Chapter 56

"Iwant to rip that dress off you," he murmured into my ear as we danced on the rooftop.

A thrill shot down my spine and I tightened my grip on his hand, pushing my body flush against his. "You can if you buy me a new one. I love this dress, but not out here. In your apartment. With our luck, someone's in a helicopter right now, livestreaming this dance on a gossip site."

"I guess we can make it to the apartment first." He waited until the song ended before he took my hand and guided me back to the elevator, tucking me into his side as we waited for it to arrive. His fingertips dragged over my upper arm and along my shoulders, making me shiver with need, but I still wasn't willing to risk it.

Some cameras had long lenses, and while Dash's building was generally a lot more shielded from the public eye than my own, the last thing I felt like dealing with was a sex tape scandal. Instead, I leaned into him, my own hand roaming along his side until I cupped his firm ass in my palm and gave it a squeeze.

He laughed, the sound a little harsher than usual. Hearing it sent another shiver through me. One of anticipation this time. Dash never disappointed in bed, but I had a feeling he had something to prove tonight.

Our conversation had turned into a slow and sensual dance under the stars and now I was quite sure that he was going to make me his, just as surely as he was going to prove that he belonged to me. My heart skipped and raced as I looked up at him, his profile so sharp and handsome from this angle.

Mine.

It was still difficult to wrap my head around, but when the doors slid open and he hit the button for his penthouse, he pulled me to him and erased every other thought from my mind. He was mine and I was his, and his kisses promised that he'd spend the rest of his life showing me what that meant.

I heard the doors slide open, but I didn't open my eyes. He walked me backward into his apartment. Once we were off the elevator, his kisses grew harder and more insistent, and just like he'd promised, he ripped the lacy dress right off me like it was tissue paper.

I gasped in surprise, but he let out a dark chuckle and kissed me again, his tongue sweeping into my mouth and making me feel dizzy with desire to feel it in other places. Since the dress hadn't required a bra, I was left in my panties and silver kitten heels, and Dash walked us right across the length of his apartment until he pushed me up against the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking his balcony and the city below.

"They can't see you," he murmured between kisses. "I wouldn't mind if they could, though. I want the whole world to know that I'm claiming you. That you're mine."

"And you're mine." I pushed his jacket off his shoulders, half ripping his buttons off his shirt in my haste to get it off. I tried to tear it all the way off but ripping well-tailored fabric turned out to be harder than when he'd done it to mine. Either way, between tugs and slips of my fingers, I got his shirt free and pushed that off. His hands ran down to my hips and gripped them tight.

Holding me to the window with one hand, he dipped the other between my legs, teasing me over the front panel of my panties as my head dropped back. My hands kept working on his belt and his fly, but I was panting as he moved his fingers up and down, finally bringing his hand up from my hip to one of my breasts to pinch my nipple.

I cried out, forgetting all about his pants for a minute until I felt the fabric against my stomach. Trying again, I pushed the pants off, loving the fact that his hips were already rocking into my own, his kisses getting even harder.

My eyes fluttered open so I could look at him and my heart leaped in my chest when I saw the expression on his face. His brow was furrowed. His eyebrows tugged together like he was lost in deep concentration and it was all for me. All on me.

I couldn't stop the moan that broke free as I reached for him in turn, finding him hard as a rock in my palm. I stroked him. Dash growled, dropping to his knees in front of me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was vaguely aware that I was pushed up against a window as he rolled my panties off with his gaze hooked on mine.

But I trusted him.

If he said no one could see me, then no one could see me.

Even so, the only thing separating us from the world during our intense, sensual moment was a thin piece of one-way glass. The mere thought should've terrified me. But it didn't. Because with him, I was safe.

The knowledge took the encounter to a whole other level. I was louder than ever when he buried his face between my legs and licked me like he'd been starved for years. My thighs started shaking. Bolts of pleasure shot through me, and I came hard and fast, riding his face while holding fistfuls of his hair.

When my legs threatened to collapse after, he caught me, picked me up, and carried me to his bedroom. He laid me down gently on the bed, crawling onto it with me and kissing me until I was squirming for him all over again.

I shook my head when his fingers skated down my stomach. Catching his cheeks in my hands, I looked right into his eyes. "I want you, Dash. I love your fingers but not now."

He nodded, his jaw tight, and pulled out a condom from his nightstand. It reminded me of another discussion I'd been meaning to have with him, but as I watched him roll it on, his muscles tight with restraint and his cock all thick and throbbing, I decided it could wait.

I wrapped myself around him with my arms and legs, holding onto him like a koala. He sank into me, and a tremor passed through him. I kissed him hard and he groaned into my mouth, his movements slower than usual as he fought to maintain control.

