Body Rush

by Anne Rainey

  She would have to quit, find a new job. Oh, she could have eventually faced Mac and Trent, could’ve even forgiven them. But she could never look at Dane and know how good it felt to be held by him, to be touched by him, to know his kisses, how perfect their bodies fit together. Leaving was the only sane thing to do now that she knew her heart was involved. Besides, he would be glad she left. It would save them all from further embarrassment.

  10

  Dane tried to focus on the e-mail, but after reading the same subject line four times, he gave up. It was no use pretending an interest in work. All he could think about was Lydia. The devastation on her face as she’d sprinted out of his office kept running through his mind. She’d have every right to hate him, to never speak to him again, but the very idea made him want to howl in rage.

  It’d been two days. Two damn days of not seeing her bright smile, not teasing her until she blushed. Not hearing that hated Mr. Gentry pass through her pouty lips. He’d tried calling her. He’d even gone to her apartment. She refused his every attempt to make it right. He was at his wit’s end.

  “Hey,” Mac said as he poked his head into his office. “I hate to bother you, but I was wondering if you’d decided on what to do about Lydia.”

  Since Lydia hadn’t returned to work things were going to hell around the office. He hadn’t realized how efficiently she’d handled her job. Without her around, the past couple of days had turned chaotic. He felt like a total shit for taking her for granted.

  Dane dragged his fingers through his hair and groaned. “I’m not hiring anyone else. Lydia is still my paralegal.”

  After Mac was seated in a chair across from him, he handed Dane a resume, then sat back. “At least hire a temporary replacement.”

  Dane pretended to scan the woman’s qualifications, but he really didn’t give a damn. He didn’t want to work with anyone but Lydia. He handed the paper back to Mac. “I’ll think about it.”

  He nodded. “You’re getting behind. You can’t do your job and Lydia’s both.”

  Like he needed the reminder. “Yeah,” Dane grumbled.

  “She still won’t speak to you?”

  “Hell no. She won’t answer my calls and she refused to see me last night when I stopped over at her apartment.”

  “She’s always been a stubborn one,” Mac reflected, scratching his chin.

  Dane couldn’t agree more. Hell, Lydia’s willfulness had been half the appeal. She wouldn’t bow to just any man, and giving up control wouldn’t be an easy thing for her either. He’d ached to watch her submit to him, but thinking back to that night he wasn’t sure who had actually run the show. He was pretty sure she’d turned him inside out with her whispered pleas and tantalizing body. Christ he missed her. It was insane to need someone as badly as he needed Lydia. He should leave her alone. Let her get on with her life, but even the thought burned like acid.

  His fax machine started up and Mac quirked a brow. “You expecting something?”

  “No, I’m not.” A sense of foreboding skated down Dane’s spine as he rolled his chair backward and grabbed the paper from the tray. He scanned it quickly, then shot out of his chair. “Son of a bitch!”

  Mac stiffened. “What is it?”

  Dane threw the paper on his desk, then reached in his left drawer and took out his wallet and keys. “I’ll be back.”

  Dane saw Mac lean forward and grab the paper before he cursed and got to his feet. “Don’t go to her like this, man. You’re too worked up. You’re liable to alienate her more.”

  Dane clenched his fist around his keys as he glared at Mac. “Alienate her more? She faxed me her resignation! Enough’s enough. She can damn well face me. I’ve let her hide long enough.”

  He didn’t wait around for Mac’s reply. Dane stormed out of the office, his muscles coiled tight. All the blood in his body seemed to head south as he imagined paddling Lydia’s sweet ass for even considering leaving him so easily. Better yet, he’d tie her pretty wrists first, then spank her. After her flesh had turned a nice shade of pink, he’d fuck her until neither of them could stand.

  Dane knew he’d restrained his true nature when he’d coaxed her into giving her passion free rein. This time, he’d show her exactly what a dom does to a defiant sub.

  Lydia had groomed Socrates until the chubby cat had gotten annoyed enough to scamper off to her bed in the laundry room. She’d reorganized her kitchen cupboards, steam cleaned her carpet and she’d even alphabetized her bookshelf. It was useless. All the busy work in the world couldn’t erase the fear spiraling through her.

