Page 272 of Mr. Charming
I retrieved two wine glasses and returned to the living room, where Joanna was still seated at the table, staring off into oblivion. She didn’t look up until she heard the clink of the wine glasses as I sat them on the table.
“It’s been a long day,” I said. “Mind having a drink with me?”
Joanna gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’d love to,” she said, watching me pop the cork. I poured generous portions into each of the glasses and handed one over to her. Taking the other and raising it into the air, Joanna followed my lead.
“To getting away from one hell of a day at the office,” I said.
“Here, here,” Joanna said, clinking her glass against mine.
We sipped our wine and then headed to the couch, where I turned on the TV and flipped through the channels to find a movie.
Joanna sighed and rested her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her, squeezing her gently to my side. “Is everything all right?” I asked after a moment. “You seem a bit distracted tonight.”
“More like I could use a distraction,” she said. She turned her head to look at me, and then planted a kiss on my cheek. “Thank you for inviting me over, Anderson.”
“No, thank you for coming over. I almost didn’t think you would…Um…Tobias, does he know?”
“No,” Joanna said, not giving me a chance to finish the sentence. “I just told him I was going out for fresh air.”
“Oh, okay,” I said, although I thought her excuse sounded too feeble. “Just out of curiosity, how do you think he would react to…us?”
Joanna sighed. “No idea. I don’t think I’m ready to find out anytime soon though. I mean unless you want to tell him?”
“Not a chance,” I said with a chuckle. “It can wait.”
“Right.” Joanna placed her hand on my thigh. “Anderson?”
“Huh?”
“What exactly are we doing here?”
“I don’t know,” I said after a brief pause. “We’re just doing what seems natural, I guess. I mean…just taking things one day at a time, right?”
“I guess.” Her expression grew distant once again. She was becoming more and more of a mystery to me.
Had she wanted me to give a more definitive answer? Did I even have one? It was the kind of thought I just didn’t want to contemplate too much just yet. I simply wanted to enjoy whatever Joanna and I had, right then and there, not worried by what would happen in the future.
I glanced down at her, seeing that she was staring at the television, although I got the impression she wasn’t really watching it. I tightened my arm around her, letting my hand rub against her waist, and then toy with the hemline of her blouse. When she didn’t object, I slowly slid my hand under her shirt. She arched her back and looked at me again.
I stared into her gray eyes, my body heating with desire for her. I didn’t want to pressure her though, especially if she was having second thoughts about what had happened between us the previous night. “Do you want to stay here for a while longer, or are you ready to leave?” I asked, removing my hand from under her shirt.
She raised her eyebrows. “Do you want me to leave?”
I shook my head. “No, not at all. But it’s up to you.”
“Then I’m not ready to leave…” her voice trailed off as she slowly lifted her head from my shoulder. She stared into my eyes for a moment, and then inched closer to me.
I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of her soft lips pressing against mine. She rose to her knees and straddled me. I wrapped my arms around her waist again, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.
Every ounce of self-restraint I had crumbled at the sound of the low moan coming from her throat.
Our situation was complicated, and I had no idea how it was going to end. But in that moment, I didn’t care. We could figure it out later.
CHAPTER 10
Joanna
I ground against Anderson, becoming pliable under his hands. This was exactly what I needed after Zander’s phone call. I needed this distraction. I needed Anderson’s nearness so I would forget that maybe Zander’s words weren’t an empty threat as I had thought.