Beautiful Stranger by Christina Lauren Page A

Chloe—she was a different matter altogether. She seemed too smart, her gaze too knowing. I didn’t know much about the future Mrs. Ryan, but I was sure that if Bennett had finally met his match, I did not want to be on her bad side.
    And despite that, I was quite enjoying this little game Sara and I seemed to be playing.

    When the orchestra shifted into a slower song, I watched as a few people excused themselves from their circles and ventured out onto the dance floor. I walked around the edge of the garden, stepping behind Sara and tapping her on one bare shoulder.
    She turned, her smile slipping from her face when she saw me.
    “Well, hello to you, too,” I said.
    Sara took a long sip from her champagne flute before addressing me. “How are you tonight, Mr. Stella?”
    Mr. Stella, was it? I smiled. “I see you’ve done a little checking up on me. I must have made quite an impression.”
    She returned a polite smile. “A quick Google search gives a girl plenty of information.”
    “Hasn’t anyone ever told you the Internet is full of rumor and falsehood?” I stepped closer, brushing the backs of my fingers along her arm. It was soft and smooth, and I noted the way goose bumps spread along her skin. “You look stunning tonight, by the way.”
    She met my eyes, sizing me up. Even as she put a little distance between us, she murmured, “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
    I feigned shock. “Did you just compliment me?”
    “I may have.”
    “It would be a shame for both of us to have gotten all dressed up and not share a dance. Wouldn’t you agree?” Sara glanced around the garden and I added, “Just a dance, Petal.”
    She emptied her glass and set it on the tray of a passing waiter. “Just a dance.”
    Placing my hand on the small of her back, I guided her to a dimly lit corner of the dance floor.
    “I enjoyed our lunch the other day,” I said, taking her in my arms. “Perhaps we could do it again. Maybe with a slightly different menu?”
    She smirked, and looked past me.
    I pulled her body flush to mine, eliciting that little quirk of her eyebrow I was beginning to like so much. “So how are you finding New York?”
    “Different,” she said. “Bigger. Noisier.” She tilted her head, finally looking up at me. “The men are a little pushy.”
    I laughed. “You say that as if it’s a bad thing.”
    “I suppose that would depend on the man.”
    “And what about this man?”
    She blinked away, smiling politely again. It struck me that Sara behaved like a woman who was very much used to being watched in public.
    “Look, I’m flattered by your attention, Max. But why are you so interested in me? Can’t we admit we had a good time and leave it at that?”
    “I like you,” I said, shrugging. “I rather like your kink.”
    She laughed. “My kink? That’s one I’ve never heard before.”
    “Well, that’s a shame. Tell me, when you fantasize, what’s it about? Is it about sweet, gentle sex in a bed?”
    She looked up at me with a challenge in her eyes. “Sometimes, yes.”
    “But is it also about being touched in a restaurant, where anyone could see?” I leaned in, whispering against the shell of her ear. “Or fucked in a club?”
    I felt her swallow, felt her shaky breath before she straightened, putting a socially acceptable amount of distance between us. “Sometimes, of course. Who doesn’t have those fantasies?”
    “A lot of people don’t. And even more people don’t ever act on them.”
    “Why are you so hung up on this? I’m sure you could turn that smile on any woman here and take her in any room in this museum.”
    “Because, unfortunately, I don’t want any other woman here. You’ve become quite a mystery to me. How can you house such a paradox behind those big brown eyes? Who was that woman who fucked me in front of all those people?”
    “Maybe I just wanted to see how it felt to do something crazy like that.”
    “And it felt amazing, didn’t it?”
    There was