Dane raced up the fire escape. When he reached the platform in front of Allyson’s apartment window, he gently tapped on the glass. A glow from a light inside chased away the darkness. He waited. The curtain pulled back, and her lovely face appeared. She smiled and opened the window to let him in. Even now, just one glimpse of her made his heart beat faster.

Sneaking into her place wasn’t ideal, but it couldn’t be helped under the circumstances. If he was stopped walking in through the front entrance, unwanted attention might follow. They had to make sure the press didn’t see them together, especially outside of work.

He stepped into her living room and held up the huge bag of food he’d brought with him. “I brought you dinner.”

Her eyes lit up and she took the bag from him. “You didn’t have to.”

“Of course I did,” he said. “You work hard enough as it is.”

She leaned closer to plant a quick kiss on his lips. That turned his insides into molten lead. It was an innocent kiss, yet it awakened a hunger inside him.

Allyson motioned for him to follow her into the kitchen and she set the bag on the counter. His chef had made an assortment of pasta dishes, ravioli, and tiramisu. He’d also packed a bottle of red wine.

“I can smell the food already,” she said excitedly. “I bet it’s delicious.”

“The chef made Italian tonight.”

She gave a soft laugh. “I don’t think I could get used to having a chef. Must be wonderful.”

He leaned against a kitchen counter. “Well, you’re going to have to because when we finally tell everyone we’re together, I’ll have my chef come over here and cook for you as often as you like.”

“You’re spoiling me again.” She gave him a meaningful stare, but he saw the laughter in her eyes.

“Good,” he said. “You’re my girlfriend. I’m supposed to spoil you.”

She smiled and started setting the small kitchen table. When he reached to grab some glasses, she swatted his hand away. “You’re a guest.” She laughed as she said it. “You go sit down and let me finish.”

“I brought the food,” he grumbled teasingly, but took a seat at the table and watched her. In this moment, everything felt so easy. So comfortable. They could both just be themselves now that the world was shut out. Now that they had no obligations to anyone but each other. Dane couldn’t believe it was happening, but he liked it.

Yesterday, after they’d left the country club, she had seemed so shaken. He had desperately wanted to call her after she went home from work, but he knew she needed her space.

Then, today at work, they’d had very little time to be alone together. All they got was a quick moment in the elevator when he asked if she wanted to go on a date with him this evening. He didn’t want to push but even a day without talking to her, or touching her, felt like an eternity. Nothing had felt better than hearing her happily agree to have him over for dinner.

With the table set, she took a seat across from him. “This smells heavenly. Thank you.”

“Any time.” All he wanted was to make her happy.

They started eating—Allyson made the most adorable little noises as she ate. He smiled to himself. She was obviously enjoying the food. When she let out the tiniest little moan, he started laughing.

Her eyes widened. “What? What’s so funny?”

“You.” He chuckled. “Should I give you and the pasta some alone time?”

She set her fork down and started giggling. “It’s really good.”

“What’s my chef supposed to do for an encore?”

She gave him a stern look but her lips were twitching. “What am I going to do with you?”

He shoved a meatball into his mouth and chewed, pretending to seriously think over her question.

Allyson smiled, suddenly putting her small hand over his. “You’re amazing. And after I put you through so much yesterday.”

Dane swallowed his mouthful. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I don’t know. I found out something yesterday and it scared me. Hurt me so much, t-too.” Her voice hitched, the emotion making her pause.

“You can tell me when you’re ready,” he said gently. He wanted to find Katherine Prescott and strangle her. Well, not technically do it. That would be illegal. But find out what the hell had happened.

She took a deep breath and met his gaze. Then, she started to explain her conversation with Katherine Handel. Each word filled him with more rage and indignation on her behalf.

When she was finished she bit her lip, staring at him expectantly. “I don’t think I can face Monica. I talked to her once since the wedding and she promised me she wouldn’t say a word to anyone. She totally lied to me. Now, I can’t think about her without feeling hurt and angry.”

He had guessed that someone in her family might spill the beans about their fake marriage, but he was stunned by the news that Monica had been low enough to team up with Katherine Handel. “I’m sorry. It’s not easy to find out how cruel family can be.”

“You tried to warn me about my family after the wedding photos leaked, but I didn’t listen.” Her eyes lowered.

“Forget about what I said. Nobody could have known how low either of them was going to stoop,” he said. “But now that we know, I’m not going to let Katherine get away with this.”

“Prescott is dealing with a lot right now. You can’t afford to make an enemy out of the Handels,” she pointed out.

