I inch a little closer to him.
He sets his glass down but still avoids looking at me. "The girl I was dating at the time complained to me that none of the vibrators she bought gave her exactly what she wanted. I asked what she did want and, ah, she, um, told me in graphite---graphic detail."
Is he blushing? No, it must be the lighting.
Dane squirms, his mouth pinched. "Then she asked if I could make a vibrator for her, since I'm a mechanical engineer."
"And did you make one for her?"
He squirms again, and this time I'm sure he's blushing. "Yes. She...liked it. Things sort of mushroomed from there. Within three years, I had my own small factory near the chocolate-box village where I grew up. Online sales took off, especially after Chance's girlfriend started raving about my products on her website. She had a blog geared toward single women, and she often wrote about sex. I hadn't realized how popular her blog was until she recommended my devices to her fans."
"What made you decide to merge your company with Bonsoir?"
"Celeste convinced me it would be a smashing partnership. She also promised to make me an instant billionaire once the product line re-launches." He scratches the back of his neck, grimacing. "Not sure I want to be a billionaire. What would I do with all that money?"
"Buy a small country?"
He almost smiles, finally meeting my gaze. "Thank you for the suggestion, but I think I'll pass on that."
"Just think, you could be King Dane of Dixonlandia." It should Hotlandia, but saying so would be unprofessional. "Doesn't every man want his own harem of adoring concubines?"
Dane stares at me for several seconds, then his lips slide into a sexy grin and he chuckles.
Holy cow, he smiled at me. And I was right. He is devastating when he smiles. And that throaty laugh... It makes me tingle all over.
"I'll take your suggestion under advisement," he says. "I'm curious what your last PA job was."
"For two years, I worked for a city councilman in Rhode Island. It was a tiny town, but we still had a city council."
"Why did you leave that position?" He winces. "Sorry. Not my business, is it?"
I shrug. "Doesn't bother me. I quit because the jerk sexually harassed me. He asked me to go to a conference with him, but it turned out he only took me along so he could come to my room late at night and try to get his grubby hands all over me."
"That's awful. Did you call the police?"
"No, he didn't do anything criminal. He got handsy, and I slugged him."
Dane smiles again. "You can take care of yourself, can't you?"
"Yep. I took self-defense classes and karate lessons." I cross my arms under my breasts and give him a teasing smile. "So you better not mess with me."
"I wouldn't dare." He glances at my breasts, which I've inadvertently pushed up with my arms. "I hope you sued that bastard."
"No, I didn't."
"But Chance is a lawyer. Did you leave your job before Elena met him? I'm sure he would be happy to help."
"I quit way before I ever met Elena or Chance. But I don't want to sue anybody. I just wanted a better job with a nicer boss." I tap a finger on his chest. "And I got one."
He bows his head, clearing his throat. "I'm glad I'm better than a handsy councilman."
"You definitely are."
Dane lifts his head. "I don't remember seeing you at Chance and Elena's wedding, or at Reese and Arden's."
"My appendix ruptured on the day before Elena and Chance's wedding. I spent the weekend in the hospital." I cross my legs, which draws Dane's attention. I swear I'm not trying to lure him into looking at my legs. It was a total accident. "As for Arden and Reese's wedding, my flight to England got canceled at the last minute because of a hurricane. I'd been visiting my parents in Sweden, and I couldn't get another flight until the next day, which meant I arrived just in time for the last half hour of the reception. So yeah, I missed the weddings of both my best friends."
"I'm sorry."
"Not your fault." I shrug. "They showed me the videos, so it was almost like I was there. We weren't really close yet at that point, anyway. I hadn't known them very long. These days we're three peas in a pod."
Our food arrives, and we chat some more while we eat. Dane loosens up some and has an easier time talking to me. He tells me funny things his brothers have done---especially Reese, who seems to get into a lot of trouble. Since marrying Arden, he's settled down somewhat. Dane also tells me about the people who work in his factory back in England, how they're like family to him. I tell him the story of how Elena and I met. After the debacle with the handsy councilman, I'd taken a receptionist job at a dentist's office while I looked for another PA position. I wound up working one floor below Raisa Volkov & Associates, the law firm where Elena was a paralegal.
Dane stops stammering during our lunch together. He smiles when he talks about his family, and when I talk about mine.
He asks if I want dessert, but I say no.
"I'm too stuffed," I say, laying a hand over my belly.
"Elena and Arden didn't tell you, did they?"
"Tell me what?"
He almost smirks. "That to us Brits, getting stuffed means having sex."
"Really? Huh. I'll have to watch what I say to you, won't I? Might get myself fired for sexual harassment when I'm just telling you I'm too full to eat anymore."
He studies me, his blue eyes obscured by his glasses. "Rika is a lovely name, but I've never heard it before."
"It's short for Fredrika, which is Swedish. My dad is from Sweden. He moved to America for college and wound up staying because he fell in love with my mom, who's American."
"You said they live in Sweden now. Where exactly?"
"Gothenburg, or Göteborg in Swedish. It's on the west coast. My dad got a job there five years ago."
Dane pays the bill with cash, leaving a very generous tip, and we head for the front of the restaurant. When I see the dimly lit hallway that leads to the restrooms, I tell Dane I need to make a pit stop, then I go to the ladies' room.
When I come out, Dane is standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall. When he sees me, he pushes away from the wall.
I stop in front of him. "Ready to go?"
"Not quite."
He grasps my arms and backs me up to the wall, pressing his body into me, bending his head to get closer to my face. "One thing first."
Dane's lips brush across mine, tempting me with the feather-light sensation, and his breaths tickle my skin. My lids flutter closed. The touch of his lips, the feel of his body, it all leaves me paralyzed in the best way. I flatten my palms on the wall while my fingers curl, scraping my nails over the surface. My breasts rub against his chest with every breath I struggle to take in, and my head grows light, my thoughts spiraling away from me. His entire body cages me to the wall while the bulge in his pants grows and stiffens, and an electrifying tingle of excitement shivers over my skin, raising goosebumps on my arms.