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Chapter Five
Moving on autopilot, Hannah rose to her feet as Dalton took her hand to wrap her fingers around the thornless stem of the richly scented rose. “Dalton...”
“You’re a woman who knows how to live her life out loud, no apologies, so it’s no mystery why good things come your way. Or that jealous trolls might want to sling shit at you because they’re never going to live the life you have, and they’re sure as hell never going to earn themselves a... what’d she call it? A flower shower.” Dalton looked deeply into her eyes as he spoke, until the very last when he flicked a dagger-like glance Jodie’s way. “Right?”
Jodie’s gasp was audible before she dropped back behind her side of the modular wall with a monosyllabic response.
“That. Was. Awesome.” Clearly not caring that Jodie could no doubt hear every word, Keisha surged forward to shake Dalton’s hand. “Seriously. First the flowers, then the single flower, then the verbal takedown. I’m so utterly in love with you right now I could die. By the way, I’m Keisha, and I really hope you’re the guy my friend Hannah had an almost-amazing date with last night. I mean, it would have been totally amazing except for the very ending, which apparently kind of tanked—”
“Uh, okay, thanks so much, Keisha,” Hannah hurriedly cut in, wishing her friend would suddenly and inexplicably lose her ability to speak English. “I’m just going to go and, um, walk Dalton to the elevators.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I just got here.” There was a little devil dancing in his eyes as he turned her way. “How about this—you can walk me anywhere on the condition that you tell me what your favorite flower is. A man has to know these things about his woman.”
“I...” She didn’t know what to address first, the fact that she wasn’t his woman, or the fact that at that moment, the rose she held was her most favorite flower. “Basically you can’t go wrong when it comes to me and flowers. I love them all.”
“Then I’m glad I went with the blanket coverage.” He held out his hand. “A deal’s a deal. Let’s take a walk.”
Painfully aware that at least half the office watched them in open curiosity, Hannah slid her hand into Dalton’s and headed straight for the door, not slowing until they were out in the hallway outside the paper’s main entrance. “Okay, that wasn’t awkward at all.”
“The one who made it awkward was that drop of poison parked next to your cubicle. Why is it every office has at least one asshole bent on making life as miserable as they are?” Dalton shot an irritated glance back at the newsroom. “I think I'm going to send you flowers every damn day, for both the pleasure of giving you something you love, as well as spitting in the eye of that nosy bitch next door to you.”
“Dalton, I wasn't expecting any flowers from you—or anything else, for that matter. Not after the way things ended last night.”
“Yeah. About that.” Suddenly he was the one doing the leading, and in moments they wound up veering past the elevators and into the empty alcove leading to the stairs. “Let’s clear the air on that right now.”
If he was going to try to mansplain things to her, she’d have his guts for garters. “I thought you were very clear last night.”
“So were you, once you got online and explained how I’d made you feel.” He dropped her hand only to curl it around her waist, holding her in place. “There's no way in hell I ever wanted to make you feel like it was somehow your fault for getting dosed. You didn't do a damn thing wrong, and you sure as fuck didn't ask for it. You were just doing your job, and I get that it's a job you love.”
Some of the tension she'd been carrying around slowly began to fade. “You're right, it is a job I... I love.” Though love was a strong word, since she’d almost come to dread certain aspects of her work thanks to the bastard who’d drugged her. “And I'm not stupid to keep doing something I love to the best of my ability, despite what happened. If anything, I'm more determined than ever to keep pushing forward while shining a light on how our world needs to be better. Instead of raising girls with the mindset of don't get raped, this world needs to raise their boys with the mantra of don't rape.”
“Sounds good, and you can bet that's how our kids are going to be raised. But facts are facts, Hannah—this is the way the world has always been since shit-for-brains cavemen clubbed cavewomen over their heads and dragged them back to their little holes in the wall to make a bunch of little shit-for-brains cavebabies.”
“I’m not sure cavebabies is a word.” Then she blinked. What did he just say? “Wait. Our kids, or—”
“I want the world to be a better place for them, swear to Christ I do. Thing is, I'm also a realist. The way the world is set up isn't fucking fair. That’s the truth and it sucks, and I sure as hell don't expect a fighter like you to ever meekly accept the status quo. So keep on fighting and shining that light, you hear me? I love it. But it won't stop me from worrying about you every damn second you’re out there without a guard dog, looking like a tasty morsel for some shark to eat up.”
“Short of wrapping myself up in bubble wrap and locking myself away in some inaccessible tower, there’s no true guarantee of safety. You want to talk about the way the world really is, that’s the truth of it right there.” She waved a vague hand, far more distracted by what he’d said earlier. “Now, when you say our kids—”
“You know what? You talk too much.” With the beginnings of a smile, he bent and caught her mouth with his.
Just as the night before, the touch of his lips ignited an explosion of heat in her blood. It was mind-blowing, the effect this man had on her. It was as if there were some chemical component he had that, when mixed with her, melted everything inside her in the best possible way.
She was in a world of trouble if just a kiss from him could turn her into a puddle of goo, she thought randomly. If just a kiss did this to her, she could only imagine what going to bed with him would be like.
Just the thought made her panties threaten to go up in a puff of smoke.
When he at last lifted his head, she discovered she'd stopped breathing. Good grief. If she wasn’t careful, his kisses could be downright lethal.
“Let's try another dinner date,” he murmured, and the low, intimate rumble of it did crazy things to her heart. “You know, just to see if we can do it without me pissing you off so bad you have to go online and tell the whole damn world about it.”
That steeled her melting spine like nothing else. “That wasn’t a complaint, was it?”
A huff of laughter escaped him. “Damn, you sure do spark up fast.”
“Only with you, and that’s not an answer. I never mentioned you by name, if that was in fact a complaint.”
He put a finger to her lips. “It wasn't a complaint, beautiful, so stop throwing those sparks at me. I’m not the bad guy here, yeah?”
He seemed to be waiting for her to come up with an answer, and if she was honest, he deserved one. “I know you’re not the bad guy, Dalton.”
That earned her another one of those knee-buckling sexy smiles. “Damn straight I’m not. You can trust me enough to know I've learned to mind my fucking manners when it comes to you. The last thing I want to do is get on your bad side again. Come to find out, it’s no fun there.”
She had no idea what minding his manners meant, but it was enough to let the last of her resistance dissolve. When confronted with a man who apologized with a flower parade, announced he was genuinely leery of her bad side, and kissed like the hottest fantasy, the very least a smart woman could do was give him one more chance. “I'm free tonight, as it happens.”
“Good. I know a place that'll knock your socks off when it comes to a perfectly done steak.”
“Sounds delicious.” And damn, so did he. “Have I heard of it?”
“Probably not. I'll text you the address, since I know you don't trust anyone to drive you anywhere. But by the end of this evening,” he added, his voice deepening, “you’re going to be singing a different tune, at least when it comes to trusting me.”
“What does that mean, exactly?”
“It means I'm on a mission to win your trust, along with a lot of other things, and I’m not a man who’s used to losing. See you tonight.”