“Katherine went after you. She went to the press with that fake pregnancy story to hurt you,” he said. The anger in him was rising again, like it so often did when anyone threatened Allyson. Now that was illegal.

“You’ve been fighting with your mother. Now you’re fighting Katherine,” she said. “It’s too much. Everyone at Prescott needs to be united now that the media is out for blood.”

“Katherine threatened to destroy you, Allyson,” he said flatly. “Even if I don’t make this personal, I can’t accept that. It’s a threat.”

Allyson waved her hand. “It was all talk. What’s she going to do? She doesn’t have the power to fire me. And unless she steals you away from me—”

“Ridiculous,” he scoffed. “First of all, you can’t steal someone. Second, I would never give that woman a second glance. She’s a viper.” The thought of being with anyone other than Allyson would never cross his mind. Plus, he he’d never be interested in someone as cruel and vindictive as Katherine. He only had eyes for Allyson.

“So, then there’s nothing to worry about.” Allyson looked like she wanted to pretend the entire conversation had never happened. He felt for her. But, still...

“You seemed pretty shaken yesterday,” he said, unwilling to let this go.

“Truth be told, I’m more hurt over what Monica did. I know our relationship is strained, but she knifed me in the back.” Her shoulders slumped.

He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. It was clear that Allyson was unhappy. Even if he took Katherine out of the equation, his mother and her sister were both causing her pain. Things kept getting more and more out of control. “Are you going to confront your sister?”

“Eventually. I’m just not ready yet. I’m still trying to process. There’s a lot of crap going on. It’s crazy.”

He nodded. “I get that.”

“Please don’t say anything to Katherine,” she said suddenly. “She’ll know that she got to me. Besides, we haven’t even told your parents about our relationship, and if you come out swinging Katherine might get suspicious as to why.”

“So maybe we should tell them.”

Panic flashed in her eyes. “What? No! Your mother wants to move me to a different department just for pretending to be with you. What do you think she’ll do if she finds out we’re together for real?”

His jaw clenched. “We can’t keep bowing down to everyone who doesn’t like that we’re together.”

“We’re not,” she said. “We’re just waiting for the right time. And maybe when the media frenzy dies down we can work on getting some people on our side. Like your father.”

Having his father on their side might benefit them in the long run. Another ally in their corner would be useful. “That makes sense. But that means we’d be lying to him again. I doubt he’d appreciate that.”

“Maybe we could tell him we’re together and ask him not to tell anyone?”

He shook his head. “Dad would never keep a secret from my mother. Ever.”

“So, you want to tell?” She chewed on her lower lip. “I’m just not sure...”

“I do,” he replied. “I want to tell the whole world we’re together. I want to shout it, actually. But I know you don’t feel comfortable yet, and it wouldn’t be right to push you.” He stared at her and saw relief in her eyes. “So, we’ll keep it to ourselves for the time being.”

“I hate being the reason you aren’t getting along with your parents,” she murmured. “Not to mention the reason Prescott is struggling right now with the press.”

Hearing her blame herself for everything tore his heart to pieces. There was so much pressure on her right now and she wasn’t even Prescott’s CEO. It wasn’t fair that so many people were trying to punish her just to get to him. And he couldn’t stand the thought of her blaming herself for other people’s bad behavior. “That’s not your fault,” he said forcefully. “If my parents lash out because they don’t like that they can’t control me, that’s on them. As for Prescott, no matter what the press says you and I got a merger. Which is kind of a big deal.”

She nodded and they went back to their food. While they ate, he steered the conversation to something else. Mostly they ended up talking about college. Allyson asked him questions about his time at his Ivy League university, while he wanted to know what she was like before he met her.

They ate until they were down to nothing but the red wine. After finishing another glass, he got to his feet to start clearing the dishes. He ignored her protests and put everything in the dishwasher. At work, she was at his beck and call. They weren’t at work now.

With the dishes cleared away she reached for him, a coy smile on her face. She planted a kiss on his lips and he pulled her to him to deepen the kiss. Her lips still tasted like wine. Sweet and intoxicating. It heated his blood, made him desperate to taste more of her.

She broke the kiss to grab his hand and pull him out of the kitchen and into her bedroom. Before they got onto the bed he pulled her to him again, their lips meeting in another desperate, bruising kiss.

Allyson moaned low in her throat, the sound driving him into a frenzy. He ended the kiss to guide her onto the bed, and she lay down flat on her back, her green eyes sparkling. Her jet-black hair framed her face, making her look both sinful and innocent at the same time.

