by Tessa Bailey
Determinedly, she tried again. “I mean, you have to admit, this feels a lot like daytime television. Dad sick in the hospital…in walks semi-estranged daughter…” Nothing from Daniel. She had the sudden urge to shake him. “You and Jack seem close. I imagine he wouldn’t be too thrilled to know you made a pass at me.” With satisfaction, she watched his knuckles go white on the steering wheel.
“That’s putting it mildly.”
Story chuckled under her breath. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to rat you out.”
He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Listen, about earlier…I didn’t realize…”
“Realize what?” After a tense moment, it dawned on her. Apparently three thousand miles hadn’t been far enough to escape the constant reminder of her humiliation. Story ducked her head. “Ah. Jack told you about Fisher.” He made a low sound in his throat, confirming her suspicion. “What does my broken engagement have to do with you making a pass at me? If anything, it should be welcome news, being that I’m on the rebound.” Her attempt to make light of the situation fell flat.
“I’m not interested in being your rebound.” His voice sounded harsh. “Is that what you came here for? To work…him…out of your system?”
“No,” she countered. “If that’s all I wanted, I certainly didn’t need to fly across the country for it. I’m here for my father and that’s all.”
Daniel sent her a look she couldn’t interpret. “Glad to hear it.”
They pulled up outside a tall brick apartment building with a green awning. He cut the engine and exited the car to retrieve her luggage, frowning at her when she didn’t wait for him to open her passenger side door. She couldn’t get a read on this frustrating man. One minute his attitude bordered on hostile, and the next he was the picture of chivalry.
The simple marble lobby of the building consisted of a few potted plants and an elevator bank. They rode to the fourth floor in silence, although the atmosphere between them felt charged. Daniel stared at the double doors with his jaw flexing, increasing her irritation. She’d been perfectly willing to find Jack’s building on her own. She hadn’t needed him to drop her off on the doorstep like a helpless child. When the doors finally slid open, she breezed past him off the elevator, then was forced to wait for him when she realized she didn’t know Jack’s apartment number. Ignoring his amused snort, she followed him down the hallway to 4R and waited for him to unlock the door.
Her father’s apartment was sparsely decorated but comfortable. Couch, flat-screen television, dining room table. No pictures or knickknacks. Ruthlessly clean and organized. She smelled a hint of cigar smoke and smiled. The smell had always comforted her. She walked to the window and looked out onto a courtyard behind the building, which came complete with a flower garden, trees, and a bench.
She could feel Daniel’s eyes on her, watching from just inside the apartment door. The silence between them seemed to grow thicker with each passing minute. With anticipation? No. Now that he knew who she was, he wouldn’t jeopardize his working relationship with Jack. She thought they’d tacitly come to that very agreement on the car ride over. But his silent, lingering presence said otherwise.
“I believe the spare bedroom is down the hall on the right,” he said gruffly. “Knowing Jack, there’s probably not a whole lot in the fridge, but there’s a supermarket down the street on the corner of York.”
Story nodded absently, bypassing Daniel’s imposing frame to check out the spare bedroom. He followed behind with her suitcases and she tried to stem the nervous fluttering in her stomach. In the hospital, when they’d just been two people discussing snack foods, he’d wanted to take her home. Then everything had changed.
Or had it? In the end, hadn’t he ended up bringing her home just like he wanted?
A simply made full-size bed took up most of the tiny room, leaving her just enough space to stow her suitcase. She’d heard that space came at a premium in New York, but she could literally take two steps in any direction and hit a wall. Since she didn’t plan on spending a lot of time cooped up in the apartment, it hardly mattered.
Story turned to leave but Daniel blocked the doorway. As their eyes met, she felt a frisson of alarm at the intensity there. The intimacy of their surroundings came into sharp focus. If she stepped back, she would fall onto the bed. As before in the car, he made the room feel smaller just by standing in it.
When Daniel finally spoke, his voice sounded hoarse. “I’m only a few blocks away. If you need anything.”
