Pure Desire

Dom stilled, relaxing his hold on her. “Want me to call you a cab?” When she didn’t respond, he let his arms fall to his sides and took a short step back. He wanted her, craved her with a bone-deep hunger he’d never experienced. Tension shortened every muscle in his body until he swore his bones fractured under the strain of her rejection. Fuck this. No one-night stand was worth this. He was out. Turning to leave, he saw her chin fall. He didn’t stop. She had every right to pass on the night just like he had every right to keep freaking moving without apology.

Her nails dug into his arm.

He glanced back, a terse dismissal forming on his tongue. The words never made it out.

Rhyan closed the distance between them. Winding her lithe body around him, she became his true north, pulling him around to align with her. Long fingers shoved through his hair. A hard yank pulled his head down to meet her seeking mouth.

Her lips were soft and full, her mouth hot and demanding. She slid that mouth over his and sank her teeth into his lower lip hard enough to tread the fine line between pleasure and pain. He was so onboard with that.

* * *

She pulled herself against him, one foot tracing his ankle, her back arched to press her breasts against his chest. The kiss evolved into a full-body event. Pulling one hand free of his hair, she reached between them, untucked his shirt and raked her nails down his abs. Those deft fingers curled around his waistband and tugged.

His hips pumped forward, the movement small but undeniable.

Hard breaths collided as she broke the kiss. Her eyes fluttered open. “Yes.”

No one word had ever been sweeter or more potentially ambiguous. He splayed one hand over her lower back and ran the other under her hair and around the back of her neck. “Be more specific. Two minutes ago I was getting ready to call you a cab.”

She closed her eyes. “I’m ready to go.”

“Where?”

“With you.” The pink tip of her tongue darted out to touch kiss-swollen lips. Thick lashes rose, revealing a clear green gaze.

He tightened his hold on her neck. “We’ll give each other tonight. No strings attached. I need to know that’s not going to pose a problem tomorrow.”

One corner of her mouth fluttered up in a sad approximation of a smile. “I’m leaving town at dawn.”

He considered her for a moment before leaning in and resting his cheek against hers. “Then we should make the most of the time we have between now and then.”

“Yes.”

Dominic didn’t hesitate this time. Instead, he gently turned her toward the parking garage elevators. He’d taken the long way around at the beginning of the night. Now? Time was at a premium.

Like he’d said, he intended to make the most of it.

* * *

Rhyan’s decision had, like so many things in her existence, been impulsive. No doubt it would cost her. The price? She didn’t want to think about it. If she couldn’t gather the information the Caste demanded, if she fell victim to the guilt constricting her throat, if she failed to hold true to her intent to seduce Dominic and flee... So much hinged on that tiny, two-letter word—if. The Caste would punish her if her gamble didn’t provide them with a payout come morning. There was no undoing it. Not without admitting to Dominic who she was and what she’d done, and she simply wasn’t willing to go that route. Instead, she’d do her best to be the seducer instead of the seduced. Dawn would be here soon enough, bringing with it the consequences of choices made and the events that had yet to present her with options.

They stood side by side at the elevators and silently waited for the car. Doors opened with a soft chime. He increased the pressure on the small of her back, directing her forward. A couple of guys raced to catch a ride down.

Dom pulled a pen and held out a hand to stop the pair entering. “Let me have your parking ticket.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to validate it for the inconvenience.” He wiggled his fingers. “Hand it over.”

The taller of the two pulled out his wallet and retrieved the stub. “What inconvenience?”

“You’re going to have to wait for the next car.”

Confused, the guy peered around Dom. “What? Why? There’s room—”

His buddy elbowed him and jerked his chin toward Rhyan.