Page 41 of Moonlighter

I whimper against his lips. And I guess he hasn’t come to his senses after all. I’m definitely losing mine. Eric’s bossy kisses leave me no time to think. As soon as one kiss ends, another one has already begun.

The elevator doors part again, and my fingers clutch instinctively at the lapels of his jacket, because I don’t want him to stop.

Eric solves this problem by reaching behind me, sliding a thick forearm beneath my bum and lifting me up into the air. We’re still lip-locked as we leave the elevator. The man is seriously coordinated.

Just…wow.

The next thing I hear is the beep of a hotel door lock disengaging. I wrap my arms around his neck for what I assume will be a quick trip to the bedroom. But when the door clicks shut, he turns and leans me against it.

Our kiss breaks momentarily, and he looks down at me with lust-filled eyes. “I would never pressure you. Tell me that you’re a hundred percent down for this.”

Is he kidding right now? My face is flushed. My lips are swollen from his kisses. My panties are damp. But the sexiest thing of all is the way he’s looking at me as if he can’twaitto get my dress off. If he calls this off, I will be seriously disappointed. And also mortified. “No second thoughts, Bayer. Or I’m going to think you’re all talk.”

Those dark eyes flare. “You won’t think so in a minute.”

“So you say…”

He thrusts his hips forward, and I gasp happily. I’m basically straddling the most ambitious erection that’s come my way in a long time. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to drop you on the bed in a minute. You get thirty seconds to remove this dress. And then I get to do the rest.”

“Thirty seconds?” I squeak. “There’s a zipper down the back.”

He actually rolls his eyes. “I’ll handle the zipper, then.”

“Fine. Let’s go. Time’s a’wasting.”

About a quarter second after I issue this little challenge, I’m flying through the air again. This time his hot mouth roams my neck while he carries me through the suite. My body lights up like a circuit board, flashing everywhere at once with heat and awareness. And when he drops me on the bed as promised, I turn my back so he can free me of this dress.

He unzips me the smart way—by holding the fabric at the top in one hand and easing the zipper down with the other.

This bothers me a little. He’s obviously unzipped so many dresses that he knows exactly what to do. As the fabric slides down my bare back, I worry that my newly chubby body will disappoint.

I slip off the bed and then step out of the dress. Then I turn slowly around to face him, wearing nothing but a skimpy lace bra and tiny panties.

“Oh,hellyes,” he says.

I guess I’m not a disappointment after all.

11

Eric

I’m not really preparedfor the sight of Alex in a see-through bra and panties. It’s barely fair that a woman could be smarter than ninety-nine percent of the population, richer than God, and also look so ravishing.

“You’re staring,” she complains.

“Of course I am. Because you’re mouth-watering.” I toss my jacket at a chair. “Lie down on the bed.”

She lifts one foot, reaching for the strap that secures her high-heeled shoe.

“No,” I say sharply. “Leave that on.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

“Because—?”

She only gets the one word out before I unzip my fly, reach inside, and pull my erection out. “Because I like that view,” I say roughly.