Chapter 4
DYLAN
Damn. I was not expecting that.
I intended to give Emma a soft kiss that would look adorable in front of her coworkers and the event photographer. I didn't expect the heat between us to build so fast the way it did.
The way she kissed me back…oh man… I'm going to dream about that for a while.
Even as most of her coworkers shake my hand and start giving me cheerful marriage advice, I can still feel the warmth of her lips on mine. Feel her sexy body in my arms. Remember the way she surrendered to the moment. The way my desire, my lust took hold, making me need to…
My head is spinning. I’m almost certain that Emma wants me as much as I want her.
Natalie takes charge, insisting that the event photographer take a few posed photos of us in front of the Christmas tree.
"Wait – where’s the ring?" Brandy asks, examining Emma's hand.
"I don't know a thing about jewelry," I say right away. "I didn’t want to get something awful that Emma hated but would feel obligated to wear and pretend to love. So we’ll go ring shopping after the holiday chaos dies down."
Emma grins at my response. Good. It feels like I’m making the right calls.
"Where are you two spending Christmas?" Natalie asks, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
Uh oh. When I mentioned spending the holidays with my family to Emma, did I say we’d be flying there?
I'll simply watch carefully when I tell her tomorrow.
If she's clearly not into it, I won't hold her to the bargain.
I'll just hope for another date after the holidays, and we can take it from there.
"With my parents, in a quaint small town. The trip will give us plenty of time to talk about that engagement ring."
After a round of dancing, where I almost feel dizzy from just holding Emma so close in my arms, I can tell she's getting tired. We say our goodbyes and I collect our coats, then Carl comes over to shake my hand again. There’s a very fatherly energy in the polite hug he gives Emma, and the way he grins and pats her shoulder.
I’m relieved to think that another man will be watching over her at the office. Wait, am I already feeling like Emma is truly mine to protect?
Guess I am.
"Are there cabs out front, or should I call one?" I ask, pulling out my phone.
Carl claps me on the back. "Take my car. I'm going to be here for at least another hour." He steps out front and waves to a town car waiting at the side lot. “Richard here can take you anywhere you need to go."
Emma looks worried as I help her into the back seat. As soon as I'm sitting beside her, I whisper, "It’ll look super weird if we don't go home together. You can take my bed. I'll take the couch. Cool?" She nods quickly, then I give the driver my address.
When we arrive, I feel a sense of pride as Emma walks through my house, examining my things. "You live here alone?"
"Yes."
She turns to me with a small smile. "I’m sorry, I don't even know what you do for a living."
"General contracting. I work for four different companies." I flash her a grin. "That way I can say yes to the interesting or challenging jobs, and thanks but no thanks to digging out a basement in the middle of a summer heat wave."
She places her hands firmly on her hips, looking down at her outfit. "And here I thought I was a princess in this fancy dress, Mr. Fussy Princess of Contractors."
I burst into deep, rolling laughter. "My brand new fiancée is busting my chops already? This is going to be an interesting engagement.”
She opens her mouth to speak, then snaps it shut again.
"I'm kidding. It's been a long night. Come on.
" I lead her to my bedroom, turning on the bedside table lamp.
Then I rifle through my clothing to find my smallest track pants, gym shorts, tank tops, and t-shirts for her to choose from.
"These will hang like potato sacks on you, but at least you'll be cozy. "
"What do you wear to bed?" she asks timidly.
"That is not important, because I’ll be on the couch." I grab one of the pillows, then a blanket from the hall closet.
"Where are we going tomorrow, anyway?" she asks.
"We're going to discuss whether you're up for that or not over coffee tomorrow."
Emma blinks quickly. "Hey, a deal is a deal, and you more than held up your end of the bargain tonight.” Her pure, sweet smile touches my heart. "Thank you for that, by the way, so much. It’s clear that Natalie and Carl like me now. Lacey will be afraid to trash talk me anymore, I think."
"I'm glad you're happy with how tonight turned out. Still, tomorrow we’ll go over all the details and you can decide if you're comfortable going through with it. If there's the slightest hesitation, I understand completely."
I turn to leave, then her fingers catch my arm. "Dylan?" She looks up at me and I swear my entire body forgets how gravity works. Those gorgeous lake-blue eyes make me feel like I'm floating.
"Let's go ahead and make those plans. I feel safe with you."
"Good." My body moves of its own accord, brushing my lips across the top of her hair before my brain kicks in and I drag myself away.
As I get settled on the couch, stripping down to just my boxer briefs, I picture Emma sliding off that lovely dress. Slipping into my clothing. Getting comfortable in my bed.
It was tough enough dealing with Emma's coworkers while I was hard as steel. I'd better be able to turn off this rampaging lust when we're with my family.
Not to mention, on the plane.