Warmth spread through Story at the clear meaning behind his words. Or maybe she was imagining the offer of something more. A man like Daniel could read the phone book and make it sexy. She was probably projecting, but just in case… “And what is it you’d like to help me with, Daniel?”
He sucked in a breath. “All kinds of things.”
“Is that right?”
“Fuck yes.”
In response to his raw tone, an ache spread between her thighs. His eyes raked over her, lingering on her hardening nipples, which were surely visible beneath her cotton tank top. For three years, she’d only been with Fisher. Being this close to another man almost felt like cheating. But it wasn’t. As of last night, she no longer owed him her loyalty. She could do as she pleased. Provoking Daniel might be like playing with fire, but at the moment she couldn’t find the will to stop. The last twenty-four hours of her life had been a shit show. Didn’t her complete and utter embarrassment grant her the right to a little fun?
Her eyes dropped to Daniel’s bottom lip as he raked it with his teeth. Would he give her mouth the same treatment? Maybe just one kiss would be okay. One kiss.
Then he opened his mouth and shot her plan to hell. “But just because I want to, doesn’t mean I will. You’re Jack’s daughter. We’re not going there.”
Irritation snaked its way through her. She’d had enough decisions made on her behalf to last her a lifetime. She gave an exaggerated shrug. “You’re right. It probably would have been a disappointment, anyway.”
He jerked back. “A disappointment? What the hell does that mean?”
Suppressing a smile, Story reached for her suitcase and heaved it onto the bed. “Nothing. Just that in my experience, guys who talk the biggest game are usually a letdown in the end.”
Daniel studied her for a moment, then barked out a laugh. “Are you honestly trying to use reverse psychology on a hostage negotiator? You’re looking at an expert, sunshine.”
Shit. She totally had been. It worked well enough on her five-year-old students. “Nope, just being honest. I am nothing if not a pillar of honesty.”
“Right.” He didn’t budge from the doorway.
As she removed a stack of shirts from her suitcase, she looked up at him through her eyelashes. “Thanks for dropping me off, Daniel. I assume you know how to let yourself out?”
A muscle working in his jaw, he returned her challenging look. “Are you dismissing me?”
She pursed her lips. “That’s sure what it sounded like.”
“It wouldn’t be disappointing.”
Ha! Mental booty dance. Who’s the expert now, homeboy? Story placed her folded clothes on the bed with a sigh, then turned to face him. “I’ll tell you what. You’ve got one minute to prove me wrong.”
His eyes narrowed. “Elaborate.”
She slipped her phone out of her pocket and held it up. “I’ll set the timer for one minute. You’ll have sixty seconds to prove you’re not just a bunch of talk.”
Daniel glanced at the bed behind her. “The things I want to do to you, Story, would take a lot longer than sixty seconds. Your phone’s battery would die well before I finished.”
“Then show yourself the door,” she managed, her body responding to his blatant honesty.
“Set the damn timer.”
He’d called her bluff. Or maybe she’d called his. Story didn’t know anymore. Only that the electricity sparking between them made her feel anxious and needy. She felt defense
less under his hot regard, the sensuality he radiated heating her like a roaring fire. If he knew the effect his proximity had on her, she would lose any control she had over the situation. Could she steal one minute and walk away? She didn’t have any choice, having been the one to throw down the gauntlet.
Story just barely managed to keep her voice even as her fingers unlocked the screen on her phone and she opened the timer application. “Fine. I’m not sure what you can prove in one minute, but let’s see what you’ve got, big boy.”
“Lift up your skirt.”
The deep tone of his unexpected demand raked across her senses. Composure slipping, her eyes shot to his. “Wh-what?”
“I want your permission.”
“I don’t understand,” she breathed.
“When my minute is up, you need to remember that you asked for it. Lift your skirt.”
One thought and one thought only raced through her mind. Oh God. I am in way over my head here. She almost called it off right at that moment, but his knowing smirk urged her on. He didn’t think she was brave enough to continue. His arrogance infuriated her, even as it made her want him more.
