She hummed softly, eyes darting across the options, her brows knitting in thought. "I'll have the same thing he's having." She passed the tablet back.
The waiter nodded. "Alright, your orders will be with you in a minute." He disappeared into the rhythm of the restaurant.
Time stretched. Thirty minutes later, plates gleamed with risotto, and the wine glowed ruby in crystal glasses. Conversation flowed between bites, their voices low.
"You're really chilled. I like that," Lily said, her fork pausing midair. "I was worried for a minute while I waited. Thought you might have bailed on me. Tell me more about yourself." She took another bite, her eyes flicking up.
Tony's gaze didn't waver. He stared right into her eye. "What do you wanna know?"
Her breath caught, a cough escaping as she nearly choked. She laughed softly, shaking her head. "Don't look at me like that. Your eyes make me nervous."
"Do they?" Tony leaned closer, his presence pressing into her space. His fingers brushed lightly through his black hair, the gesture casual yet deliberate.
Lily's gaze faltered, dropping momentarily before returning. Her cheeks flushed. Silence lingered, heavy with unspoken words, until she spoke again. "You know you'd easily win the award for the most handsome student on campus every year if you put in for the contest annually."
Tony's lips curved, his smile soft, almost teasing. "Thank you. I know. People do quite a good job of reminding me that daily." His voice dipped lower, velvet and dangerous. "You yourself— you're a fine specimen. And I'd very much like to see how beautiful you really are back at my place."
Their gazes locked, the air between them charged. Lily's breath quickened, her face burning as Tony's teeth grazed his lower lip. Her voice trembled, stammering. "Why n-not…" Her heart thudded against her chest, each beat louder than the last.
The moment stretched, unbroken until Tony signaled for the bill. He paid swiftly, his movements precise, and together they rose. The restaurant's golden glow fell behind them as they stepped into daylight. The McLaren awaited, sleek and predatory. Doors lifted, revealing the opulent interior. Leather swallowed them whole as they settled in, the hum of luxury wrapping around them.
The engine roared to life, a beast awakened. Tony's hands gripped the wheel, his gaze fixed ahead. Lily sat beside him, her pulse still racing, the silence between them thick with anticipation.
Tony steered with a lazy, singular grip on the wheel as they moved from the bustling main campus arteries into the quieter areas of campus. Here, the canopy of trees thickened, filtering the light into jagged shards of gold that danced across Lily's skin. The staff quarters slipped past— stark and academic— before the road curved upward toward the peak of the hill, where his glass penthouse sat like a diamond crown atop the ridge.
The W12 engine didn't roar; it purred, a low-frequency vibration that seemed to settle right in Lily's chest. As the car eased into the private driveway, the engine cut out with a sophisticated click.
Silence rushed in.
Tony didn't move to open the door. He turned his head slowly, his dark eyes tracking the way the sunlight caught the pulse point in Lily's throat. "This is me," he said, his voice dropping an octave, heavy with the weight of what was coming.
Lily took in the sprawling transparency of the architecture, a soft, breathless smile tugging at her lips. "This is nice."
Tony's reaction was visceral. His right hand rose with steady slowness, his fingers bridging the gap between them until his palm cupped the curve of her jaw. He leaned in, his shadow eclipsing her. "Not as nice as your body," he whispered against her skin, his thumb tracing the line of her neck with a touch so light it was agonizing.
Lily's breath hitched, a tiny gasp escaping her as her gaze locked onto his— dark, predatory, and focused.
"Why don't we go inside?"
She couldn't find her voice; she simply nodded, her lungs working in shallow, measured draws as the tension between them reached a snapping point.
The transition from the car to the penthouse was a blur of chrome and marble. The moment the heavy front door thudded shut, the "opulence" Lily had admired became a secondary thought.
Tony didn't wait. He caught her waist and backed her into the cool, solid expanse of the entryway wall. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling sharply, taking her in like a drug. Lily's head fell back against the wall, her eyes fluttering shut as his tongue trailed a searing path from her jawline upward. When he finally claimed her mouth, the kiss was warm, consuming, stealing the breath from her lungs.
"Mmmm..." Lily's moan was muffled against his lips, her entire frame vibrating as her fingers tangled in his hair.
With the practiced ease of a man who knows what he's doing, Tony's fingers found the zip of her black dress. It pooled at her feet in a whisper of fabric. He didn't break eye contact as he reached down, his large hands locking around her waist. He hoisted her up effortlessly, the sudden elevation making her eyes snap open.
He carried her across the sprawling living room, his stride steady, and lowered her onto the plush, oversized velvet couch.
Tony stood over her for a heartbeat, his chest heaving. He watched her— the way her skin glowed against the dark fabric, the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest— as he undid his pants. When he finally lowered himself onto her, the heat was instantaneous.
Lily's hands were frantic, working the buttons of his shirt, her knuckles brushing against his warm skin until she managed to shove the garment away, tossing it blindly to the floor. They moved in a desperate choreography of breath and skin, a silent agreement written in the way their bodies slotted together.
He moved into her slowly at first, a deliberate, grounding motion that drew a sharp, ragged gasp from her lungs.
"Ahhh!"
She arched her back, her fingers digging into his shoulders.
Then the pace shifted— the slow, rhythmic build fracturing into something harder, faster, driven by a sudden, frantic hunger.