Dare to Submit (Dare to Love #4)(20)
Author: Carly Phillips

She ran her tongue over her lips. “Umm…”

“Nothing heavy,” he promised. “We can spend time alone like we do when you’re in New York. I just want to see you. I want to know where you live. I want to see your bed, so I can imagine you lying there at night … thinking of me.” His tone dropped an octave.

Just like that, her body reacted, arousal a sudden companion.

“Would you like that? You, me, this weekend? You can show me the places you like to hang out. Like, where do you get your coffee in the morning? What’s in your fridge?”

She shook her head and laughed. He made it sound so simple and easy. But what stood out was that he wanted to know her. “Okay,” she said before she could think it through.

“You won’t regret it.”

She smiled. “No, I don’t think I will.”

They made plans for him to arrive on Friday and for her to pick him up at the airport. Then he received a call, and since he was at the station, he had to take it.

She disconnected, holding the phone to her heart, which was beating hard inside her chest.

“So what’s put that smile on your face?” Brad asked.

She jumped, startled. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I knocked, but the door was open and you were lost in thought. Your hot cop?” he asked, gesturing to the telephone.

She nodded and placed her cell on her desk. She glanced at Brad, took in his The Big Bang Theory tee shirt with a picture of Sheldon front and center, shook her head, and groaned. “God, we need to dress you better.”

He shrugged, not a care in the world. “It was the last shirt in the drawer. Guess it’s time for laundry.”

“You’re a billionaire! Hire someone to do it for you.”

“Keith likes to do it, but he was out of town on business. So what did Hot Cop want?”

She met Brad’s gaze, turning serious as she told him. “He wants to come visit this weekend. And I said yes.”

“You’re letting someone in! This is cause for a celebration. Lunch at The Ritz. On me.”

She rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to make it sound like a world event.”

“Oh honey, we both know it is.” He settled on the side of her desk. “So … have you returned your mother’s calls?”

“No.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “I don’t want to deal with her.”

“Works for me. I think the less you have to do with the viper the better.”

“Well, we both know it won’t last. She’s relentless when she wants to be. And though she isn’t happy with me, she won’t leave me alone either. She still thinks she can change me.”

“You mean berate you into changing,” Brad muttered.

Amanda shrugged. “As long as I keep my distance, it’s fine. I can handle her.”

“Someone needs to cut her off at the knees.”

“One day she’ll go too far and someone will.” Since her therapy when she was younger, Amanda had focused on accepting herself and not changing for her intractable mother.

Brad rose. “Well, forget about her and enjoy this weekend.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

She smiled. “I will.” She was determined not to overthink things and to enjoy her time with Decklan. He knew she needed time, and as long as he respected that, things between them would be fine.

ELEVEN

Amanda waited in the airport with unfamiliar feelings of excitement and longing winding their way through her. She couldn’t understand how one man had worked his way into her head and her heart so thoroughly, so quickly when she’d never allowed anyone in before.

She scanned the crowd that was suddenly coming through the gated area when she caught sight of Decklan in a navy tee shirt and faded jeans hugging his strong thighs. He hadn’t shaved, and the razor stubble added a dangerous edge to the overall look. She knew the minute he caught sight of her because his lips lifted in a sexy grin. He had a duffle bag in one hand, and when he reached her, he dropped the bag, grabbed her face with both hands, and soon she was kissing him like she hadn’t seen him in months instead of one week.

His lips were soft, but the kiss was anything but. He devoured her with a hunger she matched. She grasped his shirt and held on, reveling in the taste and scent she’d missed so badly. His tongue slid into her mouth, and she moaned, her fists clenching in his shirt.

“Get a room,” someone called out, breaking the intensity of the moment.

She jumped back and ducked her head, grinning at being caught making out like a teenager.

With her cheeks burning, she met his heated gaze. “Hi,” she whispered.

“Hi back.”

They stared at each other, her heart growing bigger with each second that passed.

He winked, then picked up his duffel and hefted it over his shoulder. “I’m ready when you are.”

“No luggage?”

“This is it.”

She shrugged. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”

They walked through the airport and out to the parking lot where she’d left her car. She beeped the remote and the trunk popped open.

“Nice wheels,” he said of the Audi she’d purchased when Brad had threatened to sell the old clunker car she’d had since college.

She smiled. “Thanks.”

They climbed into her car, and she started up the engine. Decklan watched her in silence. He didn’t know what he’d expected when he arrived in D.C., but Amanda’s warm welcome was a solid start. That he’d managed to get her to let him come visit was a feat in and of itself, and he planned to take advantage of every minute they had together.

He glanced over at her. She wore a fitted skirt and short-sleeve blouse, with killer heels. As he’d come down the escalator and through the gate, he’d been unable to take his eyes off her long legs, and the way the skirt hugged her ass, it’d taken all his restraint not to cop a feel in public.

“Did you come straight from work?” he asked.

She nodded. “It was easy enough to leave to get you by three. Brad had someplace to be, and I’d already wrapped things up for the weekend.”

“Well, you look amazing.” He reached over and tugged at a strand of hair that had fallen out of her messy bun.

Her cheeks flushed a hot shade of pink. He was glad she reacted to him each and every time.

“How far are we from your place?”

“Not far.”

Sure enough, in a few minutes, she pulled into an apartment complex of low-rise units. A key card got them beyond a guardhouse.