Smiling, Akayie took a sip of her water before placing it back down on the table. “Do you always say the first thing that comes into your mind?” she asked.
“Why shouldn’t I speak the truth?” he questioned, watching her more closely. “Are you not used to getting compliments?”
“Yes, I’m used to getting them, but I’m still taken back when they come from you. If I remember correctly, you weren’t my biggest fan at first.”
Rowan nodded slightly. “Understandable, I’m not good at making a first impression, especially with women,” he confessed, surprising her. “My brothers tell me that I can come off a little harsh, sometimes.”
Akayie ran her finger along the edge of her water glass. “Well, you’re making an excellent impression on me tonight. I’ve never been on a date with a man before who closed out an entire restaurant.”
Looking around the room, Akayie watched as the personal chef Rowan hired finished working on their meals. The moment she walked into The Limited she was taken back to find the place entirely empty besides a handsome looking guy standing off to the side wearing a chef’s apron.
“The owner and I are friends. So, I made a quick phone call once I got up to my bedroom. Gregory was more than happy to open up this place to us and toss in his personal chef.”
The rich smell of food filled the restaurant, making Akayie’s mouth water for the shrimp and pasta she ordered, but a part of her did wonder how many other times Rowan had done this before. Everything just came together all too quickly.
“Are you sure that you haven’t done this before?” Akayie asked, waving her arm towards Chef Gregory.
Rowan picked up his glass of whiskey and Coke, took a sip, and the placed it back down. The silence stretched between them for a few seconds, making her wonder if he was even going to answer her.
“Akayie, the more I’m around you the better you become. Most women wouldn’t have enough nerve to be so forward with me. They would have been scared of offending me, but not you.”
She shrugged. “I don’t have time for games. The kiss we shared was good, but not so good that I’ll allow you to use the same game on me. I like for a man to be honest with me from the beginning.”
Akayie prepared herself for the usual Rowan Braden she knew to come out, so a wave of surprise raced through her body when his deep, masculine laughter filled the room. She was at a loss for words. She honestly didn’t know what to expect next from this man.
“Ms. Mathis, you are such a welcoming surprise compared to the women here in Texas.”
“In what way?” She wanted to keep the conversation flowing with him. She didn’t want to admit it, but the slight hint of a Texas drawl in his voice was a turn on.
“Most women here just want me because my last name is Braden.”
Akayie eyed Rowan from the top of his head slowly, allowing her eyes to travel over his handsome facial features—his sensual lips, the top one slightly fuller than the bottom. No, he was wrong. “I believe it’s more than your last name that has women here chasing after you,” she said.
Rowan started to answer but stopped when the chef placed their delicious smelling food in front of them. “Thank you, Chef Gregory,” he said. “Everything looks and smells amazing. You can go ahead and leave for the night.”
“Yes sir, Mr. Braden. You and Ms. Mathis have a good night,” Chef Gregory answered, looking at Rowan and then tossing a smile her way. He moved away from the table, and a few minutes later Akayie heard the restaurant door close behind him.
Picking up her fork, Akayie took a bite of her food, watching Rowan from underneath her lashes. She couldn’t help but wonder what Rowan had in for the rest of the night.
“What has you in such deep thought?” he asked, easing into her thoughts.
Akayie placed her fork down on her plate and then wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Honestly, I was thinking about you.”
“That is good to hear because I would hate to know. I’ve been working so hard to impress you and your mind was somewhere else. Do you know much I’m enjoying being with you tonight, Akayie?”
Tonight, Rowan was completely showing her a different side of him, and it made him even sexier in her eyes. The man she first met was domineering, pushy, and acted like it was his way or no way. Yet, tonight this Rowan was romantic, caring, and had a sense of humor that she found funny and charming. She wouldn’t mind having another date with the man across from her.
“I’m having a good time, too. Tonight was really a huge surprise to me.”
Rowan was such a temptation that she hadn’t expected would ever come into her life. A part of her was scared that she might take a leap that she shouldn’t. Yet, she was going to push all of her doubts to the side and live in this moment. Not allow the past to rule her or past circumstances to cloud her mind and ruin whatever this turned out to be.
“Akayie, are you okay?” Rowan asked, drawing her attention back to him.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she answered.
“Well, are you ready to go?”
“Yes.”
Getting out of his seat, Rowan came over to her and held out his hand. She placed her hand in his and he pulled her out of the chair against his chest. He gave her a quick kiss on the month then took a step back.
“What was that for?”
“I couldn’t help it. I’ve wanted to do that all night. You look so beautiful sitting across from me. I like how open you are.”
A tingle of guilt hit Akayie because she wasn’t being completely honest with Rowan. But, she had a secret to guard and she wasn’t going to reveal it until she was positive he was worth knowing it. She had been tossed aside too many times in the past after a guy had found out.
“I’ll be glad to tell you more about myself as soon as I’m sure the first Rowan Braden I met isn’t going to make another appearance. He wasn’t a huge fan of me.”