She tossed the phone onto the narrow chest of drawers. Trembling hands dropped to the hem of her jean skirt. She reveled in the satisfaction of watching his jaw loosen, his eyes glaze as they tracked the movement of her fingers. Slowly, she gathered the material in her hands and drew the skirt up her thighs and over her hips to reveal her simple black thong.
Daniel hissed a low sound of approval and started toward her, a determined expression on his face. His hands flexed at his sides like he already imagined them moving over her skin. Panicking, she held him off with one hand to the chest.
“Wait. Your minute hasn’t started yet.”
“Start it. Now.”
Swallowing her nerves, she reached toward her phone. They both watched as her finger tapped the start button displayed on the screen. His minute began.
Time raced past, but Daniel didn’t move right away like she thought he would. His eyes dropped to her mouth and he dipped his head slowly, filling her with anticipation.
One hand came up to frame her jaw. “This isn’t a rebound.”
“Call it whatever you want,” she whispered back.
Lips traced over hers before his tongue dipped inside to sample her mouth, as if seeking the answer to a question. Seconds ticked by while he teased her, exploring her reactions to every brush of his lips, lick of his tongue. If she’d felt exposed before, the feeling increased tenfold as he learned her secrets, drawing them out of her with his kiss. Forcing her to reveal herself.
Then he took his newfound knowledge and used it against her.
With strong, capable hands, Daniel grasped her hips and backed her against the wall with lightning speed. His thigh wedged itself between her legs. No longer gentle or curious, his mouth took complete ownership of hers, fusing it with his in a kiss meant to destroy and rebuild. Despite the brutality behind it, she felt worshiped, as if his pleasure far exceeded her own, which had to be impossible.
Story might as well have never been kissed before. All at once, she felt reckless. Wild. Free. Digging desperate hands into his hair, she pulled him closer, begging him to deepen the kiss further. Daniel obliged, sinking his tongue into her mouth with a growl.
As they parted for breath, his voice grated against her lips. “If you keep working that hot little tongue against mine, I’ll have no choice but to fuck you.”
Before she could respond, he pressed his muscular thigh higher and tighter against her core, stemming her words. Story’s feet left the ground until he’d pinned her to the wall. The insistent pressure between her legs robbed her of thought. Her breath came in harsh little pants and nothing could stop her from moving on his hard thigh, working her hips up and down in an attempt to ease the growing ache.
“Would you like to come now, gorgeous?”
Story’s answer sounded breathless. “What do you think?” Her head fell back against the wall with a thud. One of his hands slid up her bare thigh, higher and higher until it reached her ass. She felt him gather the backside of her thong in his fist, twisting the fabric until it wrapped around his fingers once. The silky material pulled taut, sliding over the most sensitive part of her and making her head spin. His teeth scraped against her neck, sending a thrill of sensation shuddering through her body.
“Say please, baby.”
“Please,” she moaned.
Then he tugged on the thong and her mind went blank, oblivious to everything but the pleasure coursing through her. She shook against him as her orgasm battered its way through her system, prolonged by the calculated tugging of material between her legs. His mouth latched onto hers, absorbing her cries, groaning at her wild response.
When her shaking subsided, Daniel released her mouth, his panting breaths matching her own. “Set it again. I haven’t even gotten started.” He thrust himself, hard and thick, against her thigh. “More.”
More? Story’s world tilted. What in the hell had just happened? She’d been standing on terra firma carrying on a conversation with him and a minute later he’d managed to give her the most powerful orgasm she could remember. In over her head? What a gross under-exaggeration on her part. Daniel was operating on an entirely different level. One that her sleep-deprived, recently dumped brain couldn’t begin to comprehend.
More than likely, his skill had been perfected with hundreds of women. And she’d just inflated his ego even more by acting out her own amateur version of Gone in Sixty Seconds against his leg.
Oh God, could I be more pathetic?
“Hey. Come back to me, Story.”
