Dani felt the light ridges of Rand’s scars beneath her palms as if they were jagged peaks, her brain disconnecting and going somewhere it hadn’t been for a long time. She knew all about the kind of welts left by belts and strips of wood, even the occasional hooked buckle. You didn’t grow up the way she had without recognizing those. But Silver Spoon here wasn’t some kid beat half to death in a back alley; he was money. He was privileged; he was—
Something unexpected and almost primal surged within her, the need to erase any marks on this man she didn’t make herself. The need to claim, to own, to control—and in the process, to pound away all of the memories that were clamoring in her head. She realized what she was doing a second too late as Rand’s body fell against hers and they collapsed onto one of the suite’s low couches. Then it was a scramble of clothes and snaps and zippers, their movements frenzied, their bodies hot and slick with sweat until they were suddenly and almost shockingly naked in each other’s arms. Dani pressed her hands on either side of Rand’s beautiful head, kissing him as she straddled his body, feeling the weight of his cock settle heavily in the vee between her thighs. Even that seemed too distant, and she slid wetly up the length of his shaft, thrilling at the low moan that escaped from his lips.
Without saying anything more he rolled away from her and made a swiping motion at his pants. Condom, she realized, her brain only half-connected, and then he was back in front of her, pushing her down against the sofa, his body hard and cruel above hers. He drove into her almost without warning, and she bucked beneath him, the intrusion almost shockingly fast. His hands gripped her hips, not just pulling her up into him, but canting her body forward, and the most intimate part of her ached for his touch.
And touch he did, savoring the curves and contours of her slick heat until he brushed against the sensitive bundle of nerves that made her twitch hard, her breath a rough gasp. Before she could shift away, his hands lifted and shackled her wrists, pulling her arms high up against the cushions. “What are you—Hey!” Dani’s eyes flew open as Rand shifted upward, the movement pressing against her in a way that she wasn’t expecting. “Damn, that feels good.”
“It’s supposed to.” He arched upward again, his shaft filling her, the angle of him impossibly perfect, engaging every nerve ending in a fight to see which could be stimulated more. Dani was used to taking her pleasure the way she wanted, but this was the first time it didn’t involve fingers or toys or—“Son of a bitch, that’s fucking amazing. Don’t stop doing that.”
Rand’s chuckle floated around her ears. “Why do you think I put on the condom?”
Rand gritted his teeth, more than aware that his hold on himself was not so tight as that, condom or no condom. Dani writhed beneath him in an abandon he wouldn’t have thought possible, though of course he should have guessed that someone with her discipline and self-control would let go with the same level of intensity she displayed when she held herself in check. She shuddered in his arms in great spasms of unself-conscious ecstasy, the sight and feel of her as sharp and powerful as any drug—and just as addicting. Already he wanted more, even as her tremors eased to rolling shivers, her mouth parting on a broken sigh.
Hell, he wanted a lot more.
Rand glared down at Dani, though her eyes were still closed, her mind still caught up in the pleasure of her body. He’d walked in this club tonight with a simple enough idea—to make Dani Michaels want him more than he wanted her. To make her need him, come to him, make love to him. But now that he had her in his arms, now that he’d gotten a taste of winning against this woman, he wanted to go further, to claim even more. Just that fast, just that intensely, he wanted to beat Dani at her own game. She might think she was the consummate con artist, but what was a con other than getting more out of someone than they ever thought they’d give you?
And what he wanted Dani to give him was—everything. Her body, her mind, her every waking thought. The rush to consume her swept up and over him like a firestorm, burning away every other goal. Leaving nothing but an aching need to be filled, drop by delicious drop.
And he knew just how to begin, too. By letting her know just how easily he could get whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.
“Why do you work here?” he asked as her eyes fluttered open at last, her gaze unfocused until it locked on him. She seemed to come back to herself, and she frowned at the unexpected question, her expression loosening as he brushed up against her clit again.
“Why wouldn’t I work here?” she managed as he rocked into her, seating himself to the hilt, the force of his thrusts driving her back against the couch.
“You could be doing something better.” The knowing edge to his voice must have reached some distant brain cell because Dani stiffened just a little, a sudden, visceral awareness of danger pulling her back from the edge of sensual abandon. This time when she looked at him, her gaze shimmered with anger.
“According to whom?” she asked, her voice now sharp. “You been reading up on me, Richie Rich? You must have been having some real slow days at the country club.”
“You might say that.” Rand leaned down to Dani’s face even as she turned her chin away. Fortunately, in this position he had all the leverage, which was just the way he liked it. He followed the curve of her jaw with his mouth, dipping down to taste the pounding pulse in her neck, feeling his own blood thud with similar intensity. “Information interests me. As of recently, you interest me. And, fortunately for me, I have the resources to learn anything about anyone in today’s online world with minimal effort. You’ve been a very busy girl for someone who barely graduated high school, taking all those college tests but never sending them anywhere. You scored so well, too.”