Even though I was underneath him, I picked up our pace, wanting him to know that he didn't have to hold back on my account. When he was like this, all the way turned on and wild for me, it did things to me I couldn't explain.

We moved together like we were still dancing on the roof, only no clothing separated us. Skin on skin, his heat lit fires inside me, burning me up with white-hot pleasure. Alone together, we didn't have to hide anything from one another. We were free.

He looked into my eyes as he fucked me, raw and vulnerable, and I knew in that moment my heart would never belong to another man.

Dash was my everything.

His thrusts quickened, finding the perfect rhythm to fill my body with sweet music. My next orgasm came crashing into me and I screamed his name. My inner muscles constricted around him and pushed him over the edge as well. We tumbled through ecstasy together, souls intertwined.

We collapsed together and he pulled me into his arms, kissing my sweaty temple. Only letting go of me to take care of the condom, he draped himself around me when he got back and just held me for a while.

He looked like he was going to say something but seemed to decide against it. Settling in behind me, he pulled my back to his front and fell asleep. I followed soon after, wondering if he'd been about to tell me that he loved me.

I wondered because I had almost said it to him myself.

I woke up the next morning to his smiling face hovering in front of my own. "Wake up, sleepyhead. You're going to be late if we don't get a move on."

A sleepy smile crept onto my lips and I lifted my head to steal a kiss. "I think I might be okay with being late."

"Same, but I have an early meeting, so I can't really afford to do all the things I want to do with you."

I sighed. "Being a responsible adult sucks sometimes."

"It really does." He rolled off the bed, his hair already damp from a recent shower. "You're welcome to stay after I leave, though. If you want to, I mean."

"I wish, but if you're heading out, I should too. It doesn't look good if the boss keeps getting in late because of her boyfriend."

He slipped on a light blue shirt that made his eyes look more gold than brown and I groaned, grabbing the pillow to cover my face as I got up. "You have to stop looking so good. My heart can't take it."

He chuckled. "Says the naked one. I'll meet you in the kitchen before I do something that'll require another shower."

He left the room and I dropped the pillow back down on the bed. Joyful, carefree laughter filtered to my ears from the hall and I smiled, loving that I got to hear that sound so often these days. Everything felt better now that things were secure with us. I could enjoy our time together without expecting it to shatter like glass.

As we went through our usual morning routine, we both managed to keep our hands to ourselves. Thanks to a bit of foresight, I'd even brought clothes for the day with me in my overnight bag, which meant I had a bit more time to eat with him before we both headed out.

Dash kissed me passionately before the elevator doors opened, saying his goodbye in private before we separated for the day and went to work in the cars he had waiting for us both.

Mine was pulling up in front of my building when the notification came in. I frowned when I saw it was an alert for a new article about Dash. I clicked on the link immediately. It turned out to be a new video that had surfaced and my gut clenched.

Ethan must have had something to do with this.

I hit play, figuring that I needed to know what it was about. My heart broke into a million pieces when the video started playing. It was clearly an old clip, since he looked a lot younger than he did now, but what he said was devastating.

The same voice that had just told me he couldn't wait for tonight spoke through my speaker, but it was a lot more confident. Filled with haughty arrogance, he laughed into the camera and pushed his thick hair out of his face.

"The only thing reality stars are good for is gaining fame and being laughed at. Trust me, Al. I wouldn't go on one of those shows for ten million dollars an episode."

I blinked back the tears that had formed in my eyes, knowing that he'd started off thinking that way about me. Sure, he'd said this a long time ago and I'd known that he hated me at first, but this made me wonder if somewhere deep down inside, he still thought that was all I was good for.

Dash must've seen the video too because he was suddenly calling me. I declined it, needing a minute to process before I spoke to him.

One part of my brain told me that this interview had happened years ago and that he'd obviously changed his mind since. But the other part, the part that had learned lessons the hard way and had become forced to learn how to protect me from even myself? That part said that I needed to tread lightly here.

A text from him appeared on my screen, and my eyes burned with tears as I read it because I honestly didn't know which part of myself to believe right now.

Dash: That video is over 5 years old. I was young and dumb. Thought I knew everything, but clearly I didn't. I don't think that now. Call me. X

Me: Did you think that about me when we met?

Dash: I wasn't the same person, Serenity. Please believe me. I've changed. You changed me—and my mind.

Me: I need some time to think. Please give me that.

I turned my phone to silent and slid it back into my purse, asking the driver to circle the block before I climbed out at my office. I had work to do, and if I was going to prove to Dash and the rest of the world that I was worth more than just gaining fame and being laughed at, then I had to suck it all up and go do it.