I listened intently to him, the soulful voice of Ella Fitzgerald crooning in the background slowly drifted away. All I heard was Ari’s lilted voice and the evident passion for his job. I felt my eyes wandering, soaking him in the same way he had with me during our earlier shower.
From his artfully tousled, and wayward short, thick, jet-black hair to the colour of his almond-shaped eyes. Pure dark chocolate that turned ebony when they darkened. A straight nose, sitting perfectly above his beautifully sculptured mouth, and last but not least, his raspy British accent, a voice that was capable of seducing me, without even the slightest of touches.
Antonio eventually returned to the table with our bottle of Shiraz as well as our entrées breaking me out of my musings. As I looked up, I caught Ari staring with an inquisitively raised brow.
“Are you okay? All that dreary talk of business must have bored you, surely?” He cut the Bruschetta in half and lifted it to his mouth, taking a bite. I copied.
Balsamic vinegar combined with ripened Roma tomatoes tingled my taste buds, delicious. Swallowing, I gave a slight shake of the head. “No, you weren’t boring me. It was quite the opposite actually; I was simply admiring the view. Again.” Bringing the glass of wine to my lips, I smiled coyly.
Closely observing as I slowly sipped, Ari inhaled sharply. “You’re quite the naughty girl. Who knew?”
“I’ve never felt this way with anyone before you,” I admitted lowering my eyes. I hadn’t bothered looking either.
In a smooth caress, Ari slid a hand over mine. Like two magnets drawn to one another, our eyes locked. “I feel the same way about you, Teddy. I always knew feeling this way was possible, but I was beginning to lose hope.” His throat bobbed tightly. “I had reached the stage where I was ready to give up and as pathetic as it may sound, I wasn’t prepared to even settle for less. Loving someone else when I have loved you my entire life was inconceivable.” His admission blew me away.
Curiosity got the better of me. I had to ask, “But when did you realise that you were actually in love with me?”
“I had just celebrated my twentieth birthday, and you had barely turned sixteen. Legally though, I couldn’t do anything about it. Therefore, I waited. Patiently, until you finished high school, then you went off to university.”
“But I was still here, in Melbourne,” I sadly disagreed, even if it was only in body.
“I know, and honestly, I thought some other suitor would have come along sweeping you off your feet while you were there. As it stood, we barely crossed paths. I was busily trying to establish my business, and just when the timing was right, it seemed as if you’d locked yourself away from the world.”
I had. If only Ari knew why. Courage lacked for me to tell him why.
“The next time I saw you, it was at your twenty-first birthday party. Taking my eyes off you was unimaginable.” Sexual tension crackled around us and rose with each candid confession. “You were so beautiful, and still are, and that dress, wow.”
“I still have ‘the’ dress. I’ve never wanted to get rid of it, mainly because my father bought it for me. Mother told me it was terribly indecent and far too short.” Another night wasted. If only my path had led me directly to you, and not in the other direction.
“And in those heels…. It was awfully tempting to drag you into the toilets then and there.” He blushed. Hmm, the possibilities, I’ll be sure to wear them again.
“Ari Jaeger! Are you blushing?”
“Yes, but don’t tell anyone, will you? I do have a bad boy image to uphold after all.”
“So, the mysterious CEO does have a human side,” I teased, perching an elbow on the table, and resting my chin in the palm of my hand. “So, why didn’t you?”
Ari stared, confused. “Do what exactly?” Really? He had to ask why?
“You know, drag me into the toilets and have your wicked way with me?”
“Quite the unhygienic place for a sex romp, don’t you think?” His nose crinkled in disgust. Then he softened. “See, I can be a gentleman, and on the odd occasion, a caveman, so I was recently told.”
I laughed softly. “Unhygienic or not, I wished you had. It might’ve stopped mum from trying to set me up with her friends’ jerk of a son Carter Jenkins at least. What a sleazeball.” Even now, he still was.
“He kept groping your arse; I remember that much. Bryson and I were both ready to teach him some manners. As it turned out, we didn’t need to; you handled him rather appropriately if I recall.” Ari grimaced at the memory.
“Ah, how could I possibly forget? Or the fact he squealed like a pig after my shoe connected with his foot.” My mouth twisted ruefully. “Carter deserved every bit of what I did to him. Although, my mother didn’t see it that way and scolded me like an errant child for my undignified behaviour for weeks on end after that.” God forbid I ever embarrass her in front of her high society friends. “Then she insisted I apologise to that weasel and his snobby mother, Miriam, which I refused, of course. He ought to have thanked his lucky stars the spike of my heel hadn’t connected with his balls instead.”
Ari winced. “Yes, those stiletto spikes certainly had a bit of a kick to them. Pun intended.” He chuckled. “And from what I’ve heard, Carter still has quite the limp.” A piece of information I was quite familiar with, unfortunately.
“It was just my reflexes. A girl has to protect herself,” I muttered, staring wistfully at the flickering candle in the middle of the table.
Ari gently wiped away a stray tear I hadn’t realised had fallen with the soft pad of his thumb. I met his unwavering gaze, and for a fleeting moment, a past I wished, in reality, wasn’t there, vanished.
Seated across the table from me was a man I’d desired my entire life. He knew nothing of my history, past or present. Frankly, I wasn’t interested in sharing either. Circumventing might be another issue.
The sound of a throat cleared interrupting our intimate moment. “Are you ready to order your mains, signor?”
Ari glanced up at Antonio and brusquely ordered veal scallopini before returning his heated gaze to me. Our yearning for one another openly radiated, sending our crimson waiter scurrying away without our half-finished entrées — poor fellow.
So enthralled, I failed to notice Ari picking up the wine bottle or topping up both glasses. I took mine from his outstretched hand as he passed it to me over the table.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?”
Glinting chocolate orbs dipped to my fingers as they glided over the narrow stem. “No, just pliable.” I squirmed in my seat.
“I’m already quite flexible, without the alcohol. But you’re already aware of that.” The corners of his delicious mouth eloquently rose. “Do you care to explain the fully packed bag of clothes you brought to my place today?” Clutching and balancing the stem between my fingers, I swirled the wine around inside before taking a tentative sip. “Rather presumptuous, wouldn’t you say?”
“Nothing wrong with feeling hopeful,” Ari swiftly replied. “And well, it certainly paid off.”
“Does that mean you’re staying at my house tonight?” I silently prayed the answer was a yes, spending another minute apart from him was unthinkable.
“I can,” he replied softly. “As I said, I wanted to be well organised just in case.”
A victorious smile flittered across my lips.
Ari reached across the table and took my hand, pleasantly stroking the knuckles with his thumb. “I take it you are pleased with the response?”
Slowly nodding, I shivered deliciously at his touch. “Yes, sir, I am.” He frowned and was about to respond when our waiter Antonio interrupted