Page 42 of Wrecked By You
I tuned out the details of the conversation but let the tone of Johannes’s voice soak through my chest and right into my heart. This was the hidden side of the man, and I felt honored he’d allowed me to witness it. Not that I’d ever bring it up. Knowing Johannes, he’d hit back with some barbed comment or other and ruin the illusion. But whether or not he was aware of it, he was changing right before my eyes.
The Johannes I’d met a few short weeks ago was slowly disappearing, the steps so small that they weren’t noticeable on a day-to-day basis. But if I thought back to that very first meeting, how dour and gruff he’d been, how dull his eyes had looked, how desperately sad he’d come across despite his brusque manner, the transformation was remarkable.
Our dinner arrived, and my stomach rumbled. It smelled amazing. I reached for the salt at the same time as Johannes. Our fingers brushed, and a bolt of electricity shot up my arm. His eyes cut to mine and held there for a few seconds. At that moment, we weren’t in a packed restaurant surrounded by a hundred people or at a table with a business associate. We were alone in a private bubble, just him and me, and a whole heap of chemistry.
The sound of clattering dishes being collected at the table next to ours broke the spell. I blinked, dazed.What was that?Johannes looked as stunned as me, his eyebrows furrowing as he, I assumed, tried to process the last few seconds. Ryker, meanwhile, flicked his eyes between the two of us, a faint smile pulling at the sides of his lips.
I dabbed the napkin to my mouth. “Delicious food,” I announced to no one in particular.
“You haven’t tasted it yet,” Ryker pointed out, that same twinkle I’d seen in his eyes earlier in the evening blazing with mischief.
“I-I mean, I’m sure it will be delicious. Sure smells lovely.”
“Where were we?” Johannes asked, shifting his body away from mine.
I hadn’t realized how close we’d gotten. I shuffled my chair a couple of inches to the right, too, and dug into my dinner.
Refusing dessert, I excused myself to go to the restroom. It was probably wishful thinking, but I sensed Johannes’s eyes on me as I weaved through the crowded restaurant. How had a single touch changed everything? A heaviness gathered between my thighs, and I was certain that if I took my temperature, a doctor would diagnose me with a fever.
Sure enough, my cheeks were flushed when I looked in the mirror, the redness spreading over my neck and chest. I ran a towel underneath the faucet and dabbed myself to cool my skin.
Get a hold of yourself, woman.
I was imagining things. Nothing had changed between us. I’d had too much wine. That was all.
Except… I’d had two sips.
I shook my head, rinsed my wrists under the cool water, and returned to the dining room. Johannes didn’t even acknowledge me as I retook my seat.
See? Itwasmy imagination running riot.
Still, for a moment, it had been nice to dream.
“Ready to go?” Johannes asked.
Oh.I’d been so caught up in my fantasies that I hadn’t realized they’d wrapped up. Ryker was already on his feet.
“Yes, of course.” I leaned down to pick my purse up off the floor.
Johannes stood and fastened his suit jacket, then shook Ryker’s hand. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Great to meet you, Ella,” Ryker said, holding out his hand for me to shake, too.
“And you.”
“I’m sure I’ll see you again sometime.”
“Maybe,” I murmured.
The three of us left the restaurant together. Johannes handed his ticket to the valet while a stretch limousine pulled up for Ryker. He said his final goodbyes and climbed inside. As he pulled away, the valet pulled up in Johannes’s car. I hid my surprise when Johannes opened the passenger door for me, especially as he hadn’t done so on the way here.
The way he switched moods and actions made my head spin. If I lived to be a hundred, I doubted I’d ever figure out the enigmatic Johannes Kingcaid.
He rounded the hood then got in the driver’s side. He checked both ways, then pulled out of the parking lot onto the highway.
“Thank you for coming with me tonight.”
“Oh, you’re welcome. I enjoyed myself. And it seemed fruitful.”