Her wine-kissed lips parted and she let out a sigh. “Would you like to sleep over?” There was a teasing in her voice, but the thought that followed the request excited him.

His heart started pounding like crazy. They’d had sex more than once by now, but each time made him want her more than the last time. He’d never desired a woman as much as he desired Allyson. He craved her with an intensity that should have shocked him. But it didn’t. All he wanted to do now was pleasure her. “You know I do.” He grinned wickedly.

Dane got onto the bed with her, his hand roaming down her exquisite body, until he stopped at her supple thigh. Expertly, he reached up her skirt to tug at her silky panties. Her back arched and he tugged at and peeled off the flimsy fabric.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered into her ear. “I want to taste you.”

She didn’t argue. In fact, she pulled her skirt up around her waist. The sight of her bare flesh excited him. When he looked back up at her face, he saw her cheeks flush pink.

“I can turn the light off if you’d like,” he suggested. He’d seen her before, but he knew that sometimes women got nervous about men seeing them. There was never anything to worry about since there was always something about a woman’s body that turned him on. Still, he wanted Allyson to be comfortable and at ease with him.

“No, keep the light on,” she breathed. “I want to watch what you do to me.”

Her directness turned him on even more. Made him painfully hard, and desperate to be inside her. Right now, he was going to have to set aside his rush to be with her and focus on driving her troubled thoughts away. Pleasuring her was all that mattered in this moment.

“Would you like to spread your legs for me?” he ground out.

That made her cheeks redden even more. Made something mischievous flash in her eyes. “Yes,” she begged, “please.” With her green eyes on his, she lifted her knees and wantonly spread her legs for him. She licked her lips and a seductive sound, halfway between an excited laugh and a breathy moan, escaped her throat.

With her sex exposed to him, he positioned himself between her legs, took hold of her soft, smooth thighs, and tasted her. One flick of his tongue had her quivering. She was wet and hot. As he swirled his tongue furiously around her clit, she moaned loudly. The taste of her was sweeter than any wine he’d ever had.

He licked at her, savoring her taste, tormenting her with his tongue. Suddenly, he felt her fingers in his hair as she grabbed desperately at him. When her thighs clamped down around his head, and the sound of her breathless moans echoed in his ears, he pressed hard, licked faster. She came, and he tasted more of her sweetness.

***

Allyson was floating. Drowning. She knew that was impossible, but she had never felt so good. So out of control.

Her breathing was ragged as she looked down at him. Dane flashed her a wicked grin and she smiled shyly.

“You’re way too good at that,” she said with a laugh.

“I aim to please.”

She laughed again and beckoned to him. He had given her the most exquisite pleasure and now she wanted him to feel good, too. “I want to come again.”

Dane appeared by her side, his huge hand rubbing her thigh. “Don’t you need time to recover?”

Allyson shook her head. “Never.”

He smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead. Before she could blink their clothes melted away, leaving them naked beside each other on the bed. Her eyes roamed up and down his perfect body, her hands wandering down the hard muscles of his chest. Everything about him was mouthwatering. From his wavy blond hair, to his tanned skin over strong muscles.

“I’ve got protection in my drawer,” she said softly. “If you didn’t bring any.”

Reaching for her nightstand, he pulled open the top drawer to retrieve a condom. After he put it on, he got on the bed again. She stared down at his erection, her cheeks flushing at the sight of his huge, hard length.

“Ready for me?” he asked, the deep baritone of his voice making her shiver with longing.

“Yes.” She hoped she sounded sultry, rather than what she actually felt—desperate and needy for him.

As he positioned himself on top of her she lifted her hips, eager to take him in. He thrust into her, every delicious inch of him filling her tight wetness. She wrapped her legs around him and looked up into his blue eyes. They gazed at each other, the hunger in his eyes so unmistakable. Dane groaned loudly as he began to rock into her.

Electric heat spread through her, the ecstasy gripping her entire body. The weight of his hard body crushing her drove her wild. There was something primal about being with him like this. They had gotten so used to performing for the world that just getting to lose control with him like this awakened every part of her.

Her hips met each of his thrusts and they found a rhythm together. She moaned, the pleasure he was giving her mounting.

As she clenched tightly around him, he groaned her name. They came together, her body convulsing under his.

Dane rolled off her and collapsed on the bed. She lay beside him, her breaths matching his. After a few moments he turned to face her, his blond hair damp with sweat. He pushed back a stray lock of her hair and smiled. “You know, Allyson, I never want to leave you.”