Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17343 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 87(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 58(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17343 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 87(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 58(@300wpm)
But then we’d never crossed that line and slept together, either.
Damion catches me to him, his arm sliding around my lower back, palm settling on my opposite hip, his hard, warm, big body aligned to mine. There’s an intimacy to the way he holds me; sensual, possessive. I’ve never known him to be someone who is about public displays of affection, but tonight he kissed me in front of Mary, and now he’s all but telling the entire building we’re about to have sex. And me—little, always conservative me—doesn’t even care. I’m drugged by his touch, my mind muddled up by the awareness working its way through every part of my body.
We approach the building, and the sliding doors open, allowing us to enter. I’m immediately aware of a thirty-something man in a suit with a buzz cut and a hard-set jaw standing near the desk. His entire presence screams ex-military-turned-security, which means he watches everyone and sees everything and I’m instantly wondering what he must think of us. Wondering what he must think of me. It’s not something I wonder for long as Damion halts us in front of him, and the surprise I feel at this move is echoed in this stranger’s eyes.
My cheeks heat and I am instantly self-conscious as he motions between me and the stranger. “Noah, meet Alana. Alana, Noah.”
Noah’s attention lands on me, the surprise in his eyes deepening, as both of us are clearly wondering what the heck is happening right now.
“Welcome, Alana,” Noah greets and there is a flicker in his eyes of something I cannot name but I wish I could, because I feel like he’s more in the know right now than I am.
“Thank you,” I say uneasily.
“Noah’s the head of security for the building,” Damion explains and then addresses Noah directly, “Alana is moving in with me and she’s become quite the star. She has a TV show and—”
I blanch at this announcement Damion and I have not yet confirmed, then blanch again as Noah says, “I’m aware. My sister is unemployed and watches it all the damn time.”
I’m taken aback by Noah’s admission, aware now that look in his eyes was about my show, not me moving in with Damion, and his reference to his sister in the mix manages to drag a laugh out of me. “I take it you don’t like my show?”
“I’d like your show a whole lot more if she were employed and out of my house.”
I laugh again, finding him remarkably likable considering the hardness he oozes. “I understand. We’ll be in reruns soon. Maybe that will help.”
“She’ll just watch the Hallmark Channel,” he mutters and then adds, “but welcome to the building, Alana. It’s not your fault my sister is lazy.” He eyes Damion and then me. “It’s nice to see him settling down.”
This remark flutters about in my belly like butterflies, and then nose dives into anger at the pure manipulation of the moment. “I’ve known him a very long time.”
His brow lifts. “Really? And I’ve never seen you before, why?”
I twist out of Damion’s grip and point a finger at him that is an accusation in all kinds of ways even if my tone is not. “I think he struggled with the idea that I’d seen him in diapers,” I say, because giving Damion a hard time is something I’ve practiced most of my life.
Damion laughs now. “As I have you, Alana.”
I’m not happy with him right now, but it’s impossible not to feel the connection between us and the heat of his body without a bit of an internal sigh. “We’re going to call it a night, Noah,” Damion says, capturing my hand with his and then tugging me closer, his arm sliding back around me, even as he adds, “If you need me, you know how to reach me.”
“Indeed,” Noah agrees and gives me a nod. “Goodnight and nice to meet you, Alana.”
“Nice to meet you, Noah.”
Damion rotates us away from Noah and toward the elevator, and that’s when my anger really begins to truly ignite. In an effort to calm myself and remain logical, I mentally replay what just happened. My conclusion is that while I want this man to want me, and yes, I want him, everything about what just happened speaks of the layers of complication between us.
We halt at the elevator, and I can feel my body vibrating with my hyped-up emotions. Damion punches the button, and the doors open instantly. I twist out of his arms and step into the car, and I hate the way his touch has left me smoldering in the aftermath. I just want him to touch me again, but isn’t that the problem? He has seduced me far too easily all my life.
I can feel him at my back, his energy, his body heat, and my mind is already muddled with his nearness. I rotate to face him, trying to regain my control, of which, I have little with Damion. He punches the key to his floor, and it is his floor, not mine, contrary, of course, to what he just told Noah. I haven’t made the decision to move in with him and he doesn’t get to make it for me. The doors shut and now Damion and I are facing each other, the energy between us cracking and snapping.