“If it’s okay with you, Johnson and I will follow you back to the main street,” he said, his hand no longer on his gun like it had been earlier. “Then you two can get back to that honeymoon of yours.”
Did he just wink?
We agreed and started toward the front of the oak-lined roadway, two cop cars trailing behind us. Neither of us said a word. Dane waved to the officers as they left us at the edge of the street.
“What the hell was that?” I asked as they drove away. “What just happened?”
Dane smiled as he grabbed my hand and twisted my fingers into his. It was oddly soothing. “Spencer is good at his job.”
Did he think that answered my question?
“But how?”
He pulled me close under a streetlight that bathed us both in its glow. “I’ll always take care of you, princess.”
Along the walkway of the sidewalk, Dane backed me against a warm brick wall. His hands braced themselves up on either side of me. Our eyes locked.
Was he going to kiss me?
Tension grew between us and then snapped like a live wire. He dipped his head, caught my mouth with his, and gave me a kiss full of heat and hunger. There was no hesitation. No holding back.
I met him with just as much force and emotion.
My fingers grabbed his black shirt, pulling him closer to me as his tongue teased mine. He wanted possession of my body, and I wanted to give it. I’d been thinking of this kiss for hours. Days. Weeks. Months. Since the first time he knocked on my hotel room door after arriving late to our first case together.
My world blurred until it was just us. The press of his body against mine, and the fire that curled its way in my stomach. But it wasn’t enough. After what just happened, I needed more.
I broke the kiss first. Pulling free from him, breathless. He stared without words, waiting to hear why I’d made us quit. A hint of fear flashed in his eyes as I stared at him.
“We need to get back to your place,” I said.
16
We grabbed an Uber to the condo rather than walk. Dane kept his hand on my leg, slowly running it up and down on my inner thigh as we sat in the car. Every one of his touches zipped right to my core. My hardened nipples rubbed against my bra, the fabric adding to my sensation overload.
Dane held my hand as we stepped onto the elevator in our building. Our gazes met as the doors closed, and he pushed me up against the shiny metal wall as we began our ascent.
He pressed our bodies together and paid attention to my neck with his lips.
“What if there are cameras?” I asked as he trailed his lips down my collarbone.
Goosebumps covered my arms as he sucked and then released my skin with a pop. “Don’t care.”
Right. Then I didn’t either.
Heat pooled between my legs, and I moaned.
The elevator doors opened, and Dane pulled me from the confined area down our hallway. I barely had the condo door closed behind us before he pressed in from behind. His presence was all heat and tension. Dane’s arm spanned around me, and with a simple flick of his wrist, the lock sounded. Seconds later, his mouth brushed the back of my neck.
“I can’t stand it when you look at me like that,” he murmured, his voice low as he kissed under my ear.
His words hit me right in the chest. “What look is that?”
“The one that says you want me to back you against a wall and have my way with you,” he whispered before using his teeth to tug on my earlobe.
I turned and met his gaze. His eyes were darker than usual. His dark brown irises wide with lust, with a hard-set jaw that showed his restraint. My tummy fluttered. I didn’t want restraint.
Whatever Dane and I had between us had been sizzling for months now. I tried to avoid it. Tried to ignore it. Did everything possible to pretend it didn’t exist.
