Strong and Sexy (Sky High Air #2)(14)

With Shayne right on her heels.

“Oh, no. No way.” Putting a hand to his chest, she halted his progress, but that left them standing in the doorway, incredibly close, his head bent down toward hers, their mouths nearly touching.

Alan nearly fell out of his own doorway trying to get a better view. “Dani? Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Still fine,” she called out, eyes on Shayne as she gave him a push.

Like a brick wall—or a stubborn ass, pick one—he didn’t budge. “I want to walk you inside.”

“Not necessary.”

“I think it is.”

“I can get myself inside, I manage to do it every day. I’m not crazy, damn it.”

“Okay,” he said agreeably. “You’re not crazy. Explain tonight.”

“Before or after the closet? Because that part? That was crazy.”

His mouth twitched. “After you kissed me.”

“You kissed me.”

“No.”

“Yes. You held up the mistletoe and leaned in and—”

Oh, God. She’d kissed him.

He let out a sound that might have been a half laugh, half growl as he stepped forward, into her, slipping an arm around her waist.

“Hey—”

Whipping her around, he shut the door and pressed her back against it, trapping her between the hard wood and the even harder length of his body, which freed up his hands to cup her face as he kissed her.

Really kissed her, and holy smokes, she was out of her league here with him. So out of her league.

He nibbled at her mouth until she opened for him, a feat that took less than a heartbeat because damn, he knew what he was doing. She found herself wrapped around him like shrink-wrap, kissing him back with everything she had, which caused a low, sexy rumble from deep in his throat. His hands got very busy, gliding down her arms, her hips, her bottom, which he squeezed, before moving up again, to her back bared by the dress.

The feel of his fingers on her skin brought a shiver that had nothing to do with the fact that they were both chilled and dripping water on the floor, nothing at all—

His industrious fingers played in the black velvet strings crisscrossing her back, entangling with the knot, and she went still. If he loosened it, the thing would release the entire top half of her dress.

He kept playing.

She stopped breathing.

Lifting his head, looking into her eyes, he smiled, as his fingers dallied with the string, and then…oh God and then, very lightly pulled.

Still not breathing. “Shayne—”

His eyes were sexy and slumberous as his hands slid down her body one last time before falling away. “Now you can say I’ve kissed you.”

She was breathing again, like a marathon runner now. The only thing that made it even halfway acceptable was the fact that he wasn’t breathing any too steady either.

“Dani?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

He cocked his head to the side. “You have no idea what I was going to ask.”

“You were going to ask me out. I don’t think so.”

He let out a low laugh of a genuine amusement. “I was going to ask you not to leave your key under the mat.”

Her face bloomed. “Oh.”

“But just out of curiosity,” he murmured, still looking amused. “Why wouldn’t you go out with me?”

“Doesn’t matter, since you weren’t asking.”

“Why, Dani?”

She sighed. “You don’t want to know.”

“No, I do. I really do.”

“Okay.” She shook her head. “You’re a ten.”

“A ten?”

“Yeah. And tens? They date tens. And sixes date sixes. If a ten dated a six, then the six is pretty much just asking for a heartache.”

He blinked. “Was that in English?”

“Never mind.” She tried to open her door to kick him out but he blocked it with a palm on the wood above her head.

“You think you’re a six?” he asked.

She controlled her wince. “I know I presented as a three, but on a better day, I can be a six.”

He looked at her for a long moment, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, pressing it into her hand. She looked down. A business card.

His.

“My cell-phone number is there if you need me.” Leaning in, he put his mouth to her ear. “And on your worst day? You’re a ten plus.”

Her knees wobbled. He was strong and smart and sexy—and colossally wrong for her. She recognized it, he had to recognize it, and she just hoped she was also smart enough to remember it. “I won’t be calling, Shayne.”

Something flashed across his face. Resignation? Regret?

Lingering heat?

Definitely lingering heat.

Fine. Great. So they were both still a little turned on. They were adults. They could deal with it. Yanking open the door, she gave him more than a push this time, it was far closer to a shove, and she knew the only reason she was able to budge him at all was because he let her.

Gaze still locked on hers, he stepped back, opening his mouth to say…

She had no idea because she shut the door. Shut the door on a hot man who thought she was hot too.