“Is there a Phantom of the Opera here tonight?” Rose asked, noticing Maddie’s costume was none other than Christine from the musical.
Maddie cocked her head to one side. “Coincidentally, yes. I didn’t arrange it, though. Nevertheless, there’s a random stranger not with Jacoby in the main bar dressed in the full Phantom costume with the mask. I keep going in there to get my amaretto sours. He keeps talking to me. It’s a little odd but kind of fun at the same time.”
“I love it,” Dylan proclaimed. “Should one of us go check him out?”
Maddie shook her head. “Don’t you dare. I’m having a good time. I’m sure pretty soon I’m going to walk in there and find him gone. He’s just some guy who happens to be at Corked and Tapped tonight.”
“You sure?” Rose asked. It seemed unlikely. Probably one of Maddie’s friends set her up.
She shrugged. “I mean, it is Halloween. A Phantom of the Opera is not that unusual of a costume.” She laughed as she walked away.
“How does she know we kissed?” Dylan asked, dragging Rose back to the first part of the conversation.
“Well, for one thing, the temperature in the room went up ten degrees. I don’t think anyone missed that display. And for another”—she reached up to swipe her thumb over his lower lip—“you’re wearing my lipstick.”
His fingers wrapped around hers at his lips. And then he kissed her knuckles. “I made you hot?” He lifted a brow.
“You made everyone hot,” she responded as she glanced to the left. “And I’m pretty sure the young woman from the mail room has received the message.”
He chuckled. “Hopefully your secret admirer got the message too. I already don’t like the guy.”
Chapter 2
Rose’s head was spinning. The banter with Dylan never stopped. He was funny and charming and God, could he kiss. She decided to make the most of the evening with him. Why not? Never in her life had she had a man stare at her the way Dylan was. She intended to fully absorb every second to relive it later in her mind when she was alone.
Dylan glanced at the table. “You don’t have a drink. Would you like one?”
“No. I don’t drink. Never developed a taste for alcohol. But you go ahead.”
He shook his head. “That’s okay. It’s not that important to me.”
Shock registered. Since when would a guy turn down a drink just because she didn’t want one? He kept getting better and better. And his hand, still flat on her back, was spreading warmth through her body. “You gonna let go of me eventually?” she joked half-heartedly.
“Not if I don’t have to.” His smile was killing her. “I find I like being close to you, so I’ll just stay here. Unless I’m making you uncomfortable?” He lifted a brow.
“Nope.” You’re making me feel sexy and desirable. “Hey,” she said, remembering Maddie’s earlier words. “What did Maddie mean about a costume switch?”
“Ah. Do you know Landon from creative?”
“No.”
“I didn’t either, but he asked me to trade costumes with him.”
“Seriously?”
Dylan shrugged. “I spotted him at the bar when I came in. He’s Danny from Grease. Apparently, whoever Sandy is, she’s important to him.”
“So, you could have walked into this bar tonight and been kissing Sandy instead as easily,” she teased.
He shook his head, shuddering a bit. “Not if I didn’t want a black eye. Considering the way Landon was looking at her, I don’t think he would have permitted my hands on her, let alone my mouth.”
She giggled. “Her loss.”
He lifted a brow. “You enjoyed that kiss, huh?”
“Like I said, everyone in the room enjoyed that kiss.”
“Does that bother you? That people might have been watching?”
She lifted both shoulders. “Not really. Not right now at least. I might feel differently Monday morning when I’m at my desk and people walk by whispering about the mysterious vampire who melted the frigid production manager.” She sucked in a sharp breath the moment those words left her lips. Shit.
Dylan winced, his hand tightening, pulling her close. “What the hell are you talking about? Frigid? Which part of you fits that description?”
She bit her lip and released it. “All of me, usually. I’m pretty shy, and I don’t date much. This costume is showing off more skin than I’m comfortable with, and I’ve never once kissed a man in public. If you hadn’t caught me so off guard, I probably wouldn’t have kissed you either.”
“Okay, lots of people are shy and some people don’t date much, but that doesn’t make them frigid.” He leaned closer. “Are you sorry I kissed you?”
She felt her face heat. “No,” she murmured.
“Would you mind if I did it again? For real this time?”
She swallowed. If she were asleep and this was a dream, she hoped she never woke up. “I’d like that.”
He lowered his face and kissed her again, his lips softer this time, exploring, teasing, tasting.
She sighed into his mouth.
When he pulled back an inch, he looked as stunned as she felt, and he was definitely trembling. “How was that?”
She smiled. The Dylan who’d initially stunned her with his aggressive first kiss was far more hesitant now. The initial exaggerated confidence was fading to something far more believable. Human. Real. “Amazing.”
“Still feeling like you’re not capable of being sexually responsive?”
She shook her head, her face flushing. “No, but this is an anomaly. I don’t ordinarily get hot and bothered by anyone.”
