Page 15 of Going, Going, Gone
Chapter Ten
“Damn it.” Nessa huffed out an exasperated breath, as she sat at the desk in her office on campus, staring at her computer. She’d received three more emails from museums and historical groups stating none of them had found the diary in their possession. It was the same response she’d gotten the day before in four other emails, and in another two the day before that. Dylan’s mother must have pulled some serious strings because in the two weeks since Nessa had met her, emails and phone calls, from the different places she’d originally sent inquiries to, had been flowing in at a steady pace. She just prayed that one of the outstanding inquiries would garner the response she needed.
The team from the Archaeological Society of Virginia had done a thorough survey of the hidden room below the kitchen at the Coldrick farm. They’d uncovered a few other items, including pieces of pottery that’d once been bowls, part of a wrought-iron chain that’d probably belonged to another shackle, and what appeared to be a crudely made, wood, beaded necklace. The archaeologist had said all the artifacts appeared to be from the same era coinciding with the Underground Railroad. They were going to do DNA testing on the items, hoping to recover any dead skin cells or dried blood. She’d know in another day or two if they were successful. If they were, new technology would help them trace the person’s ancestry. But if they weren’t, they’d need further proof to connect the items to actual slaves. Hence, she still needed the damn diary.
A knock on her open door startled her, and she was surprised to see Dylan standing there, grinning at her. “Hi.”
Her own smile spread. He was wearing khakis and a golf shirt, which showed off his sculpted arms.Yum. The man was gorgeous and drew appreciative stares from women no matter what clothes he had on. “Hi, yourself. What are you doing here?”
Since Dylan had had to travel to New York for business for nearly a week, they’d only been on two other dates, both of which had been in public, far away from the temptation of either of their bedrooms. That knowledge had the opposite effect on her. Nessa wanted him, her desire growing as each day passed. Although she was far from a virgin, and had had several boyfriends over the years, she’d actually been grateful Dylan wanted to take things slowly with her. One-night stands had never been her thing, and she’d dated all her lovers for a respectable amount of time before she’d gone to bed with them. Her self-imposed policy had chased off more than one guy whose only interest in her had been a roll in the sack. She’d almost panicked the other night when Dylan had whispered how much he wanted to carry her to his bed, but then he’d immediately calmed her fears. Nessa knew some of her friends would think she was crazy to make a guy wait—especially one as hot as Dylan—but she didn’t care. When she went to bed with a man, it was knowing her heart, mind, body, and soul were all in agreement that this was what she wanted. Sex for the sake of sex was a turnoff for her. Meaningful sex made it all the better.
Their next date—which’d been technically their third—had been at a local park whereMarley & Mehad been shown on a huge screen while viewers sat on lawn chairs and blankets. Dylan had surprised her with a picnic basket filled with wine, cheese, crackers, and fruit, including chocolate covered strawberries. He’d also supplied the bug spray, so they hadn’t been eaten alive by mosquitos. When he’d dropped her off at her condo that night, he’d walked her to the door where they made out for a few minutes. With reluctance in his eyes, he’d then told her to sleep well and waited for her to lock the door behind her before heading home. He wanted her—that was clear—but he was willing to put her needs first until she was ready to take their relationship to the next step. And that willingness turned her on—big time.
Last night, he’d taken her to a local Irish pub, where friends of his from high school had gone for an impromptu get-together. When he’d first asked her to join him, she’d declined, thinking he’d spend the night catching up with everyone, and she would be left on the outside, but he’d finally talked her into going. She shouldn’t have been worried because Dylan had stayed by her side the whole time, introducing her to everyone, and making sure she was included in every conversation. If someone brought up an inside joke, Dylan had explained it to her. When a recent divorcée had started hitting on him when he’d gone to the bar to refresh Nessa’s drink, without a backward glance to see if she’d been watching, Dylan had indicated he was there with someone and had no interest in straying. Nessa knew this because he’d filled her in when he’d returned with her drink. He’d then leaned down and kissed the hell out of her in front of everyone, garnering a bunch of catcalls and whistles and causing Nessa to blush like crazy. A few of his female friends had pulled her aside at one point and told her Dylan was a keeper. Apparently, they’d been trying to set him up for years because they’d wanted him to find someone he could settle down with. They’d also said they’d never seen him look at a woman the way he’d been looking at Nessa. While she’d been surprised at their girlie chat, it’d warmed her to know they thought Dylan was special and she was making him happy, even though they’d just started seeing each other.
Dylan leaned against the door jamb, crossing his arms in a sexier-than-sin pose. His biceps and forearms were what her friend Faith would call “arm porn.” Dylan grinned, causing his tiny dimples to appear. “That’s the nice thing about owning your own company. You get to set the hours. I took care of everything this morning that couldn’t be put off and shelved everything that could, just so I could come see you. I missed you.”
The blush that always seemed to appear when she was near him bloomed across her cheeks. Her nipples tightened under his appreciative stare that went from the top of her head to her toes and back up again. How could he get her so aroused from across the room with just a look and three little words?He missed me!
Flustered, Nessa stood. “I ... um ... missed you too.”
His intense gaze deepened. After a moment, he glanced over his shoulders, then stepped into her office and closed the door behind him. Her heart beat raced when he flipped the lock. His gaze met hers again and never left as he diminished the distance between them. Cupping her jaw, he brushed his thumbs across her cheeks.
“I’m glad to hear me missing you wasn’t one-sided,” he murmured before lowering his head. A shiver coursed through Nessa and her pussy clenched with need the second Dylan’s lips touched hers. She melted into his touch, completely forgetting she was in her campus office—hell, she’d forgotten her own name. Thankfully, she had the blinds on the windows angled so no one could see in, but the sunlight still filled the small room. It warmed her back as Dylan heated her front. Her arms went up around his neck almost of their own accord. Nessa moaned as he grasped her hips and held her against his erection. Never had a man gotten her so revved up to the point she wanted to strip naked and have wild abandoned sex on her desk.
Dylan left her mouth and kissed his way down to the hollow of her neck. He nipped and licked the sensitive flesh, driving Nessa higher.
Her office phone rang loudly, and Nessa yelped and jumped back in surprise, but Dylan steadied her, amusement and desire in his eyes. “Sorry. Got carried away. Go ahead and answer that while I get my hard-on under control.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, her gaze dropped to his groin, where his pants were tented. She licked her lips, and Dylan chuckled. “Answer the phone, sweetheart. We’ll continue this later, when we won’t be interrupted.”
The shrill ring finally snapped her into action. Grabbing the phone’s headset, she held it to her ear with a trembling hand. “Hello, Professor ... um ... Adams.” Holy shit, she really had forgotten her name!
She heard Dylan chuckle again, and it was all she could do to concentrate on what the student who called was asking her.Get a grip, Nessa!