“You’re wrong. He liked you a lot at first sight, but he was jealous that you seemed to like everyone else around him better. So, he lashed out and now he regrets it. Hopefully, I’m starting to make up for my bad behavior. I like you a lot, Ms. Mathis, and you might actually forget you ever met that side of me.”
Akayie couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she looked up at Rowan. Calm down, girl. This is just a first date and nothing more because he hasn’t asked you on a second date. Rowan liked her because she was different, and she planned on staying that away.
“How about we head out of here and get back to the ranch? I know a perfect spot where we can spend some alone time since I’m not ready for our date to end.”
Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed Rowan on the mouth. “I like how you think, handsome.”
Wrapping his fingers around her, Rowan let her towards the front door. As she walked with him, Akayie pushed any insecurity she might be feeling out of her head and allowed herself to get excited about the night still ahead.
* * * *
Pulling into the driveway an hour later, Rowan had barely helped Akayie out of his truck when Travis rushed up to them. “Mr. Braden, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all night. Is your cell phone turned off?”
“Yes, I put it on mute so I wouldn’t be interrupted on my date with Akayie. What is going on?”
“Did you miss something while you were on our date?” Akayie asked.
The concern radiating from Akayie touched him. He smiled down at her, noticing how the moonlight shined off her gorgeous face. She was one beautiful woman. Morgan was right. He wanted her more now than when he first laid eyes on her.
“Mr. Braden, I hate to take you away from your date, but you need to come with me right now,” Travis insisted.
“What is going on?”
“It’s Beauty. She’s having the foal early and she’s having trouble.”
Paralyzing fear shot through Rowan at Travis’ words because Beauty was one of his prized horses. She was about to give birth to a foal that he wanted to groom for the Kentucky
Derby. No, this couldn’t be happening to him. It had taken him over a year to find the right sire to introduce into her.
“Why didn’t someone come and get me?” he demanded harshly.
Travis took a step back from Rowan, glancing in Akayie’s direction. “You didn’t tell anyone where you were going, so we couldn’t have come and gotten you, boss.”
“Fuck,” Rowan cursed. “Take me to her. Hopefully seeing me will calm her down. I can’t lose her or this foal.”
“This way, boss.” Turning on his heel, Travis hurried towards the stable.
“I have to go, but I promise that I will make this up to you,” he said, touching Akayie on the arm.
“I understand. Beauty is more important now. Go and take care of her,” Akayie told him.
Nodding at her, Rowan spun around and rushed after Travis, sending up a silent prayer that there wasn’t anything extremely wrong with Beauty or her foal.
Chapter Nineteen
The following morning, Akayie paused in Rowan’s office doorway. Her eyes slid over the body of the handsome man that captured her dreams last night. Rowan’s fit physique leaned over his desk as he searched through a stack of folders. He couldn’t be any more handsome that he was right at the very moment.
Slowly, she raised her camera and started clicking away at the captivating picture he made. She might have just found the cover for the calendar. She watched as the sunlight streamed through the window, making his thick, rich hair shine even more. Akayie quickly took a few photos of Rowan before he realized that she was there. Taking the camera from around her neck, she dropped it into a chair then walked over to him, stopping a few inches from his sexy body.
“Looking for something important?” she asked, watching as Rowan’s head swung in her direction. He tossed a dark blue folder on this desk then spun around, resting his back against the edge.
“Were you hiding from me this morning?” he questioned, arching an eyebrow.
His question took her by surprise. Why would he ask her something like that? Of course she wasn’t hiding from him. Hell, she had stayed up most of the night waiting on him to get back from the stables with Beauty.
“No, I wasn’t hiding from you this morning. I had an early photo shoot with two of your workers. So, I’ve been outside most of the morning. As soon as I got done, I came to see you,” she admitted.
A purely masculine smile spread across Rowan’s handsome features as he pulled her against his chest. “I’m glad you did because I wanted to tell you again what an amazing time I had last night on our date.”
Akayie felt a warm shiver of happiness spread through her body at Rowan’s compliment. The more she learned about him, the better he was becoming in her eyes. “Thank you, so when am I going to get asked out on a second date, Mr. Braden?”
“I can’t ask you on a second date,” he answered, staring down into her eyes.
Her face grew warm from embarrassment. Why had she said anything so forward? Of course, Rowan would want to be the one who brought up their second date. She started to move away from him, but Rowan’s strong hands tightened around her waist.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he whispered by the side of her ear. “You hadn’t kissed me at all and you have been here almost five minutes. I do have a strong ego, but I do feel a little insulted.”
Smiling, Akayie wrapped her arms around Rowan’s neck. “You don’t have to ask me twice,” she said before kissing Rowan’s firm mouth.
She made the kiss long and slow, just the way she liked it, learning the texture of Rowan’s warm, full lips before she heard a low, growl in his throat. He took over their kiss, showing that he was the man.
