Chapter 16

Shutting the door behind us with my foot, I tipped my head back and kissed him harder. Dash grinned against my lips, pressing my back against the door as we made out just as passionately as before.

Tingles shot through me, making my heart race, my insides clench, and my nipples turn hard. This guy did all the things to me just by kissing and I could hardly wait to find out what it would be like to go further with him.

I really hadn't been planning on ending the night this way. From what I'd thought I'd known about Dash, he was a complete playboy who didn't date and wasn't ever photographed with the same woman twice. Because of that, I'd figured that we'd gotten hot and heavy in my office and that it had been my one lusty encounter with the second-born St. Clair.

It seemed I'd gotten it wrong, though. Not only had he told me it didn't have to be a one-time thing, but he'd also initiated this when he'd suddenly reached for me. None of which were bad things.

I really wasn't looking to get into another relationship right now, but some occasional fun with a guy who looked like him and kissed like he had an Olympic medal in it? I could definitely get behind that idea.

My thoughts scattered when he reached for the zipper at my side, sliding it down in one smooth, continuous motion. I liked that he wasn't wasting any time, and I reached for his tie in return, tugging it loose and then pushing the jacket off his shoulders.

He groaned into the kiss, running his fingertips along the length of my arms before he hooked them underneath the straps of my dress and bra and pulled them down. Once they were free, the top of my dress slid to my waist, but it was being held up by our stomachs and hips pressed so closely together.

Dash let out a husky chuckle and took a step back, abruptly breaking the kiss. The fabric slid all the way to my hips and he dragged his gaze slowly along the length of my torso before he hooked his fingers into it and pulled it free.

It pooled around my feet and I reached for his hand, placing my palm in his when he held it out to me. As before, I was struck by how dry and strong his fingers were, a steadying presence. I stepped out of the circle of the dress and started leading him to my bedroom.

Smiling coyly at him over my shoulder, I even winked as I strode confidently in my heels, blown away by how fun, confident, and downright brazen I was being but enjoying it too much to question it. It had been a long time since I'd been able to have fun with sex.

I hadn't been with anyone since the divorce, and contrary to Ethan's constant accusations, I'd never cheated on him. The intimacy levels in our marriage had also been basically nonexistent for ages before we'd separated, and before that, whenever we had been intimate, it had all been about Ethan's need to control me.

Dash didn't seem at all opposed to letting me pull him toward my bedroom, following willingly as he returned my flirty smile. Looking at him now, it was hard to imagine that scowling, judgmental guy from our first few meetings.

Those golden eyes were practically glowing, his perfect hair tousled from my hands during our kisses and his full lips slightly swollen from the force of them. My heart pitter-pattered in my chest, my entire body thrumming with the anticipation of what was about to happen.

When we reached my bedroom, he stopped in the doorway but he didn't look around. His eyes focused on mine as he undid the buttons of his shirt and let it fall to the floor. Kicking off his shoes next, he took off his socks and then undid his belt.

That was where he stopped, though. Barefoot and shirtless in front of me, with his belt and the top button of his pants undone. His eyes raked over me in my black bra and panties with the high heels still on my feet.

For a few seconds, we just looked at each other and I drank in every ridge and valley of his sharply defined arms and abs. He wasn't bodybuilder bulky, but his chest was broad and his torso strong, his muscles rippling with movement when he finally stalked toward me.

I only had time for a fleeting thought about switching off the lights when his lips were on mine once more, his palms cupping the side of my throat and his strong fingers gliding into my hair. Our bodies molded together, the sound of our labored breathing and the low hum of my air-conditioning unit the only noise in the room.

We fell onto my bed together, suddenly raw and hurried all over again. He reached for the hook of my bra and slowed down, taking his time with me as he removed it. He groaned when he saw my breasts for the very first time and laved at them until I was squirming before his fingers hooked into the waistband of my panties.

Slowly pulling them off, he removed his hot mouth from my nipple and sat on his knees between my thighs on the mattress, his eyes on mine before he lowered them. A low hiss came out of him as he looked at me and I trembled, wondering what he was seeing right now.

I felt swollen and wet, and I couldn't remember anyone ever looking at me there the way he was right now. Suddenly, he brought his gaze back to mine, then bent over, flattening his torso over mine and murmuring between hard kisses.

"Fuck, Serenity. You're so beautiful. I'm going to take this slow, okay? I won't last otherwise."

My mind tripped over the words, but I nodded. Ethan had definitely not said stuff like that to me either. I kissed Dash back, wrapping my legs around his hips and trying to relax, giving myself to the experience.

He kept his word, teasing me to within an inch of my life first by just kissing me and letting me grind on his leg, then with his fingers, his mouth. Finally, he let me take his pants off. We were both breathing super hard, but I still heard the soft whimper that fell out of me when his cock sprang free.

The tip of him was broad and shimmering with wetness, the shaft thick and longer than I'd anticipated. He wrapped his fingers around it, giving himself a few firm strokes with eyes hooked on mine. Then he climbed off the bed and pulled his wallet out of his pants.

