Persuading Spring: A Sexy New Zealand Romance (The Four Seasons Book 4) by Serenity Woods Page B

in
front of another gave her palpitations, but it was fun to fantasize.
    Her eyes met Aaron’s. He’d sat back in his
chair, one arm slung over the back, and he was surveying her with amusement
after her comment about being ravaged. She had the feeling that he was having
fun fantasizing too.
    His slate-gray eyes started a warmth in her
belly, and it gradually spread up to her breasts and pooled between her legs as
he continued to study her. He was looking at her as if she were the only woman
in the restaurant. He looked captivated, his eyes telling her that he desired
her, and she knew at that moment that if she asked to go back to his place, he
was going to say yes.
     

Chapter Eleven
    The tuna steak was delicious, the wine
fresh and flavorsome, the setting sun warm, and the atmosphere pleasant. Aaron
wasn’t sure why it was so important to him that the evening went well, but he
couldn’t suppress a glow of pleasure that Bridget appeared to be enjoying
herself.
    He’d had a hard time concentrating all
afternoon, buoyed up by the idea of seeing her at the end of his working day.
It had been a long time since he’d looked forward to the evenings. Years ago,
maybe, when he was first married to Nita, before she got too homesick and she
was still enjoying the novelty of living in the bay. Certainly, as the years
had gone by and her resentment had grown, he’d found excuses to stay at the
surgery and limit his time at home. He wasn’t proud of it, but when he’d known
that as soon as he walked through the door the arguments would begin, it hadn’t
made him eager to finish his day.
    Since she’d left, going home had been a
different experience. He’d sold the family house they’d shared and given her
half the proceeds, and he now rented a much smaller place on a hill overlooking
the ocean. He paid for a cleaner, and it was much nicer coming home at night to
a peaceful place where everyone was happy to see him.
    Having two dogs waiting for him was great.
Having a sexy woman waiting to have dinner with him was even better.
    Bridget was gradually relaxing in his
company, and although she wasn’t exactly laughing inanely at everything he
said, her smile appeared more readily than it had over the weekend, and her
body had released some of its tension.
    He couldn’t ignore her suggestive comment
or the light in her eyes whenever she looked at him, but he knew he mustn’t
read too much into it. It was difficult, though. His body didn’t want to listen
to his brain. He’d thought her beautiful in the hotel, but here, tonight, he
found it difficult not to stare at her all the time. She’d tamed her hair into
a braid that fell over one shoulder, leaving several tendrils to curl
enticingly around her temples. Were they natural? He wanted to reach across and
slip them through his fingers to see if her hair felt as silky as it looked.
    Her eyes were free of the elaborate makeup
that had turned her into a panda, but she looked better for it. Her clear skin
had flushed a little from the wine or the warm sun. She’d worn some kind of
lipstick or gloss that had given her lips a shine when they’d first met. As
she’d eaten it had disappeared, but now she’d finished her meal she sat back
and retrieved a clear tube from her bag, slicked it across her lips, and
pressed them together in the age-old female gesture that made him want to lean
over and kiss her.
    He swallowed hard and focused on the
dessert menu. At this rate he’d end up with indigestion and a raging hard-on to
end the evening, and although his erection might be hoping for some action, it
wasn’t going to get any, so it might as well stop bothering him.
    He thinks you’re going to seduce me and
ravage me. Jeez. No wonder he was having trouble
concentrating.
    “What are you going to have?” She put down
her menu and smiled at him. “I’m having the Tiramisu.”
    He laid the menu aside. “I’ll just have
coffee. I’m not a dessert kind of guy.”
    Her