Chapter 8

Dash stood in front of me in my office, his hard body molded to my own as he kissed me like he'd keel over if he had to stop. He was hard everywhere, his cock thick and firm against the base of my stomach as he devoured my mouth.

His tongue stroked mine with deliberate intent, his big hands on my backside and his fingers digging into my flesh. As I moaned into the kiss, he slid his palms up the back of my shirt, pulling away to press his lips to my throat.

My head fell back and I heard a throaty chuckle from him, my insides clenching at the sound. It was the first of its kind I'd heard from him, but unfortunately, it was also my first clue that this wasn't real.

I woke up with a start, the space between my legs achy and pulsing. My breath came in sharp, heavy pants. I groaned, grabbed the pillow from under my head, and shoved it over my face.

A sex dream? Really?

It had been years since I'd had one of those and now I was having them about him.

Shit.

Still breathing heavily, I tossed the pillow clear across the room and sat up, but my cheeks were hot, my nipples hard, and my clit acting like a homing beacon.

Letting out a frustrated grunt, I dropped back down on the mattress, not even wanting to think about how much I wished that had been real. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

He was the last person on the entire planet I should've been having that kind of dream about. Especially since I had to face the jerk in less than a couple hours. Another low groan tore out of me and I shook my head hard and fast, trying to dislodge the lingering memories of the dream.

God, that kiss.

On the other hand, it had been fabricated by my own mind, so obviously, it had freaking blown it, but the pressure, and the speed, and his body pressed against mine and—Stop it! Stop it right now.

I stayed in bed for much longer than usual, trying to catch my breath and clear my mind for the day ahead. By the time I finally got up, I was way behind schedule and I had to race through a cool shower before getting dressed and ready.

Heading into the office after, I was on the late side, though I wasn't officially late yet. I was also nervous, terrified that Dash was going to walk into my office and somehow know exactly what the two of us had been doing in my sleep this morning.

The only thing that could possibly make it worse was that Diana would be coming with him. That's right.The guy I just had an inappropriate dream about and his mother.

At the very least, I knew Diana's presence would be soothing for the actual meeting. While her son had made no secret of the fact that he thought I was incompetent, she seemed to like me, and since it was her wedding, it was vitally important that I impress her.

I was so lost in thought when I raced into our building, I didn't even notice Julie walking in at the same time until she slung her arm around my shoulders. She grinned as she pulled me in for a quick hug without breaking stride.

"Good morning, boss lady."

I was startled at first, clutching my coffee. My head spun in her direction, and when I realized who it was, I relaxed. Returning her smile, I inclined my head at my coffee and hers. "You should watch yourself around scalding-hot liquid. I could've tossed this in your face by accident or knocked yours on your feet."

She chuckled. "What's life without a little danger? I like to live on the edge. It makes me feel alive."

I laughed, winding my arm around her waist to return her hug before I let go of her. "Alive but in pain because you've got third degree burns doesn't sound like a fun way to live."

She shrugged. "Obviously, I'd rather avoid the pain, but the hug was worth it. Did I tell you that I went on a date last night?"

Her ability to pivot on a dime had always intrigued me, but I went with it. "No, you didn't. How did it go?"

"Everything was great at first," she said with a pinched look on her face that told me the story was about to take a turn. "We met at a bar and we had such a good time talking that I thought I might finally have found someone I connected with."

"But?"

She wrinkled her nose. "We went out to dinner and we were still having a good time, until he belched so loudly in the restaurant that I think even the kitchen staff heard him. I almost left right then and there."

I groaned, laughing with her as I shook my head. "You sure do know how to pick ‘em."

"Says you," she retorted, winking as we walked into the elevator. "At least this guy had a sense of humor. You definitely can't say the same about Mr. Grumpy."

"You're right, so I guess it's a good thing I'm not dating him."

The doors slid shut and she arched an eyebrow at me. Humor shimmered in her eyes as she gave me a deliberate onceover. "You've got a meeting with him this morning, right?"

