Out of Her Dreams

Chapter Three

David glanced at his reflection in the cheval mirror over the dresser and ran one hand distractedly through his close-cropped dark hair. He didn’t know why he was so damn worried about his appearance. He shouldn’t care less if the woman thought he was attractive or not. He didn’t need to impress her.

He simply wanted to find out who had leaked the information to her that she had put in her books. Right? Right. Luckily, no one but he and a few other people close to him knew that her uncertain, mistake-making, mushy hero was none other than the tough, nasty Chance Braza. A few years younger and a lot less wise. And far less knowledgeable about love and life. He certainly didn’t like the idea of anyone knowing that was him.

He hadn’t realized until his manager had shown him the book what had caused the unusual recent surge of interest in him, from a hell of a lot of folks who didn’t usually go in for pro wrestling entertainment. He was even more in demand because of it, so that wasn’t what truly bothered him. But it bothered him beyond reason to know she was inside his head. He wanted to know how she had gotten there.

And just maybe, he wanted to know what it felt like to be inside Samantha Hastings. Yeah. That was definitely something he wanted to discover. So much so that his cock was at full attention just thinking of seeing her again.

His room phone rang and he lifted the receiver. “Yeah?”

“Your business associate has arrived, sir,” the front desk clerk said quietly, his eyes circumspectly averted from the woman in front of his desk. “Yes, sir.” He hung up and smiled at her. “Michael will show you to Mr. Braza’s suite.”

Sam blinked. “His suite? He isn’t going to meet me in the restaurant?”

The man behind the front desk smiled reassuringly. “Perhaps he isn’t quite ready yet. I’m sure the proper reservations have been made.”

As the woman followed the bellhop toward the elevators, the front desk clerk pursed his lips and let out a slow whistle. Some men had it all. And the call girls were looking even younger and more innocent. But it wasn’t his business. What a guest did in the privacy of a two-thousand-dollar-a-night room was none of his business. He cleared his throat and went back to work.

Sam preceded the bellhop into the suite and thanked him as he bowed and closed the double doors behind him, leaving her standing in the high-ceilinged sitting room of the frightfully expensive suite at the top of the hotel. She looked about nervously, clasping her bag tightly. Oh brother. Was this a bit like jumping from the frying pan into the fire?

“Hello? Mr. Chance? David?” she called out.

She walked slowly across the luxuriously thick carpet to the supper table set up before the fireplace and looked about the decadently fabulous room. Obviously he had planned on a very private meal. She touched the bottle of champagne and swallowed hard. Dear Lord. She didn’t know if she could manage being alone with him again. She didn’t realize she wasn’t alone now until his voice made her turn with a little gasp.

“You have my book?” The sight of him standing in the doorway of the luxurious sitting room made her breath leave her in a startled whoosh.

Control yourself, Sam. It is not polite to stare and drool.

She nodded jerkily, opening the bag and taking out the hardback copy. “Of course. You paid for it.”

She held it out as he walked across the room to stop a couple of feet from her. He looked awe-inspiring in a beautifully tailored silk shirt that was open to show his corded neck and a pair of trim Armani slacks. The material sleekly covered but didn’t hide the massively muscled body beneath it and her mouth went dry again. God but that man had a walk-predatory and sexy as hell.

She had no idea real live men could look so utterly marvelous and perfect. Dream men could, but certainly not real ones. Heat pooled and swirled in the area somewhere below her navel, trickling into the suddenly damp center of her body as the man stalked toward her like some big cat on the prowl. She watched those dark eyes moving down her body to her feet before returning slowly to her red face. A shot of something honeyed and hot surged through her at that look and she knew exactly what was on his mind-because the exact same thing was running through hers.

He took the book from her hand slowly and opened it to the flyleaf, his dark eyes touching the page for a long moment before returning to her face again.

“You were serious about that dream bit?” His voice was quiet. A small smile curved his lips.

Oh. My. God. That mouth.

She swallowed and nodded. “Yes.”

