Flash Burned (Burned 2)

Another scorching kiss had me climbing quickly to that pinnacle I so loved. He palmed my ass cheek and lifted me slightly off the mattress as he plunged deeper.

“Yes,” I moaned. “Oh, God, yes. Fuck me, Dane. Make me come.”

He worked me fervently, and my raised hips met his smooth, solid thrusts. Our breathing escalated, filling the quiet room. My heart thundered. My skin tingled.

I loved how he possessed me, owned every inch of me. He knew instinctively what I needed and gave it to me. Over and over.

Staring into my eyes, he said, “You’ll always belong only to me.”

“Yes.”

“You are everything to me, Ari.”

Emotion welled in my throat. Desire surged through me. He pumped faster, harder, and all the feelings inside me collided and erupted.

One word fell from my lips as I came.

“Dane!”

As I shattered so, too, did he.

It was perfect.

chapter 7

I found it impossible to hide my wedding bracelet at work, even with long sleeves from a blouse or suit jacket. The diamonds sparkled vibrantly with just the tiniest hint of light. It caught everyone’s eye. So I had to lie and tell them I’d splurged with my impending bonus and that they weren’t real diamonds. I wasn’t wholly convinced the fabrication flew, because it only caused people to inspect the bracelet more closely and mutter, “Hmm.”

While I wasn’t keen on the scrutiny, I only took the gorgeous piece of jewelry off in the shower and before bed, so I didn’t scratch the hell out of Dane with it—my nails did that plenty when he made love to me.

Following the success of the Thanksgiving events, everyone at the hotel put their heart and soul into the transformation of the Lux from fall to Christmas decorations. Enormous crates filled with wreaths, lights, garland, and ornaments were scattered everywhere, transported around the property via forklifts and extended-bed golf and other carts. I scrambled to stay on top of the placement of every single item. Studied each decoration hung to make sure it was perfect—the right location, the right angle, the right look.

The Engineering/Electrical staff grumbled over my insistence that they check each strand of twinkle lights—that meant jiggling every single bulb to make sure it wasn’t loose—before they were wrapped around the thick trunks of the sycamores and aspens lining the drive into the hotel, the pines near the entrance, the various optimal objects in the courtyard and gardens out back, and the rounded second-story terrace that overlooked them.

But above the tedious, an air of excitement permeated the hotel and the grounds.

There was much to do in the three weeks before our first pre-launch event, which was to be our hosted media night. The days flew by in exhaustive blocks of fourteen or sixteen hours at the Lux, and not much sleep in between.

Dane urged me to take the pace a bit slower, but that was impossible, not just because my to-do list was still a mile long but also because I was beyond excited. It was difficult to shut down my mind. I reverted to the wedding planner’s curse of waking up ten times a night to run through mental checklists. Typically, Dane was lying in bed next to me, his fingers clicking softly on the keyboard of his laptop.

Not so a week prior to our first big event.

I found him on the sofa in front of the fireplace in our bedroom, speaking quietly into his phone. I only caught a few seconds of his conversation before he disconnected the call and dropped the cell on the end table next to him.

Curling on the cushion beside him, I asked, “Talking with Nikolai in Russia again?”

“No, Mikaela,” he said. “She’s back from Italy. Her zoning issues have been cleared up and she’s ready to open shop in Old Town.”

“Thanks to you?”

“And Anthony Delfino. He has friends in all the right places in Scottsdale.”

My mind worked quick on this one. “That was what the meeting was all about at the second wedding reception for Meg and Sean? The one Mr. Delfino hosted at his home in Scottsdale when they returned from their honeymoon?” I recalled that evening, when Dane’s mentor and business partner, Ethan Evans, had whisked Dane away to wrap up some mysterious business with Anthony Delfino.

“Yes,” Dane said. “I cashed in a few favors to help her out.”

“Do you always help her out?” I couldn’t resist asking.

He slid a glance my way. “She’s been a friend since I’ve had a memory, Ari. If she needs me—”