Page 106 of Daddy By Design

She licked her lips, her attention on my mouth, then suddenly, she leaned back on the arm of the bench, tipping her chin back to let her hair fall behind her. “This is nice.”

Nice wasn’t the word as far as I was concerned. She was stunning and so free with her emotions. Pleasure—bam. There it was, she took it as if it was her right. Anger—let it fly. Laughter—bawdy and unrestrained.

She made me want things I couldn’t ever deserve.

She lifted her head, then she swung her legs off me with a gusty sigh. “You are not relaxing.”

“I haven’t had as much tequila or food as you have.”

“True. You should have.” She stood and turned to face me. “Not everything is doom and gloom, Beasty.”

“You’re keeping that one in your outside voice?”

She cupped my face in both of her hands. “I’ve been known to tame a few animals. I’m not afraid of you.”

I tried to push her hands away. “You should be.”

She held firm. “You are your own worst enemy, you know that?” Her eyes were a little unfocused, but she wasn’t as drunk as I’d originally thought. Then she patted my good cheek. “Now I’m ready for my bed.”

An older couple sat across from us on one of the other benches. The woman was grinning at us and nudging her husband.

Dahlia grabbed my hand and dragged me across the crosswalk. The traffic had lightened, and her doorman was gone for the evening. She stopped outside the door. I was so busy looking around, assessing pedestrian traffic, that I collided with the back of her. I grabbed her around her waist, so she didn’t topple over.

She tipped up her head. “Need my key.”

My gaze drifted to those crimson lips of hers. Even after her drinking and eating, they were still a distracting siren song. They pursed into a half pout, half smile before she bit her lower lip.

Damn, her. She knew what she was doing. “Fuck it.” I hauled her into me and brushed my lips over hers.

Her arms twined around my neck, and she pressed every inch of herself against me. She tasted of salt and tequila and that certain something that was only Dahlia. I tried to keep it light, but as usual, there was no half measure when it came to us.

Her nails scraped into my hair as she pulled me down to her for a deeper kiss.

“Get a room!”

Dahlia tore her mouth from mine before she shot a dirty look over her shoulder at the stranger.

My fingers dug into her hip. “You’re killing me.”

Her attention back on me, her smile was devastating. “Kill me inside.” She fumbled with her purse. “After I find my key fob.”

I kept her close to me as a crowd of people coming out of a market converged on us.

She waved her keys over the electronic pad on the door and we both slipped inside. The temperature dropped considerably in the lobby. It should have doused the fire between us, but she just shoved her keys in her pocket and hauled me through the common area to the elevators.

She pushed me against the doors and went onto her toes again, nipping at my lower lip. “Why do you always taste so good?” She stuffed her hand into my pocket, humming as she felt how hard I was. But instead of copping a feel, she went for my box of candy.

“You like a bit of heat, Hellcat?”

She flicked out one of the slivers of Red Hots and put it on her tongue, then she covered my mouth.

The flash of cinnamon and Dahlia was a heady mix. She slid the candy along my tongue before sucking it into her mouth. She hissed at the heat, then when it dissolved, there was nothing but her and me.

The doors opened and we fell back with a laugh.

Her eyes lit. “You do know how to laugh.”

I slapped the second-floor button and lifted her up against me. “Laughing is overrated when I can have all of this occupying my mouth instead.”

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