The sight of her standing beside the intimate little table for two sent a jolt of lust knifing through him almost painfully. David could almost taste her delicate floral perfume, along with the delicious scent of a woman who craved what she saw. She stood bravely erect in an incredible blue silk dress that hugged every lush curve she possessed. The warmth of her body and the need in those green eyes fired his blood and made his groin swell and come alive with a vengeance. He found himself staring like an idiot. A horny idiot.

It was suddenly hard to remember why he had asked her to come. Was it to discuss the books, or was it simply to see her again? To take her and slowly strip her and taste her soft skin with his lips and tongue until she begged him to bury his cock inside her and finish it up right? Okay. That sounded good. Damn good.

He wondered what her hands would feel like moving over his naked body. What she would think if he just tossed the damn book and dragged her against him to let her feel how rock hard he was and how much he craved her? And as he opened the book to stare again at the autograph she had scrawled over the flyleaf page, he knew that she was not leaving here tonight until he had tasted every inch of that creamy skin.

He closed the book slowly and set it on the end table beside the sofa. He watched her as she twisted her slim fingers together and watched him warily, as if she sensed his desire and didn’t quite know how to handle it. He intended to show her just how to handle it. And if it got much harder, it was going to rip right through his slacks and say hello.

He rubbed the side of his nose thoughtfully, shoving his other hand firmly into his slacks pocket, and he noted that she inhaled deeply at the mannerism she had written into her books. His dark eyes met hers and he asked softly, “Where do you know me from?” He fought to see into her thoughts. “You have my personality and my guts spread out inside those books of yours but I can’t remember ever meeting or even seeing you before, so who the hell fed you this information?”

She took an unconscious step back as he advanced one step and her hand lifted to her throat in that oddly defensive gesture that bothered him greatly-as if she expected him to reach out suddenly and throttle her. His dark eyes slid over that creamy throat and he barely managed to suppress a growl. He advanced another step and watched as she maneuvered back again, warily attempting to place the coffee table between them.

Sam swallowed hard and shook her head. “I told you, I had no idea I was writing about a living, breathing person. I know you will never believe me but I only knew what I dreamed.”

He let his gaze slip down over her body in that sinfully sexy creation she had chosen to wear and he savored the hot jolt of lust that flared in his body. Yes. He was going to enjoy seeing that dress slither off that delicious body and pool about her ankles. He would take her slow and hard-

He had to force his mind away. Think. You need answers!

“You still say that I appeared to you in a dream when you were fourteen and you learned everything about me from that one dream?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Sounds like a bad movie plot.”

She flushed hotly and lowered her gaze to his shoulder, as if she was unable to keep looking into his eyes. “Um. No.” Her voice shook. “The dream repeated itself. Over and over.”

She had to realize just how completely ridiculous that sounded. She moved her eyes to the opening in his silk shirt and he instantly felt a ribbon of need flicker along his nerves at the sight of her eyes darkening. She swallowed hard and seemed to shake herself back to what she’d been saying.

He watched as irritation surged. Her defenses kicked in. “Oh, never mind. You don’t believe me. Just lay it on me. How much money do you want to salve your injured pride and your pocketbook?”

David took another forward step as she retreated once again. He drew a deep breath as he noted the way her eyes darted to his chest. She was far from immune to him. She wanted him. And she damn well knew he wanted her. The urgency of the bulge in his slacks was more than obvious, even if her eyesight was lousy. He watched her take another step back. She was running out of space to keep backing away.

When her legs came up hard against the edge of the sofa, she wobbled precariously and fought to right herself, her hand shooting forward to balance herself and landing squarely in the middle of his chest. He saw the darkening of her eyes as she gasped and instantly withdrew her hand but it was too late. Way too late. The little whimper of need that escaped her lips fired him to a fever pitch.

His body hit autopilot mode and he reached out and jerked her to him so quickly she didn’t have time to think. Or struggle. Or evade his mouth as he caught hers and plundered the hot, sweet softness inside and the small tongue that tangled so deliciously with his.

How could any woman taste so decadent and delicious?