Sliding his hands through her hair, he ran his tongue along the corner of her mouth before easing it between her lips. He slowly moved it along the top of her teeth before tangling it with hers. The hot kiss sent a swirl of sensation erupting through her body. She had been kissed before, but none of them made he feel the way Rowan’s did. She usually hated when a guy took control, but Rowan’s way of kissing made Akayie forget all the rules she had placed. She wanted to give him everything he was asking for and more.
“Damn, baby, you taste so unbelievably good. I could stay here all day long kissing you,” he whispered against her swollen lips as his hands eased up the back of her shirt.
The feel of the cool air touching her back shook Akayie out of her desire-driven trance. “No, we have to stop,” she said, placing her hands on Rowan’s chest. She pushed her body away from his. She quickly pulled her shirt back down over her blue jean skirt.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Rowan reached out to touch her, but she moved back until she was out of touching distance of his tempting hands.
She couldn’t let his wandering hands go any further. If he touched her everything would be over before they even got started. She felt something… special with Rowan and she didn’t want her secret to ruin it. Not this time.
“Have you noticed that your office door is wide open?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder and then back at him. “What if one of your brothers walked in on us?”
Moving away from the desk, Rowan shrugged his shoulder. “I really don’t think any of them will walk through the door since all of them are out of town on business,” he answered.
He was coming slowly towards her like a lion stalking his prey, and she was caught up wondering what he was going to do next. “Besides, I wasn’t done kissing you. So, come back here. I like how you feel in my arms.”
Akayie quickly moved behind a chair to put something between them. “Rowan, we both have work to get done this morning.”
“I’m good for a few hours. Travis is taking care of Beauty and the new colt. So, why don’t you come back to me? I promise not to get carried away. I just want to touch you.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I actually came in here to talk about finishing up the calendar. I might not need the entire month like I felt thought. If I get done before then, I can head back to New York and get the mock calendar done way before the deadline you wanted.”
“Forget about working on the calendar for the next couple of days and we can just spend some time together.”
Rowan walked around the chair and stood directly in front of her. “I want to get to know more about you while you are here. One date wasn’t enough for me. How about we go out again tonight?”
“How about we don’t make any plans because I don’t want to be disappointed again like I was last time? I waited in here over an hour for you to show, but after you didn’t I went to bed. We are both so busy and can’t make dinner plans that we won’t be able to keep.”
He ran his hands down his face. “Baby, I promise there won’t be a replay of last night. I can’t apologize enough for not coming back last night. Let me make it up to you, please? I will be here for the remainder of the day and I’m totally free. You wanted me to get away from these four walls. Here is your chance to take me away from it all.”
Biting her lip, Akayie stared at Rowan. She wouldn’t be able to build a relationship with him if she didn’t start trusting him and get over the bad experience from her past. Rowan was trying to make up for the way he treated her at the end of their first date. She should at least meet him halfway.
“Alright, I will go out on a second date with you,” she said, moving and standing in front of him.
Rowan flashed her a grin that caused her heart to skip a beat. “You are so damn amazing,” he said before pulling her close to his body. “How about we seal this with a kiss?”
“I told you. I don’t thin—”
Wrapping his hand around the back of Akayie’s neck, Rowan covered her mouth with his and slipped his tongue between her lips. He licked at her lips before tugging at her bottom lip his teeth. He was devouring her mouth like it was a sweet treat he had been waiting for all morning.
She felt desired from his kisses and she craved more. She hated to admit it, but she was becoming
addicted to Mr. Rowan Braden. Moaning, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts against his hard chest.
“Do you like this, baby?” he whispered, his hot breath by her ear. “Do you know that I’ve dreamt about kissing you and doing a lot more from the very first moment you got out of your car?”
Picking her up, Rowan carried her over to the couch and laid her down, covering her body with his. He looked down as his finger brushed a piece of her hair away from her face. “Damn, you’re so sexy. My cock is so hard right now that I could strip you out of your clothing and make love to you right here the rest of the day.”
“We can’t.”
“Yes, we could. You know that the thought has crossed your mind as well and I’m more than ready.” Easing his hands down her body, Rowan grabbed her skirt and pushed it as far as it could go. He gently spread her thighs wider, eased between them, and rubbed his erection against her damp panties.
Akayie moaned softly at the hot contact. She could actually feel Rowan’s cock through his jeans and it was long, hard and thick. “You feel so good.”
He grinned at her before lowering his head and ran his tongue along her jaw. “Just think about how much better my cock would feel buried inside your tight pussy. Has it been a while for you, baby?” he asked, slipping his fingers between their bodies. He worked one of his thick fingers inside her body. She squirmed at the sensation.
“Oh, it has been a while for you as well,” he said softly. “Well, I promise to go slowly as I ease my cock inside you.” A second finger joined the first one. “Fuck, you are so damn snug, and since it has been a dry spell for me I don’t how long I would last our first time, but I promise I will blow your mind the second time.
“Would you let me have you as many times as I want in one night?” Rowan asked with his sexy drawl.
She ran her tongue over her bottom lip as she tried to focus on her answer. “I…I…”
“Hey, Rowan, are you in your office?” a voice yelled from the hallway.
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