Prologue
Dom glanced at his watch, shaking his head as he uttered a low laugh. “It’s three a.m. Can you believe it? We’ve been talking for five hours.”
“Amazing.” Daisy nodded. It had been amazing. They’d talked about everything. Their jobs, friends, their favorite food, including their shared passion for all things chocolate. It was the easiest, most naturally flowing conversation she’d ever had with another human being. It was like kismet or fate. Whatever label she concocted for what was going on between them, it was tangible and soul-deep. She knew that with every fiber of her being.
For a long moment, Dom didn’t say anything. Neither did she. There was no need. The invisible rope that had drawn them together had been shortening with every passing minute, tugging them toward something she sensed they both knew was inevitable. She could see it in the depths of his clear blue eyes.
Raw desire, matching her own.
“I should go.” His gaze dipped to her mouth.
Don’t, she wanted to say. But didn’t. Couldn’t. Even though he was, quite possibly, the one.
With that realization came gut-wrenching fear. Fear of reaching out and grabbing hold of something she’d never wanted more in her life. Fear of what would happen if she was wrong.
He cupped her face, slowly and seductively skimming his thumb up and down her cheek before rubbing it gently across her lips.
Daisy’s heart skipped a beat. Then another. Partly from panic, and partly from pure, unadulterated need.
“Your skin is so soft,” he said, slipping his hand to her nape, his fingers moving in a rhythmic motion. “Like silk and velvet.”
At his words, his touch, hot flames licked across her skin until every cell in her body began to burn. For him. When he kissed her, a fiery, barely contained need exploded inside her, screaming for more. So much more.
The contact was light at first, and when she kissed him back he applied more pressure, urging her lips apart, slipping his tongue inside. He groaned, a deep throaty rumble that sent tingles up her spine.
This feels so right. He feels so right.
Careful. Too much heat, and she could wind up burned beyond recognition.
Sliding his hand to her waist, he tugged her closer on the sofa, slanting his mouth across hers. God, but the man could kiss, and it was everything she knew it would be. Hot. Wet. Insistent.
“Jesus. You taste sweet.” As if to prove his point, he licked at a spot just below her ear that was so sensitive she gasped. “Sweeter than I could ever imagine.”
“What exactly did you imagine?” she whispered on a throaty sigh, struggling to keep her eyes from rolling to the back of her head at the incredible sensations his mouth was inflicting on the curve of her neck.
“From the moment you walked into Alex’s apartment and tried to pepper spray me, I wanted you. I wondered what it would be like to touch you, kiss you, and…watch you lose control…” He trailed off, suckling on her earlobe.
“Mmm,” was as close to coherent speech as she could manage. I could totally get used to this.
Don’t. Not yet, the cautious, sensible side of her brain warned.
Too late, the other side countered. Sooner or later you have to let loose and go for it.
Or risk being alone forever.
Her searching hands contacted something hard—his gun, then his badge, clipped next to the holster on his belt. She moved to his back and dug her fingers into his thick muscles. He groaned, pressing himself against her even more as he plunged his tongue deeper.
Damn, but she wanted him. As it was, she could barely keep her hands from tearing off his clothes.
He pulled her onto his lap, then cradled her head in his big hands. “Daisy.” His voice was rough. His Adam’s apple rose and fell when he swallowed. He stared at her intently. Watching, waiting, nostrils flaring.
Her heart hammered in her chest. She knew what he wanted, and she wanted it, too. He made her feel alive as never before. But giving herself to a man after knowing him for only a few hours was beyond insane. It had disaster written all over it.
Yet everything in her feminine intuition told her if ever there was a man to hurl caution to the wind for, it was Dom.
“Yes.” That one word came easily to her lips. “Yes,” she repeated, more to herself than to him.
Strong arms picked her up and carried her down the hallway to her bedroom. He laid her on the bed, but when she would have reached for him he began undressing her. Slowly, taking his sweet time.
With infinite care, he stroked every inch of skin he bared. When she was completely naked, he stood back, and his darkened, hungry gaze traveled the length of her body. His jaw tightened. Even the day-old growth of beard couldn’t conceal the masculine angles and planes of his handsome face. “You really are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” The heat in his eyes was unmistakable.
Daisy licked her lips and swallowed, the breath she’d been holding leaving in a rush.
He kicked off his boots and knelt on either side of her outstretched legs. Leaning over, he kissed her deeply once again. The barest hint of spicy, musky cologne invaded her senses, and with every breath she drew, she wanted him more.
Needing to touch him again, she tugged his shirt up to get to his bare skin. Corded muscles rippled beneath her fingers, and she dug her nails deeper into his flesh.
Dom rose to his knees and splayed his hands on her breasts, massaging them, kneading her nipples to such tight little buds she wanted to scream from the mounting pleasure. His hands continued a sensual path down her rib cage to her belly. Spreading her thighs, he used his thumbs to part her slick folds. A strangled, whimpering sound escaped from her throat.
Tugging her to the edge of the bed, he kneeled on the floor and draped her legs over his shoulders. When he lowered his head to her, she trembled with anticipation.
