Chapter 25
INA
Dane stared at his phone. It was freezing. Snow was collecting on the tops of my feet exposed in the heels.
“We still can’t get a car,” he said.
“We should have brought our ice skates.” I shivered and looked around at the snowstorm that reminded me of home.
“We can walk the two blocks or go back inside and wait,” he said.
I smiled. “Let’s just walk.”
“Yeah?” Dane arched an eyebrow but there was a smile on his lips.
“I’m from Wyoming. This ain’t nothing I haven’t been through before.”
He grinned. “Wow, I guess the snow brings out the Wyoming in you.”
“Like yelling at deli men brings out your accent, too,” I said, grinning. “Come on. You think a little dusting of snow is going to bother me? I’ve grilled burgers in worse weather than this.”
“You’re crazy.” He shook his head in disbelief.
“I’ve been told.”
He took my hand. “Hold on to me. As rugged as your formative years might have been, this is still probably dangerous.”
I was more than happy to hold his hand. We stepped onto the sidewalk and I immediately regretted my bravado. It was slick with fresh snow and ice underneath, and my strappy heels were absolutely not designed for arctic expeditions. I took one step and nearly went down.
Dane’s arm shot out, catching me around the waist. “Steady, Miss Wyoming.”
“I’m fine,” I lied, taking another tentative step. My ankle wobbled dangerously.
“You’re going to break your neck.”
I took another step, my heel sliding sideways. I grabbed onto his arm with both hands, my clutch purse swinging wildly. “Okay, these might be a problem.”
“Might?”
“Fine. Definitely are.” I tried to take another step and nearly face-planted. Only Dane’s quick reflexes kept me upright. “It’s only two blocks.”
“Two blocks in heels on ice is like climbing Everest in flip-flops.” He gestured at my feet, where I was currently doing an impression of Bambi on ice. “From where I’m standing, you’re about three seconds away from either breaking an ankle or taking us both down.”
“I’ve got this.” I took another step to prove my point.
Dane caught me again, and this time he didn’t let go. “That’s it. I’m carrying you.”
“You are not carrying me like a sack of laundry.”
“Watch me.” He started to bend down like he was actually going to throw me over his shoulder.
“Dane Kavanagh, don’t you dare!” I tried to swat at him but my hands were still clutching his arm for balance. “I’m wearing a very tight dress and there are paparazzi somewhere around here.”
“Then stop being stubborn and hold on to me properly.”
I did as he said and immediately felt more stable. Well, physically stable. Emotionally, being pressed against Dane’s side while he held me close was making feel anything but stable.
“Better?” he asked.
“Yeah, yeah, keep walking.”
My heels still slipped with every step, but with Dane basically holding me up, I managed not to fall.
Fifteen minutes later, at a building so tall I couldn’t see the top through the falling snow, a doorman opened the door and ushered us inside.
I heard him say a few words to Dane, who acknowledged him but appeared to be mission focused. The marble floors in the lobby were almost as bad as the sidewalks outside.
“Stop,” I finally said. “No more.”
I bent down and took off one heel and then the other. I was done being wobbling around like I was taking my first steps.
Dane chuckled. “Good thinking.”
He swiped a card and we stepped into an elevator. I leaned against the wall, thanking all my lucky stars that I made it in one piece.
It felt like the ride up took a good minute, which told me we were going very high.
The elevator stopped, the doors quietly opened, and I was standing in what looked like a foyer. I expected to be in a hallway with doors like every other apartment building. There was a small sofa on one side with a console table and pretty fresh flowers sitting on another table.
Dane crossed the foyer and entered a code into the keypad next to a set of double doors.
He opened the door and gestured for me to go inside.
The second I stepped through the door, lights came on. The further I walked into the massive space, more lights turned on. It took me a second to realize it was automatic. No one was standing at a light switch.
“Holy shit,” I murmured under my breath.
I was immediately drawn to the windows that lined two sides. I could see a terrace that apparently wrapped around the side of the building.
The city spread below us. Lights twinkled through the storm with snow coating everything in white. Dane appeared behind me and helped me out of my damp coat. I couldn’t look away from the view.
This was his life. This space, this view, this level of wealth and success that I couldn’t even really comprehend.
“I’ll get you something to change into,” Dane said. “I have a feeling you’ll be staying the night. The storm’s only getting worse, and I have several guest rooms. You can take your pick.”
I turned to face him. Tension swirled between us like the snow outside. With his bowtie slightly loose and his hair mussed from the wind, he looked less rigid, less restrained. Maybe the wild walk through the weather had us both amped up.
“I’ll be right back,” he said and disappeared up a set of stairs I had somehow missed when I first walked in.
How many floors was this place?
I shook my head and took the opportunity to look around. The apartment was actually very Dane. It was clearly the epitome of luxury. The space was immaculate.
I drifted into the massive kitchen that was all bright-white quartz countertops and black cupboards with stainless steel appliances. There was exactly one splash of color in the monochromatic kitchen.
The pink mug.
It was the only dish in sight. The one piece of evidence that suggested anyone actually used the kitchen. It was sitting by the sink like it had been used that morning, rinsed and left to dry.
Like he used it every morning.
Maybe I was crazy. Maybe the adrenaline from crashing the gala and walking through a blizzard had broken something in my brain. Maybe this was all a dream and when I woke up tomorrow I’d be back in my apartment with Abby and none of this would have happened.
