by Melody Anne
He figured she’d finally go running for the hills—the smart move on her part. But Ace felt himself thicken painfully when she gave him a sassy look and stepped closer. To hell with his brother and his own morals—if this woman wasn’t going to resist him, who was he to turn her down? He pushed down the logical brain, far more willing to listen to his southern hemisphere.
She ran a finger down his sticky chest, and Ace nearly came in his pants—something he hadn’t done since he was a teenager. He didn’t care. It would at least give him sweet, sweet relief.
“I think you’re a big boy and can wash yourself,” she said. Then she lifted her finger to her luscious red lips and sucked. “Mmm, good wine. Too bad it went to waste.”
Ace pulsed painfully as he looked at the woman in shock. She was every wet dream he’d ever had come to life, and her confidence was enough to make him want her all the more.
“It hasn’t gone to waste. You can lick it off me,” he said, his voice husky.
She leaned forward, and he thought for a moment she was going to do just that. His heart thudded in anticipation of her sweet tongue on his entirely too hot skin. Who needed sponge baths when a hot woman was there with fingers and a capable tongue?
“Tempting, but I think I’d rather get it fresh from the bottle,” she said. She ran a finger down his chest again, circling it around his stomach before she stepped back, moving over to the suitcase resting on a bench near the window.
“You are a hell of a tease,” he told her. He should be angry, but he was more amused and impressed than anything else.
She turned and looked at him, her scorching gaze taking in his entire body, from his sweating forehead all the way down to his toes and back up. He noticed how her eyes took a few extra seconds on his very hard package. It pulsed beneath her glance. He felt as if she’d just caressed him.
“I don’t tease,” she finally said as she licked her lips, making him sweat even more. “However, I also don’t give in to arrogant men who think it’s their right to have whatever they want. I’ve already told you I want to know you.” She paused, and he held his breath as he waited for her to go on.
“With the right attitude, something might happen between us,” she told him in her forthright manner. His body responded as if she’d just produced a damn condom. “But if you act surly and egotistical, you’ll find yourself on your own. Go take a shower while I find you something suitable to wear.”
She turned away from him, not worried in the least about him having a comeback to her words. Ace stood there for a moment, wondering if she was right—wondering if he should tuck tail and do her bidding. He sort of liked the thought of that.
But instead, he moved toward her. Ace wasn’t the type of man who ran from a challenge, and Dakota was throwing one after another at him. It was time he showed her he wasn’t the typical pushover she dealt with.
Dakota turned just in time for him to reach around her and haul her up against him. She didn’t seem as composed anymore as he looked into her eyes for a beautiful moment. He grinned at her and then crushed his mouth against hers.
The kiss was even better than he’d imagined. Her soft lips instantly molded to his, and he swept his tongue inside her mouth, feeling as if he’d arrived home. One hand tugged against her hips as he pressed against her. He was leaving no doubt whatsoever in her mind about how much he wanted her.
Ace was losing his sense of reality as she reached up and tugged his hair, her hungry groan captured by his mouth. He gripped her tight ass and squeezed, his body throbbing painfully.
Pushing forward, he pressed her against the window and ravaged her mouth, his hands sliding up her hips, tickling the undersides of her luscious breasts. She was incredible, with curves in all the right places and tight muscles where he appreciated them the most.
Breaking away from her mouth, he ran his tongue down her jaw before he sucked the skin where her pulse was beating out of control. She groaned again, and the sound pulsed in time to the beat of his erection. He could practically taste sweet relief in the air.
“Let’s take advantage of this room,” he said, his voice vibrating against her skin. Yep, the little brain was most certainly winning his internal battle.
Dakota moved her hands to grip his face, and the desire sparking in her eyes gave him hope. She was a sexual woman and she wanted him, that much was incredibly clear.
“Mmm, Ace, you are a temptation that should most certainly come with a warning label,” she said, her swollen lips turning up. “But you aren’t getting into my pants—or I should say into my dress . . .” She paused, and his heart thudded. “At least not tonight.”
Ace’s breathing was out of control as he waited for whatever this dynamic woman was going to say next. He had never been as on edge as he was in this particular moment. He was most certainly her captive audience, and she knew it.
“We might get to enjoy each other, but you have to play nice first,” she said. Then she pushed him away.
Ace knew he could challenge her, knew he could pull her close and have her be his willing puppet if he pushed the matter. But he found he had entirely too much respect for this woman to even attempt that.
He had to close his eyes and take a few calming breaths as he fought the urges of his body with the rationality of his mind. He also had a feeling that taking her once would never be enough. If he opened this door, he was going to be her willing slave. What frightened him was how much he didn’t care about that.
“What do you define as playing nice?” he asked.
She moved farther away from him, going back to looking through clothes. She didn’t say anything as she dug out a pair of slacks and a polo shirt. He hadn’t shared clothes with his brothers in a long time, but he didn’t have much of a choice at the moment. It was either that or a sticky tux.
“You might want to wash out your underwear and blow-dry them,” she said as she tossed the clothes on the bed and then moved toward the door. He wanted to rush to her and grab her, tell her there was no way she was leaving him in this condition. His feet seemed planted to the floor, though.
