She shivered at the thought and shifted her gaze to the side. She was in Dylan’s bedroom. In his bed. A man who worked for the same company as her. A man she’d met a few hours ago. God, what the hell had gotten into her? This was like a booty call or a one-night stand or something equally horrifying.
She suddenly started to panic, pulled her legs together, and rolled to the side.
“Hey.” Dylan stopped her with a hand on her thigh, rolling her back to center. She hadn’t heard him return. She kept her gaze turned away from him, flinching when he set a warm, wet cloth on her to clean her up.
“Rose? What’s wrong?” The cloth disappeared, and he climbed back up next to her, settling on his side, propped up on his elbow. His hand smoothed up her body and cupped her face, gently encouraging her to turn toward him.
A tear formed. Dammit.
She was nervous and embarrassed. Now that her brain was functioning, she just wanted to get out of here so she could think. Process what had happened. She’d let herself be completely vulnerable with a total stranger. He could easily brag about his conquest to his friends—people she worked with—or make fun of her awkward lack of experience.
“Rose…”
Finally, she met his gaze, but the tear slid out.
“Hey, now. What’s the matter?” He leaned over her farther, his hand holding her neck and cheek. “Talk to me.”
She swallowed, glancing away. “I’m being stupid. I should go.” She tried to push away from him, but he was too large and crowding her.
“Go? Why would you leave?” He wiped away the tear that slid down her face, but another one joined it.
Now, he fully came over her, straddling her torso, grabbing her wrists, and pressing them into the mattress above her head. His face hovered right above her, his gaze concerned and intense. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“About a thousand things,” she admitted.
He smiled, but his brows drew together. “Tell me all of them. I’m not moving. And you’re not leaving.”
She stared at him. Was he serious? If he really wanted to listen to her feelings, surely he wasn’t some asshole who would make fun of her later. He didn’t need to keep up the farce now that he’d had her. He could just roll over and call her an Uber.
“The list is piling up. I can see your mind working. What’s got you so freaked out?”
She pulled in a breath. “I don’t do one-night stands. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Okay. That’s a good start. Excellent. This wasn’t a one-night stand. We’re doing it again. We’ll start with tomorrow night, making it two. If you stay until Monday morning, it will be three.”
She couldn’t believe what he was saying. “You want to see me again?”
He jerked back, his frown deepening. “No. I don’t want you to leave in the first place. Tomorrow won’t really be again if you haven’t left.” He took a long breath. “I didn’t bring you here to fuck you and then send you home. I didn’t even bring you here to fuck you at all. I’ve enjoyed every damn second we’ve been together. Best date of my life. Stay. I want to know everything about you. If you recall, one of the promises I made before you came here was to get to know you as if we’d known each other for months.”
She searched his eyes. Another tear slid out. “You’re serious.”
“Dead serious.”
“You know nothing about me.”
“Then you’ll tell me everything I need to know. But I already know a lot about you, the same stuff anyone knows when they’re attracted to someone and wants to date them. I know you’re gorgeous and your hair is fucking awesome.” His gaze wandered to the fan of her hair all over his pillow. “Especially on my bed.”
He smiled and then continued. “I know you’re shy and hesitant and amazingly responsive to my touch. I know you leave all this thick hair down so you can easily hide behind it. I know you kiss like an angel, and when you let yourself feel, it’s deeply. I know you have a ton of passion buried inside that needs an escape. I know this costume was the most risqué thing you’ve ever put on in your life.” He lifted a brow, grinning. “I also know you had sex with me even after you found out I was a math nerd way out of his element tonight, trying to be smooth and hip and play it cool. I don’t walk up to women in bars and kiss the sense out of them and take them home, Rose. It took a lot of inner strength I didn’t know I had to be that bold.”
She smiled, but the stream of tears kept coming.
And Dylan kept talking. “I know you’re usually quiet and you keep to yourself and get your work done and stay late when you need to and come early because you’re dedicated, and you always dress like you’re going to a conservative interview and you like your tea with cream and sugar and you don’t drink it until it cools and—”
Her eyes shot wide. “Wait. What? How do you know all that?”
He scrunched up his nose, wincing apologetically. “Because I’ve been noticing you for months. Waiting. Hovering in the damn lobby so I can see you when you come in. I’ve watched you prepare your tea and blow on it before you go to the elevator. I know what shoes you prefer and which is your favorite skirt because you wear it once a week.”
She was speechless.
He drew in another breath, releasing her wrists to bring his hands to her face. He swiped away her tears, and then he continued. “The morning I first saw you in the lobby, I stopped dead in my tracks and watched you. This hair caught my attention first.” He reached for it as he spoke, picking up a lock and letting it slide through his fingers.
