After nearly tow hours of blowing off steam on the dance floor, we both settled in one of the couches, exhausted.

“You're a great dancer,” Todd said as he handed me a bottle of water.

“Thank you.” I took a long drink, letting the cool liquid slide down my throat before speaking again. “You're great too.”

“Don't get me wrong, I love Hiram, but I miss dancing.”

“Hiram doesn't dance?” I leaned closer to Todd, so I didn't have to shout as loud.

He shook his head. “I got him to slow dance once or twice at a wedding, but that's about it. He claims he has no rhythm.” Todd bent closer and grinned. “He's right.”

I chuckled and drained the rest of my water. “Well, if you ever want to blow off more steam on the dance floor, I'm available. As long as Hiram doesn't mind.”

Todd waved a hand. “If anything, he'll be grateful that I found someone else to go with. He's not the possessive type.” He slung his arm around my shoulders. “He’ll love you.”

The fact that he assumed I'd be meeting his boyfriend made me smile. “I'm sure I'll love him too.”

“You ready to go, or do you want to stay a while longer?”

I considered it for a moment but then reminded myself that Gavin was already pushing things by letting me be in the club at all.

“I should probably get going.” I gave him a smile. “You can stay though. Have some fun.”

Todd shook his head. “Aside from the fact that being at a sex club alone when one's boyfriend is out of town isn't a good idea, I promised your uncle that I'd make sure you got home safe.”

“I don't think he meant for you to literally take me home.”

Todd shrugged. “It's the least I could do for getting into one of the most exclusive clubs in the city for free.”

“You really don't have to,” I argued.

“I'm doing it,” he said firmly. “Let's go.”

After the heat of the club, the winter air was extra frosty, but it felt good against my cheeks. I should've been exhausted after my long day, but I wasn't. If anything, the dancing had woken me up, and now the cold air energized me. Todd might've been taking me home, but I knew I wouldn’t be getting to sleep anytime soon.

“So,” I asked as we started down the sidewalk, “was the club everything you thought it would be?”

“More,” Todd said as we passed the line of taxis parked out front. “I mean, I'm not really into the whole BDSM scene, but I'd have been crazy not to take advantage of getting to see the inside of Club Privé.”

“That's my ride right there.” I pointed at the car a few feet farther down the sidewalk. “He's one of Gavin's drivers, so we can drop you off first, and then he can take me home.”

“We can argue semantics once we get out of the cold,” Todd said as he reached for the back door.

“That didn't take very long.”

I froze mid-step as a far too familiar voice cut into the conversation. I glanced up at Todd and saw him looking over my head. Shit, I hadn't imagined the voice. I forced a tight smile onto my face and turned.

Dax pushed himself off the wall and sauntered toward us, his hands stuffed into his pockets. The expression on his face was frostier than the ice that had suddenly surrounded my heart.

I folded my arms and tried not to let him see how much I really didn't want to be doing this. “Dax, this is Todd. Todd, Dax.”

Dax gave him a once over, then clearly dismissed him. “You going to get him fired too? Or does he not work for your uncle?”

“Bryne?” Todd put his hand on my elbow.

“Let's go, Todd.” I started to turn, but a tight grip on my upper arm stopped me. I glared up at the owner. “Hands off, Dax.”

Todd stiffened next to me, but Dax let me go before I had to worry about any macho displays of testosterone.

“It's okay,” I said, keeping my eyes on my new friend.

“Who's he?” Todd's expression was full of concern.

“The guy who got to her before you.”

I rolled my eyes. “You're an ass, Dax.”

Todd looked from me to Dax and back again. “I think the two of you have some...issues to work out.”

“We really don't,” I said. “It's all been worked out.”

Todd looked at Dax, then gave me a knowing smile. “Honey, trust me. You two need to talk. I'll get a taxi.”

“Take the car,” I insisted. “I'll call another one.”

He shook his head. “Not a chance. I promised I'd make sure you were safe. If you're taking one of your uncle's cars after your talk, the driver will make sure you get in safely. I'll take a taxi.” He glared over at Dax. “And if anything happens to her, I'll make sure Gavin knows exactly who she was with.”

Todd leaned down and kissed my cheek before walking away.

I sighed and turned toward Dax. If he thought I was taking a single step away from this car, he was nuts. We'd have it out here, then I’d get in the car and go home. Well, Gavin and Carrie’s home. Not DC home.

“Say whatever it is you need to say, Dax. It's cold out here.”

His eyes narrowed, and he took a step toward me. I'd almost forgotten how tall he was. How broad his shoulders were. The long, lean length of...shit. I seriously needed to stop.

