“I’m trying not to have any expectations, Angel. I find you extremely stimulating—” He paused when she smiled and looked down at her hands. “—in so many ways.”

“So…” she paused just a beat before taking the plunge. “You want to fuck me.”

Brilliant green eyes contemplated her for a few seconds. “Wow.” Alex ran his free hand through his hair. “You cut right to the chase, don’t you?”

He leaned in closer to her, the gesture so intimate, like they were a couple and he had every right to invade her space.

“Well?” Angel demanded. “Do you?” She knew the answer but wondered if he’d be honest.

“I’d be lying if I said I haven’t fantasized about it ever since I heard your voice the first time. Even without a visual, I was fascinated by just the thought of you, imagining how you’d feel under me and having you moan my name as you came.” Alex smiled when she gasped. If she was going to cut to the chase, so was he. “I can sense that you are just as fascinated. This thing between us is stronger than I’ve ever experienced. And yes, I’m dying to know how it would feel to be with you. But…”

Again, he surprised her. Was this real or some ploy to suck her in? “But?”

“You’re amazing, and I don’t want to screw this up.”

Dark brown eyes starred into his brilliant ones. He met her gaze without flinching and soon she felt his fingers brushing against her cheekbone, his face only inches from hers. Angel drew in a deep breath and still Alex’s fingers slowly explored her cheek and then her temple. She was losing the battle.

“Angeline… you’re so beautiful. What do you have going on under that dress?”

Warmth was flooding her body and settling in a tight throb in the pit of her stomach. Her hand reached out for the front of his shirt and he slid in closer. The lounge was dark and intimate and the booth that they were in was in a back corner, completely secluding them from others.

“A blush silk and lace thong and a Brazilian wax,” she breathed out, knowing full well the effect it would have on him.

“Oh, my God…” he groaned and leaned his forehead on hers, his arms gathering her close, his fingers burning the skin of her back. “And is your body reacting like mine is right now? If I reached up under your dress, would my fingers find that silk damp?”

“Uhhh… Alex…” she breathed. Suddenly, they were alone, with no comprehension of anyone else in the room and totally consumed with each other.

“Let’s have a taste. Just a little taste…” His voice was raspy and rough in his desire.

Angel’s mouth parted and she licked her lips, lifting her chin so her mouth was a mere whisper away from his. It was all the invitation he needed. His lips brushed over hers, nudging them apart and licking at them softly until she moaned and she opened to him fully. He groaned into her mouth as they both gave into the want, the kiss deepening, and their tongues sliding against each other again and again.

Angel thought she’d died and gone to heaven. Her chest tightened up and her heart felt like it would fly from her body. He was divine; his mouth devouring and then ghosting, lifting and coming back for more, like he couldn’t get enough. His hand slid up her thigh and just underneath the edge of her dress, and her hand moved up into his hair to pull his mouth closer, forgetting where she was.

“Jesus, Angel,” he breathed against her mouth and then dragged his lips up to kiss her temple. “We have to stop. It’s getting out of control. We have to remember where we are.”

Angel’s hold on him loosened, but she didn’t let him go, her glazed eyes looked into his. “Uh huh…”

“Shit… I’ve totally screwed my good intentions.”

Angel was left trembling, and Alex was clearly moved. “Didn’t you expect to kiss me tonight? We both knew this would happen, Alex,” she breathed.

Would this insatiable preoccupation go away if they had sex? Would the want go away? She sure as hell hoped so, because she couldn’t afford to risk her heart on a man notorious for not falling in love. Not when he was so incredible. Every minute she spent with him only shattered the image Whitney’s words planted in her mind. Was he really the selfish, unfeeling user the other woman described? Was his behavior with her tonight an act? Or was this really him?

What the fuck am I doing? She made the decision. She wanted him but she didn’t want him to own her. She had to take control of herself and of him or she would lose huge.

“Let’s get out of here, yeah?” Alex asked and ran his index finger down the side of Angel’s face.

She nodded. “Yes. But, we have the wine.” A $3400 bottle of wine just barely opened.

“So? It’s only money, and I can’t wait to be alone with you.”

* * *

In the limo, Alex held Angel’s hand, his thumb rubbing over the top of her fingers. The briefest of touches between them was enough to set them both ablaze. She sat close to him in the middle of the seat, and electricity raced between them like a closed circuit.

“Angel, I want to kiss you, but I’m just going to take you home tonight.” Alex pulled her hand up and ran his nose from her palm up her middle finger, then placed his open mouth on her palm. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from his and her mouth fell open.

“If you want to kiss me, then do it,” she urged softly. “Do it.”

“No.” He shook his head and inhaled deeply. “The next time my mouth is on yours it’s going to end in an orgasm or two. Otherwise, I can’t go there.”

“Oh, God.” Angel’s fingers closed tightly around his as her bones turned to jelly.

“That’s why Becca’s at your apartment, isn’t it; to keep us on the straight and narrow, tonight?”

“I keep a room for them at my apartment because I love seeing the baby, but tonight… I thought it was wise to have her there, yes,” she admitted.

He sighed again. “Yes. I’m wishing we would have stayed at TRU and finished the wine now. I’m not ready to let you go yet.”

“I do have to work tomorrow, so I should be home in a couple of hours, but… we could always go to your place,” Angel suggested, the words ripping from her chest almost against her will. Her eyes closed, not believing she’d just said it out loud. It had taken her six months to go to bed with Kenneth, and with Alex, she was acting like a wanton.

