TALL, DARK & ROYAL

by Leanne Banks

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  Chapter 6

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  Erin sat across from Daniel at his favorite noisy downtown diner after a Bulls basketball game. Bloody tired of her conflicting feelings about Daniel, she'd parked her propriety in her hotel room and decided to enjoy the evening and the man. For once, she'd decided to pretend he wasn't the king. She had the uneasy sense that her relationship with him could change more quickly than the Chicago wind whirling outside. A half-consumed American beer sat on the table in front of her, and she was waiting to taste her first Chicago-style hot dog. When in Rome…

  "What did you think of the game?" Daniel asked.

  "The players were quite tall," she said in an attempt to be complimentary. "And they were very fast with the ball."

  "But?" he prompted with his usual intuitiveness. How did he nearly always manage to read her like a book?

  "It wasn't very exciting," she confessed. "There were only two fights and those were quickly over."

  Daniel stared at her for a long moment, then laughed. "You bloodthirsty woman," he accused.

  Erin lifted her chin. "I wouldn't call myself bloodthirsty. I just don't see the entertainment value of watching a bunch of men in baggy shorts running up and down a gym throwing a ball at a basket. There's nothing at stake. In rugby, someone nearly always breaks a bone or gets a tooth knocked out."

  He took a long drink of his beer and appeared incredibly amused. "Is there rugby in Altaria?"

  Erin winced. "Yes, but I can't say our teams are of a professional caliber." She paused. "In fact, the Brits call us sissies."

  Daniel shook his head in disapproval. "That needs to be changed."

  The waitress delivered their orders of hot dogs and French fries. "So this is the infamous Chicago hot dog," she said, tilting her head slightly to examine the ingredients. "I'm taking mental notes for the palace chef. It appears to be a beef sausage with mustard, relish, onions, a pickle spear and tomato wedges."

  "And celery salt," Daniel added, lifting the hot dog and taking a bite.

  "Celery salt," she echoed, watching in dismay as Daniel consumed the messy meal. She looked down at her hot dog and couldn't help wondering how Miss Emily Philpott, her most accomplished headmistress, would recommend eating such a dish.

  "It won't bite you," Daniel told her.

  She shot him a dark look. "I know that."

  "You don't eat a hot dog with a knife and fork. You're gonna have to get messy," he said. "I dare you."

  She caught his green gaze and felt the ridiculous urge to meet his challenge. "Pardon?"

  "I dare you to pick up that hot dog with your fingers and take a bite," he said. "A big bite. I bet you can't do it."

  She saw through his dare. He was goading her. It would serve him right if she used a knife and fork to spite him. But she wouldn't. Erin deliberately picked up the hot dog and took a large bite. It was incredibly delicious. And incredibly messy. She licked her lips and took another bite, then another.

  When she finished, she looked at him and licked her lips again. "I did it," she said, noticing that Daniel was staring at her mouth. She reached for a napkin. "Do I have something on my mouth?"

  He shook his head and took a long drink of beer, still seeming fixated on her lips. "Did anyone ever tell you that you have an incredible mouth?"

  She automatically licked her lips and heard him groan. "No. I can't say…" The sexual intensity she saw in his eyes snatched the words from her mouth. She felt herself grow warm. His forbidden invitation filled her with anticipation. She felt it in her blood, in her breasts … and lower.

  She watched him take another drink of his beer and surreptitiously studied his mouth. She remembered the mind-blowing way he'd kissed her in the closet. Although she'd tried to forget it, the memory never left her alone. She took a careful breath. "That was quite splendid," she managed and took a long drink of beer in hopes of cooling herself off. It didn't work.

  "Do you want your fries?" Daniel asked.

  Erin shook her head. Her stomach dancing with butterflies, she couldn't imagine eating one more bite.

  "Let's go, then," he said and tossed some bills on the table.

  Daniel took her arm and led her out of the diner. No sooner had they walked one block toward his parked car than the rain began to pour down. He pulled her into a hotel doorway. "No sense in both of us getting wet. You wait here while I get the car."

