The Golden Bough. Sir James George Frazer
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offering him a tender slice of her swordfish.
Connor sampled what he was offered. The flavors were clean and simple, but he definitely preferred the savory spice of his steak. “It’s very good—”
He lost his breath watching Shondra chew the steak with her eyes closed. “Oh my God, that practically melted in my mouth.”
“Would you like another piece?”
She eyed his plate guiltily, as though she wanted more but didn’t want to ask. Without hesitation Connor cut a bigger chunk and placed it on her plate.
He’d only taken a couple more bites before he noticed that Shondra had finished what he’d given her and was eating her fish with much less enthusiasm than before.
He grinned wickedly. “Are you regretting your decision not to get the steak?”
Shondra smiled sheepishly. “Yes.”
Connor’s brows rose. He’d expected her to hold her pride by denying it. “An honest answer. For that you deserve a reward.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
Connor picked up her plate and swapped it with his own.
“Oh, no!” She gasped. “I can’t let you do that.”
He waved her off. “Nonsense. You’d be doing me a favor. I probably eat too much red meat. After all, I’d hate to have open-heart surgery before the age of forty.”
Sacrificing his meal proved to be well worth it. Despite her reluctant acceptance, she treated him to a rapturous stream of “mmms” and “ahs” that raised his temperature.
After dinner, the valet pulled his car up to the curb. The young kid was grinning from ear to ear. “Here’s your car, Mr. Stewart. That was my first time in a Bugatti. She sure is powerful.”
“Yes, she is,” he said, handing the kid a tip.
As he steered Shondra toward the car, she commented, “It really is pretty. I guess it’s really fast, too?”
He typically brought the car along on first dates, because he typically dated women who knew exactly how rare and expensive a Bugatti Veyron was. Shondra, on the other hand, had only seemed mildly impressed that it was so “pretty.” And, strangely enough, that pleased Connor.
He knew, for a change, that her attraction to him had nothing to do with his bank account. And despite their exchange of heated looks, he knew their rapport was based on more than the physical. Until then, he hadn’t even known he was looking for more.
Shondra wanted to know if the car was fast. Connor resisted the urge to snort at the understatement. Instead he reacted on impulse, pushing the keys into her hand. “Wanna drive it?”
Handing over his car keys was something he never did. And if he was expecting her to hesitate, he was wrong.
“Hell yes!” she said, circling around to the driver’s seat.
The heavy-duty engine roared to life when she put the keys in the ignition. She pulled into traffic with a jerk.
Shondra looked over at him and laughed. “Don’t look so nervous. I’m a great driver. I just need a second to get used to a car with this much horsepower.”
Connor gripped the door handle. “I’m not nervous,” he lied. “I just want to make sure you realize this is one of the fastest-accelerating vehicles that’s street legal. Take it easy.”
She increased her speed, unfazed by his words. “Get a lot of traffic tickets, don’t ya?”
Connor laughed. “No comment.”
He busied himself cranking up his favorite hip-hop station on the satellite radio so she wouldn’t see him fidgeting.
It didn’t take long for Shondra to get into sync with the car and gingerly maneuver through the downtown streets. She looked over at him as the speakers started vibrating from the thundering bass. “You’re not playing that for my benefit, are you?”
Connor’s brow wrinkled in confusion before he felt the back of his neck start to burn with embarrassment. She thought he was playing a rap song because she was black.
“No, not at all. This is what I normally listen to.” Anxious to prove it, he dug a few CD cases out of the glove compartment. “See. Ludicrous, Chris Brown…Snoop….”
She shrugged indifferently. “Okay. Do you have any Rascal Flatts or Faith Hill?”
He grimaced. “Country music?”
She laughed. “Of course. It’s my favorite.”
He studied her profile. “Really? Don’t you like hip-hop?”
She shook her head. “Not that much. Don’t you like country?”
“Not at all.”
Shondra shot him an incredulous look. “How can you be a born-and-bred Texan without liking country music?”
“Very easily. And I could ask you the same thing. Seventy percent of popular music is hip-hop. What’s not to like?”
“Seventy percent? You made that up.”
He shrugged. “So, it sounds true, doesn’t it?”
She laughed and they agreed to compromise by switching to an 80s station. Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” started playing, and Shondra bounced in her seat and started singing along.
Once they drove out of town, Shondra really opened the car up.
A wild giggle burbled out of her throat and Connor was fully captivated. He laughed along with her, getting an extra rush from watching her experience the Bugatti’s power for the first time.
So Shondra had a wild streak. He liked that a lot.
Shondra pulled Connor’s car to a screeching halt in her driveway and turned off the engine. “That was amazing. Thanks for letting me drive.”
“No problem. Once I was sure you weren’t going to kill us, it was really fun. Especially watching you sing at the top of your lungs while doing one-eighty.”
Shondra’s eyes went wide. “I did not drive that fast.”
“Yes, you did. But don’t feel bad. In a Bugatti one-eighty is like sixty. It’s such a smooth transition you don’t even feel it.”
She clutched a hand to her racing heart. “I’m lucky we didn’t get arrested.”
His wicked grin flashed. “That’s the thrill of it, isn’t it?”
Together they walked up her driveway, Shondra’s blood still sizzling from the adrenaline rush. Connor had all the makings of a billionaire playboy. Just the type she’d carefully avoided all her life.
She was starting to wonder why. Billionaire boys had billionaire toys that were really fun to play with. But could she afford to play in Connor’s sandbox?
They stopped in front of her door and Shondra looked up from finding her keys to thank him for the evening. Before she could get any words out of her mouth, he was pulling her close.
The next thing she knew, she was flattened against his chest and his soft, firm lips were on hers.
A flash of hunger shot through her in his strong, purposeful embrace. Shondra gave herself a moment to enjoy his kiss—soft and heated with just the tiniest flick of tongue—before she pulled away, breathless.
“Connor,” she said when she finally regained her voice. “Thank you for dinner and a really fun evening. But as much as I’d like to continue where we just left off, I really don’t think it’s wise for us to get involved. After all, you’re my boss.”
Her throat ached a bit as she said the words, and part of her wished she