“I wanted you to see me. You never did. I knew you were shy, but I’m not exactly Mr. Outgoing myself. I didn’t have the guts to approach you.”
“Dylan…”
He shook his head. “Let me finish.”
Her eyes went wide as she had a thought. “Did you send the roses?”
“Yes.” He met her gaze again, pulling in another breath. There was a desperation about him. He seemed to be afraid she would flee.
She wasn’t about to leave, but she let him keep rambling because everything he said made her feel more special.
“Cooper knows. He’s been making fun of me for months. ‘Why don’t you just ask her out,’ he would say every damn day.”
“Why didn’t you?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I was afraid you would turn me down. You aren’t very approachable. I mean, hell, you never even looked at me. I would give myself a pep talk but then chicken out because if you turned me down, then it would be over. I kind of liked living in my pretend world where you said yes.”
He gave her a little shake. “Now I’m floating in the clouds. You’re here. In my apartment. In my bed. I just made love to you, and I want to do it again and again and again until you look at me afterward smiling because you know you’re worthy of my attention and I know I’m deserving of yours.”
Emotions welled up, choking her. More tears fell. “I saw you,” she whispered.
“You saw me?”
“Yeah. In the lobby. I saw you. You made my heart pound. I thought you were always waiting for someone.”
“I was. I was waiting for you.” His voice softened and he leaned closer. “I was waiting for you.”
She nodded as she reached for the stream of tears and swiped at them. “Okay.”
He chuckled and then flattened himself over her again. “Okay?”
“Yeah. Okay. Give me a few weeks to let this sink in. I’ve never been in a relationship.”
“You can have all the time in the world to let it sink in, as long as you do it with me. I’m already plotting what we’re going to do tomorrow and Sunday, and Monday night.”
“Three days? That’s all?” she teased.
“That’s as far as I got while I was standing in the bathroom for thirty seconds staring at myself in the mirror, wondering how I got so damn lucky, grinning like a lunatic. After that, you gave me a full-on heart attack. I was afraid you might leave. You looked s
o lost and scared when I returned.”
“I was embarrassed. I just gave you everything. I didn’t realize it meant anything to you.”
“It means everything to me. I’ll never take it for granted. I promise. And I’ll stop hanging around hoping to catch a glimpse of you in the lobby if you’ll walk in with me each morning. But I won’t stop sending you roses, just because. Assuming you like them?”
She smiled. “Love them, especially now that I know who they’re from. I was a little freaked out that someone would send them and never say a word, but I still love roses. In fact…”
“What?”
“I kept them all.” She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Goofy, I know, but even though I outwardly grumbled about some creepy secret admirer, in my head I pretended some knight in shining armor was sending them, so I was half in love with this imaginary guy, and I kept them. I even pretended they were from you.”
He beamed. “I’m in shock.”
“So, wait. Did you know I was matched with you? I mean, I’m confused. If someone else traded with you, then how did you get partnered with me?”
He winced apologetically. “I overheard Maddie one day telling Ivy how great you were going to look in a vampire costume with your pale skin. When Landon asked me to switch with him and be a vampire, it felt like divine intervention. I knew I needed to not only accept the switch, but finally act. Do something. Make you see me in a way that would be unmistakable. I had several days to think about it. I deliberated for a long time before I came up with my crazy plan to walk right up to you and kiss you. I’m still surprised I went through with it.”
“Wait. What about the mail room girl?”
His face turned red and his entire expression scrunched up. “Yeah, about her… I made her up.”
Rose laughed. “You’re kidding.”
“No. I knew you were shy. I knew I had wasted a lot of time not asking you out. I figured this was my one shot to get it right. So, I made up that story in order to start our first date off with a kiss I hoped would knock you on your ass and win you over.”
She chewed on the corner of her lip, unable to keep from smiling. “It worked.”
His eyes slid closed, and he finally relaxed enough to ease down beside her. He kept one leg over both of hers and one hand across her torso and his face buried in her neck, but his breathing slowed as he held her.
He kissed her neck. “I’ll never be able to sleep for fear I dreamed this.”
“Me neither.”
“Shall we go in the kitchen and make something to eat?”
“Sounds like a great plan. I’m starving, actually. Can I wear your shirt? I’ve been thinking about wearing it ever since we met.”
He lifted his face and smiled down at her. “Rose, you can wear anything of mine you want, or nothing at all. You’ll be just as sexy. As long as you stay.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” This might be too good to be true, but I’m staying until that is proven.
He kissed her again and then hauled her to her feet and led her to the kitchen.
She stared at his ass as he loosely held her hand the entire way. Damn, he was hot.
Damn, she was lucky.
Just damn.
Enjoy the following excerpt from Ivy, the next book in the Corked and Tapped series.
