“Get flustered?” he asked.
She shook her head, knowing her voice would give her away. She was beyond flustered, but he didn’t need to know it. He had the advantage here. She had no idea how he felt about her...or why he’d left her apartment when she’d taken her marathon shower. She studied him. The slight tightening of his jaw, the rasp in his breathing and the undeniable heat in his eyes. His hunger for her was the ultimate turn-on. As if she could get any more turned on.
She tore her gaze from his, ignoring the throb of her body, and watched the numbers count down on the elevator. Lust she understood. The rest, feelings and doubt and conflict, she didn’t. Add in the whole Bianca and Zach mess and she knew they had no chance outside the bedroom. Better to keep it simple, enjoy the sizzle between them, instead of letting her emotions get in the way. The elevator opened to her building’s lobby. The limo was parked out front. She glanced back to find him staring at her butt. “Patton.”
“What?” he asked, following her slowly. “I’m appreciating the view.”
She laughed. She couldn’t help it.
Once they climbed into the limo, Cady knew she was in trouble. His fingers grasped hers, turning over her hand so he could stroke the inside of her wrist. She shuddered, the stroke of his touch radiating. She had no idea her arm was an erogenous zone, but damn, he had her aching. She didn’t know how much more she could take, but the drive wasn’t that far.
“Patton...” Her protest was more plea than anything else.
He lifted her hand, kissing her skin, raking his nose along her arm to the bend of her elbow. “I like the way you smell,” he whispered hoarsely.
She pressed her palm to his face. “You plan on seducing me in a limo?” She hissed as his tongue flicked between her fingers. “Isn’t that a little too cliché?”
“No.” His lips descended on hers, softly, lightly. “I don’t have cliché fantasies.”
“Fantasy?” she asked. Far be it from her to deny a man his sexual fantasies.
His fingers traced the edge of her skirt, eliciting a full-body shiver from her. As his hand slipped beneath the fabric of her dress, his mouth latched on to her earlobe. He was two seconds away from discovering she’d left her panties in her apartment—when the limo came to a stop.
“That was fast,” she muttered, grappling with her disappointment.
“Too fast,” he said against her neck. He groaned, putting some space between them.
She glanced out the window, staring at the hotel. It was the hotel—the one they’d stumbled into that first night together, too caught up in one another to care where they’d ended up—as long as there was a bed.
“Awesome,” she whispered, the instant thrill of memory warm upon her skin.
“Déjà vu,” he murmured.
She cocked an eyebrow at him.
“That night’s crystal clear.” His voice was gravel.
She looked at him then. “So you were trying to get me flustered earlier?”
The hunger of his gaze made her insides melt. She knew this evening had the potential to be complicated. He was the first date she’d ever brought to an office party. And while she knew the only threat Charles posed was to her promotion, Patton thought he was there to defend her honor. Not that having him at her side was a bad thing. If anything, it might help. Mr. Hembrecht was all about family and stability. Maybe showing up with an upstanding member of the community could work in her favor. If she could only get a handle on this...this crazy, electric, pulsing connection that made the air around them hum, it might just turn out to be a nice evening.
The valet opened the door, forcing them out of the car, “Good evening.”
“You ready?” Patton asked.
She nodded.
“Maybe we can take the long way home,” he teased.
She laughed as she took the valet’s hand and slid from the car. She was still smiling when Patton hooked her arm through his and led her into the lobby. Try as she might, she was hyper in tune with this man. When he released her arm to let her go ahead of him, his hand rested on the base of her spine. His scent, clean and musky, wrapped around her—making her dizzy. It was going to be a long night.
As they reached the ballroom, she turned to Patton and smoothed the front of his shirt. “Here we go, Detective.”
“Anything I need to know?” His hand took hers. “Or should I just stand here and be your arm candy?”
She burst out laughing, totally thrown by his sudden humor.
“Cady?” Her boss, Mr. Ronald Hembrecht, stood just inside the dimly lit ballroom. “You look lovely.”