But if it was a dream, then my actions didn’t matter, right?
And if it wasn’t a dream, even better.
Dane came down the stairs. He was holding sweatpants and a T-shirt that would probably be huge on me, but comfortable.
“These should fit well enough for sleeping,” he said, holding them out. “The guest rooms are down that hall, second and third doors on the right. Both have their own bathrooms, fresh towels, everything you should need.”
“It’s not fake,” I blurted out.
He blinked. “Excuse me.”
“I have feelings for you.”
The words came out in a rush. He froze, like someone had zapped him with a stun gun.
“I know I shouldn’t,” I continued, the words tumbling out now that I’d started.
“I know you’re my boss and this is complicated and there are a hundred reasons this can’t work.
I know I’ve been telling myself it’s just the fake dating thing.
But it’s not. It’s real. My feelings are real, and I don’t know what to do about that. ”
He closed the distance between us and grabbed me so forcefully I stumbled against him. His mouth slammed against mine.
His kiss was filled with desire that seemed to echo my own. It was as if all those unspoken feelings had broken free, like a dam breaking and releasing a torrent of emotions.
His hands roamed over my body, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.
He deftly unzipped my dress and let it fall to the floor in a pool around my feet.
Our lips never parted as he led me to the couch, pushing me down onto it without breaking contact.
He stripped himself of his tuxedo jacket and shirt while I fumbled with his belt buckle, finally managing to pull it open.
By the time we were both naked, our hands were everywhere. I couldn’t touch him enough. I had been dying to have my hands on the man for way too long.
Dane’s fingers found my breasts, teasing my nipples into hard peaks that ached with pleasure under his touch. He leaned down, taking one nipple into his mouth and suckling gently.
My body writhed beneath him as he slowly trailed kisses down my abdomen, finally reaching the apex of my thighs.
He looked up at me for a moment before diving in, his tongue expertly parting my folds and finding my clit.
The sensation sent shivers through every muscle in my body as he continued to swirl and flick at the sensitive bud.
The orgasm sped through me like a runaway train.
I was helpless to stop it, no matter how embarrassed I was by how quickly he was getting me there.
When he slipped two fingers inside me, curling them skillfully to hit just the right spot, I was a goner.
My back arched off the couch as waves of pure ecstasy washed over me.
I heard my cry of pleasure and had a brief thought about being quiet, but no way. There was no quieting anything.
I pulled him up to me and pressed my lips to his once more, tasting myself on him. I reached between us, wrapping my hand around his shaft and groaning at the girth in my hand.
“Upstairs,” he murmured.
I let him help me up. My legs were unsteady after the ridiculous orgasm he had just given me. And maybe trekking through the frozen tundra in heels.
Dane nearly dragged me upstairs. I had no time to look around his bedroom. He gently pushed until I fell back onto his bed. That was my only real chance to get a glimpse of the man in nothing but his birthday suit.
Holy hell. Those glorious Roman statues of old gods had nothing on him.
I watched as he jerked open the drawer in his nightstand and pulled out a condom.
A shiver of anticipation raced through my body. He ripped the package open with his teeth and locked eyes with me as he rolled it on.
My tongue darted out, licking my lips a second before he pounced on me.
He supported the bulk of his weight on his bent arms that framed my head. His forehead brushed against mine. He kissed me once, just a soft brush of his lips against mine.
“You’re good with this?” His question was so soft I barely heard.
“Yes.”
His lips quirked and then he was pushing inside me in one long, smooth stroke. We both gasped at the sensation. The feeling of being so intimately connected was overwhelming. I let out the breath I’d been holding.
As Dane began to move within me, I marveled at how perfectly our bodies fit together.
He was a large man in every sense of the word.
His body was solid steel, especially the part that was rocking my world.
The rhythm we found was natural and effortless.
It was as if we’d been doing this for years.
His thrusts were deep and powerful, each one sending waves of pleasure through me that built up until I could hardly stand it.
I wrapped my legs around his muscular thighs, pulling him deeper. I needed more of him. Every thrust sent electric currents through my body that made my toes curl and my fingers dig into the muscles of his back.
“God, Ina,” he groaned against my neck, his breath hot on my skin. “You feel incredible.”
I couldn’t form words. Could barely think. All I could do was feel the weight of him and the heat of his skin against mine. The delicious friction felt like swallowing pure electricity. I’d had sex before, but this was different. This was consuming.
Lightning bolts blasted through my nerves. My body shook with the impending orgasm.
His pace quickened, losing that rhythm and moving just as desperately as I felt. My nails raked down his back as pleasure coiled tighter and tighter in my core.
“Look at me,” he commanded, his voice rough.
I opened my eyes and found him staring down at me with an intensity that stole my breath. There was something raw in his expression. We were bound together in a fevered frenzy of pure need.
My orgasm crashed through me with a force that made me cry out his name. I felt my body clench around him. He followed seconds later, his own release making him shudder above me.
When he fell to the mattress beside me, I laughed.
“Laughing is a new one,” he said with amusement in his voice.
“Sorry. I’m not laughing at you or this. Well, maybe a little bit this. It’s a happy laugh.”
“Get under the blankets. I’m freezing and I cannot have shrinkage with you naked beside me.”
That only made me giggle again. “Trust me, shrinkage is not going to be a problem for you.”