Page 61 of The Money Man
“Okay, that’s a lot to take in,” Alice said, trying to remember everything that he’d said but focusing mostly onmade me feel alive. That had to be a good thing, even if he was just referring to sex.
“Tell me about it.” He kissed her temple. “I’m trying to convince myself that the only reason I came out here to get you myself was because I didn’t want your death on my conscience.”
“But that’s not true?” She wanted him to spell it out.
“You know it’s not.” He shifted on the seat and his face was illuminated by a passing car’s headlights as he stared down at her. “I want to strip your clothes off and make love to you. As always.”
All of a sudden she needed to roll down the window to let some air into the car. “And that’s bad,” she said as her skin prickled with longing.
“It makes it hard to keep my mind on Argon.”
“Does it make a difference that I want to strip your clothes off too?”
He let his head fall back against the seat so he was looking at the roof of the limo. “It makes it worse.”
“You should feel better since you’re not the only one.”
“But now I have no reason not to do it.” He lifted his head and nodded forward. “Except the two people sitting in the front seat.”
“I thought these things had privacy screens,” Alice said, scanning the clear Plexiglas window between the front and back of the limo.
“They’re not going to put it up because it blocks too much of their rear view.”
“How about one kiss?” she said.
His arm tightened around her waist. “That might lead to other things.”
“I’m willing to risk it.” She felt like one of her Regency heroines flirting in a ballroom, except here she was playing with fire.
He threaded the fingers of his free hand in her hair so he could angle her face up toward his. She twisted so that she was almost on his lap. Their lips met and her body softened. She curled into him, enveloped by his body and scent, cocooned in an armored limousine as it glided through the night.
She’d never been at bigger risk—to her heart or to her life—yet she felt safer than she ever had before.
And that was very, very dangerous.
Alice felt deliciously cozy and warm. Except someone kept shaking her.
“We’re here.” Derek’s smooth baritone voice was right beside her ear.
She burrowed into the warm body beside her, not wanting to wake up from the perfect dream.
“Alice! We have to get out!”
Her eyelids flew open and she sat up as reality woke her. If it weren’t for John Peters’s shadow hanging over them, reality wouldn’t be so bad, since Derek still had one arm around her waist.
“We’re at my place,” he said more gently. “Time to go.”
“I—right.” She wriggled out of his arm and pushed a stray strand of hair back from her face. It promptly fell back down but this time Derek reached out to tuck it behind her ear in a gesture that nearly made her cry. “Thanks.”
He leaned in to whisper, “I look forward to seeing it loose later.”
Her scalp tingled with the memory of how he’d played with it in bed. “That’s a distinct possibility,” she said.
He made a sound that was almost a purr, which reminded her of Sylvester and Audley, both staring at her from behind the wire gates of their carriers. “Are you guys doing okay?” she asked. “You’re wondering what the heck is going on, aren’t you?”
Audley meowed in response while Sylvester merely blinked.
“They’re being good sports,” Derek said, stretching across to unbuckle the seat belts from the carriers and place them on the floor by Alice’s feet. “The concierge should have brought up kitty litter, cat food, and some cat toys already. Along with some clothes for you.” He gave her a slow smile that said she wouldn’t need the new clothes anytime soon. She was on board with that.