Sam could not believe it was happening all over again. He had simply grabbed her and had bypassed her resistance without so much as a “May I?” and here she was, turning into a blob of putty with no brain. And to top it all off, she was groping him again. She seemed to have no control whatsoever over her treacherous hands as they slid over the silk of his shirt and brushed the taut nipples she could feel under the material. Her body ached to taste this man.

She was not exactly sure but she thought she heard a deep growl of enjoyment. But she was most definitely sure that she felt the stiff pressure of his cock as he dragged her so close, there was no way to mistake his excitement. Oh, the man was absolutely the most scrumptious piece of male flesh she had ever seen. Or felt. Or tasted.

His large hands splayed across the silk of her dress and she felt the material inching upward. She realized that she was completely alone with him in his hotel suite. No dozens of witnesses. No one to stop him if he decided to choke the life out of her. Oh Lord. What a pickle she had gotten herself into.

And then her wicked subconscious added, no one to stop her from taking gross advantage of that magnificent body. Which thought was the scariest? She wasn’t completely sure but she would figure it out as she went.

Her mouth was like a narcotic, driving David mindless with need, with a heady desire so thick he could taste it. He closed his eyes and growled as he felt her small, inquisitive hands caressing his chest, teasing his sensitive nipples. He fiercely wanted to be rid of the shirt that kept her hands from his flesh and he wanted that silk thing she was wearing to be on the floor. And he wanted her legs wrapped around him as she rode him into said floor all night long.

What the hell was it about this woman that made him so fucking needy?

Women were a commonplace thing in his life. He could have a dozen a night if he just crooked his finger at them. Women loved him. Chased him. Damn near tore his clothes off him. What the hell was it about this particular one that turned him into a brainless mass of horny goo? He lifted his mouth from hers and dragged in several calming breaths as he stared down into her glazed green eyes. He reached up and drew the long ivory pins from her hair, releasing the red glory of it to fall about her face and shoulders. To curl about his fingers. To tickle his lips as he kissed her again. He was amazed by her, enthralled by her. He needed to know. Wanted to play this out.

“What happens in these dreams?” he breathed raggedly against her lips.

Sam shivered at the sensation of his hands sliding down her throat to gently cup her breasts. Her voice was thick with desire as she closed her eyes and whispered shakily, “I’m lost. I am walking alone, looking for something, someone. I see a deserted house with broken windows. It looks lonely and empty.” She gasped and arched into his hands. “I walk in and then I’m standing in a room-like this one-and I find myself being pulled against a man’s body. Like now.” Her body quivered with reaction as she felt his mouth dragging over her jaw and seeking the pulse at the side of her throat.

“And then?” His voice sounded thick and his breath was hot on her cheek.

“And then he kisses me and makes me feel so beautiful and so desirable,” she whispered huskily, embarrassed that she was actually telling someone about her secret dream. She shuddered as his mouth dragged across her collarbone.

“And?” His lips trailed over her skin and she shivered as his tongue sought the hollow between her breasts.

“And I tell him that I’ve never done anything like this before,” she whimpered as he kissed and nibbled his way back up to the line of her jaw, his hands slowly caressing her ribs and the curve of her breasts. “But he tells me he knows. And he still wants me.”

The feel of his large palms so gently cupping her aching, suddenly heavy breasts made it nearly impossible to speak for a moment.

“What happens next in your dreams?” His voice was a whisper of desire as he gently felt the back of the silken dress for the zipper.

Sam felt the top of the zipper slide down until she could feel cool air on her bare skin. “You-he-undresses me and I undress him,” she whispered hoarsely as the soft silk of her dress slid off her body into a pool at her ankles. His eyes moved over her nearly nonexistent lace bra and he lowered his mouth to the shadowy vee between her breasts once again. The filmy lace bra was gone and she closed her eyes as his mouth traveled so hungrily over her flesh, lingering to give her a moment of deep, shuddering pleasure on each taut, budded nipple.

