Dallas walked out of his bedroom with a smile on his face.
“Ah, that looks better,” Patrick said.
“Do you have any plans for tomorrow night?”
“Not so far,” his brother said. “Why?”
“Will you cover at the bar for me? I’ll owe you. Please.”
“I can’t wait to meet this woman. She has you twisted in knots.”
Some of the happiness in Dallas dispersed. Patrick would assume it was lust knots. Dallas knew better. He and Laura walked a rock-studded trail, yet he didn’t consider turning off the dangerous path. He accepted a bottle of beer from his brother. “It’s mutual.”
“Are you worried I’ll win her over with my charm?” Patrick asked.
“No.”
“Then why aren’t you giving me details?”
“Because it’s new, and I want to keep her to myself.”
“She knows about your bossy nature? That you live and breathe work?”
Dallas smiled. “Yeah.”
“And she’s okay with you bossing her around?”
“Yeah.” And didn’t that beat all. A Drummond willing to submit to an O’Grady. “Sometimes.”
Anticipation crept through her like a tiger stalking prey. During the morning, she’d been calm enough. Excited about seeing Dallas—yes—but it had felt like waiting for a special treat. This was ten times worse. Her nipples rubbed against the sexy bit-of-nothing bra she’d donned that morning, driving her to distraction every time she shifted positions. Lower, something swelled and jumped around her stomach, making it difficult to eat while her panties were damp with her arousal.
For once, her pleasure in working at a real job hadn’t offered enough distraction, and during the latter half of the day, she’d become a chronic clock watcher. Finally, finally, five o’clock ticked around and she packed up for the day.
The drive to Dallas’s house seemed to take ages due to the traffic. While she’d wanted to speed through the streets, commonsense meant she crawled at the speed limit. Talking to Dallas on the phone was a poor substitute for the real thing.
She pulled up in his new driveway, grabbed her overnight bag, her handbag and phone. The front door opened as she reached it and she fell into his arms, mouth upturned for his kiss.
Laughing because she misdirected and kissed his chin, she drew back and dropped everything on the floor. Dallas shut the door, and she pressed against him.
Their second kiss was perfect. Hungry. Hot and deep, tongues searching. Her softness against his hard chest. Only the need to breathe parted them, and he pressed his forehead against hers, gasping for air.
“If it wasn’t so damn cold again tonight, I’d nail you against the wall right now.” His voice was husky with need. “I lit the fire a couple of hours ago. Come into the warm.”
Laura let him lead her into the lounge, which was as toasty-warm as he promised. A fire crackled in the wood burner, but the rest of the room was bare apart from a large mattress, already covered with sheets and a warm duvet. Her lips quivered at the condoms sitting in a pile by the wall.
“I figured we needed a little comfort,” he said. “The rest of the furniture will have to wait. I thought you might like to help me pick it out. We’ll see what we have in common.”
“I have nil experience in furniture shopping. Sounds fun.”
Dallas placed her bags by the wall. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes.” She almost laughed at his clear disappointment and gave him points for acting the gentleman. She shrugged out of her coat and tossed it on the floor. Then she kept undressing until she stood in front of him dressed in lingerie. “Hungry for you. If I don’t get to touch you, have you inside me in the next few seconds, I’m going to scream.”
Dallas exploded into a frenzy of movement while she dispensed with the last of her garments. He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the mattress. His mouth sought hers as they fell together in a tangle of limbs.
His hard body pressing her down, the crisp sheets at her back had her twisting, squirming. His hands roamed, fingers plucked at her nipples and she cried out at the blaze of pleasure.
“Now,” she urged him. “Please now.”
