Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(54)
Chapter Twenty-Two
Knox pressed his fingertips tighter against Darya’s scalp, needing some kind of physical confirmation she was really here. That her lips were really against his and his mind hadn’t somehow conjured her response.
Her tongue slicked along his lower lip, a tentative touch over and gone in a second, but every bit as powerful as her words still ringing in his head.
Then take me home.
He answered back, taking her mouth the way he’d always craved. Leisurely feasting without thought to anything more than her taste and sharing all the emotion he’d kept buried.
This was what he’d missed. What he’d avoided with nearly every woman for over ten years and only allowed himself with Darya in the most vulnerable moments. A simple unguarded kiss. So much more innocent than the other things they’d done together, but the rawest intimacy.
He wrapped her up, banding one arm around her waist and palming the back of her head.
Her silky hair slicked across his knuckles and down his forearms and her ragged breaths puffed against his lips between each pass of his own. He’d meant what he’d told her. He didn’t have a clue what he was doing. Had never faced anything in his life as terrifying as laying himself out like he had tonight.
But here—with her in his arms and the rest of the world completely out of focus—the risk was worth it.
He nipped her lower lip, lingering long enough to chase the hungry gasp the action earned him with one last graze of his mouth, then rested his forehead against hers. His arms shook. Hell, his whole body shook, so flooded on adrenaline and endorphins he’d be lucky if he slept for a month. “I was an ass.”
It was easier to admit than he’d expected. A relief, actually, leaving the weight he’d lugged on his shoulders a few bricks lighter and sweeping fresh air into the musty places inside him he’d forgotten existed.
She pulled away enough to search his face. “I thought you were quite sweet.”
Of course, she would. In the three weeks since she’d first walked into his office, she’d built solid relationships with everyone she worked with and had done it by focusing on the good in every one of them. He, on the other hand, immediately isolated every person’s character defect and catalogued how it might come back to bite him, or where it might run afoul of his or his brothers’ business plans. With Darya, he’d known inside of two seconds, just how low she could bring him. All he’d garnered by holding her at bay was lost time and the creation of trust hurdles he’d now have to dismantle. “Not sure my manning up in the eleventh hour makes up for the rest of my jackass antics.” He smoothed her hair back and cupped her face, soaking in the closeness. “I’ll make it up to you.”
Her lips quirked and a playful gleam danced behind her beautiful eyes. “Does this mean I only have to do the work of one employee instead of two?”
There she was. The lighthearted and quick-to-frolic woman he’d watched with everyone else through the cameras. Except this time, he was the recipient. The one to earn her smile and revel in his sweet angel’s voice.
Finally.
He was tempted to spill the beans and tell her yes, but he smirked instead and said, “No. If anything, you’ll have to up your game and pull the weight of three people.”
Her eyes popped wide and her mouth opened and closed at least twice before he chuckled and pulled her against him.
“Relax.” He kissed the top of her head and filled his lungs with her perfect scent. “I know a guy that can help you with whatever your asshole boss dishes out.”
She hugged her arms tighter around his waist and giggled, her laughter the brightest and most amazing sound he’d heard in ages. “Would that guy happen to be a little over six feet tall and have dirty blond hair?”
“He’s dirty, all right. Especially when you factor into his thoughts, which is about every other second.” On cue, his mind coughed up the fact that the woman he’d fantasized and fixated on for the better part of three weeks wasn’t just plastered against him, but had willingly accepted taking a chance on him despite his fucked up behavior. His easy laughter died off and the significance of what he’d asked her filtered back to the top of his consciousness.
He cupped the back of her neck and pulled away enough to meet her gaze. “Come home with me.” She couldn’t realize what a huge deal this was for him. Not yet. But it was a start. A big one.
She nodded and uncurled her arms from around his waist, her movement hesitant as though she’d rather not let go. “Just let me get my things.”
It was weird how easy things shifted. How they moved in sync without saying a word. Him slipping her laptop bag from her hand. Her moving in close to his side so his hand could settle at the small of her back. Even as he moved through the hallways, checking each room and shutting down the lights, she flowed beside him as though they’d done the routine together countless nights.
All this time he’d missed this. Damn near lost his chance at it if he’d read the pain and hesitancy in her eyes right before he’d nutted up and reached for the brass ring.
The drive to his place was mostly quiet, sprinkled only with likes and dislikes on music once he encouraged her to take control of the radio. More than the genres represented on his preset selections—which she seemed to heartily agree with—she seemed fascinated by the number of stations available via the satellite service.