5. Chapter 4 #3
Darcy spins on the spot and notices me in the doorway. She has changed since our run. The sweaty sunrise version of her is gone, replaced by a silk top, trousers that worship her ass, and a navy blue Bears blazer that's buttoned at the front.
At least she’s wearing heels. The heels are hot.
“Yes, I remember. Seven sharp. The cream gown.” Darcy closes her eyes. “No, a single woman at a dinner table is not a seating emergency. I have a date.”
Her eyes open and land directly on me.
I slowly grin.
Fuck, she's beautiful.
How is it that the woman who is trying to trade me can look like this?! I don't care what Mason thinks. Or Declan, or Josie for that matter.
I can't stay away.
“Actually,” she says tightly, “he’s standing in front of me right now.”
She ends the call and stares at the phone like she can't believe what she just said.
“You need a date?” I ask.
“No… I needed my mother to stop trying to seat me beside eligible men with inherited wineries.”
“Great. What time should I pick you up?”
Her head snaps toward me. “You are not coming to my mother’s gala.”
"Why not? I own a tux." She just stares at me. "And I know which fork is which. I promise you, I can survive one evening with posh people. I'm basically house-trained."
"Beck." She exhales through her nose. "No."
And here’s the thing. She isn’t worried about dinner.
She’s worried about me seeing the people who have her standing this straight in a fucking office, still taking instructions about dresses and seating charts like she’s still twelve years old.
I step inside her office and get roped in by the smell of her perfume. My entire body heats, and I can't help myself but move closer.
"So… what time tomorrow?"
I move toward her, slow enough that she has plenty of time to retreat. I watch as she takes one step back. Then another.
“You don’t even know where it is.”
Her ass meets the edge of her desk, stopping her, but she doesn’t tell me to leave. So I keep moving toward her. She doesn’t push me away. She just tips her chin up as I close the final inch between us.
Jesus Christ.
She’s close enough that the front of her blazer brushes my chest with every breath.
Close enough to kiss.
“‘Madden Foundation gala?’” My voice comes out deeper than it did a second ago. “That isn’t exactly classified information, Darce. I have Google.”
Her eyes drop to my mouth, and I swear she's enjoying this just as much as I am.
“Look at me, Darcy.”
Her gaze immediately snaps back to mine.
No argument. No witty reply. She simply obeys, her whole body going strangely still between me and the desk.
Whoa.
Something dark and filthy shifts inside me.
She likes that?
She likes my body crowding hers. Likes being told what to do by someone who isn’t asking her to be perfect.
Holy fucking shit.
Spreadsheet spends her entire life trying to be flawless for everyone else.
But right now, with nowhere to look but at me, I see it. That flicker of the woman hiding beneath all that control.
She doesn’t want to be perfect. She wants to be wanted.
My cock hardens painfully against my zipper.
I test my theory one final time, planting both hands on the desk on either side of her, caging her in.
“Tell me something,” I whisper, dropping my voice into that low, gravelly place I know drives women insane. “Have you ever done anything reckless? In your entire life, have you ever just… let go?”
Darcy’s throat works as she swallows. Her lashes flutter, and she shakes her head, like admitting her life has been one perfect moment after the other costs her.
“No…” I exhale, watching her face. “You’re just perfect, aren’t you? Always been perfect.”
She makes the tiniest sound. It’s not even a word, just a trapped breath, a noise so soft I almost miss it.
I lean closer, my mouth now almost brushing her ear. “Tell me, Darce. Has anyone ever made you feel… alive? Have you ever had a man do things to you you'd never dream of telling even your best friend?”
Her eyes snap to mine. Wide, and oh so fucking vulnerable.
And then… She shakes her head.
God help me, I’m going to ruin her.
"No… I didn't think so."
Every smart ass comment in my head disappears.
All I can think about is that hot-pink string beneath these trousers. How easily I could close the last inch and find out whether her mouth tastes as sharp as everything that comes out of it.
Instead, my fingers find the little glass bowl behind her. I take a mint without looking away from her and slowly straighten.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow night?"
I unwrap the mint and pop it into my mouth, flashing her the grin that got me voted most eligible bachelor the moment I signed for the Bears.
“Beck,” she says, but her voice has lost some of its bite as I reach the door and turn around. She looks me in the eyes, like she's taking a second to really think her next sentence through. "Please behave. My parents will be there."
I chuckle to myself as I step out of her office and away from the warmth of her body.
She thinks I’m joking.
But Darcy Madden just told her mother she has a date.
Lucky for her, I look fucking spectacular in a tux.