Page 44 of Some Like It Royal

The disappointment ballooning in his gut punctured with a fresh wave of heat. He lunged off the bed, dropping the used condom in the trash and snagging another foil package off the nightstand before he caught her. Picking her up, he carried her into the shower and pressed her against the cool tile, mouth fixing against hers. Somewhere between kissing her and soaping her breasts, she wiggled an escape and teased his cock back to full life.

They were late for breakfast.

Daniel didn’t give a damn.

Chapter17

Alyx

Han Takahashi was an absolute gentleman, but he definitely wasn’t comfortable with dancing. Alyx held herself loosely in his arms as they waltzed around the floor. The private party took place in the executive suites of the Takahashi building. Over his shoulder she caught sight of Daniel and smiled. He grinned, leaning against the bar, surrounded by the company’s executives, and his gaze never left hers.

“Thank you for the dance, Your Highness.” Takahashi’s words jerked her attention back, which was probably a good thing. She and Daniel had barely come up for air since returning from Napa. He’d canceled appointments, preferring to stay in bed. She’d discovered that he could debug his programs naked—an issue apparently when she completely distracted him.

They were like a pair of randy teenagers, barely able to keep their hands off each other. The balloon of lust floated them higher and higher.

But tonight’s dinner party was unavoidable. The CEO of the Takahashi Corporation flew all the way to Los Angeles just to meet with Daniel and to thank him personally for Spherecast’s assistance in recovering so many of their files. Those meetings meant she’d barely seen Daniel all day, but she could feel his gaze sliding over her with every turn around the dance floor—caressing her skin, teasing her senses.

The music ended and Takahashi released her. He offered her the most formal of bows and she returned it, perfectly.Thank you, Victor, for that lesson.

A hand glided up her spine as the music began again. Daniel smiled at the CEO. “If you will allow me a few moments, Mr. Takahashi, I’ll join you and your board for drinks after.”

“Of course.” Takahashi bowed again and Daniel tugged her into his arms. She fit against him, and the room’s occupants faded as they danced.

“He really likes you.” She smiled up at him.

“Oh? The man is hard to read.”

“Maybe.” She followed him on the slow circuit of the floor, drifting with him and teasing herself with a desire that had hours to go before they could fulfill it. “But unlike everyone else I danced with tonight, all he wanted to discuss was his admiration for your work.”

“Really? That was kind of him. All anyone else wants to talk about is how beautiful you are.” The compliment wrapped her up in an embrace that almost matched the warmth surrounding her from his arms.

“I find that hard to believe. These men look so serious.” She teased, but it wasn’t a joke, exactly. Most of the men in attendance at the party wore smart suits, buttoned down and engaged in earnest discussions. The subjects included everything from financial recovery to advertising methods to penetrate a dense market and of course, the challenges that arose in the wake of the natural disaster that nearly cost them their corporate data.

Despite Daniel’s assertion, his name came up in every conversation—his name and the reliability of Spherecast to develop the right software for the right problem. He was the star tonight and she couldn’t be prouder.

“Want to know a secret?” His lips brushed her ear.

“Is that a trick question?” One song dovetailed into the next and despite his assurance to his host, he seemed to have no intention of leaving her yet.

“Martin told me Takahashi approached him with an exclusive offer to use only Spherecast software. It’ll take about a year to transition all their systems, rewrite some code and get it working, but heisinterested.”

“Daniel, that’s amazing.” She cupped his face in her hands, her heart swelled for him. She hadn’t missed the hours he’d poured into this project. Despite all the programmers and developers working for him, he’d dedicated dozens of long nights to perfecting the program.

“It’s pretty awesome.” He grinned again, twirling her a little faster than the music called for. “I’ll have to go to Tokyo in a couple of months. Do you like sushi?”

Martin appeared at their elbows and she swallowed her answer. “Sorry to interrupt you lovebirds, but Takahashi would like to sit down with you now, Daniel.”

The nervous flutters in her stomach beat a rhythm and she squeezed his arms. “You can do this.” She didn’t know why she felt the urge to encourage him, but his quick inhalation and the taut flex of his throat suggested he was a lot more nervous than he let on. He stilled, gazing into her eyes, and his expression relaxed, a smile warming his lips before he brushed her mouth with a whisper of a kiss.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll be here when you get back.” A promise.

“You better be.” He squeezed her hand and then he was gone, striding across the room, every inch the confident sun god who blew into her life and turned it upside down. Pride shimmered through her as she watched him greet the executives and they trickled out to a private conference room. He took Martin with him—she trusted the lawyer to look after him. Jittery with nerves, she accepted a glass of wine from the waitress and murmured a thank-you. Sipping the alcohol, she drifted across the room to the great paned windows that looked out over the glittering jewel of Los Angeles’s nightscape.

It was easy to forget that beneath the smog and glamour pulsed a very real city. Standing inside the tower, she could see all the way to the ocean. It was a rare, clear view, the Santa Ana winds having pushed all the tendrils of haze away, leaving the night gleaming with spotlights, strobes and towers that reached up like fingers to stroke the stars.

“Your Highness? Please pardon the intrusion.”

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