Page 49 of What I Like About You

“But that’s your dream!” she exclaimed, a little shocked she hadn’t heard that Big D was the money behind the city’s new team, not that she had paid that close attention. But of course he was. Who else in Atlanta would be behind it? Especially if he was trying to entice his only son back home.

“It was. Before. Not anymore.” There was a twinge of regret in Dalton’s voice, and it made Zara’s heart hurt. He’d talked about wanting to run a professional sports team since they were kids, and here was his chance. But it meant compromising on something he was obviously not comfortable with. “There are very few things I wanted back then that I still want now. In fact, there’s really only one.”

“And what’s that?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

“You.”

A gasp escaped her before she could stop it. Maybe she shouldn’t have been surprised by the answer—he’d been whispering sweet nothings in her ear all day long. Hell, half the time he hadn’t even whispered it. Not to mention, he had just told her that he wanted to “do” her. But somehow, this comment meant more. The comment earlier had been playful, but this…this was something deeper. A desire that went beyond in some way. She couldn’t explain it, but she understood it. Maybe because she was feeling it too.

Dalton's ocean-blue eyes turned dark with need as he looked deeply into hers. She could feel her pulse start to race as his hands moved from her hips to her ass, giving it a squeeze. His hands felt so good on her body, and she wanted to let him have full rein. She slipped her hands underneath his T-shirt and slowly moved them up his chest, feeling the hard grooves of his abs. His skin was still hot from the sun, which only served to heat her up even more.

“I like when you say things like that,” she admitted.

“It’s the truth, Zara. You have no idea how bad I want you. How I’ve always wanted you.” Lowering his head, he slanted his mouth, hovering so his lips just barely touched hers. “How many nights I have lain in bed, thinking about your luscious body and how it would feel under mine.”

Before she could respond, he captured her mouth with his. She felt like she was a bomb, ready to burst from all the excitement running through her. How was it that he knew exactly what to say to rev her up? Between his words and his kisses, it wasn’t going to take much more. She could already feel herself growing wet and she knew this was only the beginning. Grasping at the fabric of his T-shirt, she tried to inch it up to pull it off him, but couldn’t seem to work it quite right.

“You want me naked, huh?” he said, not letting up from the kiss. “Well, I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

“You’ve seen mine,” she responded coyly.

He pulled back fully, looking her up and down before gazing into her eyes, that signature impish grin crossing his face. “I will never not want to see yours. You are so fucking sexy.”

“I’m not sexy, I’m chubby,” she retorted.

The serious look that suddenly overtook Dalton’s face scared her for a second. Gone was that megawatt smile and mischievous glint in his eye that had been there a moment ago, replaced with a furrowed brow and a slight frown.

“Don’t you dare say that,” he whispered, his voice strained. “Zara, you are the most stunning creature I have ever seen in my entire life. I don’t care what anyone else has ever told you about your body, because they’re wrong. Everything about you is gorgeous, and fuck, just looking at you wrecks me. You have starred in every fantasy I’ve ever had and probably will ever have. You are not chubby. You are divine.”

Zara couldn’t breathe. Had she imagined that? Probably not, since Dalton was still staring into her eyes like he was trying to see into her soul. His words left her feeling so many things, not the least of which was adored. He thought she was sexy? As if she hadn’t already wanted to climb him like a tree and then he goes and says something like that.

Feeling a rush of courage, she decided to finally kick things up a notch. She’d long thought him the sexiest thing on this planet, and here he was telling her the exact same thing. Like hell was she going to waste this moment.

Zara threw her arms around Dalton’s neck, almost launching herself into his arms. He was ready for her, though, and scooped her right up, sliding his arms underneath her ass. She wrapped her legs around him and kissed him hard. He kissed her back even harder and she felt the fire inside her fully ignite. Dalton affected her in ways she never could have imagined, and fuck, did she like it. Moaning slightly into the kiss, she ground her center against the hardness in his shorts. Dalton groaned in response, biting down on her bottom lip and pulling her hips in closer, trying to create more of the delicious friction she was searching for. Zara could feel herself getting wetter with each swivel of her hips, and she wanted nothing more than to be skin on skin with him.

“I want you, Zara,” he said gruffly.

“Then have me.”