‘Well, it certainlyisa surprise, seeing as you didn’t mention a word of it to me,’ I say, attempting to regain control of my senses. ‘Are you staying at the hotel too?’
He nods. ‘Don’t mind me. I’ll be ... around. I won’t cramp your style if you want to pull.’ He grins and nods over at Nicholas, who’s walking past with his nose in the air.
I snort. ‘I was actually going to leave after I’d had my coffee.’
‘Oh, stay for a bit. I need to talk to a few more people, but I’ll come back, and we can have a chat. Overdue, I think.’
He reaches for my hand and squeezes it, and my heart nearly shoots out of my chest.
‘OK,’ I say, feeling a little breathless. ‘I’ll sit here quietly and finish this.’
Dain smiles at me and heads off to talk to a group of men and women who all seem to know him. There are welcoming smiles and handshakes. Wow, OK, he’s popular. I sip my coffee, watching him as he flits around the room like a social butterfly. After finishing my coffee, I order a G and T to have something else to drink. But I can’t take my eyes off him—and neither, I notice, can most of the ovulating females in the room. At one point, he’s talking intently to my supervisor, and they look over at me. I cringe. God, what is he saying? Something good hopefully and not ‘Watch out for Lizzy. She likes to perv at naked men’.
After polishing off my G and T, I can’t wait for Dain any longer. My bladder is fit to burst. Making my way back from the loo, which is at the end of a long empty corridor inset with curtained alcoves, I spot Dain leaning next to one.
As I approach, his dark-brown eyes trace the curves of my body, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.
‘Waiting for the men’s?’ I ask, trying to ignore the shiver of anticipation I feel at being alone with him.
‘No, waiting for you, for our chat. I haven’t seen you much lately.’
Dain grabs my hand and pulls me into the alcove behind the purple velvet curtain. Oh no, what is it with me and crushed velvet curtains at faculty functions? But I’m drawn to him, relishing the chance to be up close and personal. Pressed against the wall, I look up at him, and confusion or apprehension or a mixture of both must be showing in my eyes because he whispers, ‘Are you thinking about August Titmeyer?’
‘N-no. M-maybe,’ I stutter, surprised that he’s remembered our conversation from the sleeping bag.
‘Do you still feel like a bad person?’
‘For ... for what?’ I can’t think straight with him being so close to me.
‘You know.’ He brushes a hand over the front of my dress, briefly touching my left breast. It happens so quickly I think I’ve imagined it. But my nipple hardens, followed by a quick pulse between my legs.
I suck in my breath and stare into his eyes; they’re liquid, timeless, heated. His gaze lowers to my mouth.
I breathe out, knowing that whatever he’s thinking, it doesn’t involve chatting. ‘Is this wise?’
‘Probably not.’ He cups his large cool hand around my hot cheek, and I close my eyes, relishing the feel of it. ‘But don’t tell me you haven’t been thinking about it,’ he whispers.
‘OK, I won’t,’ I whisper back.
‘But you have?’
My head nods of its own volition; and he releases my cheek with a small sigh, dropping his hand to my hip region, where his index finger draws small pleasurable circles on my upper thigh. I shiver in response. ‘To answer your question, no, I don’t feel like a bad person anymore. I think you’ve cured me of that,’ I say in a low voice.
‘Oh?’
‘Definitely. Whatever I did is nothing compared to the utterly shameless women in your books.’
Dain chuckles and moves closer, his weight pressing me into the wall so I’m pleasantly trapped beneath him. Our bodies snake together, my arms looping around his neck. I can’t resist threading my fingers through his hair and feeling the warm skin of his scalp. He closes his eyes with a hum of pleasure, bends his head, and brushes his lips down the side of my cheek, reaching the sensitive spot below my ear. He licks it, then blows softly, and my stomach does a slow somersault. I turn my head and seek out his lips; and they yield to mine—soft, pliable, yet instantly addictive. I can taste the wine on his breath and figure, since he’s acting so uninhibited, he must’ve drunk a lot more of it than I have. Our small soft kisses turn deeper, open-mouthed, tongues twining and igniting multiple fires all over my body. I press my hips against his, feeling the hard outline in his trousers, and rub against him wantonly.
He palms my breasts, rolling my hard nipples between his fingers, and a low groan emits from the back of my throat. ‘We shouldn’t do this here.’
‘As reluctant as I am to stop ... agreed,’ he whispers, kissing the side of my mouth.
‘I’m glad you’re reluctantly in agreement,’ I say and suck on his bottom lip, which sets off another bout of fervid kissing.
‘Mmm.’ Dain pulls away and looks at me, panting, his hair sticking up, eyes glazed. ‘Which room are you in?’
‘I’m in 612,’ I say in a husky voice.