  She’d gone to an office supply store and faxed in her resignation. It’d been a huge step in the right direction, or so she tried to convince herself. She’d tried not to wonder about Dane’s reaction. Would he miss her at all? With her luck he already had her replacement picked out. Then again, what did she care? She wanted to move on, hadn’t that been her plan? Forget about that incredible night at Kinks and look for a new job. One that didn’t involve three handsome lawyers who had a penchant for wearing leather hoods. Her doorbell rang and Lydia dashed across the room, only too happy for the interruption. As she peeked through the peephole, she sucked in a breath and jumped back.

  “I know you’re in there, Lydia. Open up or I’ll break the door down.”

  Dane’s deep voice had the power to make her body vibrate with need. It wasn’t fair that a voice could be so sinful, so enthralling. “I thought I made it clear I don’t want to see you,” she shouted back.

  “I don’t give a damn what you want. Open the door.”

  Lydia crossed her arms and called out, “No!”

  “Don’t push me. You know I’ll do it.”

  She chewed her lower lip, her heart at war with her brain. She knew what she should do: keep the door locked and wait for him to give up and leave. Her soul seemed to ache for him though. In fact, her damned fickle heart was leaping with joy at the idea of seeing him. In the end, there really wasn’t a choice. Dane was too hardheaded. She’d seen how he could get in the courtroom. If he said he would break the door down, then that’s exactly what he intended to do.

  She sighed and stepped forward, then flipped the deadbolt. The instant she turned the knob Dane pushed the door wide and forced his way inside. He slammed it shut behind him and Lydia instinctively stepped backward, the dangerous look on his face turning her blood to molten lava. Oh, God, now he resembled the masterful Apollo. The gleam of sexual awareness in his dark eyes and the sensual tilt to his lips were reminders of how easily he could turn her into a begging wanton. His wrinkled white dress shirt stretched over a muscular chest and taut abs, and the black slacks couldn’t begin to hide an erection like Dane’s. Her mouth watered.

  He dropped his briefcase on the floor next to the door and said, “Did you really think you could quit?” He moved closer, his steps slow, purposeful. “Just fax me a damned piece of paper and I’d be forced to let you walk away from me?”

  “You don’t have a choice.” Lydia swallowed the lump in her throat and moved around the chair. Putting furniture between them seemed like a smart idea. “I quit, end of story.”

  “The hell it is,” he growled as he stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve given you space, Lydia, but it’s time we talk.”

  “There’s nothing to say.”

  He pointedly glanced at the chair and quirked a brow. “Afraid, little Lydia?”

  Afraid of her own ability to keep her hands off him, yeah. “You don’t scare me, Dane. You’d never hurt me.”

  “Then quit acting so skittish and come here.”

  She stuck her nose in the air and kept her position. “I’m fine right here. Say what you want and leave. I have things to do.”

  A muscle in his jaw jumped. “Like look for another job?”

  She shrugged, as if his presence was a nuisance. “That’s only one of the things on my to-do list.”

  “You aren’t leaving, so forget it. And I’m about tired of
you acting like I raped you the other night. You enjoyed us, damn it. I know you did.”

  Her face heated at the reminder of just how much she had enjoyed their attentions. “I never said you raped me.”

  His face softened a fraction. “It was wrong not to tell you who we were, baby. I hurt you and I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life. But I can’t bear to think of you leaving me. The thought of never seeing your pretty smile again has my gut in knots.”

  Pain shot through her. “Why, Dane? Why did you go through with it? I deserved better, don’t you think?”

  Dane moved and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed to keep from running. He stepped around the chair, his movements slow, as if afraid of spooking her if he came at her too fast. When he was within inches, Lydia inhaled, taking in his masculine scent. God, she missed him. It wasn’t fair that he smelled so good, looked so delicious, while she resembled something out of a horror movie. It seemed to emphasize how far out of her own league she’d ventured.

