Chapter One
The birthday party had wound down, and only family and a few close friends remained in the private room where the celebration had been held. Olivia didn’t feel any older, only … more jaded. Was it any wonder? It was her twenty-seventh birthday, and she was surrounded by friends and family—if you excluded her wayward father. Of course he hadn’t been able to make the party. When had he shown up for anything important in her life?
She leaned against the bar on both elbows and closed her eyes for a few seconds to gather herself before packing up the presents and heading home.
“Happy birthday, Olivia,” a familiar masculine voice drawled in her ear. She shivered at the sound, all her senses prickling with awareness as Dylan Rhodes’s warm breath heated her skin.
She turned to find him close. Too close, and her pulse picked up speed. Sexy chocolate-brown eyes gazed at her. And his close-cut goatee teased her with its nearness. In her dreams, that sexy goatee felt delicious against her bared flesh.
Jesus, Olivia, get a grip.
“Thanks for coming to the party.” Her voice came out too husky for her liking, but Dylan always had this kind of effect on her. He was the travel director with the Miami Thunder, her co-worker, and the man she’d lusted after from the day they’d met.
“I’m glad your sister invited me.”
She wished Avery hadn’t insisted on throwing her a party, but now that it was nearly over, Olivia had had a wonderful time and was grateful her mom and her siblings, half and full, cared enough to attend the event. Friends and co-workers too.
Especially Dylan.
He studied her beneath his hooded gaze. “I wouldn’t miss your celebration.” He tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers trailing a path over her cheek in what was a deliberate, lingering touch.
She shivered; her traitorous nipples puckered at his light caress. This was more than the flirting dance they normally did. There was intent in his coffee-colored stare.
She shouldn’t be surprised. Until recently, a sense of corporate responsibility had kept them as co-workers only. And then Olivia’s brother, Ian, had fallen for his now wife, Riley, and given her a job with the Thunder. Next, her half brother, Alex, had hooked up with his now wife, Madison, and they, too, worked with the team. Ever since, Dylan had stepped up his game. It was like her family’s willingness to mix business with pleasure had given him the green light to pursue her. She’d managed to hold out so far, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she gave in.
What are you fighting, Liv? she asked herself. Too many things, came the reply. But her quivering insides and the liquid desire pulsing through her veins told her she was going to take the dive and deal with the repercussions later.
“I asked if you wanted your present?” Dylan’s voice brought her out of her own head.
She managed a nod, trying not to betray the excitement fluttering inside her. “Sure. I love gifts.”
A grin appeared at the corners of his mouth, and he treated her to those irresistible dimples. He was raw, intense, and kept his emotions in check. On simmer, never boiling over.
Although she didn’t come from his rougher background, she could relate to the need to hold things close. A father who’d betrayed his entire family in a way only soap operas saw and a first love who had walked away when she needed him most had taught her hard-won lessons. Hell, she was still learning them. Hadn’t she believed her father would come? He hadn’t even called to say he wouldn’t be able to attend. He’d sent a message with her half brother, Alex. She swallowed hard. The confident, tough Olivia people saw on the outside was far different than the sensitive, hurt girl that lived inside her.
She searched and found that outer Olivia now. “So? What do you have for me, hot shot?”
He grasped her hand and pulled her away from the bar, giving her no choice but to follow him, rushing in her heels to keep up.
Her sister, Avery, stared open-mouthed as she passed. Olivia’s face burned as she realized her entire family was watching Dylan pull her through the lounge area they’d rented for the night and into a darkened hallway.
He came to a halt, turned, and steadied her with strong hands on her waist. “Dylan, what are you—”
He cut her off with a kiss. His lips on hers, hard, demanding, and oh so good. Just as her brain told her this was stupid, he slid his lips over her jawline. She felt that rough beard for the first time, and her mind shut down.
He nipped at her ear, and a low moan reverberated from her throat. “Dylan—”
His hand gripped her hair, tilting her neck back, and his mouth returned to hers. The slight tug on her scalp had the odd effect of arousing her; the moisture dampening her panties was a clear indication she liked this birthday gift and wanted more. Tongues tangled, and she reveled in his taste, a malty flavor from the beer he’d been drinking. No refined scotch for Dylan, he was rough in ways she hadn’t been exposed to before him. And she loved it, meeting his demanding kisses with more of her own.
He turned and pushed her against the wall, his hard body aligning with hers. The thick swell of his erection pressed against her belly, and her knees went weak at the thought of what could come next.
He grasped her jaw in one hand and brushed a finger over closed lids. “Open and look at me.”
Her eyes fluttered open. Up close, he was ev
en more devastating to look at, pure want and need in his expression. For her.
His hand never left her neck as he gazed into her eyes. “Happy birthday, sunshine.” He leaned in and kissed her hard once again. Then he slid a box into her hand, curled her fingers around it tight, and stepped away.
She glanced down at the gift, dumbfounded. Her body still tingled in all strategic areas, and her heart was beating a mile a minute. If not for the wall at her back, she would have collapsed to the floor in a heap. But before she could gather her wits, he winked at her. Then he turned and walked away.
* * *
Dylan’s head spun from that kiss. He’d wanted Olivia for a long time, and this party provided him the perfect opportunity to make it clear things between them were going to change. No more staring at those red-glossed lips and wondering what she tasted like. Now he knew.
He ran his finger over his mouth, coming up with sticky gloss, and he grinned. He’d rendered her speechless, not an easy feat. The sexy vixen now knew where he stood.
So no more using her job as an excuse either. “It’s difficult being a female in a male-dominated profession. Getting involved with you will make it look like I can’t handle things myself.”
He’d called bullshit on that one. Once his assistant, Olivia was now the team’s executive director. She was dedicated to her job in a man’s world and had to work twice as hard to prove herself as her predecessor had. But she never complained. She was smart, intelligent, and everyone in the industry who met her came to both like and respect her. She’d more than proved herself in their world.