"Right," I said cautiously, wondering why she was looking at me like that.

When she brought her gaze back to mine, I even saw a little flare of triumph behind it. "You're wearing your sexy heels and your shirt shows more cleavage than those you usually wear when we're going out. Admit it, babe. You might not be dating him, but you certainly wouldn't mind."

I scoffed, dropping my gaze to my outfit and beyond, to the slinky black heels I'd pulled on without even thinking about it earlier. "I like these heels."

"So do I, but I also happen to know you think they make your ass look great. I was there when you bought them, remember? If memory serves, you wanted them specifically as a pick-me-up after you separated from the asshole."

"I'm never taking you shopping with me again." I groaned, but I couldn't argue. She was right. I had bought them for that purpose and I did think they made my ass look great. I might not have been thinking about any of that when I'd put them on, but she had a point. "I have a confession to make."

I glanced around us as the doors slid open on our floor. The foyer and waiting room were empty at this time of the morning, so I doubted we'd be overheard. "I had a sexy dream about him this morning."

Julie's eyes bulged. Laughter bubbled out of her as she reached up and patted my shoulder. "Well, it's official then. You like Mr. Grumpy."

"I do not like him," I protested firmly, rolling my eyes at her laughter. "I just—my body likes his body."

"That's how it begins," she said wisely, checking her watch before she sighed. "I have to get to a meeting, but call me after yours and let me know how it went. If he ravages you in your office, I want to be the first to know."

"He's not going to ravage me. His mother will be there."

She laughed. "Oh. Is that the only reason why there won't be any ravaging then?"

I shoved her shoulder playfully, trying not to think about him ravaging me anywhere or at all, but I wasn't succeeding. "There are hundreds of reasons, but the most important is that he's a client and I'm a professional. There won't be any ravaging. Ever."

Arching her eyebrow at me again, she gave me a look that said she didn't believe me. Then she wiggled her fingers in a wave and took off to her office while I made my way to mine. Amelia gave me a panicked look when I reached her desk, her eyes wide and her face slightly pale.

"They're early," she whispered urgently, pointing to my office. "The St. Clairs. They're already here."

Crap.

My heart lurched and anxiety bloomed in my stomach all over again, but I drew in a deep breath and nodded at her, leaving my things on her desk. I straightened out my dress before I squared my shoulders. "Alright. That's okay. Thanks, Amelia."

In all the time this office had been mine, I'd never been as nervous walking in as I was right then, but I didn't show it, simply striding in with my head held high and a welcoming smile on my face. "Good morning, everyone. I'm so sorry I kept you waiting."

Diana was out of her chair first, shaking her head. She grinned and opened her arms for me. "We came in a little early. Richard has some things to take care of today, so we wanted to be sure we had enough time."

As I hugged her, I was surprised to see her fiancé standing behind her. "Of course. We'll get it all done on time. It's so nice to meet you, Richard. I've heard a lot about you."

Once I released Diana, I stuck my hand out to shake his, pointedly ignoring the other man in the room for now. Richard gave me a polite smile, shaking my hand in a firm grip before placing his palm in the center of Diana's back.

"I'm very excited to be here," he said. "It's about time I meet the woman who's making the magic happen."

I chuckled. "Let's hope."

Finally unable to ignore him anymore, I glanced at Dash. "It's good to see you again as well. Why don't you all let me get you some coffee before we get started?"

The man stared back at me as I walked around my desk, but he wasn't scowling this time. "Coffee would be wonderful. Thank you."

Confused I picked up my phone and called in their order to Amelia, all the while wondering why he seemed so much less hostile today. Eventually, I attributed it to Richard's presence and did my utmost to get to work without letting the puzzle dominate my mind.

Diana smiled warmly, holding Richard's hand in her lap. She turned her attention to me. "Thank you for all that paperwork you sent us. It really helped to be able to see everything laid out in front of me. Dash and his father have always had a gift for envisioning things as they could be, but I need to see it to be able to picture it. Our family may be in this business, but I just don't know as much as they do."