  Erin immediately shook her head. She didn't want him to think she was a prissy wuss, and besides, for some inexplicable reason, she'd rather get wet by Daniel's side than stay dry without him. "It's not that far. I won't melt," she insisted.

  "You sure?" he asked doubtfully.

  "Sure," she said and tugged him out into the rain. "Are you too old to run?" she teased.

  "Not yet," he returned in a sexy, rough voice and they raced through the rain together. The cold wind whipped through her, and it occurred to Erin that even though she'd endured Switzerland's winters, Chicago's combination of wind and freezing rain chilled her to the bone. By the time Daniel ushered her into his sport utility vehicle, Erin's teeth were chattering.

  He dashed inside the car and immediately turned the heat on high. He glanced at her and frowned. "You're shivering. I told you that you should have waited while I got the car."

  "It's not that b-bad," she said, her teeth chattering.

  "Uh-huh," he said, clearly unconvinced. Daniel quickly drove to his parking deck and hustled her up to his condo. Jordan greeted them with a loud bark at the front door.

  Daniel gave the dog a quick pet, then began to peel Erin's jacket from her. "Got to get you warm," he said, rubbing her arms. He ditched his own jacket, led her to the sofa and immediately wrapped an afghan around her shoulders.

  His tenderness left her speechless. He lit the gas logs in his fireplace, then sat next to her. "Better?"

  She nodded, unable to tear her attention from his eyes. The firelight glowed in them, or perhaps it wasn't the firelight. Perhaps it was his power, more than physical, more than mental. All she knew was that he mesmerized her.

  "I like the wet look on you," he said, lifting a damp strand of her hair.

  Erin cringed at the thought of her appearance. "I'm sure you do," she said in complete disbelief.

  "I'm serious," he said. "I like the way you look right now."

  A swarm of emotions whipped through her. She looked anything but perfect, yet he was pleased with her. She glanced at him skeptically. "Why?"

  "You look touchable," he said, rubbing her arms with his large hands again.

  "I look like a train wreck," she corrected, feeling the same way. She wondered how he did that to her.

  "No," he said, meeting her gaze and lifting his thumb to her cheek. "You look like you wouldn't mind being held," he told her. "Or kissed."

  Her heart stuttered, and she couldn't look away from his green eyes. He was warm and strong, and he liked her even when she looked like a drowned rat.

  She didn't know why or exactly how, but Daniel touched her in a secret place no one else had ever even seen. At that moment, all her defenses evaporated. He slowly leaned forward and closed his arms around her, and Erin had the awesome sense of finding home. The feeling was so strong it brought tears to her eyes. It couldn't be, she tried to tell herself, but as she inhaled his scent and sank into his embrace, heaven help her, but nothing in the world seemed to exist except Daniel.

  She felt his heart beating against her and wanted closer. Erin sneaked her arms out from the afghan and slid them around him. They held each other for a long moment, then he nudged her chin upward.

  He slowly lowered his mouth to hers. Just a brush of his lips, then he moved back, but Erin could tell he wasn't done.

  Her heart hammered in her chest. "Are you sure this is wise?" she asked, clinging to a weak remnant of rational thought.

  "Damn right it is," he said, brushing her mouth again, making her pulse skip again. "It's my fault you got cold, so it's my
responsibility to get you warm."

  She swallowed. "You already have."

  "I can make you warmer," he told her and pulled her onto his lap so that she straddled him.

  Erin barely had time to react to the impropriety before his mouth took hers and he slid his tongue past her lips. His was a lazy, yet purposeful invasion. He dallied with her sensitive inner lip and toyed with her tongue. She lost herself in the taste and texture of him. Tilting her head to the side to allow him better access, she heard him give a low murmur of approval. The pleasurable sound buzzed through her.

  The kiss went on and on as if he couldn't get enough of tasting her. Erin wanted more, but didn't know how… She felt a rumble of impatience build inside her. Opening her mouth wider, she drew his tongue deeper into her mouth.

  Daniel immediately responded, and the tenor of the kiss changed from lazy to serious. She felt his hands slide beneath her sweater to the bare skin of her back.

