"I'm sorry for crying. I don't know where that came from."
"Don't apologize for the way you feel. Ever. You've had a hell of a day, and it's okay to not be strong all the time. You don't have to put on a smile and make a snarky comment because everyone expects it."
Damn. Dawson was preaching all kinds of truth tonight. The kind I'd normally be dishing out if my emotions weren't all over the fucking place. I barely recognized myself lately.
"Why are you being so nice to me? I've treated you like a pariah all this time," I said. "Why do you put up with me?"
"And why do you constantly question my motives? Not everyone has bad intentions, Paige. Not everyone wants something from you."
A smile twisted my lips. "You saying you don't want anything from me?"
"Well … " His eyes turned heated. "Nothing you aren't willing to give."
I shook my head. "I think you just like a challenge."
"You're right. I do. But Paige, I'm not stupid. Saying you're a challenge doesn't mean you're a game to be won or some wild animal that needs to be tamed. Hell, no one could do that anyway, and certainly not me. But the right person would never want to change you. They'd just … " His gaze fell to the dying embers, and he gently stoked them back to life with the poker.
The silence in the room was deafening as I waited with bated breath for the rest of his thoughts, but when they didn't come, I got the feeling he didn't want to finish what he'd started. But I had to know, so I prodded. "They'd what?"
"They'd just want to enjoy the ride with you." His eyes flitted up to meet mine, and the fire I saw there wasn't a reflection of the flames below. They were the desire of a man who knew exactly what he wanted. "Paige-"
"Come here," I said, my voice thick with emotion, and as he put the poker back in place and crossed the room toward me, I knew without a doubt that what happened next would change me. Would change us. And as much as that scared me, I found myself reaching up for him anyway.
His mouth came down hard on mine, brooking no argument, not allowing for anything other than total submission. And as I pulled him down onto the couch and straddled him, I kissed him back with the urgency I'd pent up for years.
Now that I wasn't fighting him or trying to deny our attraction, I could take the time to explore, to taste the sweetness of his tongue, and to feel the soft threads of his long hair through my fingers. His arms were strong and firm around me, telling me with no uncertainty that he was not letting me go. With one of his arms circled around my waist, the other came up to grip the back of my neck, pulling me closer as he greedily stole the air from my lungs.
In the back of my mind came the wonderment that I could touch him like this. Freely and because I wanted to. And from the way he urged me on, because he wanted me to as well.
I could feel him growing harder beneath me, and I spread my legs wider on either side of him to get myself closer, rocking back and forth slightly. He groaned into my mouth, his fingers tightening in my hair as he pressed me harder down onto him. Then I leaned back and got to my feet, undoing my pants and slipping my hands inside the waistband of my lace thong. I pushed them both down to the ground and then stepped out of them before reassuming my position over him.
"You have to know you're fucking beautiful," he said, his eyes hooded as he took my lips again in a kiss that showed me more than even his words could. His hands went to my waist, stroking the smooth skin there before moving them lower, his fingers lightly running over my wet core. He didn't tease me long, sinking one of his fingers deep inside me before another joined, and I squeezed them tight, eliciting another groan.
My hands dropped to his hips, sliding back and underneath to run along his ass, and I reached into one of his back pockets for his wallet. He knew what I was going for, and he quickly pulled the foil packet out of one of the folds. As he tore it open, I unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, and he lifted up just enough to let me slide them and his boxers down so that his erection sprang up between us.
This time it wasn't about one-upping each other or playing games. It was a coming together, this time of body and mind.
After he'd sheathed himself, I lifted up to my knees and slowly took him inch by inch, letting myself revel in the feel of him. When he filled me completely, we were both breathing hard, and I couldn't stop myself from saying, "You feel so good inside me, Dawson. So damn good … "
His lips never left mine as we moved in sync, slowly at first, a gentle sway that soon led to more desperate cravings. I held him close, never coming up for air as we chased the heights of where we could go-together. And as our moans became louder, our hips moving faster, I felt as though my heart was following suit, like it was so full it would burst once I hit my climax.
"Paige," Dawson said, panting against my lips. But he didn't have to say the words for me to know he felt the same. I saw them in his eyes.
I cupped his cheek and said, "I know," before fusing our mouths back together and taking him as deep as I could, and just as I called out his name, our orgasms threw us into wild oblivion.
We went on all night, our clothes coming off piece by piece, no rush, just exploring each other. He was as insatiable as I was, never stopping long before he had to be inside me again. I savored every touch, every kiss, and every thrust like it was the first time. Tonight would be seared into my memory forever-the night I'd finally realized what it felt like to make love. Dawson had given me another first, and I couldn't help but hold out some small bit of hope that maybe this thing, whatever it was between us, might be something lasting.
It was hours later when the fire had dulled to a smolder and we'd finally worn each other to exhaustion, and, too tired to head to one of our rooms, had curled up together on the couch. My back was against his front, and one of his arms lay protectively across my chest. And it felt … unbelievably right. Like this was the way it should've been all along and I'd been too blind or too stubborn to see it. Probably a mix of both.
With a contented sigh, my eyes fluttered shut, and as Dawson pulled me closer against him, he made soft kisses behind my ear.
"Don't make plans tomorrow night," he murmured against my neck, his voice heavy with sleep. "Promise?"
I was glad I was facing away so he couldn't see the cheesy grin that took over my face then. "Promise," I said.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ace to the Rescue
"LOOK AT YOU grinning something fierce," Shayne said, swiveling around in her chair as I entered her office at the headquarters of Happily Ever After, Inc., her matchmaking company. She sat forward, tapping a pen against her lips. "I don't have to guess why. I told you me moving out was a good idea."
I removed my jacket, set it on the back of the chair, and then took the seat in front of her desk. "I still maintain that you should be at home, but I suppose I could let myself enjoy having sex on every available surface. Your bed's a little firm, by the way."
Shayne gawked at me. "You didn't."
"Yeah, okay, I didn't. I love you, but that's a little creepy."
"Thank God. I wasn't looking forward to fumigating the mattress."
I cracked a smile and then looked around for the man who'd called me there. "So. Is he here yet?"
"No, but he should be here any time. I told him you guys could use the conference room."
"Any idea what he wants to meet about?"
"He hasn't told me anything, but I have my theories," she said. "Guess we'll find out soon enough, hmm?"
"I guess so." I drummed my nails along the edge of the chair as I wondered yet again why Ace Locke had called me in to Shayne's office. For those of you who aren't familiar with Ace (which leads me to believe you've been hiding under a rock), he's one of the biggest movie stars in the world, known mostly for his action movies, though his romance with gorgeous top model Dylan Prescott had him garnering more headlines than ever. Ace's coming out had been a huge deal, both personally and professionally, and I was glad to see the guy back on the upswing after a rocky patch. He had an interesting history with Shayne, and long story short, he was a private investor in her company, which was why it made sense to meet there.
As if I'd conjured him from my thoughts, Ace's masculine frame filled the doorway. With his hair trimmed to his signature buzz cut, and him dressed in what had to be a custom-made suit, because the guy's muscles were out of control, he looked dapper and handsome as ever.
"I'm not late, am I?" he said, and when he checked his watch, the black diamonds of his engagement ring winked at me as it caught the light.
"Nah, just catching up with Shayne," I said, standing up to greet him with a kiss on the cheek. "You look good. Getting engaged must agree with you."
"Mmm, that it does," he said, bending over to give Shayne a kiss as well. Then he aimed a smile my way, the one that melted hearts in cineplexes all over the world. "Shall we?"