Party Girl

Her eyes swam with warmth as relief washed through her. That definitely didn’t sound like a man who hated her. “Don’t be too impressed, pal. I still might slip up and push you away whenever I’m feeling insecure.”

“If and when it happens, I’ll deal with it.” He shrugged, as if they were discussing something as incidental as the weather. “But once again, I’m betting on you, Hannah. I understand we’re still getting to know each other, and God knows we spark off each other more often than not. But getting closer to you is more than worth it.”

That dragged another rocky laugh from her. “We do spark, don’t we? I didn’t even know I had a temper until you came along.”

“I like the way we spark, because those sparks we throw at each other are hot,” he said, while the intensity of his gaze pinned her to the spot. “So damn hot I want to spend the rest of my life feeling that burn. And I think you like that burn just as much as I do.”

“I do,” she acknowledged immediately while her heart tried to beat a hole through her sternum. “I do love that burn.” Because I love you. I love you, I love you...

“It’s because we're the same, you and I.” The closer he got, the less air there seemed to be. “We don't want easy, and we don't settle for anything less than the best. We've got high standards, and that's why no other woman is going to do it for me. I knew it from the first moment I saw you.”

“The first moment you saw me, I was unconscious.”

“So?” Again he shrugged, a gesture as fatalistic as his words. “When you know, you know.”

The knot she’d been carrying around in her chest loosened enough to allow her to take in what felt like the first satisfying breath since they’d parted the night before. “I thought I’d blown it with you,” she confessed, hating the tremor in her voice. “I kept hearing you in my head, saying you weren’t sure I was worth the trouble of you trying to reach me, and I get that. I do, honestly. God knows my family felt that way, and I’m sorry I made you feel that way, too.”

“Don’t.” A look of pain shot through his expression while a muscle jumped in his jaw. “Swear to Christ, never say those words again, Hannah.”

She blinked. Had she screwed up again? “I’m sorry—”

“No, I’m the one who needs to apologize, not you. I’m an asshole for ever allowing those words to even cross my lips. Not only were they not true, but those careless words hurt you. You’re worth any amount of trying. You should know here and now that the sun will burn out before I’d ever even think of giving up on you, and even then I’d still find a way to keep us together. I’ll never give up on you.”

The sweetness of those words wrapped around her heart like a velvet glove and squeezed. “You don’t have to say that, Dalton.”

“Hell, yes, I do, because my dumbass, battleship mouth made you believe I’d give up on you, when nothing could be further from the truth. When I get mad I say a lot of stupid shit, so do me a favor and ignore me the next time I get pissed off. And as for me, I’ll do my damnedest to not say anything that could ever bring you pain. God, it shits me that I hurt you in the first place.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now.”

“It does to me. I can’t stand the thought that my words have been hurting you all this time.” He backed up half a step and lifted his chin. “Hit me for being an asshole. Go on, I deserve it.”

Oh, good grief. “Dalton, what you said was true. I did jump at the chance to push you away. I just didn’t realize at the time that I was doing it, or why. But the fact is, having sex with you freaked me out because it made me so... so insanely happy.”

A spark of reluctant humor lit his troubled dark eyes, and he slowly relaxed his braced-for-impact stance. “I think that’s the first time a woman’s ever said that having sex with me freaked her out. Not quite sure how to take that.”

Oy. “Take it how I meant it. I’m not used to feeling like my life has finally found its meaning, and that meaning is all about you.” She tried to smile and almost made it. “It’s no wonder I freaked out. You make me so happy, I’m petrified of losing that happiness. Of losing you.”

That glow of humor turned sultry hot. “You’re never going to lose me, beautiful.”

“You don’t know what the future holds.”

“Yeah, I do. I know, because you’re not the only one who found their life’s meaning. I found mine in you.”

Okay, so she didn’t really need to breathe after all. “You did?”

His nod was slow but unrelenting. “I didn't know I was waiting for you until I found you, Hannah Raven. Now I can't imagine having a life without you in it, even if I’m destined to worry every goddamn night about you being out on the party scene, looking so delectable some animal won't be able to resist trying to take a bite out of you.”

“Wait.” In the rush of all his beautiful words and learning that he didn’t hate her, she’d completely forgotten about their tug-of-war over her job. “Are you saying you no longer want me to quit my job?”

“I don't like it,” he said, grimacing. “And I’m not going to hide how much I hate your job, because honesty’s got to be the one and only policy between us. But it's your job and I know you love it, so... I have to accept it. Just don't expect me to stop worrying about what could happen to you. And don't get pissed off if I shadow you whenever I can. Shit, if I have to, I'll hire fucking bodyguards to protect you whenever I can't be by your side. You're going to have to find a way to be okay with that, because if you insist on putting yourself out there without any kind of protection, I'm going to lose my damn mind. If you care even a little about me, you won't hassle me about this.”

“No. I mean, yes.” She took a deep breath as he scowled pure death at her. The rest of her life rode on what she said next, so she needed to get her shit together, STAT. “No, I’m not going to hassle you, and yes, I care about you. Though that’s not exactly how I’d put it,” she couldn’t help but add, earning herself another death glare. “I care about you so much that it feels like I’m dying inside to think you don’t feel the same way.”

“Who the hell says I don’t?” As if he couldn’t stand the small gap still separating them, he reached out and pulled her with gentle savagery into the cage of his arms. “You think I talk about making babies with every woman I have sex with? Explain yourself.”

Okay, so he had a point. “Before we go on, I want to state something loud and clear. I am not a good-time fuck.”

Again humor lit his eyes, dampening some of his ferocity. “Part of me wants to argue that point, since I had the best time of my life fucking you.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know, beautiful, and after we were officially introduced at Talon’s wedding, I knew you weren’t the kind of woman a man could bang and forget about five seconds later,” came the immediate reply—so immediate she couldn’t help but believe him. “You might be a professional party girl, but if you’ll let me hire people to protect you whenever I can’t be with you, it’s a profession I can live with. If it makes you happy, I can live with just about anything.”

Something beautiful fluttered in her heart when she realized he meant it. “I’ve been offered a promotion at work,” she blurted, watching those dark eyes carefully. “Though honestly, if it doesn’t catch on, I’ll probably be out of a day job, so promotion is probably the wrong word to use.” When his eyes narrowed in confusion, she realized she was babbling again and gave herself a mental kick. She absolutely could not screw this up. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m leaving the society column so I can do a podcast for Chicago Pulse. It’s a brand-new venture, so it’s a real gamble. I’m no longer going to hit the party scene looking for the latest celebrity or hot new club in town. Instead of going out to interview all those trendsetting people, they are going to come to the studio at Chicago Pulse and be interviewed by me. I just hope the podcast catches on and becomes that next step in my career. What do you think?”

“Hannah. Beautiful.” The ferocity was back in his gaze, only this time it was tinged with what looked like blazing delight. He cupped a hand around her nape, his thumb pressing on the corner of her jaw to lift her face to his. “You’re quitting the party scene?”