Tempting Me: A Bad Boy Romance Read Free

green eyes like a wasp in amber.
    “Um … Aria,” I manage to stammer. I am still holding onto his hand.
    “May I join you? I’d like to buy you a drink,” he says, as he waits for me to answer.
    I sit there, mute, until Jasmine mercifully pokes me in the side and brings me back to the present.
    “Yes,” I blurt enthusiastically. I don’t even care that I sound like a little kid being offered candy. I really want him to sit with me.
    He sits and pushes his dark hair back from his forehead.
    “Thank you for being such an amazing dance partner,” he tells me.
    I am blushing again and curse my mother’s side of the family and the fair Irish complexion I inherited from them.
    “That was … you were … I’ve never seen anything like it,” I finally manage to say.
    He let out a friendly contagious laugh.
    “Thank you. I had beautiful inspiration tonight. I saw you sitting here when I was still backstage.”
    I break into a wide smile before I can stop myself. I knew I wasn’t imagining things and that he had been looking right at me from the start. Not at all the other women here.
    The music starts again and everyone excuses themselves to get a better view of the next dance but not before they all manage to give Ryan the once over and me the thumbs up.
    “Maybe I’ll be the one to find a handsome dancer during this song,” Ella says as she leaves.
    I can’t help but notice that Ryan is the only dancer who is at a table. Many of the women in the place are shooting me envious looks and desperately trying to catch Ryan’s eye.
    He scoots his chair closer and his long muscled legs take up almost all of the space under the table. He leans in so we can talk over the music.
    “When I first saw you I thought your eyes would be brown because of your dark hair, then when I got close to you,” he reaches up and strokes my hair away from my face. “I saw they are blue. A crystal blue.”
    My stomach flips and my whole body heats up like it did after I downed the tequila shot. I can’t remember the last time, if ever, that Xavier made me feel this way. Here is a gorgeous stranger imagining what color my eyes are after seeing me in a crowded room full of women.
    “Can I bring you more champagne or would you like something else?”
    “I would love a cosmopolitan,” I say instantly.
    Ryan laughs again. “A Cosmo, for the lady who knows what she wants. I will be back with your drink; don’t you dare disappear on me.”
    I watch him head to the bar and so does every other woman in the place. I straighten my dress, smooth down my hair, and try to stop fidgeting. Is this really happening to me?
    He comes back with my drink and what looks like a whiskey for himself.
    He holds his glass up and I follow suit.
    “What should we toast to?” he asks.
    ‘To the unknown,” I tell him, surprising myself.
    “The unknown,” he clinks his glass against mine.
    I take my first ever sip of a Cosmo and it is just as good as I knew it would be. Ryan puts his drink down after taking a long swallow. He leans even closer to me.
    “To you, Aria,” he whispers into my ear, his voice husky.
    He brushes his lips lightly against mine. I respond and kiss him back. The kiss deepens and I can taste the whiskey and a hint of salt. His lips are soft, softer than I thought they would be. He opens his mouth further and our tongues intertwine. I feel my pulse quicken and I put both my hands on his chest. I want more of this. He tangles his long tapered fingers into my hair and I respond with a hunger I didn’t know was in me.
    Then as quickly as it started, he breaks away from me.
    “So Aria, what should we do to celebrate tonight?” he asks.

 
    Chapter 2
    Ryan
     
    “We have a bachelorette party tonight,” Mickey tells me the moment I walk in the door.
    “The bridesmaids want our bachelorette to be showered with extra special attention.” He says as he gives me a crude grin and knowing wink, just in case I don’t catch his