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He twisted his hand, where she was forced to let go of her grip. But instead of stepping back, he linked hands with her. “What sort of thoughts?”
She smiled wickedly, yet sadness filled a part of her soul. “The sort of thoughts I shouldn’t have had because I thought you were Mia’s boyfriend. Very naughty thoughts.”
He squeezed her hand, leaning in close, almost a breath away. “I’m not her boyfriend. I’ve never been her boyfriend and never will be. You can have all the very naughty thoughts about me that you want. I’ve had plenty of you. It was a very, very long week of work.”
“You have no idea.” Her words were like a kiss upon his lips, said so soft and low.
He decided to make it a real kiss, picking up where they were before the intense conversation. He kissed her deeply, locking his lips to hers, even a crowbar couldn’t tear them apart. It’s as if they both wanted to be as close as possible. She let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck, digging into his hair. His hand circled her waist, pulling her closer.
She never wanted this to end. To think he was holding her in his arms like he never wanted to let her go. It seemed unreal. If it was a dream, it was better than any other one she had.
She pulled away again. “What are we doing?”
He crinkled his eyebrows in confusion as his hands strengthened their grip on her waist as if telling her with his touch what was going on. He was claiming her. Letting her know he would not let her get away. “I thought we established that. Scrooge, Christmas, dirty, sexy thoughts.” His frown deepened. “What’s the matter, Gabriella? If you want me to leave, I will. I would never force you to do something you didn’t want to.”
She grabbed the front of his shirt, clutching the material as if he would vanish into thin air. “I went from regretting everything I did because I knew I lost my chance with you, to this. To you holding me in your arms, kissing me with a passion I never thought possible. I feel…this is unfamiliar territory. I don’t know how else to explain it. It doesn’t feel real.”
He let go of her waist and covered her hands. “I’m real. I’m going to show you how real I am.” He peeled her hands from his shirt and swung her into his arms.
She gasped, then giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to walk around this apartment until I find your bedroom. Unless you tell me where to go.”
She had to force herself to keep a straight face. “What…no please and thank you?”
His lips curled into a delicious smile. One that said sweet, sweet pleasure was soon to be had—as long as she quit messing around. Oh, she never ever wanted him to stop smiling. She couldn’t believe all the smiles he had been bestowing upon her.
“Sweetheart, I’m going to have you begging me for some pleases and thank yous. But not if you don’t tell me where the bedroom is.”
She chuckled, pressing her face into his chest. She had never begged a man in her life, but for Dane, she was already on the verge of begging him to do every naughty thought in his head. Because the gleam in his eyes said he had some very dirty thoughts going on.
She inhaled a hint of cinnamon, something she had never smelled on him before. Not that she had gotten this close to even get a sense of what kind of cologne he might be wearing. Although she didn’t think it was cologne. Did men wear cinnamon smelling cologne? That just sounded odd. Now, she was officially losing her mind. Or perhaps her nerves were kicking in. Ha! Kicking in? They’d been full-blown since the moment she spied him through the peephole.
This was nothing. They were about to get it on in the most blissful way. Something she had ached to do since the moment she walked into his office—what a hussy.
She wondered if he even realized he called her sweetheart. She never was one of those women who needed pet names. Anytime Mia talked about her latest beau calling her something silly like baby, doll-cakes, or darling, she always laughed at how ridiculous it sounded. She wasn’t laughing now. She loved how the word rolled off his tongue like a sweet caress. How could she get him to say it again?
“Are you debating whether to tell me? Because you’re making me nervous now. That’s not something I freely admit either,” he whispered near her ear.
She lifted her head, a ridiculously happy smile on her face. “I lost my train of thought. You smell delicious. Like a tasty cinnamon roll. And I’m ready to eat you up.”
The throaty chuckle that escaped his lips made her insides melt even more. God, she could listen to him laugh all day, every day. “I swear. You surprise me one minute, then manage to knock me off my feet the next.”
He had no idea how his tender, thoughtful words he slipped out now and again were sweeping her off her feet with finesse.
She tossed her head toward the hallway that led to the front door. “Lock the door first. Then take a left. My bedroom is at the end of the hallway. It’s not that big of an apartment.”
“Are you security-minded all the time?” he asked with a smirk as he made his way to the front door with her in his arms.
How silly was it that she didn’t want him to let her down? She liked the feeling of him holding her so close, his strength flowing through his veins and straight into hers. Each step he took gave her more courage, let her nervousness die away.
What was there to be nervous about? It’s not like she’d never had sex before. She didn’t need a manual to tell her what part went where. And she’d been dying to get her hands on this man for a week. She had nothing to be nervous about.
She flipped the locks herself as she cocked an eyebrow. “Unless you want Jaxson or Mia to walk right in, then I better lock the door. Those two never knock.”
“And it’s a possibility they’ll come back?”
She swore she heard a hint of disappointment. She couldn’t begrudge him for that because it would disappoint her as well because she didn’t want anything to interrupt what they were about to do. “They could. I’m not even sure why Mia stopped by before heading to your brother’s. Most likely, she knew I would talk her out of it and needed me to do that.”
