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Minutes passed by in a companionable silence, and Dalton could only shake his head at it. It was astounding, how completely at ease he was with her, and that she seemed to feel the same, considering what a natural talker she was. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as she poured Merlot in stemless wine glasses, bringing his over to where he had the steaks sizzling away, then got the table set just as he finished the steaks and retrieved the foil-wrapped baked potatoes from the oven.
“You,” she said once they were seated next to each other at the glossy rectangular dining table he almost never used, “seem very much at home in the kitchen. Is that for real, or are we eating one of the few meals you’ve perfected in your bachelor’s repertoire?”
He lifted a lazy brow as he cut into his steak. “Did you just show some serious doubt about my abilities in the kitchen?”
“No, not doubt.” He watched her take a bite of steak, then nearly groaned out loud when her eyes closed in obvious pleasure. “I’m just asking a question.”
“You and your trust issues.” His voice was nothing more than a hungry growl, and he had to clear his throat before he scared the shit out of her. “Clearly I’m going to have to prove myself to you every step of the way.”
“Don’t look at it as trust issues. Asking questions is just a force of habit, since that’s basically what my job is all about. And I never said you had anything to prove.”
“Yet somehow those are the only words I keep hearing from you. Not that I mind,” he added with a careless shrug, because it was the truth. Whatever she needed from him to prove he was a man who knew how to protect, then by damn, he’d find a way to give it to her. “God knows you’re worth the effort and I’m more than up for the challenge to prove to you that I’m on your side and no one else’s. Now eat up,” he added, nodding to her plate. “I want to give you a tour of the house once we’re done with dinner.”
“Is that code for showing me your bedroom?”
Her words were like a caress down his spine, making his dick throb with a rush of fierce need. “Beautiful, if that was what I wanted to say, I would’ve said it. But if that’s what you want, I’ll be more than happy to cut right to that particular chase.”
She toyed with her utensils, and he could practically see the wheels turning in her head. “So... you’re really not playing any games with me?”
Jesus, those trust issues. “Nope. I invited you over for steak and good conversation. You want more than that tonight, you’re going to be the one who opens that door. But be warned, Hannah—once you open it, I’m blasting through, so you’d better be pretty fucking sure what it is you want.”
She seemed to stop breathing. “I can’t believe we’re just calmly talking about this.”
“About what? Sex? Fucking each other?” The heaviness in his cock was almost impossible to ignore, but he tried to keep it cool by reaching for his glass. “What the hell else would we talk about? When it comes to you, sex is my favorite subject.”
That startled a laugh out of her, and the high color in her cheeks gave him hope. “I’ve never been so open about... just getting right down to it without at least a little coy subterfuge.”
“So you’re used to men playing games with you. Don’t answer,” he added, holding up a hand when she opened her mouth. “Forget I mentioned other men you’ve dated. In fact, forget other men, period. They don’t fucking matter. In point of fact, they’ll never matter to you again. The only man you’re going to have in your head from this point forward is me.” And he’d work damn hard to make sure he stayed there.
“My goodness.” The lift of her eyebrow was pure challenge. “You must think a lot of yourself to make that kind of statement.”
“I know who I am, and I think I’m getting to know who you are, so I have no doubt about what a good fit we are. I’m convinced we should’ve met a long damn time ago, so I’m pushing hard to make up for lost time.”
She gave him a baffled look. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you should’ve gotten into CATE, and it pisses me off that you didn’t. There isn’t a fucking doubt in my mind that I would’ve taken one look at you before doing everything I could to make sure I got in with you first. But we missed each other all those years ago, so like I said—making up for lost time.” He gestured toward her plate with his fork. “So, what’s the verdict? Is that or is that not the best damn steak in all of Chicago?”
She looked down at her plate as if shocked there was food in front of her. “You’re definitely a man who knows what to do with his meat.” Then she clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God. Forget I said that.”
“Forget? Are you kidding me? This moment might be forever tattooed on my brain.” Her neon-red face was hilarious, and laughing out loud only made the lusty ache inside him deepen into something vastly sweeter. “Don’t tell me you now have doubts about me and my meat.”
She put her hands over her face. “Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God...”
“I’m hopeful you’ll say something like that once you discover that I know exactly what to do with my meat.” When she kept her face in her hands, he tried getting his laughter under control. “Are you going to be coming out of there any time soon, or do I need to get a crowbar to pry your hands from your face?”
With a strangled sound, she dropped her hands to her lap. Relief swamped through him when he saw that, while her face was still red, her eyes brimmed with laughter. “Am I a great date, or what?”
That got him laughing all the harder. The greatest gift to the world was a woman who knew how to laugh at herself. “You’re a fucking treasure, Hannah Raven, and that’s the God’s honest truth. You can talk about what I do with my meat all day, and I’d be a happy man.”
“Funny, you don’t strike me as a man who’d be satisfied with just talk.”
That brought his laughter to an end, though nothing in the world could have stopped him from smiling. “You’d be right about that. See? You know me so well already.”
“Yet, you said you’d be fine with just dinner and conversation tonight?”
Annnnd, now she was back to testing him, and there he was without a cheat sheet. “Damn, woman. Gotta say, those doubts of yours are a force to behold. What’s it going to take for you to start trusting me?”
She micro-winced, as if he’d scored a hit. “Questioning isn’t doubting, Dalton. It’s just... questioning.”
“Yeah, so you said. But is that really what it is?”
“What else would it be?”
Answering a question with a question. Cute. “Whenever you question me and my motives, it’s like you’re trying to remind yourself that I could be out to get you.”
Her sapphire eyes widened in genuine shock. “I know you’re not out to get me, Dalton.”
Good. That was something, at least. “But you are keeping me at arm’s length. Just so you know, I’m not going to tolerate that.”
“Okay.” Then she seemed to think about it. “When you say you’re not going to tolerate that, does that mean you’re going to lose interest and drop me like a hot rock?”
She didn’t look too happy about that prospect. Another hopeful sign. “You think I’d abandon you like your selfish idiot of a mother? Or that I’d enjoy being cruel to you like your bitch-ass hag of a grandmother? I’m nothing like them, Hannah, so get those suspicions out of your head right now. You can rest easy knowing you can rely on me even more than you can rely on the sun rising tomorrow, so no. I’m not ever going to drop you like a hot rock. Like it or not, you’re stuck with me for the long haul.”
The relief that washed over her expression filled him in a way he hadn’t known was possible. “Then what did you mean?”
“I’m not going to tolerate you putting up barriers, or going for personal space, or whatever the fuck else you want to call it. I told you that you’re going to be my woman. That means in every way—mind, body, soul. All of you is destined to be all of mine. You need to pick up the pace and get used to that fact.” Before she could think up an answer, he dropped his fork and reached for her. She seemed to flow into his arms, showing him without words that the last thing she wanted was to hold him at arm’s length.
Thank fuck.
His mouth closed on hers while her arms twined around his neck. One of his hands hooked around her neck while the other landed possessively on her thigh, and the faint purr of delight that escaped her made his world reel. The thought of simply sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her off to his bedroom was so vivid he had to lock his muscles in place to keep from actually doing it. He hadn’t lied when he’d promised her that while hitting the sheets and fucking each other senseless was their ultimate destination, she was the one who had to open that door first.
But damn, if she didn’t start opening that door soon, he’d lose his damn mind.
