“Flatterer. My mom taught us all how to cook. My brother is better at it than me or my sister. But knowing how to cook helps make macaroni and cheese and ramen a bit more palatable night after night.” She laughed and waved at the food. “Help yourself.”

They filled their plates and ate for a few minutes, silent until they’d gotten a bit full.

“So how did you end up with a name like Dahlia? It’s not one I hear often.”

“My great-grandmother was named Dahlia. My grandmother and great-aunts were named after flowers. My gran was Violet, her sisters were Rose and Daisy. You get the picture. But they didn’t name their daughters that way, and my mom thought it was a nice tip of the hat to that older generation.”

“Ah. Interesting. Are you close? With your family, I mean.”

She sighed. “I love my family very much. They’re good people and they work hard. They want what’s best for me.”

“But?”

With a rueful smile she took another sip of wine. “They don’t think being in Las Vegas is what’s best for me. They really don’t think my job at The Dollhouse is what’s best for me. This was supposed to be four years and it’s been nearly six. While getting my economics degree I discovered just how much I loved business so I decided to get my master’s degree in business administration.” She shrugged.

“But my full-ride money was for undergrad and not for grad school. I’ve had to pay for pretty much all of it since I’ve been in the MBA program. I’ve gotten a few grants but mainly it’s loans and lots of ramen noodles.” Pausing, she took a bite of her spinach before continuing.

“They wanted me to come back home and go to school there for my master’s degree. But the MBA program here is exactly what I needed, and they admitted me, which isn’t such an easy feat straight from undergrad. And now they’re pretending like I’m coming back when I graduate.”

“And you aren’t?” His esteem for her rose even higher, knowing that she worked hard to get ahead and finish school. He and William had been damned lucky to grow up with the affluence they had. Still, their parents expected them to work for a living instead of turning into the trust-fund trash he saw so often in the gossip sheets.

“I could never go back there. I’m not the same person anymore. I’m not cut out for Liberty. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice place to grow up, for the most part, but it’s not for me. I may not stay in Vegas, depending on my job options, but I won’t be going back.”

“What do you want to do with your degree?” The idea of Dahlia not being around after she graduated made him sort of nervous.

“Run or manage a business. I want to be a CFO someday. It’s why I like Las Vegas so much. So many opportunities with all the hotel management groups and corporations based here. But…well, it hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would be.”

“But what?”

“Nothing. Anyway, it’s not like shaking my ass on a stage is helping, but I did an internship the last semester of last year and through the summer and that was really helpful.”

“Why do you shake your ass onstage? Not like I’m complaining. I like your ass. I especially like it when you shake it.”

“Money. Internships don’t make you much money, if any at all, and I can’t afford that. So I did the internship and then I did both when I started working at The Dollhouse. I have a job interview in two weeks with the corporation I interned at. They liked me and my ideas.”

They finished dinner as she told him about the internship she’d completed with the Tate Group and the job she hoped to get. He knew the CEO of the group that ran that particular hotel and several others in Las Vegas as well as New Orleans. He resolved to put in a good word on her behalf. He got the feeling there was more than she was saying about her reasons for working at The Dollhouse.

After dinner, they cleaned the kitchen as a team and retired to her couch, which, thankfully, was cozy enough to keep her close.

“I talked an awful lot about myself tonight. I want to know more about you and your family. Your brother. What you were like growing up. I know you grew up in Boston, but you also said you spent a lot of time here in Las Vegas. What was that like? You’ve told me some but I’d like to know more.”

He took her wineglass and put it on the end table and turned her chin so that she faced him. “That’s for our next date. Right now, I need to kiss you. I’ve thought about little else since last night about five seconds after I kissed you last.”

* * *

Not for the first time, Dahlia wondered at his ability to render her speechless and giddy. It made her wary—she wasn’t sure she liked anyone having that much of an effect on her. At the same time, it felt wonderful to drop her guard and let someone get close. The intensity and depth of the feelings he inspired brought everything to do with him into vivid focus. She’d locked herself away for years after the experience at Warner Industries. Since then she’d just stayed focused on school.

Her gaze locked with his for long moments as his thumb brushed along the space on her neck just below her ear.

Leaning in, he took her lips.

He started slowly, his mouth brushing lightly over hers, his lips warm and soft. The edge of his beard tickled her, but it wasn’t scratchy. A shiver went through her as she imagined how it would feel against the soft skin of her inner thighs.

Without meaning to, a soft moan escaped her and he pulled her closer as his tongue slipped into her mouth. The kiss was sure without being overly aggressive. His taste marked her, filled her.

“God, more,” he gasped, bringing her astride him.

Her skirt rose up to her thighs and pleasure arced up her spine as her pussy settled over the hard line of his cock. He rolled his hips, grinding himself into her as his tongue lazily stroked into her mouth.

The cool silk of his hair tickled her hands as she held him. With a last tug of her bottom lip between his teeth, he moved to her chin and across her jawline to her ear. His palms slid down her back to her waist, holding her to him as he rolled himself into her.

Heat began to build as his movements brought him over her clit through her panties. She was so damned turned on she wondered if she’d come just from that contact. That brief concern melted as he moved his mouth down her neck and her head fell back.

Humming with aroused satisfaction, Nash moved his hands to her breasts, fingers playing softly around the nipples through her dress.

Hands gripping his shoulders, she held on as he bent her farther, and the heat of his mouth found the upper swell of her breast.

Then cool air hit her skin as he pulled the bodice back, exposing her to his hands and lips. All rational thought shut down when the tip of his tongue traced around her nipple and she gave in to the pleasure of the moment.

* * *

Triumph roared through him as Nash felt the last bit of her hesitation melt. She was fire in his arms. The heat of her pussy against his cock seared him, made him want her with desperate intensity.

Her nipple hard against his lips and tongue indicated she wanted him as much as he wanted her. And what a beautiful nipple it was. Her body was amazing! He’d seen a lot of it while she danced, but the dusky color of her nipples, the shape and size of them, had been a question he’d been pondering in detail for months.

The hand that had rested on her bare thigh slowly moved upward. Giving her time to refuse and getting no indications in that direction, he continued up under her dress until he reached the edge of her panties with his fingertips.

A pretty gasp came from her and then she moaned softly. Unable to resist any longer, he brought the edge of his teeth against her nipple and she arched, pressing herself into his mouth.

His fingertips traced the line of her pussy through the lacy material of her panties. She was wet and hot and the swollen bundle of her clit greeted him.