He swallowed. “Maybe you’ve been with the wrong guys,” he suggested. She got the feeling he wasn’t usually this forward. As if her own shyness made him seem extremely confident in comparison.
“Apparently.”
He searched her gaze for a long time, hesitated, and then spoke again. “Will you give me tonight?”
She drew her brows together, not understanding.
“I know I’m totally going out on a limb here. I’ve never done anything like this before. But, give me the entire night. I promise you won’t describe yourself so unfairly afterward.”
Her mouth went dry. Was he offering to have sex with her?
“We don’t have to sleep together. But I’m not taking it off the table. Go with the flow. See how you feel. It’s totally up to you.”
She glanced around, wondering if she was really standing here in Corked and Tapped having this conversation with the hottest guy to ever hit on her.
His lips landed on her ear again. “Say yes. I can drag over a few coworkers to vouch for me if you want. I swear I’m a good guy. I haven’t dated anyone from the office before. I don’t have some reputation as a player. I meant it when I said I’ve never walked into a bar and kissed a woman before getting her name. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I saw you standing here looking so fucking sexy and nervous and I took a chance.”
She narrowed her gaze. Should she trust this guy? “How do I know you wouldn’t have kissed Sandy and left with her?”
He chuckled, his chest vibrating. “I never would have walked up to just any date and kissed the sense out of her. When I saw you standing here, dressed as my perfect pair and looking so sweet and a bit out of your element, I decided kissing you was the perfect solution to my predicament.”
Rose held his gaze, not sure how to respond.
He pulled her tighter, if that was possible. “Please say yes.”
She knew he was still referring to a night with him. “You mean you want me to go home with you?”
“Yes. Definitely. Unless you want me to continue kissing you here at the party and add more gossip to your Monday morning.”
She flushed deeper.
A voice interrupted their intense conversation. “Dylan?”
Rose turned her head toward the man who had approached and now stood at their side. Dylan shifted his gaze at the same time.
Ivy’s eyes were laughing as she looked from Dylan to Rose and back several times. “Rose?”
Dylan gave her a squeeze.
Julius Caesar cocked his head to one side. “Who is your…date?”
“Cooper, this is Rose. Rose, Cooper.”
“Nice to meet you,” Rose responded. She would have reached out a hand, but hers were both occupied, and Dylan didn’t remove his grip.
Cooper chuckled. “Have you met Rose before tonight?”
“No, but I’m still trying to figure out how that’s possible.” Dylan shifted his gaze to Ivy. “Who is your Cleopatra here?”
“She’s my friend, actually,” Rose interjected. “Ivy.”
“Ivy, then.” He turned back to Cooper, brows drawn together. “Have you ever met Ivy before?” He was right to be confused. The way Cooper was holding Ivy’s hand, anyone would think they were a couple. But then again, Rose and Dylan must appear to have been together for months also. Either Maddie was the queen of matchmaking, or something was in the air tonight.
“No,” Cooper responded. He was smiling though, and he kept glancing at Ivy as if he hated to be sharing her.
Rose was glad to see the sparkle in Ivy’s eye. The woman deserved a break. If she fell for a hot guy at the company party, perfect.
“Cooper,” Dylan began, his gaze on Rose, “how many women have I dated from the office?”
“Zero.”
“How many women have I picked up in a bar?”
“None that I can recall.”
“When was the last time I went on a date?”
“It’s been a long time.” Cooper turned toward Rose. “He’s not really that kind of guy.”
Dylan lifted both brows at Rose, tipping his head to one side.
She surmised that he was intentionally easing her nerves by providing someone to vouch for him. Someone else from work. Someone who was currently making her best friend smile from ear to ear. Cooper might not realize it, but the fact that his gaze was on Ivy’s face instead of her boobs was giving him all the brownie points.
“Okay, well, you guys have fun,” Cooper said as he and Ivy walked away.
“Okay, so you’re probably not an ax murderer,” Rose stated.
“It’s not something I put on my resume, no.” He kissed her again. “I don’t have any incurable diseases.” Another kiss. “I’m not in deep credit card debt.” Yet another kiss. “I don’t chew with my mouth open.” She giggled against his lips this time.
“So, you’re perfect,” she stated. “Why are you single?”
“I could ask the same about you.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, but for me it’s simple. I’m just an introvert. It took Ivy a lot of coaxing to get me to come tonight.”
“I would have been very disappointed if you hadn’t.”
“I’m glad I came too.” She genuinely was.
“So, crowds make you nervous and you don’t drink. If I’m being perfectly honest, this isn’t my scene either. You ready to leave?”
She hesitated, glancing at the envelope Maddie had left. “Should we check out Maddie’s icebreakers?”
“Let’s take the envelope with us.” Dylan’s hand had never once left her lower back. He provided strength and emotional support at the same time. His lips slid to her ear again and he hovered there for several seconds before speaking again. “I want two things from you, and it’s noisy and too crowded here for me to get them.”