“You haven’t answered my question,” he said, happy when she turned back around and looked at him. “And maybe I don’t wear underwear.”
At those words, she glanced down to the large bulge in his pants, and he pulsed. He hurt so damn much. Just a simple stroke of her fingers or those full lips and he’d explode in the most beautiful of ways.
“This is a day-by-day thing, Ace. You’ll figure out the rules as we play the game,” she said with a beaming smile. Ace couldn’t help but grin back at her.
“I think this is a game I’m going to win,” he assured her.
She opened the hotel room door, still grinning at him. “I hope so,” she said. Then she stepped through the opening and walked away from him. He’d thought the sound of the door closing when they’d entered the room had been unusually loud, but the clicking of the door as she exited was like a bullet to his chest.
He stood there for a long time, looking at the shut door, his body on fire, his heart thundering, and his mind filled with a million questions. This woman was the best thing to enter his life in many years.
Stripping the rest of his clothes away, he found himself grinning from ear to ear as he took a quick shower. His body might be throbbing, and his blood felt like lava in his veins, but it was all worth it. Ace had no doubt whatsoever that he was going to get the girl.
With that knowledge, he did as she suggested and found himself hand drying his underwear before he hurried into his new clothes. He wanted to get back down to the party and chase the girl. This was one mission he wasn’t allowing himself to lose. He just hoped she was ready for him. She didn’t have any other choice.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dakota was off balance as she walked back into the room filled with hundreds of people all laughing and drinking and having a great time. They had no idea what had just taken place on the highest floor of the hotel, but Da
kota felt as if it was written all over her cheeks.
She was flushed and hot, and her body was feeling things she hadn’t imagined ever being able to feel. She’d barely been able to keep it together as Ace’s hands had roamed across her body, as his mouth had masterfully worked her lips. Never before had she been as turned on as she’d been with that man worshipping her body.
Dakota was used to men giving her attention. She was a flirt, was confident in herself, and felt as if she had nothing to prove. But being with Ace was like being on another planet. She had never felt such an immediate and intense attraction to another person.
It might be foolish of her to make the man her pet project. But she’d already made a decision, and she wasn’t one to turn away from a choice she’d made. It would be weakness on her part if she tried to back down now, and there was no way she was going to allow that to happen.
“Where have you been, young lady?”
Dakota jumped guiltily as she looked at Sherman, who was grinning at her in such a knowing way that she was afraid he knew exactly what she’d been up to with his nephew. Why she felt as if she’d done something wrong, she wasn’t sure.
“I was helping Ace,” she said, her voice unusually subdued.
“Good, that boy needs some help. He’s been gone from this family for a very long time. We’re grateful he’s back home,” Sherman said.
“Yes, your entire family is back where they belong.” Dakota turned to find a giant of a man standing on her other side, making her feel completely dwarfed.
“Dakota, meet my good friend Joseph Anderson,” Sherman said.
Dakota looked back and forth between the two men, both of them larger than life. She smiled, feeling completely at home in their presence. They reminded her of her own family. She had a feeling they would fit right in with her rowdy group.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Joseph,” she said. He surprised her when he gave her a hug, taking her breath away.
“The same to you, darling,” Joseph said. “So, you’re taking care of our little Ace, are you?”
“I have a way with lost souls,” she told Joseph before she looked at Sherman, not sharing that she wanted to pick Ace’s brain. “And even though Ace has been gone for a while, I also think he’s right where he wants to be.”
“From the moment I met you, young lady, I knew you were going to be good for Ace,” Sherman said. She was growing a little suspicious of the light in his youthful eyes.
“Don’t be getting any ideas,” she said as she scanned the room. “I’m not looking to walk down any aisles.”
“Ah, the heart wants what it wants,” Joseph told her. She again looked back and forth between the two men.
“And sometimes the soul just needs a pick-me-up,” she said, hoping she was stopping these two men in their tracks. She didn’t want someone trying to match-make her.
“Sometimes that is one and the same,” Sherman said.
Dakota couldn’t help but laugh. These men were certainly forces to be reckoned with. Dakota appreciated so much more what her best friend had gone through while working with this family. They were intimidating, and Chloe had been so lost for such a long time. Sometimes a girl needed her best friend, and sometimes she needed a family who held open their arms.
“I’m so happy Chloe has all of you now,” she said, emotion clogging her throat.
“We are the ones happy she’s a part of our lives,” Sherman assured her.
“Did I marry the wrong man?” Chloe asked as she walked up to the group and hugged first Sherman and then Joseph.
“Of course not,” Sherman said with a smile.
“Good. ’Cause you, my sweet new uncle, are my favorite family member,” Chloe told Sherman.
“Ah, you are good for this old man’s soul,” Sherman told her.
Chloe laughed with true joy, something that made Dakota incredibly pleased to hear. Her friend had laughed far too little in her traumatized years with an abusive father and neglectful mother.
“And you are good for this once-broken soul,” Chloe told him.
“Now don’t you go and make me cry at this happy occasion,” Sherman told her, a suspicious sparkle in his eyes.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Chloe told him. She wiped a tear from her own cheek before turning to gaze at Dakota. Her eyes widened, and then her grin grew.
