Page 47 of The Last Dance You Saved
“I haven’t decided if I’m interested in conducting business with you, Slick.”
My chuckle annoyed her. She lifted her chin, and I grabbed it, thumb running along her lower lip. My other hand cupped her neck, dancing along the pulse there. I felt her inhale. Felt the way her body shivered. Damn, she was addicting.
“Yes, you have,” I told her. “You just haven’t decided why you like being told what to do.”
A delightful blush covered her cheeks. I wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or desire or fury at my being right. Maybe it was a bit of all three.
She tried to pull her chin out of my hand, but I gripped it harder. “I’m heading to the cabin to shower off the lake. If you don’t show up in twenty minutes, I’m coming back to remind you of what you started, and I’ll charge an extra penalty for it.”
The thrum of her heart sped up against my fingers, and my body grew tight.
“Maybe you’d like that too. The penalties as much as the begging.” My voice had a low, savage growl to it, and her pupils dilated at the sound.
I stepped back, and cool air rushed between us. Her palm landed on her chest as if trying to slow the wild beat inside it.
“Twenty minutes, Sadie. Twenty damn minutes.”
I didn’t look back as I sauntered toward the door. I couldn’t. If I did, I might end up taking that sweet mouth right here in the middle of the hall, and I wouldn’t risk Fallon finding us that way. But I swore Sadie would be mine. I’d have her, taste every inch of her, and set her aside, leaving her in my past.
The devil inside laughed.
Hadn’t I thought I’d put the ranch in my past? Hadn’t I thought I’d cleansed myself of it? And one day here had proven it was still stuck inside me. What made me think I’d do any better with Sadie? When just the look and scent of her was enough to hook into skin and bone and soul?
I shoved those thoughts aside. I didn’t have a choice but to try to burn through her and leave her in my wake. Otherwise, I might just go under the water for good.
? ? ?
I washed off in the too-small shower and pulled on the jeans I’d worn earlier and a clean T-shirt. My small suitcase of clothes was dwindling since I hadn’t expected to work on the ranch. But I’d need something more formal for the black-tie wedding on Saturday, in addition to more work clothes at the rate I was burning through them. I shot off a text to my personal assistant, asking him to pack a few more things and send them overnight.
A glance at my watch told me Sadie had five minutes to show up before I went and claimed her. But I wouldn’t have to.
I poured two glasses of bourbon from the decanter I’d taken from the office bar and set them on the Formica table. The cut crystal seemed completely out of place in the ancient, worn décor of Levi’s place. For the first time, I felt a hint of regret. Sadie deserved better than a deteriorated cabin with an iffy window A/C unit. She deserved thousand-count sheets, champagne, and stunning views that wouldn’t ever be able to compete with the view I had of her.
I grimaced at the maudlin thoughts. All we really needed for what I intended tonight was a bed. Maybe a counter. Or a wall. The shower would never fit both of us, and the table would never hold up to the ideas that pummeled through me. The memory of her breasts, small and tight and smooth under my callused hands in the penthouse, was enough to send me right up to the edge. She was going to challenge my control, and I’d be only lying to myself if I said I didn’t like it.
The knock on the door wasn’t tentative at all. Once Sadie decided to do something, she went for it. The way she’d laid down her offer at the piano bar and the way she’d kissed me with everything she had, not holding back an ounce of herself, were both perfect examples.
I swung the door open and drank her in. She’d put on a lavender, halter-topped sundress with ruching at the side, showing a circle of exposed skin. It called to me, and I grazed the silky softness with a single finger. She shivered, and it had nothing to do with her damp hair flying around in the breeze.
I hauled her inside and slammed the door shut with my foot.
The color of the dress and the hint of warmth from the old lamp on the side table turned her eyes a periwinkle color, shooting memories through me of lying amongst the bluebells on a spring day. I’d stared at the white puffy clouds floating overhead, thinking there’d never be anything better than the ranch. But now I knew the truth. This was better. She was better.
It was enough to cause a hint of panic that I ignored.
“I like this dress on you,” I said. My mouth lowered, skimming hers, and that breathy gasp I found so addicting escaped her once again. I wanted to drink it in more than I’d ever wanted my expensive bourbon. “I’ll like taking it off you even more.”
“Don’t break it like you did my last one. That was a brand-new dress you ruined,” she said.
“I’ll buy you another one.”
“I don’t want you buying me anything. That wasn’t the point.” Her annoyance flashed as fast as the heat and, damn, I liked both. Liked that she wasn’t reaching for my credit card like other woman in my past had at the mere hint of an offer.
“I’m missing your point,” I said, moving to skim her temple with my lips and then the tantalizing softness below her ear.
She put a hand on my chest and pushed us apart. “The point was, don’t destroy things that don’t belong to you. Money isn’t always the answer.”
She stepped around me, leaving a pair of sandals at the door and heading for the table and the two glasses I’d poured. I watched as she picked one up with a trembling hand. She took a sip, then held the glass in front of her as if it could be some sort of barrier. She watched me with a guarded expression, full of those nerves I’d thought she was above, but maybe she’d had them that first night too, and I just hadn’t been around her enough to recognize them like I did now.