“Um…” His body was tormenting him—heart racing, groin aching, mouth going dry. He wanted her, but as a rule, he didn’t fuck at his apartment. Women weren’t allowed to invade his personal space. He always went to them so he could get up and leave whenever he wanted. It kept the control in his court.

“Angeline, are you sure?” This woman blew all his rules out the window and he didn’t give a flying fuck. “I’ve made no secret how much I want you, but I’m trying so hard to take this slow. After that kiss, I can’t promise I’ll be able to resist.” Alex’s eyes searched hers.

“I’m not asking you to promise… or to resist. As you said, we’re both adults.”

His eyes burned into hers, searching to see if this was truly what she wanted, because amazing as the revelation was, what she wanted mattered. “Martin, take us home, please.”

“Yes, sir,” he answered. Alex resisted the urge to close the partition that separated the couple from the driver, also the urge to pull her onto his lap and explore the treasures beneath her dress. His hand still held hers and he lifted it to his mouth again. It was important that she know that he respected her and wanted more than just sex.

“Angeline, this evening was not intended as a seduction. It was intended to make up for Darian’s bullshit and to get to know you. Truly.”

Angel saw the sincerity in his expression, and she reached out to touch his face with gentle fingers. The slight stubble was already felt under her fingers and pointed out the level of testosterone that surged through this man. He was all man. He was fucking perfect; so male and strong. He made her glad she was a woman.

Unable to stop herself, she leaned forward and pressed her open mouth to his. Instantly, he pulled her roughly against him and his mouth opened to play with hers. She expected him to be demanding in this kiss, but he was tender, his mouth worshiping hers. He was irresistible.

“Oh, baby… Angel,” he whispered as his mouth lifted off of hers.

And something inside her did somersaults.

* * *

They didn’t speak as they rode up in the elevator after Martin dropped them off in the underground garage of his building. Alex swiped his keycard that would give access to the private level where he lived. His fingers were entwined with hers, and the anticipation throbbed between them.

Alex was struggling. He didn’t want to treat her casually. He always respected the women he was with, made sure they were satisfied, but with Angel, he wanted to worship her, and he wanted her beyond this one night. The truth of that rocked him to the core.

When they walked into his apartment, he didn’t turn on the lights, but pulled her gently to him; his hands now free to roam her naked back and hips. Angel leaned into him, reveling in the feel of his hard muscles pressed into her softness.

Her hands pulled his shirt free of his pants and started to unbutton it, silently begging him to kiss her. Still he resisted. His hands closed around hers to stop her.

“Angel…” he groaned and finally lowered his mouth to the curve of her shoulder. “Ugh, God… we don’t have to do this.”

“Don’t we?” She backed away from him, not taking her eyes off of him.

His chest, revealed by the open shirt, was magnificent, as Angel had known it would be; the hard muscles moving in a beautiful dance as Alex removed his jacket and threw it over a chair. “No,” he answered quietly.

“Don’t you want me?”

“Without question, but I find myself in unfamiliar territory. I want to see you after tonight, and I don’t want you thinking I’m a cad.”

Angel, on the other hand, was silently praying that a good roll in the hay would purge this man from her system. Could she be bold enough to take him down and leave him shaken to the point where he couldn’t resist? She decided to be honest about her intentions.

“Here is where I stand, Alex. I hate how confused I feel and how out of control I am in this. Believe me… this isn’t me.” She was trying to get clarity on Alex. Surely he had been with women this soon before.

He drew in his breath. “And you think sex will put it into perspective?”

“The only thing I know it will do for sure is ease the aching.” Her words shot straight to his cock as she moved closer again and ran her finger down his bare chest, across his abdominals to the waistband of his pants. His body was as perfect, as hard as she imagined. The muscles rippled under her fingers.

Her perfume and the smell of her skin assaulted his senses.

“You are aching, right?” Her voice was seducing him, sultry, and she moved her hand lower, brushing the bulge in his pants. “Mmmm… yes,” she whispered against his jaw.

Fucking hell. Is she really all that she seems? he wondered. Aching was an understatement. Her closeness, her hands on him, the warmth of her breath against his skin, and her mouth so fucking close, was killing his resolve.

Everything in Alex screamed for him to take her. She wanted him; he felt it in her response and heard it drip off her words. He knew that fucking her would be earthshaking, and his body throbbed and shook with anticipation like it never had before. His eyes burned over her, taking in the long expanses of bare skin and imagining more.

Angel moved away from him into the living room, letting him look at her, and making his heart thunder in his chest, his cock so full it hurt. The only light came in from the Chicago skyline, casting her in shadow and wrapping her in a mystery that he wanted to solve. He only saw the outline of her body, but he followed almost against his will. She didn’t speak, but her arms rose to the back of her neck as she undid the clasp of her dress. Alex’s heart stopped as he realized her intentions. Angel turned, holding the open neckline to her with one arm, the material now free of her shoulders. She was acting out one of his fantasies right before his eyes, but this was more vivid, more exciting, than any fantasy he’d ever had.

Their eyes met and locked, the room dark and silent. After a moment’s hesitation, she let the dress fall to her feet.

He couldn’t breathe. Her outline against the Chicago night was everything a man could want in a woman: slim waist, softly swelling hips, full, perfectly round, firm breasts; still in her heels and thong, she was perfection.