He took her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. "If you are, then I am, too. Because there's nothing I want more than to be with you--nothing."
"But Deliverance--your lifestyle. It's all driven by Sykes money. You need your reputation and--"
"No." He shook his head. "No, the money isn't a problem. Deliverance is self-sustaining now. I haven't funded it out of my trust in years. You're right about the parties and the reputation. The reputation I'll abandon." He squeezed her shoulders as he spoke. "But don't write me out of the parties, yet. Considering the nature of gossip, I probably have a good six months of the kind of notoriety designed to garner all sorts of party invitations. But you are right that this is going to inconvenience us. Hang on."
He pulled out his phone and dialed Archie's cellphone. "We have a code nine."
; "I assumed you would be calling. I've been watching the news. I take it you've spoken to your father since Miss Jane's announcement."
"Looks like I'll be finding a new place to call home. Eli says we can both store our stuff in our houses until we come to our senses. But we both feel remarkably sane, so I think it's best to have our personal belongings packed up and sent to storage."
"I'll take care of everything. I'll contact Ellen and have her begin working on Miss Jane's belongings at the townhouse. Where will you be staying?"
It was a good question. He turned his attention to Jane. "Your LA house, is it part of the family trust?"
She shook her head. "No, I bought it when I sold my film rights."
"We'll be staying in LA for a few days," he said to Archie, "then coming back to New York and moving in to that apartment I was considering. Would you call my agent and tell her I want to move in mid-week? If we can't close the sale that quickly, then I'll rent the place until closing."
"I'd be happy to arrange that for you."
"Wait a second. Tell her that title will be held by both me and Jane."
"What?" Jane said.
"Of course," Archie said. "Good luck, Dallas. I'll speak to you both soon."
They ended the call, and Jane lifted her brow.
He shrugged. "Don't you want to buy an apartment with me? Short sale, remember? It's definitely a good investment."
"Is that why you want to buy it together? Because you're concerned about my investment portfolio?"
"I want to buy it with you because I want us to have something tangible. Something that is ours. A symbol that we're stepping out and moving on." What he didn't say was that he couldn't drop to one knee and offer her a ring the way he wanted to. Maybe he'd never be able to do that. But he'd damn well give her this. And as much and as often as he could, he'd make sure that in the eyes of the world, they were a couple.
"So," he pressed. "Are you in?"
Her smile bloomed so wide it made his heart swell. "Yeah," she said simply. "I'm in."
"In that case, I think we need some of that wine." He moved to the kitchen and got a bottle from her wine fridge, then deftly uncorked it. He took the bottle and two glasses back out to the living room and set them both on her coffee table. Then he sat, and when she moved to join him, he shook his head. "No. You stand."
"Really? Why?"
"Because I'm going to watch you. And then I'm going to fuck you."
She licked her lips, and he saw the color rise in her cheeks. "What if I say no?"
He just shook his head. "That word has no meaning tonight." He let his eyes graze over her, noting the way she shifted her weight. The way her nipples hardened beneath that skimpy little halter. The enticing way she sucked on her lower lip.
Christ, he was hard.
"Take off your jeans," he demanded.
She complied immediately, first kicking off her heels, then unbuttoning the fly, then easing the jeans down over her hips until she finally stepped out and tossed them aside. She was clad only in tiny pink panties and her triangle style halter.
"Shirt next," he ordered, and felt his cock twitch when she obeyed without even the slightest hesitation.