“Like this?” he breathed raggedly, his thumbs hooking the waistband of her satin panties and shoving them sensuously off her. She could barely control a shudder of pleasure as his fingers skimmed down her outer thighs and returned up the soft, inner flesh of her legs.

“I- Oh yes,” she gasped as his large hands caressed her hips and back. His hand slipped down through the vee of her red-gold curls to the wetness between her legs and she whimpered with need.

“And then you undress him?” His voice was thick with desire.

She opened her eyes and stared into those night black ones, seeing the fire that she had started in their depths. Panic rose in her throat. “But it wasn’t real then.” She felt numb as he drew her trembling hands to his shirt buttons.

“Humor me.” His voice was a warm breath against the hair at her temple. She stared up into eyes that left her hot and shivery, left her body throbbing with need and want. His lean hands worked magic on her body as she obeyed the unspoken need in those eyes.

Her fingers moved down the buttons of his shirt front until it fell open to reveal a rippling expanse of chest and abdomen that made her want desperately to nibble, lick and bite her way down to that heavy, marvelous bulge in his slacks. She touched his chest with shaking hands and then shoved the silk shirt back and off his shoulders. He was watching her face through half-closed, intense eyes and she blushed hotly.

“And then?” He drew her hands to the buckle of his belt as he bent to drag his mouth across her forehead.

“I feel like such an idiot doing this,” she whispered in sudden embarrassment, her head drooping until her forehead touched his scratchy chin.

“Don’t stop now. Please don’t stop now.” His muffled voice was husky with need. She lifted her face and his lips caressed hers gently, his tongue sweeping into her mouth with hungry insistence. The dream rushed back in on her. The hesitant, breathless moment when he had asked her to touch him, to make love to him. Dear Lord. This was so completely familiar in every way.

Her fingertips worked the buckle then the zipper, and she gasped as she felt his cock burst free of his expensive slacks and his naked flesh pressed hot and hard against her soft skin. His deep growl of pleasure lanced through her. Her hands sought him, curled around him, stroked him gently as he caught her mouth and kissed her almost savagely and then he was shifting away, and she watched, mesmerized, as he reached back and drew a golden packet from his rear pocket. His eyes held hers as he shifted both hands to his task.

Oh. My. God. This was really getting serious now. She stared as he stroked the sheer latex over his cock, and she thought her chest was going to explode. And then he was lifting her from the floor, pulling her thighs about his hips slowly as she felt his cock nudging gently against her entrance.

“Please don’t tell me no,” he breathed against her mouth as he shifted her and angled her body to accommodate his. His long fingers slid into her cleft and he actually growled with satisfaction as he felt how wet she was for him. She was shocked at how ready she was.

“And if I said no?” she whispered as she closed her eyes and felt him beginning a slow, hesitant penetration of her body. His cock was barely an inch inside her wet center as he hesitated and held her still, his black eyes locked with hers when she opened them again.

“Then this won’t happen,” he replied in a husky tone, and he waited.

The feel of all his raw power waiting to fill her left her stunned and breathless with something she had never experienced before. Made her want. Made her hungry. Made her body ache to feel him buried there, deep inside her where no man had ever touched her before. The fear she thought she would feel was not there. There was only this trembling, heated need. This sharp aching. This throbbing desire to know what his body felt like moving deep inside hers.

She swallowed the knot in her throat and inhaled slowly, lifting her eyes to see the desire in his. And as she had a thousand times before, she whispered huskily, “Yes. Oh please, yes!”

David heard those incredibly sweet words and he groaned as he pulled her gently down over his throbbing cock, slowly inching in deeper then even deeper until he was buried to his root inside her. He watched the look of amazement on her face. As if she had expected something else. He couldn’t quite believe it himself. He hoped he didn’t look as shocked as she did. The heavenly feel of being inside this woman’s hot, wet body was nearly enough to make him lose control of his legs. He barely stopped the shout of deep pleasure that threatened to tear from his throat, instead pressing his mouth against the sweetly scented flesh of her throat.