  "Your skin," he muttered. "So soft." His fingers wandered up her ribcage just beneath her bra, and she held her breath. Her breasts strained against the lacy material, but he moved his hands away. She swallowed the frustration nudging at her.

  His fingers wandered again to the barrier just beneath her breasts and she held her breath. He slipped one finger beneath the lower band. Back and forth on the lower side of her breast, he moved his finger.

  When he removed it, she nearly cried out.

  Daniel began to move his tongue in a bold, decadent rhythm that mirrored sex. Erin couldn't withhold a moan.

  He moved his hands over her back, and she felt her bra loosen. Then his hands were at last cupping her breasts. Heat pumped through her, making her restless. She shifted on his lap, and he pulled back slightly.

  "Do you like this?" he asked, rubbing his fingers ever so lightly on the perimeter of her breasts.

  "Yes, but—" She had to fight the urge to arch into his hands.

  "Yes, but," he echoed, bringing his fingers closer and closer to her sensitive, erect nipples.

  Erin bit her lip and closed her eyes. His thumbs glanced over her stiffened peaks and she moaned again.

  He read her response and rubbed her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. A riot of electric sensation coursed through her, and she instinctively took his mouth with hers. She suckled on his bottom lip and dipped her tongue across his.

  Daniel took over, French-kissing her until she felt liquid and edgy. Pulling back, he lifted her sweater over her head and pushed away her bra. His gaze greedily drank in the sight of her naked breasts. Tugging his own sweater over his head, he pulled her bare breasts against his bare chest. They both moaned at the sensation.

  Firelight danced over the skin of his hard, muscular chest, and the sight of his chest hair arrowing down provocatively into his jeans unwrapped something basic and untapped inside her.

  She moved her fingers over his shoulders and chest, luxuriating in the sensation of muscle beneath skin. He cupped her bottom and propped her upward. Dipping his head, he took the tip of her breast in his mouth. The delicious tug of his tongue pulled deep in her nether regions.

  Consumed with a want she'd never experienced, Erin glanced down at the sight of his mouth on her breast. The wanton image filled her with shocking pleasure. She had never seen herself as sexy. The notion had been forbidden.

  But Daniel's wicked mouth turned all that upside down. She felt him unfasten her belt and unzip her jeans. Her heart beat so hard she couldn't breathe. "What are you doing?"

  He dipped his finger beneath her waistband the same way he had touched her breasts just moments ago. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked, his voice easy but his eyes dangerous.

  She couldn't honestly say she wanted him to stop. He dipped his fingers lower then pulled them back. "Do you?"

  She would likely burn in hell for everything she was feeling right now, but Erin couldn't bring herself to stop him. She shook her head, and he immediately shifted her so he could push the lower half of her clothes down her legs.

  Excitement and nervousness battled inside her. She watched Daniel's eyes devour her body and shivered.

  "Cold?" he asked, totally misreading her.

  She shook her head as he cupped her bottom and drew her body against his. The denim of his jeans felt rough against her thighs, but his hands were strong and smooth.

  "I've wanted to see you this way for a long time," he told her.

  "You haven't known me that long," she managed over her hammering heart.

  "I've wanted to see you this way since the day I met you. I wanted to do more than look."

  At the same time as he took her mouth, he slid his hand down her abdomen between her legs and touched her intimately.

  Erin felt a shocking urge and panicked. She pulled her mouth from his and took desperate breaths, praying she wouldn't embarrass herself.

  Daniel paused and looked down at her. "Problem?"

  She shook her head, but her body gave her away. She hiccuped.

  Erin closed her eyes at the nervous habit that had been the bane of her existence. Why now? She sucked in another breath and hiccuped again.

  "Erin?"

  "It's a terrible—" She hiccuped again. "—disability, but I can usually—" She hiccuped. "—make them go away."

  "Do you want some water?"

  She shook her head. "No. Water doesn't—" She broke off at another spasm. "—work. It must've been my knickers."

  He looked at her incredulously. "Knickers?"