“Where have you been?” she asked, and Dakota found herself squirming on her feet. She didn’t like being the one under the lens of the . . . telescope. She’d much rather be the one looking through the magnifying lens.
“Not that it’s a national secret or anything, but I was lending a hand to your new brother-in-law,” she said. She found herself unable to keep looking into Chloe’s eyes.
Her best friend laughed, which immediately drew Nick to her side. He wrapped an arm around her, and then Dakota had four sets of knowing eyes on her. She put her trademark smile on her lips and faced them all with her shoulders squared.
“I’m sure Ace was mighty pleased to have a helping . . . hand from you,” Nick said with a pause and a laugh.
Dakota sent him a warning look. “I took you down once, Nick Armstrong. Don’t think I won’t do it again, even on your wedding day,” Dakota threatened.
Nick held up his hands and laughed. “You are scary, woman. You win,” he said. Chloe couldn’t stop grinning.
“What would a wedding be without some family drama?” Chloe asked. “And I just have to point out how much I love saying the word family.” She choked up at the end of her sentence, and Dakota admired how Nick pulled her closer to him and kissed her cheeks as his eyes sparkled.
“We are so blessed to have you with us,” he assured his new wife. Then he turned to Dakota. “And you are just as much a part of us now.”
Dakota moved forward and hugged Nick. “I love all of you,” she told him.
“What’s going on here?” The entire group turned as Ace approached. He had a cautious look in his eyes, which intensified when he found himself the target of their gazes.
“We’re just having some sentimental moments,” Sherman told his nephew. He stepped right up to him and slung an arm around Ace’s wide shoulders. Ace seemed uncomfortable for a moment, but then he forced himself to relax. Dakota didn’t miss a moment of it, and his reaction only stiffened her resolve to learn about this man.
“Sentimental moments are for fools or those who can’t stand the reality they live in,” Ace said.
Joseph looked at him as if he were insane. “Now that’s just not the right kind of attitude to have, boy,” Joseph told him.
Ace knew better than to argue, so he just shrugged his shoulders. Dakota didn’t miss how he stepped closer to her. He was already leaning on her, whether he knew that or not. She’d have to be careful to be there for him without it leading to more than what it was. She wasn’t sure how not to cross that line—not with this man.
“Did you know Dakota is going to be taking flying lessons as she embarks on her new career?” Sherman asked, changing the subject. The man obviously knew his nephew was uncomfortable, and he was trying to steer the conversation in a new direction.
“Yes, I can’t wait,” Dakota said with honesty. “All of my brothers fly, and they have a total god complex because of it, so I’m determined to not only become a pilot but to be better than all of them,” she said.
Nick laughed. “You go, squirt,” he said.
“Oh, Nick, don’t you mock me or my dreams,” she told him.
“I’m not mocking you,” he assured her. “Flying just isn’t as easy as you might think it is.”
“The best things in life are the hardest to learn and require the most endurance to achieve. The harder it is to fly, the more I’m going to enjoy it,” she told him.
“The problem is that the pilot I had all set up to train her broke his leg,” Sherman said.
“You have a replacement, don’t you?” Dakota asked. She had been excited about this for a while, and th
ere was no way she was letting go of this dream of hers.
“Well, since you brought that up,” Sherman said with a grin before he looked at Ace. Dakota caught on really quickly to what was happening, and she wasn’t sure she liked the direction of his thoughts.
She definitely felt drawn to Ace, but that didn’t mean she wanted him invading every aspect of her life. The flying thing was something just for her. But she couldn’t say that with all eyes on her and Ace.
“What?” Ace asked, looking confused.
“You still have your instructor’s license, don’t you?” Sherman asked.
“I don’t see what that has to do with anything,” Ace said.
“Because you’re not working right now, and I have a job I need filled,” Sherman said slowly, as if his nephew wasn’t too bright. Dakota had to agree with Sherman’s approach. Ace wasn’t catching on too quickly.
“What?” Ace said again, looking more confused.
“Dakota is starting flight lessons next week, and she needs an instructor. I’m volunteering you,” Sherman said. “Is that clear enough?”
Ace gave his uncle a withering glare before his eyes focused on Dakota. She shrugged her shoulders. The ball was now in his court.
“I’ve got a lot going on,” he said. Dakota tensed next to him. She was feeling a bit rejected, not something she was used to—and she didn’t like it one little bit.
“What are you doing?” Sherman asked, his gaze narrowing.
Ace stumbled over words as he looked down at his feet. Wow! It seemed his uncle was shaming him. Dakota felt bad for him now. And she felt like the rope in a tug-of-war game she hadn’t asked to be in.
He looked from her to his uncle and then back to her again, and she could see the shift in his eyes. His uncle was challenging him, and it appeared he didn’t like to back down from a challenge any more than she did. That could be a bad combination for the two of them.
“You need a teacher, huh?” Ace suddenly asked, his attitude doing a one-eighty, the confusion and annoyance vanishing as his lips turned up. She had no doubt he was thinking of teaching her a lot more than flying. She flashed him an equally confident smile.