  “There are no excuses for my actions. I know that, baby.” He touched her cheek and Lydia very nearly leaned into him. She held firm, but barely. “So help me I didn’t do it to hurt you. It wasn’t some damned stunt to make a fool of you either. I saw you sitting at that table with Roni and my brain closed down. All I could think about was getting you in my bed. I would’ve done anything to make that happen.”

  “Including pretending to be someone else,” she reminded him, still angry at his betrayal even though his nearness was causing her anger to slowly melt away.

  He grimaced. “If I had it to do over again, I would tell you. As God is my witness, I would tell you before I ever brought you to that apartment.” He stroked her lower lip and Lydia groaned. “You have to be honest with me too, sweetheart. Would you have gone with me? Knowing it was me, would you have let me have you?”

  Lydia grabbed his wrist and forced him to move his hand away. He did, but his reluctance was etched into the hard planes of his face. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done.”

  “Why did you come to Kinks?”

  Lydia knew that question would come eventually, but she still wasn’t prepared to tell him the reason behind her presence at the club. “I told you. Sex with a stranger.”

  “Can you honestly stand here and say you didn’t have some idea who Apollo really was?”

  Lydia shook her head, unwilling to go down that road. “I didn’t know and you didn’t tell me. You should have told me.”

  “I think you had some idea, Lydia. You just don’t want to admit it, not even to yourself.”

  “It doesn’t matter now. It happened. We move on.”

  “The hell we do. Damn it, Lydia. Can’t you see I care about you? I’ve never been so jealous of anyone the way I was jealous of Apollo.”

  She frowned, confused since he in fact was Apollo. “That’s crazy.”

  “I know. It makes no sense, but hearing you call that name when I took you from behind about killed me.”

  Immediately the image of him sliding inside her, while Trent lay beneath her, filled her mind. Her pussy flooded with liquid heat. “Don’t, Dane,” she whispered, her voice husky with arousal. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  He stepped closer, filling her senses with his powerful presence. “Why? Because it turns you on?”

  Lydia didn’t dare tell him the truth. Everything about him and that night turned her on. “No,” she lied.

  Dane smiled and cupped her face in his palms. “Sweet Lydia, don’t you know I can tell when you’re lying?” His gaze moved south, stopping on her breasts. “Your nipples are rock hard through that thin little T-shirt and I’ll bet your pussy is wet too, isn’t it, baby?”

  “Dane, please…” Her voice trialed off. She wasn’t even sure what she was pleading for, to be released or to be swept into his arms.

  He dipped his head and covered her lips with his. Lydia moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was so tender, so warm. She’d been so cold for the past two days and suddenly a raging inferno blazed inside her. As his tongue coasted over her lips, she let out a sigh and parted for him. He took his time, dipping between her lips and tasting her as if he had all the time in the world. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in deeper, edgy all at once for everything. She didn’t care about his deception, she didn’t want to worry about her future. She just wanted to feel his rough hands on her breasts, his cock filling her, driving out the sadness.

  He groaned. Suddenly his warm palm lay flat against her bare flesh beneath her shirt, inching upward until the caress of his thumb on her aching nipple had her body vibrating with need. Lydia whimpered and Dane lifted his head, his gaze holding hers captive. “If you don’t want this, say it now, Lydia,” he ordered, his voice a rumble of sound in the room. “Push me away and I’ll go. I’ll leave you alone. It’ll kill me, but for you I’ll do it.”

  He was giving her a chance to stop, to hold on to her dignity, but at what cost to her heart? Did she dare give him another chance?

  “You won’t regret it, baby,” he murmured as if reading her mind. “I’d rather be skinned alive than cause you pain.”

  “I-I want you, Dane,” Lydia admitted, “but we haven’t resolved anything. I’m still angry and hurt over what you did.”

  “It hurts because you care about me,” he said softly. “Admit that much at least.”

  “I told you already that I was attracted to you, but it doesn’t matter now.”

  “It’s more than physical,” he ground out. “Why are you holding back? Why deny your feelings?”

  “I can’t do this,” she cried. “Please, Dane.”

  He held her firm, refusing to let her retreat. “Can’t do what? Help me understand why I’m not worth a second chance?”

