I want her. I’ve wanted her all day. From this morning in the shower to every other minute of this long-assed day, I’ve thought about her luscious lips, her gorgeous breasts, her long legs wrapped around my waist. I’m at the door where she’s standing, keeping the glass between her and the bar as if it were a shield.

“Hello,” I say with a smile. “I’m really glad to see you again.”

Blinking down, she seems almost guilty when she answers. “I wasn’t able to be at Mr. B’s tonight. I’m sorry if you waited.”

She wasn’t there. The idea sends a wash of relief through me followed quickly by disappointment. I debate my next words.

“It’s okay,” I say. “I’m really glad you’re here now.”

Her hand trembles a bit, and I can’t help wondering if I make her nervous. Is it possible this small, beautiful woman who holds my entire breath in her hands is nervous?

“Did you come here after dinner?” she says.

I decide to be honest. “I wasn’t at Mr. B’s tonight either.” Her eyes blink quickly to mine. “A job took me away from the city, and I couldn’t make it back in time. I’m so glad you weren’t there.”

“And what if I had been there?” The defiance in her tone fans my smoldering desire even hotter. She’s so fucking strong.

“I’d do everything in my power to earn your forgiveness.”

I’ve stepped outside, closer to her, and she inhales sharply. Her gorgeous eyes blink up to mine, and I want to taste her so badly my mouth waters. The scent of ocean-kissed roses, her scent floats around us. I want it all over me again.

She exhales a little sigh, glancing toward the bar. “Lucky for you, I’ve had a really shitty day. I’m in a forgiving mood.”

“I had no idea it was going to be such a lucky day for me.”

A hint of a smile crosses her lips, and I want to gather her in my arms and love the shittiness away. Lifting my finger, I lightly trace a line up the smooth skin of her arm to her shoulder, and she shivers. Her breathing shallows, and it’s almost too much for me. I mentally calculate how far we are from Pirate’s Alley. The Royal Sonesta is closer.

“Let’s go to my hotel.”

Her eyebrows pull together. “You want to—”

“Spend the night with you.” I reach for her hand. “Yes, I want to spend the night with you… like before.”

Shaking her head, she moves out of my reach. “I’m sorry. I don’t do the walk of shame.”

“I would never let you walk home alone.”

Her back is to the glass doors and she seems to consider my offer. I take a chance, rubbing my hand across my chin. “A bed would be more comfortable, and I would do anything to see your gorgeous body spread across my sheets.”

She blinks up at me through her lashes, and desire spikes in my veins. I know she remembers last night. I glance quickly back in the bar to see Patrick dirty-dancing behind Elaine. She’s smiling with her blonde head thrown back on his shoulder, and from the looks of things, they’ll be in a bed together before long.

Closing the distance between us, I speak softly, right at her temple. “Can I have you tonight. Please?”

Only a brief hesitation, and she whispers, “Yes.”

Relief mixes with desire and urgency as I take her hand. We’re only steps from our own heaven, and I plan to spend all night with her there.

Melissa

Maybe it’s because I have nothing left to lose, or maybe it’s because nothing can really hurt me anymore—at least no more than I’ve already been hurt. Most likely, it’s because Derek is so damned determined and delicious… and sexy. As soon as I saw him in the bar, my teeth ached. Everything we did in the alley flooded my mind, and I flushed with need to have him again.

None of that matters. I don’t need justification anymore. I want him, and he wants me. The half-block to his hotel passes in a haze of anticipation. My skin is on fire, and my breath comes in little pants. Above the corner entrance, the word Desire is lit up in vaudeville lights, and it makes me want to laugh. After everything that happened today, all the disappointment, I can’t believe I might even consider laughter, but this man changes everything.

We cross the marble-tiled lobby straight into an open elevator. It’s empty except for us, and Derek presses the number four repeatedly.

Close, doors… Close! Anticipation buzzes in my chest, until they finally start to move. They barely touch when he has me against the wall, pinned by his huge physique.

“God, you’re so beautiful.” His breath is a hot whisper across my cheek just before he claims my mouth, forcing my lips to part and finding my tongue with his.

A little whimper aches in my throat, and he lifts me against the shiny, wood-paneled wall. Breaking apart, his lips move down my jaw, velvet followed by scratchy beard. Another moan. My lust for him is at an epic height.

He lifts his head and our eyes meet. “I want to taste you.”

“Okay.” My voice trembles.

I’m thinking the same thing, when all at once the box we’re in stops. The doors open, and he looks over his shoulder. We’re on his floor.

He gives me a little wink. “Hold that thought.”

In a flash we’re out, headed down a narrow hallway. He swipes the door card, it emits a little tweet, and we push inside the room. I barely have a chance to notice the gold walls, marble-topped coffee table, or wood and brass accents of his suite before he’s got me in his arms.

My hands rest on his chest, and heat flames through my core with every heartbeat. My eyes travel up, up, up, to his blue ones now darkened with desire, and I know he’s remembering the same things as me—how fantastically our bodies came together only twenty-four hours ago. It seems like a lifetime after this day.

“When I saw you tonight… I couldn’t stay away.”

I smooth my palms over his shoulders, down his rounded biceps. He cups my cheeks, studying my hair, my chin, my lips, as if memorizing every part of me. It’s incredibly seductive, and I almost can’t bear the anticipation.

He gently kisses my brow, and my eyes flutter shut. “When I realized I wouldn’t make it back tonight, I was sure I’d lost you.” He traces a fiery line across the bridge of my nose to my other brow. “Why did you stay in the street? Were you feeling sick?”

“No,” I manage, despite the thickness in my throat. “I… I didn’t want to go inside.”

“Good,” he says before covering my mouth with his.

Our lips part quickly, and our tongues entwine before he continues his progress down my neck. Tasting. He wants to taste me. I’m burning with the same desire.

A swift pull and the top of my strapless dress is at my waist, revealing my bare breasts. A low noise of approval, and he rolls a hard nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

“Oh, god,” I gasp, as he leans down to give it a little suck, a teasing bite.

Heat floods my panties, and with every inhale, my need for him rises. Only tonight something is different. My heated lust is burning at both ends. My core is throbbing, begging for him, but something else—a consuming hunger is in my throat.

“Take me,” I barely speak, and he drops to his knees.

With one powerful lift, I’m off my feet, my back pinned against the wall as he holds my legs, pulling my thong to the side with his thumb.

Large, strong hands grip my inner thighs, opening them, and his nose touches my skin as his tongue covers my clit. A cry trembles from my throat, and he pulls back, pressing his mouth against my leg.

“I had to hear that sound again.” His voice is a sexy vibration against my skin, his beard scratching my most sensitive parts. I can’t help another shudder.

He holds me with strong hands, as if I weigh nothing at all, and his mouth returns to my center, his tongue making slow, languorous sweeps mixed with little pulls.

“Ooh, god!” My head drops back against the wall as my eyes roll closed. I thread my fingers in his soft, dark hair never wanting him to stop.