“Yes.”
He quickly dismissed the driver, and then he took Rachel’s hand and led her down the street.
“Do the boys know you won’t be home?”
He glanced at her, amused. “Do you think they’ll be worried about me?”
“Yes. They care about you.”
He made a mental note to text Didier. “And Lottie?”
“Lottie told me I was a fool if I came home tonight.” She made a face, lowering her voice to a whisper. “She gave mecondoms.”
He chuckled. “I had that covered, but I appreciate the extra supply.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said almost to herself. “Whatarewe doing?”
“We’ll figure that out as we go along.” He squeezed her hand to reassure himself as much as her.
“I can do that.” She exhaled, nodding. “Is the apartment far?”
“Just around the corner.”
“Okay.” Then she squeezed his hand and turned to face him. “I’m trying to be cool about this, but I’m a mass of nervousness on the inside. I’ve never done anything like this. And thank you for not taking me to a hotel. Everyone would have known why we were there, especially since we have no bags, and it’d have been so embarrassing.”
He escorted her inside the lobby of the apartment building. “Then I’m especially glad to spare you that.”
Still holding hands, they walked in silence to the elevator. When it arrived, he guided her inside and pushed the button for the top floor. Instead of pressing her against the wall the moment the doors closed, he held her hand and watched the numbers fly by until they reached their floor.
When the doors opened, he led her out of the elevator and down the hall to the apartment. He swiped the door open and silently invited her to enter.
She glided in on a gasp, going straight to the bank of windows at the opposite end of the room. “I’ve lived in apartments, and this isnothinglike the places I’ve lived.”
He tossed the key onto the bar counter by the small kitchen. “What is it then, love?”
“It’s a penthouse. It’s bigger than Lottie’s house.” She turned around, taking it all in. She saw the flowers he’d gotten for her—orchids in pale pinks and purples and yellows—and she walked over to them and touched a petal with her finger. “I’d have thought we only needed a bed.”
“That wouldn’t be very imaginative of me, would it?” Taking his suit coat off, he draped it on a chair. He slipped his cufflinks off and rolled up his sleeves as he walked over to her. “Still all in?”
She turned around and faced him. The trepidation on her face turned to certainty, and she dropped her purse onto the floor. “Yes,” she said unequivocally as she walked straight into his arms.
All his self-control melted away with the warmth of her against himself. He fisted the material of her dress and held her to him, lowering his head to inhale her. He tried to find words to express how grateful he was to have her there with him, how this felt as momentous as his first major win on the pitch, but in the end, he could only kiss her.
She gasped into his mouth, a sweet sound of need and surrender. It went straight to his already eager cock, too tightly restrained in his clothing.
Her fingers speared into his hair, and with a muffled sound, she reached up on her toes, trying to get closer to him. She was so slender his hands spanned her back easily, and he held her steady. He was aware that his thumbs rested just under the subtle curve of her breasts—he wanted nothing more than to inch up and rub over her nipples to see what kind of noise she made then.
But first…
He felt for the zipper on her dress, finding it on the side. Teasing her mouth with his tongue, he slowly lowered it, like it was the Christmas present he’d been waiting for forever and he wanted to savor it.
She murmured incoherently when she felt her dress loosen.
Pausing, he checked to make sure she was still with him.
Without a word, she unwound herself from him, stepped back, and let the dress pool on the floor.
Holding her hips, his gaze went directly to her knickers. They were pink, just like she said—a delicate color in intricate lace. They were the shortie kind, that pretended to cover more skin when they just tantalized. He could see the shadow of her hair, and his cock tightened even more in anticipation.