Moonlighter (The Company, #1)(31)

“No kidding. But why waste it? Four nights, Engels. If you want, we can keep pretending that we don’t both need the same thing. But I’ve got better uses for your time. Naked uses.” He holds out a hand, waiting for me to take it, so he can lead me off the dance floor.

“You’re serious about this.”

“Absofuckinglutely.”

I hesitate for a half second, tops. Then I put my hand in his.

“Smart girl,” he says under his breath as we stride forward together toward the lobby, hand in hand.

Before we’re clear of the party, a couple of acquaintances try to flag me down. “Hey, Tim!” I call out. But I don’t slow down. In fact, I accelerate, instead, which makes Eric chuckle.

He slaps the elevator button the moment we reach it.

That’s when the first bit of awkwardness sets in. We’re just standing there holding hands. And by the time the elevator arrives, there’s an elderly couple also heading upstairs. They press the button for the third floor. The ride ought to feel short, but it doesn’t.

“I didn’t cheat!” the man crows as the doors close.

“I saw you!”

“It’s a misunderstanding,” he says.

“There was an ace in your shirt pocket! And a king under your butt on the chair.”

“I have no idea where those cards came from!”

The elevator doors part, thank God. The couple moves slowly out of the elevator. “You have a good night,” Eric calls after them. He’s probably coming to his senses already. Who would want to hook up with a hormonal pregnant lady?

The doors begin to slide closed again, and before we continue our ascent, Eric’s rough hand is cupping my face. Before I can even make sense of it, he’s taking my mouth in a hot kiss.

I whimper against his lips. And I guess he hasn’t come to his senses after all. I’m definitely losing mine. Eric’s bossy kisses leave me no time to think. As soon as one kiss ends, another one has already begun.

The elevator doors part again, and my fingers clutch instinctively at the lapels of his jacket, because I don’t want him to stop.

Eric solves this problem by reaching behind me, sliding a thick forearm beneath my bum and lifting me up into the air. We’re still lip-locked as we leave the elevator. The man is seriously coordinated.

Just…wow.

The next thing I hear is the beep of a hotel door lock disengaging. I wrap my arms around his neck for what I assume will be a quick trip to the bedroom. But when the door clicks shut, he turns and leans me against it.

Our kiss breaks momentarily, and he looks down at me with lust-filled eyes. “I would never pressure you. Tell me that you’re a hundred percent down for this.”

Is he kidding right now? My face is flushed. My lips are swollen from his kisses. My panties are damp. But the sexiest thing of all is the way he’s looking at me as if he can’t wait to get my dress off. If he calls this off, I will be seriously disappointed. And also mortified. “No second thoughts, Bayer. Or I’m going to think you’re all talk.”

Those dark eyes flare. “You won’t think so in a minute.”

“So you say…”

He thrusts his hips forward, and I gasp happily. I’m basically straddling the most ambitious erection that’s come my way in a long time. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to drop you on the bed in a minute. You get thirty seconds to remove this dress. And then I get to do the rest.”

“Thirty seconds?” I squeak. “There’s a zipper down the back.”

He actually rolls his eyes. “I’ll handle the zipper, then.”

“Fine. Let’s go. Time’s a’wasting.”

About a quarter second after I issue this little challenge, I’m flying through the air again. This time his hot mouth roams my neck while he carries me through the suite. My body lights up like a circuit board, flashing everywhere at once with heat and awareness. And when he drops me on the bed as promised, I turn my back so he can free me of this dress.

He unzips me the smart way—by holding the fabric at the top in one hand and easing the zipper down with the other.

This bothers me a little. He’s obviously unzipped so many dresses that he knows exactly what to do. As the fabric slides down my bare back, I worry that my newly chubby body will disappoint.

I slip off the bed and then step out of the dress. Then I turn slowly around to face him, wearing nothing but a skimpy lace bra and tiny panties.

“Oh, hell yes,” he says.

I guess I’m not a disappointment after all.





11





Eric





I’m not really prepared for the sight of Alex in a see-through bra and panties. It’s barely fair that a woman could be smarter than ninety-nine percent of the population, richer than God, and also look so ravishing.

“You’re staring,” she complains.

“Of course I am. Because you’re mouth-watering.” I toss my jacket at a chair. “Lie down on the bed.”

She lifts one foot, reaching for the strap that secures her high-heeled shoe.

“No,” I say sharply. “Leave that on.”

“Why?”

“Because.”