I returned her warm smile, but as I did, I gave Dash a sympathetic look. I knew what it felt like to lose a parent and I couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it had to be for him to be heading up his father's company now, working in his field every day but without him.

As our eyes met, I swore I saw a flash of humanity, a flicker of pain or maybe even just acknowledgment of the sucky experience we had in common. Neither of us talked about it, though. Diana also didn't linger on the topic, just moving on to discussing the color scheme, but Dash almost seemed like a different person today.

He even offered me a few smiles every so often as the meeting progressed, gently interjecting to remind his mother of points she'd told him to take note of. "You said you liked the yellow, but you wanted to bring it in with the lighting, remember? Like warm lighting rather than a yellow color scheme for the napkins and such?"

She blinked hard, then shot him a thankful smile. "Yes, of course. I meant to say that. I love the yellow and the warm tones, but I don't want the wedding to resemble a field of sunflowers. Is there a way we can do that? Use warm tones and colors without it being tacky?"

I nodded. "Of course. Let me ask one of our event experts to do a mock table for you with warm white lighting in the room. I have some ideas that I'll have set up for you on the day, and you can play around with them until you're happy?"

"Excellent," she said excitedly. "I just don't want the day to feel cold or sad, you know? I want everyone to walk in and feel our love. I want them to bask in it and to know we're truly joyful to be starting our lives together."

On instinct, I glanced at Dash to see how he felt about them starting their lives together, but he gave me another small smile and my heart skipped. He was leaning back in his chair, his posture relaxed and his arms folded casually over his flat stomach. Clearly, he wasn't as tense today and I couldn't help wondering if he was finally softening toward me.

Either way, our meeting was going surprisingly well. Diana explained a bit more of her vision to me, even throwing in a few jokes. "We may be getting on in years, but we're not ancient. We want upbeat. We want fun. We want a freaking wedding party to remember."

Dash groaned. "She means that. They'll be keeping you up long after us younger folk have gone to bed."

"Don't you know it," she teased as she looked at him.

I chuckled, really enjoying their company today. The rest of our meeting went as well as the first part, and to my surprise, between the jokes, the banter, and the vague ideas, we actually managed to make a few decisions too.

Diana and Richard said goodbye when we were done, both hugging me before they left, but Dash lingered for a moment. Standing in the center of my office, he suddenly turned toward me, the expression on his face neutral. He slid his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

"I just wanted to say that you're doing a great job," he started, his gaze sweeping from one of my eyes to the other and back again as he nodded. "I know I've been hard on you. I just…"

He trailed off, those dark eyes conflicted as they stared into mine. I wanted to agree with him. To tell him that he'd made this process just about unbearable so far, but as I looked back at him, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"That's okay," I said softly. "I understand."

That was what it all came down to. I really did understand. "I lost my parents ten years ago and not a day goes by that I don't think about them. Miss them. Wish they were here. I've tried, but I can't seem to imagine what it might've been like if they hadn't gone together. If one of them were to have gotten remarried after the other had passed."

For a long moment, he didn't say anything, but eventually, he nodded and a tiny hint of a smile ghosted across his lips. "You get it then."

"I really do."

Nodding some more, he finally pulled his hands out of his pockets and moved to the door. "Goodbye, Serenity. I'll see you soon."

"Yeah. See you soon," I responded.

Then he was gone, but I saw him casting one last glance at me over his shoulder before he shut my door behind him.

I slammed back in my chair, covering my face with my palms and letting out a mewl into them. "Why was that just a dream?"

I gave myself exactly five seconds to ponder it, but then it was time to get back to work. Dash would be there, an unwavering presence at the back of my mind, but I had other clients than the St. Clairs, and they deserved my attention too—even if it was difficult to focus with the memories of my dream hovering so close that I saw them every time I closed my eyes. Even if it was only to blink.