“What are the two things?” she murmured against his chest, already knowing she would give him anything. She was intrigued by the fact that he repeatedly paused before speaking his mind, as if building up the courage.
“I want to know so much about you by morning that no one would believe we haven’t been dating for six months.”
She smiled. “And?”
“And…I want there to be no doubt in your mind that you’re a sexually responsive woman who would never describe herself otherwise again in this lifetime. I don’t even have to remove my pants or my shirt to accomplish that.”
She sure hoped he didn’t intend to keep his clothes on while removing hers. That would make her very self-conscious. Taking a giant leap of faith, because she could think of no reason in the world not to, she drew in a deep breath. “I’ll say yes on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“You promise to take off your pants and your shirt.”
A slow smile graced her again. “Deal.” He grabbed the envelope and turned to usher her out of the bar, his hand still plastered to her back. She wondered how he was going to drive this way.
Chapter 3
“Water? Tea? Soda?” Dylan asked as soon as they entered his apartment. He had finally removed his hand from the small of her back to drive, but he’d set it back there again as soon as they were out of the car. It was still warming her now.
“Water would be nice.” Now that she was standing in his apartment, she felt far less bold. Nerves made her wonder who the woman was who’d suggested he take off his clothes when they got here.
He nodded toward the sofa. “Have a seat.”
This was the first moment she’d been separated from Dylan by so many yards in several hours. In fact, she took a deep breath while he couldn’t see her. Wringing her hands, she wandered toward the beige leather sectional situated in front of a flat-screen television. Suddenly, her nerves eased a bit as she took in the rest of the room. Dylan had several framed prints on the wall, but not the usual kind one would expect to see in a living room. These were all math related.
Math: The Only Subject That Counts.
Come to the Nerd Side. We Have Pi.
What part of
Don’t You Understand?
Rose was chuckling to herself when Dylan returned, setting two water bottles on the coffee table.
He followed her gaze and then tucked his fingers in his back pockets and rocked slightly on his toes. “Did I mention I’m a math nerd?”
She smiled, feeling far less uneasy by the minute. “I see that.”
He held her gaze for a moment and then gestured toward the sofa again. “You want to sit?”
She hadn’t taken a seat yet. In fact, she felt ridiculous in this vampire costume. She couldn’t imagine sitting in it. The slit was going to reveal her entire thigh, and her boobs were liable to pop out.
Dylan removed his jacket and his shoes and settled in the corner of the couch wearing the black pants and white halfway-unbuttoned shirt. He looked perfectly normal now since she noticed he had also removed the blood from his face. He reached out a hand.
She glanced down at herself. “This outfit is awkward.”
“That costume is hot,” he responded. “Trust me.” He pushed back to standing and fiddled with the collar until he realized it was attached to the sleeves and that it was all one piece unrelated to the bodice. Next, he slid that itchy lace and stiff collar off her arms and dropped it on the coffee table. “Better?”
She bit her lip. “Perhaps more comfortable, but not less revealing.”
He tugged her down with him, arranging her so that he was sitting at an angle in the corner of the sectional and she was facing away from him, her back against his chest. At least this way her legs were together off the side, keeping part of her mysterious.
He wrapped an arm across her chest above her breasts, brushed a lock of curls from her shoulder. “You want one of my T-shirts to wear?”
“Uh, maybe in a while.” Wearing something of his made her almost as nervous, though she wouldn’t mind if he took off his white shirt and let her have it. After all, she’d been wondering what he looked like beneath his suits every morning for months. Perhaps she could convince him of that in a bit.
“Did you look in
the envelope while I drove?” he asked.
“Yes. It’s mostly filled with suggestions.” She bit her lip.
“And what were they?”
“My personal favorite was for us to play Never Have I Ever.”
“Love it. Let’s do it.”
She laughed. “Not a chance in hell. I don’t even drink.”
He angled her face so he could see it. “Why not? It’s perfect. We don’t have to play with drinking. Come on. Let’s try it. It’s a great way to get to know each other.”
“It’s embarrassing. I’ll feel foolish.”
He pointed at the framed posters on his walls. “More foolish than I feel?”
He was right. She took a breath. “Okay, but if you’re going to start inquiring about sexual experiences, you might as well give it up. I’ll win, hands down.”
“If you’re suggesting that you haven’t done many things in bed, that’s not a turnoff, Rose.”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on. Surely men prefer to date women who have a clue what they’re doing.”
“Never. Not a thing. It’s fucking hot and sweet and sexy and refreshing if you don’t have much experience.”
She stared at him, wondering if he would be disappointed when he found out more about her. It wasn’t as if she could lie.
With one hand still across her chest pinning her to him, he stroked the other up and down her arm. “Rose, I don’t know where you’ve gotten the idea that you are somehow unworthy or incapable of feeling like heaven cracked open over you, but you’re wrong. Every woman deserves to feel the kind of pleasure that opens a hole in the universe, threatening to suck her in.”
Rose (Corked and Tapped Book 6) Page 2
