatched eyes and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Plus, your eyes just add to your beauty.”

“Beauty, huh?” He laughed. “You think I’m beautiful?”

I lowered my head to try to hide the blush spreading up my neck. The filter from brain to mouth must be broken. That was the only explanation as to why I would suddenly start blurting out things like that to a man I barely knew. I stuffed some noodles into my mouth and slowly chewed. Maybe if I took a few minutes for me to answer, he would forget about it.

But he didn’t. “Lara, do you think I’m beautiful?”

My eyes snapped up to his. I opened my mouth and closed it and after a few seconds I gave him a nod. His smile widened.

“Do you know who’s truly beautiful?”

I shook my head.

“You.”

That simple little word sucked the air from my lungs and made me swallow without meaning to. A piece of meat slid down my throat, making me choke. I started coughing. Tears filled my eyes and dripped down my cheeks. A glass of water suddenly appeared in front of me. I grabbed it and took a few big gulps of water.

As the panic of choking faded, I realized that his chest was pressed to my side and that one of his hands was rubbing circles on my back. I sucked in a much-needed breath and bit back a moan. He smelt even better cup close.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded as I reached up to wipe the tears away. “T-thank you.”

He didn’t move away. In fact, he stepped closer. His closeness made my knees weaken and my heartbeat increase until it felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest. I tilted my head back at the same time he leaned down.

I never really paid any attention to our height difference until now. He had to be at least six-two. His warm breath fanned my lips, which directed my eyes to his lips that were only a few inches from mine. The urge to close the space between our lips was strong. Silas sucked in a sharp breath and froze like he just realized how close we were.

My eyes snapped up to his but his eyes were focused on my lips like mine had been seconds earlier. He licked his bottom lip slowly. That small action made my stomach clench. His nostrils flared and his eyes snapped up to mine. The questions in them were easy to read.

Silas’s had slowly slid up my back to the nape of my neck. His thumb started stroking my skin softly.

He wanted to kiss me. I wanted to kiss him. My lips parted in invitation and it was all sign he needed. Silas closed the space between us and smashed his lips on mine. There was no gentleness. His lips parted mine and his tongue delved inside my mouth. Silas wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged my body against his. I was thankful for his action because my legs couldn’t hold my weight any longer.

A groan slipped from his mouth into mine. I answered it with a moan of my own. His tongue slowly stroked mine before swiping across the back of my teeth. I shuddered and pressed my body closer to his.

The pulse between my legs increase and a rush of wetness dampened my panties. A strong sense of need hit me so fast and hard. I whimpered. I wanted him closer. I wanted to feel his bare skin against mine. I wanted to feel his lips and hands all over my body.

His left hand slid from the nape of my neck, down my back and over my ass to the back of my thigh. He gripped my leg and guided it around it up to his hip. My right leg automatically followed.

A few seconds later my back hit the couch and his body came down on top of me. Big hands gripped my hips for a few seconds before gripping the material of my shirt and tugging it out of my pants. I sucked in a sharp breath when his hands brushed my bare flesh. His fingers left tingles in their wake.

“S-Silas,” I breathed.

His hands suddenly froze and his body tensed. A strange sound came from the back of his throat, making his chest vibrate against mine. It was a scary sound that made icy shivers race down my spine. In the next second his body was no longer covering mine. I pushed myself onto my elbows just in time to watch him storm towards the door.

My body jerked when he slammed the door behind him.

I raised a shaky hand to my face and pressed my fingertips against my swollen lips. He kissed me and I fucking loved it. But why did he stop? Had I done something wrong?

I groaned as I dropped back onto the couch. My mind raced with different images that made me feel hot and achy.

We were well on our way to having sex and that fucking scared me.