“I didn’t think I could do it,” she breathed, catching her breath and moaning as he slowly lifted then lowered her body so deliciously. Did she have any idea what those sexy little moans and gasps did to a man? He watched the expressions chase each other across her beautiful face as she closed her eyes and moaned with delight.

He could barely manage to keep his legs from buckling at the heady feel of her body cradling his. He bit his lower lip and dragged in a deep breath. He had no difficulty handling her slender weight as he moved her to pleasure himself. But the way she showed him that she was being equally pleasured made his heart race and his mind turn to hot mush.

It was incredibly erotic to see the pleasure on her face as he drove his body into hers, with every slow, deep thrust. To feel the full length of his cock surrounded by hot, tight woman, her clenching channel taking every inch of him as he drove deep again and again, was the most pleasure he had ever known.

He felt her hips move to match his thrusts. It was so incredibly sexy, feeling her take in everything he had to give and watching her breathtaking enjoyment of his size and length. It was the biggest turn-on he had ever had. And he wanted to remain buried deep inside this woman forever. But he knew that he couldn’t hold out much longer as his body throbbed and burned with pleasure and he wanted to feel her come for him before he finished.

Sam was shocked that she had managed to accommodate that huge cock. She had expected to feel some pain, or worse yet, nothing at all. But as he had driven his thick, hard shaft so slowly and carefully into her body, acting as if he feared hurting her, all she could feel was a surging, throbbing pressure that made her gasp and arch against his body. No pain, no numbness, just a sensual, throbbing fullness that made her dizzy.

Once she had grown accustomed to the size and the heavy pressure of his body inside hers, she had closed her eyes and savored the slow, deep thrill of feeling him sliding in and out of her, the flanged head teasing her G-spot, the pleasure of his mouth on hers. And when he drew back to stare into her eyes in amazement, his face damp with perspiration and his eyes alight with pleasure, she pulled her muscles tighter around him. The resulting pleasure was almost too much to take. Wow. Who knew that Kegels in the middle of hot sex could be so stimulating?

As she stared into his perspiring face, she realized that he was trying to hold back until she orgasmed. She whispered that it was okay that she hadn’t come. No one expected something totally marvelous on the first try.

He shook his head slowly, those black eyes burning into hers as he caught her lips again and urged her so seductively to join him. She felt the trembling rise of her body, felt the matching shudder of his as he breathed huskily against her mouth, “Come with me, Sam. Take it. It’s all for you, love.”

He lifted her up slightly higher against his hard body and bent to draw a swollen nipple into his mouth hungrily, sucking deeply. She threw back her head with a muffled cry of sheer pleasure and threaded her fingers into his dark hair. Dear God. Now there was something that could definitely blow a woman’s mind. Just that little added something to set her off like a rocket into her first-ever male-induced orgasm. And, oh my God, what a way to go!

She gasped and arched and clutched his head to her breast like a demon as he urged her to one, then another mind-blowing, breathless orgasm before he stiffened and released. He closed his eyes and groaned and gasped and she felt him empty into her.

Her thoughts were so scattered she could barely realize that she had just been given the most precious, marvelous gift she had ever received. She felt hot tears slide down her cheeks as she kissed him slowly, feeling his body shuddering with his own climax as he devoured her like a starving man.

They remained locked in each other’s arms, his body still buried inside hers, for several minutes as he caught his breath and calmed his body and she kept her face buried in the solid muscle of his shoulder until she could breathe again.

He had brought her dream to smoldering life. And he had given her the marvelously heady orgasms that she had thought she would never feel. He had made her feel beautiful, desired, needed. Amazing.

When she lifted her face and looked into his black gaze, she whispered huskily, “And then he simply vanishes into thin air and the dream ends.” Her eyes drooped closed. She placed her lips against the strength of his shoulder, expecting him to lower her to her feet and end the moment.

His rumbling, sexy laugh made her open her eyes and stare into his face. He was smiling at her with a wicked gleam in those eyes. A searing look that left her breathless.

“What?” she whispered huskily.

