Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
I curled my fingers around his. “The suite is fine. The offer isn’t. I’m not interested in being taken care of by you.”
He pulled on my hand and patted his lap. “Come here.”
Here was a word with limited possibilities. I considered them, examined the ridiculousness of sitting on his lap, then obeyed. I crawled across the chaise and moved onto his lap, straddling him.
He tugged on my T-shirt. “I am a businessman, Bell. I’m open to negotiations.”
He didn’t understand. All his money, all his power, and he didn’t understand the simplest thing about a woman’s heart. It wasn’t up for negotiation, and my biggest struggle wasn’t in where I would live, but if I could protect that heart from him. I shook my head and tried to find my way back to a safe place of reason. “I told you not to contact me again.”
He sighed, his eyes studying mine, and when his hands slid upward, underneath my baggy tee and up to the curve of my small breasts, he saw the change in my eyes, the weakness of my composure, the depth of my need. “I tried, Bell. I tried to leave you alone.”
I hated him. I hated that with such simple words, with such a small touch, I was sucked into his orbit. Every rational thought said to back away. Every rational objection demanded I climb off his lap. Instead, I leaned into his touch.
His hands tightened and his mouth crushed against mine, soft velvet that took as much as it begged. My body reacted and I reached for him just to stop from falling.
I’ve kissed a lot of men in my life. Our first kiss in The Gold Room seduced my mind. This one broke the first chain around my heart.
* * *
DARIO
Their kiss escalated and her legs slid around him, wrapping tightly. When he stood, she didn’t let go, her mouth hot and needy against his.
“Take me to the bedroom,” she demanded, diving back onto his mouth, her hands fisting in his hair.
He stepped into the suite and her legs found their ground. She stepped away and through the bedroom door, a devilish gleam in her eye. He watched her disappear into the dark room and his cock twitched.
With her, everything was different. She hadn’t asked him to get rid of Meghan or Laney, yet he had. He’d booked this suite out for a year, and she had turned her nose up at it. He was three steps behind, chasing her for attention, yet terrified of her at each step. Vulnerability was a luxury he couldn’t afford, and each interaction with her brought it in spades.
He stepped into the room and shut the door, watching her turn, her eyes alive with desire.
He needed to get the upper hand, or he needed to let her go. It was that simple. But just as equally, it wasn’t simple at all.
He toed off his dress shoes, then reached for his belt and undid the clasp.
Fourteen
BELL
There were few things hotter in this world than watching Dario Capece unzip his pants. He let them fall to the floor, and I watched him step out of them with the feral ease of a lion.
“Get on the bed.”
I backed up until I bumped against the king-sized bed, my hands fumbling as I slid onto it. He undid his second and third button, then gripped the collar of the white dress shirt and pulled it over his head.
He was all muscle and black boxer briefs. The briefs were thin and silk, clinging to him enough that I could see the stiff outline of his cock. I wanted to turn on all the lights, to illuminate him further, but the dim light from the bathroom was enough to tell me everything I already knew. He was beautiful.
He stalked forward and the details came into view. The scars that dotted his landscape, short and long slashes of a history I didn’t know. The thin dark hair, clipped short, on his chest. Thick abs. Strong shoulders. He reached forward and an impressive bicep flexed.
“Wow.” The word fell out, and I covered the slip with an embarrassed grin.
He cocked a brow but said nothing. He tucked a tendril of my hair behind my ear and leaned forward, placing his hands on the bed beside me and lowering his mouth to mine. He paused, and I pushed forward, my lips against his, my tongue greedy when he finally opened his mouth.
“Dario…” His name was a plea uttered in between kisses, my hands moving up his chest, squeezing and testing the muscles, sliding over his shoulders and stealing into his hair, pulling on the dark strands. My bare feet reached forward, my sole bumping over those muscular thighs and found his cock, my soles coming together, and I used the thin gap between them to grip his length, his underwear lubricating the movement.