“Jesus, you’re gorgeous.” And smart, witty, not to mention able to handle anything life threw at her. Including him.
Their first time in the hotel room had been fast and frenzied, her needing comfort and to forget her friend being hurt and the stalker who’d terrorized them. Dash had been his asshole self. Meaning, he’d been in it for gratification and pleasure. Instead he’d found the most incredible woman, who he had no doubt now was meant for him and who deserved more.
“Thank you,” she murmured. “Now it’s your turn.” She stepped toward him and shrugged his jacket off his shoulders.
He caught a whiff of the exotic scent that was a part of her and groaned, immediately working on removing his pants while she pulled his tee shirt up and he helped her get it over his head.
The second he was naked, he drew her soft body against his, feeling her heat as it seeped into his skin. He kissed her, softer than in the limo, his hands wandering over her curves and velvety flesh.
“One day I’m going to fuck you in front of this window with the entire city as the backdrop.”
“No promises,” she said, kissing his lips in an obvious attempt to shut him up.
She didn’t believe him, and he didn’t blame her, accepting the pain in his gut as his due. All he could do was stay the course and convince her.
“Fine.” He swallowed back an argument. “I want you in the one place no woman’s ever been.” He bent and hooked a hand beneath her knees, sweeping her into his arms.
“What?” She wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself, but he saw the disbelief in her eyes.
“I didn’t say I was a saint.” There’d been many females in his life. Too many to remember. “I said no woman’s ever been in my bed.” He walked through the darkened apartment to the master bedroom and settled her on top of the king mattress. “Until you.”
“I don’t think–”
That was the problem. He was giving her too much time to use that smart brain of hers, and the more she added up, the less she believed him. So he kissed her until she couldn’t agonize over every word he said, his past, or the future. He kissed her until she lay back on the bed, and he followed her down, his body covering hers, his cock pressing hard into her belly.
He was doing enough thinking for both of them. He didn’t want tonight to be a fling with a rock star. Not for her. He’d been working hard to prove that he wasn’t the cavalier womanizer he’d once been, and he hadn’t had nearly enough time to show her anything about him that was real. That would change starting tomorrow morning. They’d talk. He’d open up, as difficult as the thought was. And hopefully she’d see the man beneath the façade.
Tonight he needed to be inside her. For as long and for as many times as she’d let him. Taking him by surprise, she reached between them, wrapping her hand around his cock, sending darts of pleasure through his system. His dick was hard. Pre-come pooled on the head, and she swiped her thumb over the tip.
He groaned at her playful touch, but his balls ached and he needed her now. “I have to get a condom.” He rolled off her and pulled open the drawer where he kept a box and grabbed a packet.
But when he returned to her, she was sitting up, legs drawn up to her chest, watching him warily.
He sighed, knowing he’d just put another barrier between them. “I have them so I can keep one in my wallet. I won’t use a random one that some chick provides,” he muttered.
“Lovely.” Her expression had shut down.
“Cassidy, I didn’t lie to you about no other woman being in this bed. And I’m going to tell you again, something you don’t want to believe, but it’s the God’s honest truth.”
She appeared ready to bolt, so he blurted it out. “I haven’t slept with anyone else since that night with you.”
* * *
Damn, this man had Cassidy’s mind going in too many directions, confusing her and making her wonder what she could believe. Then again, did it matter? She’d already committed to being with Dash, which meant he had no reason to lie. She decided to trust him … to a point.
“Are we good?” he asked.
He knelt beside her, his tanned, muscled body a heady temptation, his expression sincere and contrite. Not to mention the way he looked at her, his long hair falling over his forehead, his eyes, the desire in them obvious. Why was she wasting time being hurt about his past when they could be together now?
“We’re fine,” she told him. “You can’t change your past and I shouldn’t worry about it.”