And she was terrified of what he’d do with all this insight.
Eleven
Dax took Elise to eat at the top of Reunion Tower, a place she’d never been despite having lived in Dallas for years. They dined while overlooking the downtown area as the room revolved 360 degrees inside the ball. It should have been a wildly romantic evening.
It was. But Elise couldn’t quite relax.
When they returned to her house from dinner, Dax took her keys and opened the front door for her, then swept her up in his arms to carry her over the threshold. Solid and strong, he maneuvered through the door frame without hesitation, and it was undeniably sexy.
“What’s this all about?” she asked as soon as she unstuck her tongue from the roof of her mouth.
“I seem to have a lot of trouble getting past your front door. This way, I’m guaranteed entrance.” He grinned at her cockeyed stare. “Plus, I’ve got a very special treat planned and thought I’d start it off with a bang.”
“Really?” Her curiosity was piqued as her tension lessened. “What is it?”
He let her slide to the ground braced against his gorgeous body and took her hand. “Follow me, Ms. Arundel, and see for yourself.”
That made her grin, dispelling more of her strange mood. She trailed him upstairs and the second she entered the bedroom, he whirled her into a mind-numbing kiss.
Her brain emptied as his lips devoured her and heat tunneled into every last crevice of her body. Oh, yes.
Bright, white-hot desire flared in a sunburst at her core, soaking her in need and flooding her with Dax, and she couldn’t catch her breath. She wanted him to love her exactly as he had last night, perfectly, completely.
Slowly, he backed her to the bed and when she would have stumbled, he tightened his arms. Then he sat her down and drew off her boots, one zipper at a time, and kissed her uncovered calves, all the way to her heels.
She watched him through heavy eyelids, a little unable to process the sight of such a beautiful man at her feet, all his attention on her. He glanced up, his gaze full of dark, sinful promise, and she shuddered as he centered himself between her legs.
With deft, strong fingers, he gathered the hem of her dress and slowly worked it up over her thighs, caressing her bare skin as he went, following the fabric with his mouth and tongue.
A moan rose in her throat and she strangled on it as he licked at her nub through her damp panties.
“I want to see you, Elise,” he murmured and slipped off her dress with skill. Quick-like-fox, he had her bra and panties in the same pile as her dress.
As he raked her with a smoldering, hungry once-over, she fought the urge to crawl under the covers.
“You are so beautiful,” he croaked, as though he might be coming down with something. Or she’d affected him enough to clog his throat.
Wasn’t that amazing? She affected him.
He stared down at her as he lowered himself to the bed next to her, still fully clothed. “I want to make you feel beautiful.”
“You do,” she said automatically. Well, actually, he made her feel good. Beautiful was a little more difficult to come by.
His brows arched. “Maybe. But I can do better. Much better. So tonight is about that.”
He reached under a pillow and withdrew a bag of Ghirardelli chocolate chips. She’d recognize the bag a mile away. Her mouth started watering. And then her brain caught up. “Why is that instrument of torture in my bed?”
Dax grinned and winked. “You told me you liked chocolate. Voilà. We’ll get to the shoes another time.”
The wall her insides had thrown up crumbled and everything went liquid. “You were paying attention to what I said?”
“Of course.” He scowled in confusion. “Why would I have asked if I didn’t want to know the answer?”
Heat flamed through her cheeks and she shut her eyes. “I thought you were being polite.”
Laughing, he kissed both of her shut eyelids in succession until she opened them. “One thing I am not is polite. But I am interested in giving you an amazing experience. Starting now.”
With a wicked smile, he laid her back and tore open the bag, spilling chocolate chips all over her bare stomach.
The chips rolled everywhere, and she jackknifed automatically to catch them, but he stopped her with a gentle hand to her shoulder. Then he grasped a piece of chocolate between his fingertips and traced it between her breasts, up her throat and to her lips, teasing her with it.