Mister Moneybags(43)

Shit.

Stepping out, I grabbed a towel, wrapped it around my waist, and headed to the front door. When I looked through the peephole, no one was on the other side. But Bandit was still going crazy, so I opened the door and poked my head out into the hallway. My heart started pounding when I found Bianca standing in front of the elevator doors looking down.

“Bianca?”

She looked up. “Dex. You didn’t answer. I thought you were out.”

“I was in the shower.” The doors to the elevator she was standing in front of slid open, and she turned to face them, then glanced back at me, and then back at the waiting car. She was clearly pondering her departure. After a few heartbeats, she made her decision. “I should go. It was a mistake coming over here. I’m sorry.”

“Bianca! Wait!”

She froze with one foot inside the elevator car. I didn’t give a fuck that I was still dripping wet and only wearing a towel, I ran down the hall after her. “Don’t leave. Please.” I caught her elbow and waited as she again deliberated. When she finally nodded, I let out a deep breath. There was no way I was giving her any time to change her mind again, so I quickly steered her away from any available escape and into my apartment.

Although I’d managed to get her into my place and close the door behind her, she stayed just barely inside and looked down at her feet. “Well, this is a nice surprise,” I said.

“I shouldn’t be here.”

“I think you’re wrong. This is exactly where you should be. Where you shouldn’t have been tonight, was on that date.”

Bandit had been standing near my side and chose that moment to walk to Bianca. He sat down directly on her feet and pushed his head into her crotch. She smiled and scratched the top of his head. Good boy. Remind me to buy you a bone. From an elephant.

“Our dog seems to agree with me.”

Her head whipped up. “Our dog?”

“Yes. I feel like he belongs to both of us since he helped bring us together.”

“If I’m not mistaken, he actually helped break us apart. I saw you at the shelter. That’s how I uncovered who you really were, remember?”

I took a step closer. “I don’t see it that way.”

She scoffed. “Then you need glasses, Truitt.”

Another step. “I don’t need glasses to know you look beautiful right now.” Her hair was down and had a wavy, windblown look to it. She looked absolutely breathtaking wearing a simple, black strapless dress. Her lips were painted a blood red and when her tongue darted out to wet them, I was unable to stop staring.

“Dex…” Her voice was low but there was a warning tone to it. She must have known how much looking at her was affecting me.

“Bianca…” I mimicked her and took a hesitant step closer. When she didn’t run, not that she had anywhere to actually run with her back against the front door, I took that as a sign to keep moving in. She looked down, and I got the sense that she was trying to maintain her control. Too bad I wanted nothing more than to make her lose it. “Your date ended early. Did Eamon not do it for you, the way I do?”

She squinted. “How did you know his name was Eamon?”

Shit. “It doesn’t matter. You ended it early. What matters is that you’re here now and not with that ass-wipe.”

“He’s not an ass-wipe, and it does matter. How did you know his name?”

“My driver paid the maître de to get the name on your reservation.”

“Why?”

“Because I needed to know who my competition was on the chance that you’d like him enough to go out with him for reasons other than an attempt to forget me.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re so full of yourself. You think my date had something to do with you? Newsflash, Dexter Truitt, the world does not revolve around you.”

“Really? That’s a shame. Especially since mine seems to revolve around you as of late.”

We stared at each other. There were clearly a million thoughts going through her head as her eyes jumped back and forth. Unfortunately, she settled on the one I had hoped she’d rid herself of already. “I should go,” she whispered.

I felt desperate. I closed the little gap that remained between us. The heat from our bodies was radiating, and the smell of her perfume engulfed my senses. When I glanced down, I realized her chest was rising and falling as rapidly as mine. I couldn’t let her leave. I just couldn’t. “Don’t go.”

“I need to.”

Recognizing I was out of time and she was about to bolt, I used the only thing I knew was her weakness—her attraction to me. Taking her face in my hands, I cupped both cheeks, and planted my lips over hers. “Stay. Don’t leave.” Then I devoured her mouth. She opened without hesitation, and my tongue dove right in finding hers. Feeling her physically surrender to me so easily was a complete turn-on. I pressed my body into hers, pinning her between the door and my naked chest. Her tits pushed up, beckoning to be set free from her strapless little dress, and the feel of her bare skin against mine was fucking incredible. I wanted to lift her up and cradle her in my arms as I carried her back to my bedroom.