Dylan winced on his way out the door as he heard her comment, knowing she'd caught him in a lie about him needing to leave. She'd probably walked in right after he had. It was just as well though. His time with Veronica was long over, and he was going to be up bright and early banging on Anna's front door until she answered. He deserved an explanation after the restless night he was about to spend alone.
Chapter Five
Anna rolled out of bed at six thirty the next morning, her mind alert and ready to face the day. She pulled on a pair of sweats and shuffled into the kitchen, not looking quite as good as she felt.
Her hair was pulled up in a haphazard ponytail, and she smelled like the inside of a bottle of Tequila. Fortunately, she had time to make repairs.
Mel was already up and dressed and pouring a generous amount of cream into her coffee. One side of her hair was flattened from sleep. And she stifled a yawn when she noticed Anna enter the room.
"I can't believe you're up this early," Mel said, surprised and a little jealous. She'd never been much of a morning person.
"I feel great," Anna said. "I'm energized and ready to explain things to Dylan. If he'll listen. And hopefully you'll be looking at a new woman tomorrow."
"That is so wrong," Mel complained. "You're beautiful, you're about to have great sex and you don't get hangovers. Life is so unfair."
Anna laughed and gathered up all her things. "I'm going to go ahead and take off. I need to shower and spruce up a little before I corner down Dylan at his office. I don't even have the man's cell number."
"Just make sure you keep me up to date on what happens. Not everyone leads a life as exciting as yours," Mel said, waving Anna out the door.
Anna jogged to her car, her steps light, humming a Celine Dion song from a car commercial she'd heard. It was a beautiful March morning. Spring was in the air and everything was going her way. She quashed down the little niggling of doubt she had at telling Dylan the truth when she saw another note on her windshield.
"You big bully," she muttered to no one in particular. She took the note from under her wiper blades and tore it into little pieces without reading it. She watched the little pieces fall to the ground and she quashed the guilt she felt for littering in Mel's front yard. Sometimes life called for a little dramatics.
"This is ridiculous," she shouted to the neighborhood in general. "We're adults. If you have a problem, stop being a coward and meet me face to face."
Anna crossed her fingers and hoped that no one would respond. She hopped in her car without glancing around to see if anyone actually took her up on her offer, and backed down Mel's driveway. She looked uneasily at the wooded park across the street, imagining dozens of eyes tracking her every move.
She made it home in record time and hurried in the house, thankful that her father had already left for the store. She didn't have time to answer any of the questions he was sure to have. She was on a mission to grovel and seduce. Nothing was going to stop her.
She piled her hair up high on her head and jumped in the shower. Anna had already decided she was going to do everything she could possibly think of to convince Dylan to take the day off. It was time to pull out the big guns. She'd corner him in his office and not give him a chance to say anything but yes. Of course, she'd need to lure him to a place outside of his office, a place that offered them a little privacy. She wasn't sure she could take any more strange looks like the last time she was there.
Anna put her hand to her stomach to quiet the butterflies dancing around. It was hard to remember she was no longer a shy wallflower. Hopefully, being an outgoing sex kitten wouldn't lead to ulcers.
She rubbed lotion on her entire body and selected the sexiest lingerie she owned out of her drawer. A purchase she'd recently bought on her life changing shopping trip.
"Thank you, Mel," she said quietly, touching the soft lace between her fingers. It was a simple black teddy, but the sheer lace didn't leave anything for the imagination. "Eat your heart out, Dylan Maguire."
She pulled on a sleek black jump-suit that zipped up the front and released her hair from its clip so it curled down her back.
"Okay," she said looking at herself in the mirror, "That's as good as it's going to get."
Anna made her way to the kitchen and popped a couple of slices of bread in the toaster. She hadn't had anything to eat since lunch the day before. No wonder the tequila had had such an effect on her.
She looked at her reflection in the side of the toaster and cleared her throat, practicing her apologetic, but seductive, expression she'd need to use on Dylan.
"Dylan," she started, batting her eyelashes a little. "I just wanted to apologize for running away from you yesterday. You see, one of your crazy ex-girlfriends has been threatening me, and I wasn't sure that one orgasm was worth dying for."
The toaster popped out her bread and she jumped back a little, surprised. She'd really gotten into her speech.
"I can't say that," she groaned, rolling her eyes. "No one would believe that story. I'll have to show him the notes."
She thought for a minute while buttering her toast. Maybe she should just take the more direct approach. She looked at her reflection in the toaster again, pouted her lips out Angelina Jolie style and stuck out her chest.
"Take me Dylan. I'm yours," she said, licking her lips provocatively.
The doorbell interrupted her rehearsal, and she started laughing at her ridiculousness on the way to the door. She had plenty of time to think of something. She would just be herself and let things happen how they were supposed to happen.
Anna looked at the Grandfather clock that sat in the foyer of the Hollis Mansion, its pendulum swinging slowly in a hypnotic rhythm. It was barely eight o'clock in the morning.
"Who could this be? I don't have time for any setbacks," she mumbled, jerking the door open with more force than necessary.
Her mouth froze in an open "O" when she saw a very annoyed Dylan standing on the other side of the threshold. Her mouth opened and closed several times with no words coming out, so she resembled a surprised fish.
"I see my presence makes you speechless," Dylan said, walking through the open door.
"I … I just wasn't expecting you this early," Anna said, mentally cursing herself for stuttering and backing away. She looked weak, nothing like the sex kitten she'd been practicing.
"I was just on my way to see you so I could explain." Anna backed into the formal dining room and went behind the couch, hoping the object would be enough of a separation to keep him at bay for the moment. "It really is a good explanation."
"I'm not really in the mood for any of your explanations," Dylan said.
He followed her around the couch and they circled each other slowly, like two boxers in the ring. "You have one chance to answer me honestly," he said. "Do you still want me?"
Anna stood frozen, unable to believe her ears. She still had a chance after all. She would explain everything afterwards, but right now she had a lot of pent up frustration she needed to release, and by the feral look in Dylan's eyes he was suffering the same fate.
"Yes," she said, her voice hoarse and her body trembling.
Dylan jumped over the couch, eliminating any protection she thought she had. Her adrenaline was pounding and she instinctively started to run away from him, like the prey she felt she was.
Anna heard him growl seconds before she felt his grip on her arm. She yelped in surprise at the sting of his fingers, and gasped as he spun her around to face him. He backed her against the wall and closed his hand around her throat, pressing his thumb on her throbbing pulse.
Her turquoise eyes were wide and her chest was heaving in anticipation and a little fear. She watched as he brought his other hand up and slowly pulled on the zipper of her jumpsuit, teasing her exposed flesh with raspy fingers.
Dylan held his breath as he saw the filmy lace that was being revealed. He'd been painfully hard all night, but the sight of her pale flesh took him beyond any need he'd ever experienced.
Anna reevaluated her situation. Was this the way she wanted to come to Dylan? As a pliant partner that he could direct at his command? She wasn't giving him the challenge that his personality seemed to call for. She was just submitting without giving as good as she got.
She brought her hand up and enclosed Dylan's wrist, making him raise his eyebrow at her bold attempt to stop him. She brought her other hand up and placed her palm on his chest, tracing his toned muscles with her fingernails and making him draw in a sharp breath at her touch.