“Fuck off,” Dani spat out, but Rand shifted again, learning her body the way he learned everything, with complete and utter focus. The dividends paid off just as quickly, as she convulsed beneath him, another curse ripping from her lips. She was already so close—so close to coming apart that he could see it in her face, the sheen of sweat on her brow, the way her throat worked, trying for words that she couldn’t quite manage. He dropped his mouth over her racing pulse again, tasting her excitement as it mounted, so he knew when she was going to explode.
He lifted up to watch it happen, only to meet her gaze and see the fury in her eyes. She struggled beneath him, but she was way too far gone for that, and he nudged up against her, changing the rhythm just enough that she came apart in his arms, gasping and shuddering, unaware or at least not concerned about the scream that had slipped from her mouth. She weakly tried to push him away and Rand’s smile went even broader. As much as he hated condoms, they certainly had their advantages. Like right now. Because though she’d just shattered around him, he hadn’t followed suit, which meant—
“Rand.” Dani’s voice was breathy, distracted, and she blinked at him in confusion, the long shudder of her orgasm ebbing away as he began to move again, twisting and shifting beneath her. It was the first time she’d used his name. He was damn well sure it wouldn’t be the last.
“Dani,” he said, the word firm and intent. He pressed more deeply inside her and her eyes sharpened again, something other than desire darkening their depths.
Clearly, Dani was ready to take back control. She pushed at his chest and he let her up, but she merely followed him until he was the one on his back and she was straddled over him, her breasts swaying, her deliciously curved body silhouetted by the warm light. Her hair fell over her shoulders in a satin curtain, spilling onto his chest. She settled more firmly on him, then she started to move. Rand gritted his teeth against the sheer perfection of her body. Her strokes were long, slow, and measured, and he found himself staring at her breasts, her head, the tilt of her shoulders as she relaxed into his body, her eyes heavy on his face, her manner intent, as if the entire world was encapsulated in this movement between them. Time seemed to stand still as she did it, and even though he knew it had to be something she’d done before, something she’d perfected, it still made him catch his breath, this feeling that nothing and no one could enter into this protected circle they had made.
And then she leaned down and hung her face next to his. Her mouth was just a breath away from his ear, her breasts brushing his chest even as she ground against him. “You were right, you know,” she said, the touch of her words against his ear a breathy sigh. “I did think about you these past few weeks. I thought about you filling me up like this, thick and hard like you are right now.”
Rand let out a tight breath. This…isn’t helping.
“I wondered what it would be like to have your cock inside me, pulsing up exactly this way, hot and needy and ready to explode while I just rode you, waiting for you to break.”
Rand’s hands moved to Dani’s backside as she moved against him, her hands on his chest, her smile intent as she stared down at him. He felt the need spike inside him once more as their eyes connected. Something elusive danced in her gaze, something he needed more than breath. Something he would have, he decided, as often as she would give it to him.
Mine, a voice insisted inside his head, and his lips tightened, his hands clamping down on Dani’s hips as if he could keep himself inside her by sheer force of will. Inside her, so full, so big, that it seemed like they weren’t even two people anymore, but one shuddering explosion of desire and possibility.
Even with all of that, his orgasm caught him by surprise, and Dani’s laugh—high, sharp, and exultant—filled his whole world as he convulsed against her, searing away everything in one sharp moment.
For a few minutes there was nothing but the sound of breathing in the room, and, selfishly, Rand didn’t want there to be anything else, the need to collapse into the couch and sink away as powerful a force as gravity. Dani, however, eventually craned her body up, peering into the room’s murky depths. “I’ve honestly never been back here long enough to check these places out,” she said, her voice far too casual for his liking. “Are there bathrooms attached? There have to be bathrooms.”
“There’s a bathroom.” Striking the same easy tone as she had, Rand rolled to his feet and strode to the secondary door, opening it and stepping inside just long enough to discard the condom and grab towels. When he stepped back out, however, Dani was already half dressed, the tumbler of white liqueur at her side once more as she pulled on her shirt. He tossed her a towel and she caught it in one hand, grinning at him, then turned to finish dressing with quick, comfortable efficiency. It was as if nothing meaningful had just happened between them, a reaction that should have left him relieved. Intrigued. Even a little turned on.
It didn’t.
“How’d you find me, anyway?” she asked over her shoulder. “It’s not like I posted this job on LinkedIn.”
“You’re not that difficult to trace.” Irritation laced his words and made them sharper than he intended, and Dani shifted to face him, her brows lifted.
“Uh-huh. Still, it seems like you were pretty sure of your reception.”
He gestured, taking in the disheveled room.
Dani barked a short laugh of acknowledgment. “Yeah, well. It’s a slow night.” Her gaze swiveled to the door. “Speaking of, where did those women go? Did you just hire them for the walk-through?”
“Saved time,” he said, and then her eyes did meet his, understanding flaring in their depths. Once again, Rand felt the rush of desire to own every inch of Dani Michaels, to slip around her defenses and bend her to his will. She was like a wild, exotic cat, pacing in front of him warily. Ready to fight—and even more ready to bolt. But he could break her easily enough. He’d won this round, after all. He knew it; she knew it. He’d crooked his finger and she’d willingly come to him—and then she’d willingly come for him.
Only he wasn’t going to let Dani Michaels run away from him this time. Not until he won it all.