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I shrugged. “Over a year.”
“Good.” He seemed pleased I wasn’t sleeping around, but I also felt the undercurrent of tension radiating from him and I wondered if it had something to do with thoughts of other men touching me. He’d already proven himself territorial about that.
In turn, I probably should have asked about his sexual history but didn’t really want to hear that he’d dated Mikaela, Kate Upton, Jennifer Aniston, or some heiress to a gold mine. I had enough to contend with at the moment.
However, I did tell him, “I highly doubt you’ll be entertained by me for long. In fact, I’m sure you’ll lose interest quickly.”
Sort of a painful confession but certainly an honest one.
He leaned forward. “Don’t be so sure. You have hands-on experience of how hard you make me. Even when we’re just on the phone, you get me going in a heartbeat. That won’t go away overnight.”
Flames flickered over my skin.
“I don’t want you to have any inhibitions,” he said. “Nothing’s off-limits, Ari. Nothing.”
I swallowed down a lump of panic. “What do you mean?”
“The things I want to do to you—they’re going to push all these boundaries. And you’re going to let me do them to you. You’re going to beg me to do them to you.”
I had begged him. Within seconds, it’d seemed.
“Or say no.” His voice was clipped. Jaw set, eyes fixed on me. “Right now.”
I’d just come multiple times … and now he was giving me an ultimatum?
“Ari,” he prompted.
“That’s a lot to ask.” From me. The woman with endless boundaries.
“I told you,” he said, his expression a dark, compelling one. “I want you.”
The standoff ensued. I had no idea how to react. What to say. Ask for some actual definitions or … trust him?
My head spun. And despite the fact that we’d arrived at the row of townhomes along the seventh hole, I knew he wouldn’t let me off the hook.
He did give me a reprieve from the mouthwatering sight of him as he buttoned his shirt. He collected his jacket, shook it out, and handed it to me. “Put this on.”
I draped it around my shoulders, still a bit stunned at how everything had unfolded this evening. And because of his latest demand.
He reached for my shoes. “You’ll ruin these if you wear them.”
The door opened and he climbed out while I dug around for my keys. Then he scooped me into his arms, so I didn’t have to wade through an inch of rain flooding the parking lot. The driver held a large umbrella over our heads, having to extend his arm to accommodate Dane’s stature.
I directed him to the end unit and miraculously managed to shove the key in the hole while my fingers trembled. I pushed the door open and he set me on my feet just inside the foyer.
Turning to his driver, Dane said, “Thanks. You can return to the car.”
“Very good, sir.”
He tried to pass over the umbrella, but Dane shook his head. “I’m fine.” The driver left us.
Butterflies took flight in my stomach. Now what?
Dane gave another one of those steely gazes and asked, “Have you made up your mind?”
The butterflies became more like screeching crows. I didn’t know this man. Not really. He was secretive. Mysterious. There were things happening in his world that I knew nothing about, but I could see they troubled him when I caught glimpses of his clenched jaw or flashes of consternation in his eyes.
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