Tall, Dark and Charming (Tall, Dark and Sexy 1)

He nodded. Yes, he traveled with protection, because he was a firm believer in the better safe than sorry motto. “How long has it been?” he asked curiously.

She hesitated before replying, that adorable blush of hers sweeping across her cheeks. “Since before I started working at Roth Owens.”

It wasn’t difficult to do the math, and he was shocked that she’d gone three years without sex. He couldn’t even imagine relying on the stroke of his hand to relieve his sexual needs for that amount of time.

“Is that a problem?” she asked while he was in his own head envisioning how Daisy might have provided her own orgasms for three long years.

He heard the first thread of uncertainty in her voice and he immediately squashed it. “No problem at all.” Knowing how deprived she’d been just made him more determined to give her a night to remember. To make it—mostly—about her pleasure, her needs, her orgasms. Which wouldn’t be much of a hardship, because he was going to enjoy making her come so many times she’d eventually lose count.

He lifted his hand and touched the ends of her gorgeous hair, which he’d been itching to do since she’d sat down again. It brought his fingers precariously close to her exposed cleavage, and he had to resist the urge to dip inside her unfastened blouse and stroke the curve of her breast.

Instead, he met and held her dark green gaze. “Now here are my rules,” he murmured, wanting to make sure she knew exactly what to expect this evening with him. “Once we get into my room, you’re mine. I get to dictate how tonight goes and what happens and how the flavor strawberry plays out. And I promise you, there will be plenty of dirty, x-rated foreplay and fucking.”

He caught the anticipation that flickered in her eyes and the rapid pulse fluttering at her throat before she spoke. “I sure do hope so.”

“Sweetheart, I always aim to please,” he said as he paid for their drinks, along with a generous tip, and draped his jacket over his arm. Then he grabbed her hand and tugged her off the barstool. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

If he only had one night with her, he intended to make the best of every minute they had together.

Chapter Three

Daisy followed Aiden out of the bar, through the hotel lobby, to the bank of elevators. With her hand tucked securely in his, they looked like any ordinary couple retiring for the evening. Except they weren’t a couple, and she was about to take part in her first ever hookup. Sometimes, being a good girl and doing all the right things was overrated, and tonight, she really, really wanted to be bad with the hottest, sexiest man she’d had a secret crush on for the past three years.

Never would she have imagined the scenario about to play out with a man who was her co-worker and a friend. But here she was, going up to Aiden’s room and getting naked with him and indulging in a night of risqué sex—and her body was already vibrating with excitement for all the wicked things he might do to her. He was perfect for a one-night stand, because neither one of them was looking for anything serious.

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped inside the empty space, and as he stood beside her, she cast a surreptitious look at his profile. Aiden Stone was so insanely good-looking it was almost a crime. He was tall, dark, and a charismatic charmer . . . and exactly the kind of guy her mother had warned her about since the day she’d bought Daisy her first training bra at the age of thirteen.

Hell, who was she kidding? she thought, glancing down at the marbled flooring in the elevator. Her mother still went on about smooth-talking men and how they couldn’t be trusted, especially the ones who charmed their way into a woman’s life and made promises they had no intentions of ever keeping because they couldn’t commit to just one woman. It didn’t help matters that Daisy had ignored her mother’s advice and had paid a steep price for falling for a man who’d swept her off her feet with romantic gestures and said all the right things to steal her heart . . . only for her to discover everything had been a devastating lie.

It had been three years since Troy’s deceit, and Daisy’s mother still hadn’t let her live down that error in judgment. Daisy often wondered if she ever would.

But despite Aiden having similar personality traits, he’d always been honest with her, and she knew this situation was no different. She was going into this tryst with her eyes wide open and absolutely no intention of falling for him beyond the mutual attraction they shared. This wasn’t a date, there were no emotions involved, and her heart . . . well, that part of her was still very cautious as far as letting a man permanently into her life again.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Aiden said as the elevator moved upward, a tinge of concern in his voice. “What are you thinking, Daisy?”

He still held her hand, and she loved how possessive and protective it felt, like she was his, if only for the night. She glanced up into his kind eyes and realized he’d probably taken her silence as her having second thoughts, which wasn’t happening. But she wasn’t about to share the details of her dysfunctional relationship with her mother with Aiden, so she refocused her mind onto something more pleasurable. Like his full, sensual lips and what they’d feel like against hers.

“I’m thinking that I wish you would kiss me.” Yeah, she wanted that, so much.

He groaned, and the gentle look from a few seconds ago heated with something deliciously dangerous. “Trust me, not kissing you right now is taking all of my restraint. But I already know that once I start, I’m not going to stop until you’re naked and filled up with my cock, and I don’t think the hotel management would appreciate us fucking in the elevator.” The corner of his mouth quirked with a hint of a devilish grin. “Then again, if it’s some kind of hot fantasy of yours, I’d be more than happy to make it happen.”

Her entire body heated at the thought. She didn’t doubt him, because

Aiden always followed through on his word. In business . . . and she knew that same trait would apply to anything else he set his mind to. Like seducing her in an elevator.

But she wasn’t that much of a thrill seeker or an exhibitionist. “I think it’s best to wait until we’re alone,” she said with a touch of humor.

He chuckled as he lifted her hand and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. “I promise to make it worth the wait.”

Daisy’s stomach fluttered at the sweet, swoon-worthy gesture, and her knees went weak. She really couldn’t wait to have that mouth on hers, and anywhere else he might want to put it.

The elevator chimed as they arrived on their floor. Aiden led the way to his room, used his key card to unlock the door, then let her precede him inside. They both had standard king-size beds, and the room itself was spacious and luxurious. One of the nightstand lamps had been left on, and it was just enough light to illuminate the area.

While she slipped off her shoes, Aiden took her purse from her and set it on the dresser, then tossed his jacket onto a nearby club chair. Before she could advance any farther into the room, he placed his hands on her waist and backed her up against the wall. She’d expected him to get right down to business on the bed, but if he wanted to mix things up, she was certainly game. Besides, there was something incredibly sexy about having a hard, unyielding surface at her back and an equally solid, muscled one pressing in from the front.

His eyes fell to her mouth, his gaze filling with a breathtaking hunger for her. “I owe you a kiss,” he murmured.

Grabbing the loosened tie he still wore, she gave it a playful tug. “Yes, you do,” she agreed with a soft, needy sigh.