“I originally came here to apologize.” He glowered down at me. “But now I see I was just interrupting your latest hook-up. Don't let me stop you if you want to go after him.”

“Do whatever you want, Dax. I don't care.”

“Like hell you don't.” He took another step toward me, closing the distance between us until hardly any remained. “You want me.”

“I don't.” I spoke through gritted teeth, determined not to be the first to back down.

His gaze held mine for several long beats, and I could feel the tension between us building. Before I could decide what I wanted to do about it, his hands closed around my arms, and he yanked me toward him. His mouth came down on mine in a fierce, bruising kiss.

I knew I should shove him away. I didn't want to be kissing him. At least, my brain didn't want to be. My body, however, was yearning to be even closer. Electricity hummed along my nerves, the interior heat chasing away the exterior cold. No matter how stupid I knew it was to be kissing him back, I couldn't bring myself to pull away.

One arm slid around my waist, pulling me tight against his body. He buried his free hand in my hair, his tongue stroking across my lips until they parted. I clutched the front of his coat, hating myself even as I clung to him. When he finally broke the kiss, my breath came in pants, and it was all I could do to stay standing.

Then I looked up at him and saw the smug expression on his face.

“I think that counts as wanting me.”

I shoved at his chest, catching him off guard enough to make him take a couple steps back. “If you kiss me again without my permission, I’ll knee you in the balls.”

The smirk hardened. “Don't worry, sweetheart. I won't be doing that again. Just wanted to show you what you'll be missing with pretty-boy.”

“First off, Dax, who I spend my time with is none of your business. You made it perfectly clear that what happened between us was only a one-time thing. In fact, I believe we agreed that neither one of us were looking for a relationship. Jealousy isn't a pretty color on you.”

“I'm not jealous.”

I raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. “Second, Todd has a boyfriend, asshole.”

I turned and reached for the door handle. Suddenly, Dax's arms were around me, pinning me against the car. The front door opened, and the driver stepped out.

“I suggest you unhand Mr. Manning's niece.” The tone was hard and demanding.

“It's all right,” I said. “Dax won’t do anything stupid. Will you?”

“Naw. I always think things through.”

I waited until the driver got back into the car before I eased myself back around to look up at him. “Don't make me regret not asking him to kick your ass, because I'm pretty sure he could take you.”

His eyes dropped to my mouth. “Why didn't you?”

“Because I'm an idiot.”

He leaned into me. “Somehow, I don't think that's the reason.”

“Well, since you apparently know everything, why don't you tell me? And don't say that I want you. I want chocolate cake for breakfast. It doesn't mean I'm dumb enough to eat it.”

Something very much like triumph flared in his eyes. “So you do want me.”

I blew out an angry breath. “It's cold and I'm tired, Dax. Say whatever it is you want to say so we can go our separate ways.”

“What if I don't want to go separate ways?”

I rubbed my forehead. “First, you say you don't want a relationship. Then you act like a complete ass when I just wanted to talk about being friends. Then, to top it all off, you accuse me of getting you fired. What the hell are you going on about?”

Dax's hands came up to cup my face, his palms hot against my cold skin. “I did say and do all of that.” His eyes drifted down to my lips again. “Fuck, Bryne. You have no idea how badly I want to kiss you.”

He bent his head, but I put a finger on his lips. “Talk only. You haven't earned permission to kiss me again.” I shifted my weight so that I was able to bring my knee up to brush against his thigh, reminding him of my previous threat.

“That night, the minute we finished, I wanted to be inside you again.” His voice was rough. “So I left. But I couldn't stop thinking about you. When you walked into the shop, I knew it'd be easier to push you away than admit how much I wanted you.”

I swallowed hard. This couldn't be real. He couldn't be telling me all of this because this was what I so badly wanted to hear. What the dull ache inside me had been waiting for. I wanted him to tell me that I meant something to him, even if only physically, and even that seemed like too much to hope for.

“And now?” The question came out in a whisper. “How do you feel now?”

“Like all I want to do is bury my face between your legs and lick you until you scream my name. Fuck you until you can't think. Take you for hours, until all you can breathe and feel is me.”

His gaze burned into me, telling me the truth of everything he said.

The smart thing would be to tell him that we needed to take things slow. That he had to earn my trust, make up for the things he'd said.

But I didn't want any of that.

I wanted him in all the ways he said he wanted me.

This wasn't a proposal or even him asking for a date. This wasn't the way a relationship started, wasn't the way to make something lasting.

But it was what I wanted.

I grabbed onto the front of his shirt, made my decision, and then said, “Kiss me.”