Ivy was still grinning as she turned her head and saw a man coming toward her in a toga. He had a gold band around his head like her blue one, a purple sash over one shoulder, a gold belt around his waist, and sandals.
He looked nervous. “You must be Cleopatra,” he stated as he stepped up to her. He held out a hand. “I’m Julius Ceasar.”
She repeated her mantra one more time, took a breath, and then shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Julius.” Already he was on her good side. On the one night she was dressed in a way that would draw men’s attention to her boobs, he hadn’t glanced down once yet.
He shifted his gaze to her glass before leaning over the bar and requesting the same thing for himself. “Red wine, please.”
She stared at his profile. He was a good-looking guy, even in the toga. Or especially in the toga. Maddie had done well. She figured he was about six feet. His hair was a shade blonder than hers. His eyes were blue. His skin was tanned. His smile was fantastic. And he had good taste in wine. At least the night was looking promising. And if he turned out to be an asshole, well, there was always the main bar.
“Julius” accepted his drink and turned back to face her. “So, what department do you work in?”
“Production.”
“Ah. Accounting.”
She nodded. “Maddie told me.”
He lifted a brow. “She told you who you were matched up with? I thought it was a secret.” He sipped his wine.
She shook her head. “She only told me that you were from accounting, and that was about thirty seconds ago. She was trying to reassure me she’d matched me up with someone nice.”
He cringed. “If she told you I was an accountant and that I was nice, why are you still even at the party?”
She laughed as his eyes crinkled. “I considered running. Not going to lie.”
So far he seemed perfectly nice. His eyes still had not strayed to her cleavage. Did that make him nice?
Author’s Note
I hope you’ve enjoyed this sixth novella in the Corked and Tapped series. I’ve had so much fun writing this series. So far, the series has twelve books, all of which will release in the next few months before the end of 2019. Below are the links to the rest of the series:
Corked and Tapped:
Aria
Grace
Brooklyn
Jade
Clara
Rose
Ivy
Maddie
Blaire
Devin
Paris
Andrea
Also by Becca Jameson
Corked and Tapped:
Aria
Grace
Brooklyn
Jade
Clara
Rose
Ivy
Maddie
Blaire
Devin
Paris
Andrea
Project DEEP:
Reviving Emily
Reviving Trish
Reviving Dade
Reviving Zeke
Reviving Graham
Reviving Bianca
Reviving Olivia
SEALs in Paradise:
Hot SEAL, Red Wine
Hot SEAL, Australian Nights
Dark Falls:
Dark Nightmares
Club Zodiac:
Training Sasha
Obeying Rowen
Collaring Brooke
Mastering Rayne
Trusting Aaron
Claiming London
The Art of Kink:
Pose
Paint
Sculpt
Arcadian Bears:
Grizzly Mountain
Grizzly Beginning
Grizzly Secret
Grizzly Promise
Grizzly Survival
Grizzly Perfection
Sleeper SEALs:
Saving Zola
Spring Training:
Catching Zia
Catching Lily
Catching Ava
The Underground series:
Force
Clinch
Guard
Submit
Thrust
Torque
Saving Sofia (Kindle World)
Wolf Masters series:
Kara’s Wolves
Lindsey’s Wolves
Jessica’s Wolves
Alyssa’s Wolves
Tessa’s Wolf
Rebecca’s Wolves
Melinda’s Wolves
Laurie’s Wolves
Amanda’s Wolves
Sharon’s Wolves
Claiming Her series:
The Rules
The Game
The Prize
Emergence series:
Bound to be Taken
Bound to be Tamed
Bound to be Tested
Bound to be Tempted
The Fight Club series:
Come
Perv
Need
Hers
Want
Lust
Wolf Gatherings series:
Tarnished
Dominated
Completed
Redeemed
Abandoned
Betrayed
Durham Wolves series:
Rescue in the Smokies
Fire in the Smokies
Freedom in the Smokies
Stand Alone Books:
Blind with Love
Guarding the Truth
Out of the Smoke
Abducting His Mate
Three’s a Cruise
Wolf Trinity
Frostbitten
A Princess for Cale/A Princess for Cain
About the Author
Becca Jameson is a USA Today best-selling author of over 90 books. She is most well-known for her Wolf Masters series and her Fight Club series. She currently lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and her Goldendoodle. Two grown kids pop in every once in a while too! She is loving this journey and has dabbled in a variety of genres, including paranormal, sports romance, military, and BDSM.
A total night owl, Becca writes late at night, sequestering herself in her office with a glass of red wine and a bar of dark chocolate, her fingers flying across the keyboard as her characters weave their own stories.
During the day--which never starts before ten in the morning!--she can be found jogging, running errands, or reading in her favorite hammock chair!
…where Alphas dominate…
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Rose (Corked and Tapped Book 6) Page 5