“Apology accepted. I shouldn’t have reacted. I just have some stuff going on.”
Stop talking, Daniel.
“Oh?”
And that’s why he needed to stop talking. Harper was a bright woman. She wasn’t going to miss a beat.
“Work stuff.”
“So not a childhood sweetheart thing?” she asked, studying him.
“Are you asking if I’m single, Harper?” he asked, studying her back. “Because we both know I’m not married, and I’m wondering what we’re doing here if you think I have a woman at home warming my bed.”
She held his stare, fire brewing in her eyes. Then she blinked, put her wine down and folded her hands in her lap.
“I’m having a drink with a business associate who was kind enough to ask about my welfare during a hurricane.”
No, she fucking wasn’t.
Daniel lifted his whisky and tipped it heavily while deciding how to play this.
“And you?” he asked, ignoring her comment. “Do you have a husband or man warming your bed back home in New Zealand, Harper?”
He watched her blush cover her cheeks and down to her plump decolletage and wondered for a moment if she did.
“No.”
“Well, then,” he said, leaning his elbow on the bar and smiling.
“Well then, what? What does that mean?” she asked defensively and damn, he loved watching her unravel. Daniel knew then and there she would be a dynamite in bed.
“Well then, I guess we can relax and enjoy ourselves this evening,” he said, sliding the room card across the bar toward her. “I forgot. This is for you.”
Harper's eyes widened as she looked at it and then up at him. “Daniel. That’s highly inappropriate.”
He smirked. He knew what she was thinking and was enjoying her discomfort so much he left it a long moment before he corrected her.
Daniel sat back. “I am a confident man, Harper. If I wanted to have you in my room, I wouldn’t slip you a room card. I would walk you up there myself.” She started to respond, but he kept talking. “I had you upgraded. There are no strings attached.”
Unless you want there to be.
He fully intended to have her in his bed, but for the first time in his life, he was enjoying the hunt to make it happen.
She picked up the card and turned it over multiple times. “I told you my room was fine. It’s absolutely fine. Truly, this wasn’t necessary.”
It was.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, he wanted Harper to enjoy the luxury he could provide. She was currently in their most basic room, and it wasn’t right. Harper Kane deserved far better.
Daniel shrugged and threw the rest of his whisky back, indicating to the bartender for another. The guy couldn’t keep his eyes off her—nor could a handful of men around them. It was another reason Daniel was pleased he had upgraded her. If they had to sleep in the hallways tonight, there was no way he was going to leave her unprotected.
Harper didn’t know it yet, but she had the second penthouse on the same floor as him.
“It’s higher, but once this storm passes, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the amenities,” he said. “Your things have been moved.”
Her mouth parted, and there was something about her lips, as her tongue danced over them, which drew him like a moth to a flame. He felt his pants tighten as their eyes met, then desire roared through him.
Was she aware of the way she looked at him?