  Anger rose up and for the first time Lydia didn’t hold back. “You want the truth? Fine. I’m the one not worthy!” She jerked out of his arms and pointed to the family photo on the wall. “I wasn’t good enough for my own mother, Dane, why the hell would I be good enough for anyone else?”

  “You can’t really believe that. You’re the sweetest, most lovable woman I’ve ever met.” His expression softened and Lydia felt the first tear trail down her cheek. He swiped it away with his thumb and murmured, “You’ve had me going in circles for two years, baby. Your mother had something precious, but she was too blind to realize it.”

  She turned away from him, too scared to hope, but when her gaze caught on her mother’s image, everything seemed to fall into place. She wasn’t like her mother, maybe she never had been. Dane stepped in front of her and she saw the emotion flickering in his warm brown eyes. “You’re right,” Lydia whispered. “I do deserve to be loved.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “Let me love you, Lydia. I know I haven’t earned a second chance, but so help me, you won’t regret it.”

  Lydia buried her face in his white dress shirt, barely able to contain the emotions flowing through her. She wanted him with a desperation that bordered on pain. It couldn’t be natural to want a man the way she wanted Dane.

  He pushed his hips forward and Lydia felt the heavy weight of his cock pressing into her belly. “Damn, baby, I can’t think for needing you. The past few days have been pure hell. Put us both out of our miseries, I’m begging you.”

  Lydia leaned her head back, surprised when she witnessed a hint of vulnerability in Dane’s expression. Could he be as scared as she? “What is this for you, Dane?”

  His thumb feathered back and forth over her nipple and Lydia had to contain a whimper. “You’re the woman I look forward to seeing each morning, Lydia. The same woman who had me practically salivating with her prim little outfits and intelligent wit. The truth? You’ve been in my life for two years and I’m just now getting around to telling you how I really feel. I’ve wanted you, but I was too much the coward to step up and do something about it. You’re different than any woman I�
��ve ever known. Sweeter, more defiant, and such a contradiction you’ve had my head spinning ever since you took me and those other two dumbasses to heaven.”

  It was too much. She was slowly drowning and she knew it. She tried to look away, but strong fingers cupped her chin and coaxed her gaze back to his. “The instant you took off those clothes at Kinks you became mine, Lydia. It may have been Apollo, Poseidon and Zeus you gave your body to, but I’m the man you’ll scream for from now on.” With his other hand massaging her breast, Dane whispered, “Do I stay?”

  This was it. Her chance to back out. Instinctively Lydia knew he wouldn’t hold it against her if she asked him to leave. Could she live the rest of her life without his touches? Without knowing what it would be like to make love to Dane without the other two men there? No masks, no fake names? It was beyond tempting.

  Yes, she did need him. Dane was the only man who had ever managed to entice her inner vixen, that daring woman she’d been at Kinks. It could be the biggest mistake of her life, but letting him leave without having him filling her, chasing away the cold, was a much more depressing scenario.

  “Stay, please,” she answered as new determination filled her with strength.

  11

  Dane’s heart soared as those two words passed her lips. He wasted no time, sweeping her into his arms and striding down the hall. “Bedroom?”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled his shirt. “First door on the right.”

  God, she felt good in his arms. He’d ached for her. For days his body had been cold from the inside out, as if only she had the power to warm him. When he stepped into her bedroom, his gaze swept the room, taking in the king-sized bed with the white comforter and canopy. The walls were painted a pale peach and the curtains on the window had a little seashell pattern. Dane noticed a large painting of a tropical beach behind the headboard and a big seashell-shaped area rug on the floor. There were plants all over, all of them looked well loved. He didn’t know what he expected. Her living room with the soft, mauve couch and chair had been more along what he’d imagined Lydia’s apartment to look like. White walls and comfortable-looking furniture, but nothing that really hinted at the naughty minx he’d witnessed at his club. This little oasis was definitely a nice surprise. It told Dane a lot about the woman she attempted to keep hidden. “Your bedroom is pretty,” he murmured as he placed her on top of the white bedspread.