Dominic bent down to retrieve it, then removed the pink leather protective case from her fingers and slipped her phone into it.
Sportswriters called Dominic's large, tanned, steady hands "magic." Melissa agreed. Lord knew she'd dreamed about them stroking her skin a thousand times.
"You were great up there, Melissa. A natural."
She couldn't help but beam at his compliment. "I was so nervous."
His dark brown eyes captured hers with an intensity that surprised her. "I couldn't tell. You were perfect."
She swallowed hard. "Thank you."
Her PDA beeped in his hand, and he pulled it back out of the case and handed it to her. It was a text message from Angie, her father's executive assistant. Her father wanted to meet with her at the first available opportunity. Excitement fluttered in her chest.
"Must be a pretty great boyfriend for you to look like that," Dominic said.
Melissa nearly dropped the BlackBerry again. "I don't have a boyfriend." She rushed to dehumiliate herself. "I think my father might be giving me a promotion today." She hadn't planned to confide in Dominic, but she couldn't hold in her excitement.
"That's fantastic," he said and picked up her Louis Vuitton bag. The expensive leather purse looked incredibly small in his big hands. "How about I get you there faster by giving you a ride back to the office?"
He opened the heavy metal warehouse door for her, and she concentrated on walking down the stairs that led to the garage in her impossibly high heels. Knowing she was going to attend Dominic's shoot had meant an extra hour in her closet that morning. By the time she'd left, her bedroom looked like a hurricane had hit it. After trying on a dozen pairs of jeans, dresses, and shoes, she'd finally settled on a simple black dress with a pencil skirt, fishnets, and peep-toe heels, along with the cashmere sweater. Black would blend into the background at the photo shoot, but a little sex appeal never hurt. After what she'd been asked to do with Dominic in front of a room full of strangers, she was glad she'd made an extra effort.
She felt the heat of his body behind her as they made their way down to the underground garage. He opened the passenger door of his sports car for her, then got behind the wheel. She was struck by how much space he took up . . . and the sheer bliss of sharing such an intimate space with the star of her late-night fantasies. At six-foot-three and 230, Dominic wasn't the tallest or biggest Outlaw, but as the star receiver he was the quickest and most agile. Still, he was the most beautiful man she'd ever been near, the most incredible man who'd ever held her close.
"Congratulations on earning your MBA," he said unexpectedly as he pulled into traffic. "I'm not surprised your father has tapped you to be the next agent."
"Thank you," she said, pride in her voice. The late nights of studying, followed by ten-hour days working for her father, had been grueling. She hadn't had a clue that Dominic knew about her degree. The fact that he did was incredibly flattering.
He pulled up in front of the McKnight Agency, one corner of his rugged mouth curving up, and her breath hitched. Fumbling with her seat belt, she picked up her bag and jumped out.
"Melissa?"
Her heart pounding, she leaned down to the open window.
"Good luck," he said. "You're going to be a terrific agent."
Dominic sat in his car for several minutes as traffic whizzed by. What the f**k had he been doing flirting with Melissa? She was completely off-limits. Not only was she his agent's daughter, but she deserved so much more than he could ever give her. She deserved a normal guy with a normal life, not a public figure who was carrying around a secret that could blow everything he'd worked for to pieces.
Which hadn't stopped him from watching her all afternoon from across the photographer's studio. Watching and wanting her.
All day long, he'd wanted to touch her. To run his tongue down the crevice between her lush br**sts. To feel her ni**les pebble against his palms and rub his face against her soft, creamy skin. To lay her down, slide his hands beneath her ass, and stare at her beautiful, naked body. To lick inside her, then swirl his tongue over her clit. To move over her naked body, slide his c**k into her heat, and consume her inch by inch. To watch her face as she came, watch her eyes widen in surprise as her climax ripped through her.
For years he'd been haunted by her scent, by the way she licked the corner of her lips when she was concentrating, by the smooth skin on her throat as she swallowed a sip of coffee. He'd wanted her for so long that he could practically taste her; knew she'd be the sweetest thing he'd ever had on his tongue.
And then Benjamin had called her over, and it was all he could do to keep his hard-on at bay in front of the camera. He'd fantasized about touching her for so long that his brain could barely wrap itself around the reality of her soft hips in his hands. Again and again he replayed that moment when she stripped off her sweater—how hard and tight her ni**les were, the full, round curves of her br**sts. Ecstasy and torture had warred when he pulled her hard against him, harder than he should have, closer than she needed to be. This had been his one chance to touch her, to hold her, and he'd taken as much as he could get. But a sham kiss on her neck didn't even begin to quench his thirst for her.
Now that he'd had a taste of her sweetness, he wanted her more than he ever had.
Chapter Two
Still reeling from her five minutes in Dominic's arms, Melissa locked herself in the ladies' room until she succeeded in wiping all the arousal and excitement from her eyes and face. Then she unlocked the door and headed over to Angie's desk. She'd known her father's executive assistant, a no-nonsense, borderline-scary, type-A woman, practically all her life. And even though she wasn't a little kid anymore, she was still a little afraid of the woman.
"Perfect timing. Tom's ready to have a word with you."
Taking a deep breath, Melissa turned her father's gold-plated doorknob and went in.
Her father didn't look up as she closed the door. "I just spoke with Dominic."
Melissa's heart thumped as she waited to hear what he'd said about her.
"He made it a point to tell me what a pleasure it was working with you today. Said you saved the day."
Masking her delight at the compliment, Melissa said, "He did great at the shoot, as always. Dominic is a real asset to the company."
Her father shrugged. "He was, but he's getting older."
She dropped her bag to the floor and advanced toward her father. "Are you kidding? Dominic is one of the most recognizable faces of football. No speeding tickets, no bar brawls, no hidden babies. He's a playmaker and a moneymaker. Companies are pounding down our door to get him to advertise their products."