  Filled with humiliation, she covered her face. "Could you please just give me a moment?"

  Daniel did, moving her off his lap and offering her the afghan to cover herself. Erin gratefully covered her body and closed her eyes. It took a few extra seconds, but she conjured the image of a Swiss snowfall. The urge to hiccup subsided.

  She reluctantly met Daniel's curious gaze. Her heart rate picked up again. His hair was mussed, his lips swollen from kissing her and his bare chest distracted her. "I can usually keep them under control. Ever since I was a little girl, when I become overexcited, I, uh—" She took a breath and miserably looked away. "I hiccup."

  "So you're saying I just got you so overexcited I made you hiccup?" Daniel clarified, his voice a combination of astonishment and amusement.

  Erin looked at him darkly. "It's not at all kind to make fun."

  He immediately tugged her onto his lap. "Who's making fun? You just paid me the ultimate sexual compliment," he said. "But you said something about knickers."

  Still uncertain about his response, Erin felt her cheeks heat. "Yes, well, I think it happened when you removed my knickers."

  "Knickers," he echoed.

  "Underdrawers," she clarified.

  Recognition dawned on his face. "Ah, well, does this usually happen when your knickers are removed?"

  "No," she said.

  He studied her for a moment. "Just how often have your knickers been removed?"

  "I remove my knickers every day," she hedged.

  "By a man," he added.

  She bit her lip and pulled the afghan around her more tightly. "I'm not sure that's any of your business."

  "Oh, yes, it is," he told her. "Because I want to do a hell of a lot more than take off your knickers."

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  Chapter 7

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  Daniel got a sinking feeling as he watched Erin bite her lip for the umpteenth time. "I knew you were inexperienced, but I didn't know you were…" He stopped, his words fading.

  "I've been surrounded by women most of my life," she told him. "I've had a few opportunities with men, but—" She broke off and shrugged.

  "But what?"

  "I never really wanted—" She cleared her throat and her eyes darkened with a hundred feminine secrets he'd like to discover. "There's never really been someone I wanted to get this close to," she said.

  Daniel felt his chest and groin tighten. Her revelation made him hard, but her vulnerability touched something deep inside h
im and made him want to be careful with her. "We haven't made any commitments, Erin," he reminded her as gently as he could.

  "Of course not," she said as if the notion appalled her. "That would be foolish with all the changes you're facing."

  "Then how do you justify—" He paused. "—letting me in your knickers?"

  "I hadn't really tried to examine it too closely," she said. "It's far too complicated, and it's probably wisest not to get close to you, but—"

  "But," he prompted.

  She met his gaze. "But I want to," she said softly.

  His groin and heart tightened further. He hated having to be the rational one when she was giving him an ache that wouldn't quit. He couldn't stop thinking about what she was wearing—or not wearing—underneath his afghan. "I'm much more experienced than you," he said, as much for himself as for her.

  "Of course," she said. "I daresay I would have had to start my sexual experimentation at age two in order to match you."

  Daniel shot her a dark look for her pointed reference to his age. "Two is an exaggeration," he said dryly.

  She arched an eyebrow in disbelief and shifted slightly.

  Shifted her naked bottom on his lap. Daniel groaned.

  Her gaze holding his, Erin dropped the afghan from her shoulders, baring herself before him.

  Daniel drank in the sight of her nakedness, her ivory skin, uptilted breasts, narrow waist and creamy thighs. Oh, how he wanted to slide between her thighs. The temptation was too much to totally resist. He allowed himself to dip his head and taste her. She allowed him access to the inner recesses of her mouth, and Daniel thought about the more intimate access he craved. She would be wet and tight. He shuddered at the thought.

  His hands slid over her skin and touched her breasts. Her hardened nipples gratified the hell out of him. Lying back on the couch, he pulled her down with him. He slid his hand down between her legs and found her wet petals with his fingers.

  She stiffened.

  "I just want to touch you right now," he reassured her. "You feel so good, so wet. Open up for me, baby. Open your mouth," he coaxed her. "Open your legs."