Free Almost Always: A Love Unexpected Novel by Alissa Adams Page B

guard for an alpha guy who hasn't got a gay bone in his body. It works for us. Someday I'll tell you all about how we met but right now, I think you need to start primping." He ushered me into my suite and by the time Kason rang the bell I looked like I belonged at The Plaza getting ready to have dinner at Le Bernardin with a financial wizard who took my breath away.

 
    Ten
     
    I wish I could say I remembered every detail of that meal, every moment of the evening, but I can't.
    A man like Kason takes control of more than a 'situation'. I'd been able to keep my mind occupied during the day with the whole dilemma facing my parents, with the dazzling experience of the great Plaza hotel, with the details of my outfit for the night and shopping with Taishi—but it was only because Kason wasn't actually with me in the flesh. He had lurked at the fringes of my psyche, ever an influence, orchestrating the movement of my hours. But without his physical presence, I retained a sense of myself that seemed to evaporate once I could see Kason, smell Kason and feel the warmth of Kason's hand on mine.
    I couldn't watch him eat without remembering what it was like to kiss that mouth. Or how much I wanted to feel those lips exploring other parts of my body.
    We sat side by side in a banquette where the tablecloth curtained our laps. He ran his long fingers up to the top of the slit in my dress and teased at the lace on the thigh highs. One elegant finger trailed the line where my legs met my body.
    I flipped off a pump and teased the back of his leg with my stocking clad toes. He fiddled with tendrils of my hair at the back of my neck. He kissed my cheek; I touched his hand. There was much 'gazing into' of eyes. To anyone observing us, it was obvious that we were lovers.
    There was something completely thrilling about realizing that we were sitting in public and Kason was claiming me for all to see.  It was the same kind of rush I got from his attention at Brian's party. A 'look at me and look who wants me!' kind of buzz. It had me grinning all over on the inside.
    I tried to concentrate on the important things Kason was telling me throughout dinner. As concerned as I was for my parents' safety, you would think it wouldn't have been such an effort. But it was.
    I finally had to ask him not to touch me. "Kason, I can't think about what you're saying when you're stroking my neck like that."
    "I'm sorry. I can't keep my hands off of you. Be glad we're in this restaurant or I might never be able to give you a report on what I've accomplished today."
    "Please, I need to hear it. Tell me."
    He told me that he had hired a crack private investigator to look into exactly who the thugs were who assaulted my father and that he'd found an inside operative in the union who would be able to give him a better picture of exactly what was going on.
    "I'll know more in a day or so. But I do think that until we can get to the bottom of it, your parents are better off away from their house."
    "You're going to have a hard time convincing Dad that he shouldn't recuperate in his own bed. I know my father."
    "And I know that the safety of the woman you love is more important than comfort or habit." He made this statement so solemnly that I knew he was referring to more than just my parents. The lost look in his eyes also betrayed him.
    I knew he was thinking about Elsa. It took all my will not to try to steer the conversation toward dangerous ground. I can be my own worst enemy when it comes to things like that.
    Thankfully, dessert came and I stuffed my mouth with a delicious tarte tatin instead of my foot.
     
    ***
     
    Both of us knew how the night would end. With the exception of our brief conversation about my parents, the whole evening was one long seduction. The food was indescribably good and not nearly as pretentious as I had imagined it would be. Our conversation, while hardly deep, had a new familiarity about it. We talked about safe, unthreatening