“I’ll give him that.”
On that note, Daniel winked and reached into his back pocket and brought out his credit card. Sliding it to the end of the table, he asked, “Good time? Easy enough?”
I nodded, again at a loss for words.
The server swooped by, taking the hint and grabbing the card.
“It was delicious,” I finally said.
“It was, and the scenery was perfect.” With his gaze burning into mine, he ran his fingers through my hair, taking a curl and placing it behind my ear.
“This room is really nice.” I went for dull and bland after an endearing moment.
And Daniel took it in stride with, “Not nearly as nice as you. Or as beautiful.”
We stayed like that, eyes locked, until the final bill appeared. Daniel signed, stood up, and offered his hand to me. With my fingers in his, I slid out of the booth and walked out with our hands still entwined.
Settled in the car, Daniel asked, “Want to come over? No pressure. Brutus would like it, and me too.”
“Yes. I’d like it too.”
We were like a pair of parrots, mimicking one another.
He drove toward his place, our windows down, the cool night air filtering through the car doing little to squelch the raging hormones.
I reached for something appropriate or light to say. “Where does Brutus go when you travel home?” In all my short life, I’d never felt so amped up.
“He usually goes to this doggie spa. It’s not too bad. He gets all kinds of specialty treats and they have a pool shaped like a dog bone.”
“Posh.”
“He has to go there when I travel for tournaments too. They’re pretty cool, so I like it.”
“I used to walk all the dogs in my neighborhood. After school. I had a big client list. Started in the eighth grade.”
I studied his profile in the moonlit car as he listened, and noticed a slight five o’clock shadow appearing. Taking it in wasn’t helping my sweltering hormones.
“I bet all the dogs loved you. Like Brutus. Animals can always tell a good person.”
I gave a little “Yeah” as we pulled into his parking space, and swallowed back any reservations I was having. I was a college senior, applying to medical school. I deserved a fun night.
As soon as the car was in park, Daniel was out and rounding the back, before opening my door. My hand in his, my blood sizzled again. I could feel my pulse beating in my neck—ga, goom, ga, goom—and resisted the urge to bring my fingers to the spot and touch the furious pace.
We hit the elevator and Daniel’s lips were on mine. My back pressed to the wall, and his mouth all over my own, he lifted my thigh, grinding into my core with his length.
A loud moan escaped me as soon as the elevator door opened, except there wasn’t time to be ashamed… Daniel had my hand in his and we were power walking to his door. When he swung it open, Brutus came bouncing toward us and nearly toppled me over.
“Hurry up and say your hellos,” he said to me, and I did as I was told.
He made quick work of running Brutus downstairs and outside for a bathroom break. The moment he was back in the condo, I was up against the wall, where we resumed the same position as the elevator. Kissing, grinding, our bodies demanding friction.
It was consuming and powerful in a way I’d never known. Not only because of how Daniel looked and felt physically, but the way he heard me, ingested what I said, and laughed at my sarcastic wit.
“Wren,” Daniel breathed, barely losing contact with my lips. “Feels so good.”
I leaned my forehead into his and took in large gulps of air.
“This is unexpected,” he murmured into my ear, his teeth grazing the lobe. “We have some kind of connection.”