Something knotted in her throat at the earnest plea made against her neck. The events of the last twenty-four hours suddenly landed on her head like a ton of bricks. She could barely get oxygen into her lungs. If she allowed herself to think clearly for even one more moment, every ounce of pain and humiliation would rush to the surface. She would drown in tears and self-pity, forcing herself to admit that the last three years were a waste of time and a drain on her spirit. So she wouldn’t think. Not yet.
Daniel could distract her. Make her feel like a desirable woman if only for one afternoon. Prevent her from thinking too much about her mistakes and shortcomings. Threading her fingers through his hair, she tugged until his mouth left her neck. He raised his head and looked at her questioningly, eyes dark and heavy, mouth damp from kissing her. He appeared drugged in his arousal. For her.
She’d done that to him. The knowledge filled her with desperately needed confidence. Hadn’t she made the decision last night to stop sitting idly by while life happened around her? She didn’t want to be the girl who played it safe anymore. In the end, hadn’t her “safe” choice in Fisher come back to bite her in the ass? Right here, in this moment, she wanted Daniel.
“There you are,” he murmured, golden-brown eyes heating. He ducked his head to scrape his stubbled chin across her cleavage. “Whatever is going on in your head right now, keep thinking it.”
Her breath hitched in her throat. “I’m thinking about you taking me to bed.”
Daniel’s big body shuddered against her in response. His hands caressed the sides of her thighs, sliding up and around to palm her bottom. “Tell me. In your mind, what are we doing in that bed? Are we fucking nice and slow or are you making me sweat for it?”
“I’m…you’re…” Story tried to form words and failed as he kneaded her flesh.
The timer went off on her phone, but he continued as though he didn’t even hear it. “Am I under you, watching your breasts bounce as you buck those hips? Or am I on top of you the first time? I could force those thighs wide and bury myself deep in between them.” He leaned forward to lick the curve of her ear. “Maybe I’m behind you. Ah, fuck, I could get in so deep that way, gorgeous. Tell me what you want. I’ll make it happen.”
The answer materialized in her mind. Just as she opened her mouth to tell him, somewhe
re in the room a cell phone rang, loud and siren-like. Daniel dropped his head forward with a sharp curse, fist pounding against the wall above her.
Looking as though he wanted to ignore it, he finally reached into his back pocket to extricate his phone. “It’s work. I have to answer,” he explained through clenched teeth.
Nodding mutely, Story slid down his thigh until her feet touched the floor and she stood. He made a sound of protest over their separation, but the incessant ringing interrupted him.
“Chase.” He barked into the phone. After listening for a moment, his eyes slid shut. “Fine. I’ll be there in ten.” As he hung up, his hot gaze swept her from head to toe, lingering on her still-hiked-up skirt. Cheeks heating, she quickly pulled it back in place. “I have to go.”
Avoiding his stare, she nodded. “So I heard. Um. Thanks for everything.” Oh my God. “I mean, thanks for dropping me off and carrying the suitcase and all that. Not thanks for the orgasm or whatever.” Shut up. Shut up now. “Well, I mean, thanks for that, too. I guess.”
Mortification complete. Kill me now.
Daniel’s eyebrows rose and the corners of his mouth quirked up. “You’re welcome.” He took a step toward her. “I really don’t want to leave.”
“Maybe it’s for the best,” she rushed out before he came any closer.
His face darkened. “We’ll talk about this later. There’s a situation where I’m needed or we’d discuss it right now.”
Suddenly wanting nothing more than to be alone, she nodded in response. He looked as though he wanted to say more, but with one last glance in her direction, he left the room. A moment later she heard the front door open and close.
“Thank you for the orgasm? Really?” Story wailed at the ceiling.
Chapter Five
Story gazed up at the ceiling of Grand Central Terminal, the green and gold constellations running the length of the busy concourse. Hundreds of people rushed past in every direction, some talking into cell phones, all studiously avoiding eye contact with one another. She felt invisible and energized all at once. The sheer magnitude of the station and the constant rumble of sounds drowned out her problems until they ceased to exist.