“It isn’t gonna be that easy to get rid of me, you incredible little witch.” And with a deep groan of satisfaction, he slowly rocked deep into her body again, rekindling the flame that still burned slow and hot within both of them. “Come with me again.”

David lay awake, his thoughts and his body too keyed up to rest. He gently shifted Sam’s limp form to a more comfortable position on his, not wanting to move away from her and the incredibly completed feeling she gave him. He gazed down at her sleeping face and his eyes moved down her delicious body beneath the sheet he had drawn over them.

She was so completely delectable. She had fallen into an exhausted sleep after having given him enough sexual pleasure to last any normal man a month. He couldn’t move if he tried. The hours spent in her arms had drained him of energy far worse than any match he’d ever fought. But there was no residual pain, no bruising and no aching body. Just an amazing, deep feeling of sated contentment. He could so handle that any day.

He had been shocked and then thrilled to learn that the woman draped over him seemed to instinctively sense his every need and desire. The incredulity of hearing that she had dreamed of him so long ago had grown into a certainty. No woman could know a man that completely if she had not been intimately involved with him time and again.

How it had happened would remain a mystery forever. She knew nothing about him, yet she had written of the pain and ugliness he had suffered as a young man and had narrated the sad years of his early life with a storyteller’s loving hand, leading him to realize that every bad thing that had ever happened in his life had strengthened him for his future.

Would he fall asleep sometime before the dawn and awake to find she had been nothing but a wet dream? He didn’t want to tempt fate. He wanted to be awake when she opened her eyes. He shifted and drew her soft skin against his cock and sighed with pleasure as she wriggled and moaned. Oh yeah. He could seriously deal with this.

David held the phone away from his ear as his furious manager exploded on the other end of the line.

“Where the hell are you? They had to cancel all your matches here in Milwaukee. They threw in a double diva tag team match to cover for your sorry ass. The least you could do is tell me when you’re off with some floozy and too tired to travel!”

Frank James’ tone was livid. David rubbed his forehead and said softly, “Sorry. I’ll make up the money somewhere else along the road. Tell them I was transported to another galaxy by aliens and won’t be back until they’ve finished testing me.”

“What the hell are you doing? You go chasing after that book broad? You get yourself tossed into the slammer?”

“Yes and no. I can’t explain right now, Frankie, but you’ll be the very first to know.”

As he hung up the phone and rubbed his unshaven jaw and stretched slowly, her voice asked softly, “Are you in a lot of trouble with your boss?”

He jerked his head around to see her standing in the hallway, dressed in that sinful piece of blue silk she had retrieved at some point, her eyes concerned and her coppery hair mussed from lovemaking. He rose from the sofa and moved across the room, watching the way her wide green eyes darkened at the sight of him, shirtless and wearing only a pair of unzipped jeans he’d dragged out of his suitcase when he’d gone to answer the phone.

“He’s not my boss. Just my manager. And he makes enough money from me. I don’t jump when he calls.” His voice was husky and low. God, how he wanted to pick her up and slide his cock back inside her once again.

His hands slipped around her small body and he bent to catch her mouth hungrily, ignoring her breathless protest. He felt her sag against him, heard her little moan and the deep sigh of pleasure and he swung her from the floor into his arms. He wanted this woman. He wanted her now. He wanted her under him. On top of him. Bent over the bed. Sitting on the countertop spread wide for his enjoyment. He wanted to do so many things to and with her, he ached. He didn’t realize she was struggling until he was halfway to the bedroom.

“David. Stop. We can’t stay here fooling around all day. I have commitments and so do you.”

He cut off her protest with a searing kiss but after a few moments she wriggled out of his embrace, forcing him to set her on her feet again. Her face was pink and her eyes sparkled with pleasure. He groaned and put his hands on his lean hips, fighting to get his body back in line.

“So last night was just a one-time deal then?” He watched her face and the play of emotions flowing through it. “That’s all you wanted?” His body throbbed with need and she wanted to skip out on him? He couldn’t believe it. It had never happened to him before.

