Dana sighed. “I really should get back to my sister.”
Alex stepped aside so she could pass.
“Thanks for listening, Alex. I didn’t mean to spill my guts like that.”
“I don’t see any messes here.”
He must need his pretty green eyes checked. She started to make her way down the hallway.
“Dana?”
“Yes?” She turned about quickly, probably a little too quickly.
“If you ever want to talk, I’m here. Literally, I’m always here.”
“Aren’t you busy running a hotel?”
“I’m never too busy to help my guests.”
“Is that so? You must be dedicated to your work.”
“What can I say? I’m a people pleaser.” Even though his face remained serious, merriment made his eyes sparkle.
“And you feel a need to please me, huh?”
He stood very still, like a wolf whose keen nose had just detected the scent of a doe with a broken leg.
She cleared her throat. The comment had sounded innocent in her head, but when it spilled out of her, it was accompanied by images of Alex gripping her hips as he thrust inside her.
His eyes narrowed but he didn’t respond. Instead, his gaze dropped toward her collarbones and then slowly traveled back up. “Have a good day, Dana.” With that, he left her in the alcove.
Once he was out of earshot, Dana grunted. “What’s wrong with you?And you feel a need to please me?Where the hell did that come from?”
Her mortification, though searing, didn’t last long.
It was the other fire that bothered her, the one that burned in Alex’s eyes.
***
Alex didn’t run into Dana until the next night, but their conversation had played on a loop in his head the whole time. Considering he’d been in and out of meetings all day, it was frustrating. They were in the process of hiring two new directors, one for cage operations and the other for revenue management, and Alex had wanted to meet all the candidates for these high-profile jobs. The last thing he needed as he shook hands with potential directors was to be imagining all the ways he could please Dana.
He knew her question had been blurted innocently enough, but it was hard not to give it some naughty subtext.
He never thought he would hear her sexy moans again, but a few minutes in her presence told him he had a chance. Maybe, if he handled things right, he could convince Dana they had a connection worth exploring.
What are you doing?
Their only connection was a few minutes of hot sex. If he honestly thought it was the basis for something more, he was a fool.
Besides, he didn’t want anything more, not until he sorted himself out. Dating just wasn’t in the cards right now. After buggering up his relationship with Shannon, the woman he’d initially pegged as his partner for life, did he actually think he could achieve more with Dana? He knew nothing about her.
That didn’t stop him from wanting to know everything.
Put her out of your head.
Emptying his brain of the carnal imagery, he focused on his last task of the long work day. On his way to his apartment, he stopped in to talk to the night manager at the reception desk. He’d asked the manager to provide an update on how the staff was handling the new reservation system. Now that the IT department had worked out a couple of the bugs with their online reservations, everyone was much happier and less stressed.
When he finished speaking with the desk manager, he turned and made a beeline for his private elevator.