His mouth was hot and greedy, his tongue pushing inside her, lapping and licking with feral urgency. She groaned and sifted her fingers through his hair. He seemed to know exactly where to touch her, how to heighten every one of her body’s responses.
He curled his hands over the tops of her thighs, pulling her tighter against his mouth. Incredible sensations washed over her, almost to the point of torture. She grabbed the bedcovers, fisting them in her hands, thrashing her head from side to side.
The orgasm overtook her, and she arched off the bed, uttering a hoarse scream. Her breath came in gasps, her breasts heaving.
Through half-closed lids, she watched him rise and begin stripping off his clothes. She couldn’t tear her eyes away as the most perfectly formed male body she’d ever seen was revealed.
His chest was broad and powerful, magnificent and bronzed, covered by a thin smattering of hair. Thick biceps and pectorals flexed as he stepped out of his pants, revealing long, heavily muscled legs. When he stood, her gaze took in his perfectly toned abs, his taut, tapered waist, and his very long, very thick, and fully erect penis.
He grabbed a condom from the wallet in his pants pocket and made quick work of sheathing himself. Then he was leaning over her, sucking one of her nipples deep into his mouth. She moaned and clasped the back of his head. His hips settled between her thighs, his erection nudging firmly against her wetness. He shifted, taking her other nipple into his mouth, and she grabbed his ass, bending her legs and dragging her heels along the backs of his thighs.
If he doesn’t get inside me now, I’ll die.
Levering onto his elbows, he touched his hand to her cheek in a gesture so tender her insides melted. “Daisy,” he whispered. “I want to make this good for you. Look at me.” When she did, he raised his hips and guided his erection to her core, pushing inside.
She gasped, momentarily shocked by his size. He paused, his brows drawing together in obvious concern. “More,” she breathed. “Now. Don’t stop.”
The tension in his face eased, and he began a gentle rocking rhythm, pulling out, then pushing in further each time until her tight, wet walls stretched and she gave in to the escalating pleasure.
The weight of his large body on top of hers should have been overwhelming, but it wasn’t. It was wonderful. Perfect.
Worth the risk.
He was thick and hard, thrusting with powerful strokes as their hips came together again and again, pushing her to the brink of another mind-blowing orgasm.
“God, you’re sexy,” he breathed into her mouth, then thrust his tongue inside in a kiss so forceful and consuming she could barely breathe. “Tell me you want me,” he said urgently.
“I do. I do want you.” Clawing into his back with her nails, she pressed her chest tighter to his, still unable to get close enough. Wanting him deeper inside her, she locked her legs around his ass and met his quickening thrusts.
His breath was hot against her neck and face, his body trembling. He was holding back, waiting for her to come, she realized. And she did.
White flashes exploded behind her lids as the orgasm rolled through her. She bit down on his thick shoulder to quiet the scream rising in the back of her throat. At the same time, he thrust once more and stilled. His cock throbbed and pulsed inside her as he groaned loudly against her neck.
They lay there for several moments, hearts pounding, chests heaving until he rolled onto his back and rested his hand on her thigh.
“That was incredible.” He turned onto his side to face her. “No, it was more than incredible. It was… Shit. I honestly don’t know what that was.”
Daisy could only smile as he stared down at her. Like him, she had no words for what had just passed between them. Except…life altering.
A lock of sandy blond hair fell across his forehead and she reached up to comb it from his face. He clasped her hand, holding it to his lips just before shutting his eyes.
Daisy lost count of how many more times they made love that night. The last things she remembered before falling asleep were the warmth of Dom’s skin beneath her cheek and the wondrous, fervent belief that nothing in her life would ever be the same again.
When the alarm clock blared, Daisy flung out her hand, slapping it into silence. Bright light filtered through the bedroom blinds. She stretched, feeling both sated and wanton, and couldn’t hold back the shit-eating grin forming on her mouth.
Reaching out with her other arm, she felt nothing but cold sheets and froze.
She snapped open her eyes and pushed to her elbows. She was alone in her bedroom.
The floor where Dom had dropped his clothes was empty, as was the bedside table. No note. No nothing.
Holding her breath, she listened for sounds in the bathroom, but there were none. Exhaling, she took another breath and held it, listening, but no other sounds came to her ears.
No, no, no!
The fear she’d tamped down only hours ago—the same fear she’d consciously thrown to the wind for the sake of what she really and truly believed was meant to be—returned.
Whipping back the covers, she leaped from the bed and strode naked, room to room through her entire apartment. Her entirely empty apartment.
Standing in the middle of her living room, she covered her mouth with her hand and choked down a sob. She hadn’t been wrong about him. It wasn’t possible. There had been a connection, something real. Hours ago she would have bet her life on it, but now…
Dom was gone. After everything that had passed between them, he’d left in the middle of the night without a word.
Daisy squeezed her eyes shut, wrapping her arms around herself. God, but she’d taken a chance, done something wild, and it had felt right at the time. Perfect, actually. And while she hadn’t voiced it, she’d given more than just her body to him. She’d given away a piece of her heart.
This can’t be happening. Please, no.
But it was happening, and as the first tear rolled down her cheek, she made a promise to herself then and there.
Never. Again.