She swallowed hard, as if finding what she had to say very difficult. “David, last night was incredible. Last night was my dream come true. I think you must know that. But dreams don’t stay wonderful and satisfying if you bury yourself in them and exclude the other things in your life. Believe me, I would love to spend the whole day in your bed but I have people who are counting on me. And so do you.” She gazed up into his face and turned to the entryway mirror to fix her messy hair.

He stared down at her as she ran her fingers through her coppery red curls and she stuffed the ivory pins back in to secure a quick knot. He ran his fingertips slowly along the curve of her neck and she shivered and closed her eyes. “I can’t walk away from you when you do that.”

“Then don’t walk away.” His voice was thick with need.

She turned and met his gaze and a sad little smile curved her lips.

“What?” he growled, frowning at her.

“Usually this goes the other way, you know.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Usually the woman clutches the man’s arm and begs him to stay and he says, ‘sorry, babe, but I have things to do, places to be’.” She sighed softly as her fingers trailed over his whiskery cheek.

He stared down into her face, unsure what she was trying to say, until she stood on tiptoes and brushed his mouth with hers. “You will always be my dream lover, David Chance, no matter where you go. No matter where your future takes you. I will never be able to forget you. But you will forget me. That is a certainty.”

He felt like she’d just slugged him in the gut. He couldn’t seem to get his breath. She couldn’t be fucking serious?

She backed away and smiled up into his confused dark eyes. “I’ll put another face on my next novel and I will see to it that you get a full model’s session pay and royalties on the first five books I wrote. I think that’s only fair. I hope that’s enough. And I’ll end the series about Chance Davis with number six. Chance Davis died last night. And Chance Braza goes on without having to worry about the world knowing his secrets. No one will know but you and me. And I can promise you that your secrets are safe in my heart.”

She touched his rough cheek gently with a hand that trembled. He caught the hand and turned the smooth palm to his mouth. “So this is it? You just leave and I go on to Milwaukee and we never meet again?” He sounded almost angry.

Sam wanted so terribly to pull him to her and kiss him but if she did, she would be making him stay when he needed to be cut free and let go again. A sort of romantic catch and release.

He had brought magic into her life last night. But it would be the most unrealistic thing in the world for her to ask him to stay. The exquisite night spent together had done something amazing for both of them. David Chance would benefit from it, just as she had. But he had his own life, while she had hers. And they couldn’t possibly be further apart. She had to keep her head tacked on. This was her dream. That’s all it was. But it was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do, walking away. Or at least, that’s the way it always ended in books. “Two ships passing in the night” and all that. Trite, but true.

“Thank you so much for last night, David. You were everything I ever dreamed you were.” She reached for her bag and smiled brilliantly up into his eyes. “Go catch that plane to Milwaukee and I’ll see that your money reaches your business manager.” And then she was gone.

He stared at the door for some time after she’d vanished through it. His body was throbbing with need. His mind was rebelling.

What the fuck?

Had he just been dissed by a woman half his size? Had she really just fucked him and walked out of his life like he was some fucking gigolo?

By the time his brain kicked back in and his indignation forced his feet to move, she was gone. And by the time he stormed into the lobby, his feet bare and his fly hanging half open, to demand if the front desk clerk had seen her leave, he realized that about twenty women were staring at him like he’d just served himself up for breakfast on a silver platter. He flexed his massive shoulders and rolled his head, then backed into the safety of the elevator just as they began to rush forward.

He rode the elevator back up and stalked into the penthouse suite in a towering fury. No way. No fucking way was some half-pint redheaded writer going to screw him half to death and then dump his sorry ass. He threw his suitcase onto his bed and tossed his things into it. If it was a war she wanted, he’d fucking well give her one. And when he got her alone next time, she wasn’t going anywhere.

He jammed his feet into his shoes with a muffled curse. And he barely caught sight of his naked chest in the hall mirror before he headed out the door half-naked and still in a lather. He snatched a shirt from the mess in his suitcase. Damn her. Damn all women to hell. No. Just her. Yeah. He had a better punishment in mind for her.