He showed me the condom he pulled out, opening it with slow deliberation as if waiting for me to tell him to stop. When I didn't, his lips curved into a slow grin and he pulled the latex free, rolling it on while still looking at me.

My legs were shaking, my core aching with need, and my lungs suddenly way too small. When he came back to bed, he kissed me hard as he settled between my legs. Then he supported his weight on his elbows and paused for a minute. "It's a yes, right?"

"Right. Why?"

"Just checking," he murmured before he kissed me again. Then he sank into me slowly but quickly lost the self-control to keep doing it.

When he started thrusting into me, I screamed, unable to hold back the sound as pleasure raced through me. I'd had sex before, but it had never felt like this. With all that teasing, he'd primed every part of me and now he was giving me exactly what I needed.

My legs locked around his hips, my body tensing as intense pleasure started building deep down inside. After all that tension between us since the moment we'd met, those kisses in my office, and even our date tonight, this felt like the steamy climax and I loved every moment of it.

He found a rhythm that made me see stars and the pleasure ramped up a few more notches until it finally exploded. The orgasm shot through me like a lightning bolt of bliss and I screamed again, tightening around him as I rode it out.

As soon as I started coming back down to earth, I felt him swell deep inside me and he shuddered, finding his own release as his kisses grew choppy. Both spent, our bodies collapsed at the same time but we didn't break apart. Holding each other, we panted and waited for our heartbeats to return to normal.

"I need to take care of the condom," he murmured eventually. "My mother got in my head the other day about accidental pregnancies, so I need to make sure that doesn't happen."

Caught completely off guard, I laughed as he pulled out of me. "Did you really just mention your mother and accidental pregnancies just a minute after we finished?"

His eyes widened, and he chuckled and spanked the side of my butt before he rolled off the bed. "Yeah, I guess I did. Not such a smooth operator after all, huh?"

Still giggling, I shook my head. "I'm starting to believe you might've been telling the truth about not being a player. I don't know many players that would've said something like that immediately after."

He scrunched his nose up at me when he looked over his shoulder on his way to my bathroom. "You didn't believe me before?"

I shrugged but dropped back down on the mattress and chuckled while I waited for him to get back. When he did, he surprised me again, this time by climbing back into bed with me and gathering me in his arms instead of making up an excuse to get the hell out of here.

I loved the way it felt to be that close to him, so I draped my arm over his hips and let myself imagine what it might be like to get to do this whenever I wanted. Right now, I didn't quite know what that would look like for us or even if I would be ready to try, but for now, this was enough.

As if he'd read my mind, he suddenly turned his head toward me and I felt his gaze on the side of my face. "I'm drawn to you, Serenity. I tried fighting it and denying it, but I'm over that now. I like you, and I haven't been in a relationship before, but I think I might be ready to settle down now. With you."

"Why me?" I breathed.

I felt him shrug the shoulder under my head. "I don't know. Something about you is just different, I guess. It's up to you, obviously, but I thought I should let you know that I'd like to give this a try."

Shock held me in its grip for a long moment, but since he'd been honest with me, I figured I'd do the same. "I feel the same way you do. There's been this weird pull between us since the word go, but we're very different people, Dash. Do you think we even stand a chance?"

"We're different, but it seems to work, doesn't it?" he asked quietly. "Look, you just got out of a seriously fucked-up relationship and I've never even been in one. There's a good chance it won't work out, but it could."

"It could," I agreed, my heart squeezing my chest as I considered it. "I'd like to see where this goes, but I'm not sure I'm ready for the whole nine yards just yet, Dash."

"So no roses and romance?"

"Only a little bit of roses and romance." I glanced up at him and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Are we really doing this?"

"Let's," he said, then sighed and sat up, gently laying me down on the pillow next to my head. "On that note, I really am sorry about this, but I need to get going. I have about a thousand emails waiting to be answered, and with all the time I've been spending away from my office for Mom's wedding, I've been working every night to get through everything."

"That's okay," I said, sitting up. "I understand. I've been wondering how you're juggling it all."

After he put his pants back on, he leaned over and brushed kisses to my eyes, the tip of my nose, and my forehead. "I'll message you later."

"Okay," I agreed, watching as he put his socks and shoes back on. "Let me walk you out."

"No, I'll find my way. You stay right here." He smiled, coming back over to the bed before he left to lay another kiss on me. "Sleep well, Serenity."

"Yeah, you too," I murmured.

Then he was gone and I was reeling, but happy we'd come to the agreement we had.

Dash was amazing in bed and I was starting to like him more and more outside of it. As long as he understood that I'd have to take things at a snail's pace, which he seemed to, I was way more excited about this than I would've expected.

There were never any guarantees in relationships or with love, but I had a good feeling about us, and if we could overcome the challenges facing us together, then we really could have a good thing. A great thing, even. A thing worth fighting for if it came down to that.

Between Ethan and the press, we were probably going to have to fight for it, but I was ready. At least, I really freaking hoped I was.