“Well,” Mrs. Jansen said, watching them closely with a flicker of something in her eyes. “I look forward to hearing more about our similar paths in the near future. Tonight, you enjoy this little party with your beautiful date.”
Dylan smiled down at her. “I plan on doing just that.”
Seventeen
“You knew exactly what to say in there,” Dylan said. He tipped the valet and held the door open for Dani, helping her step into his low-riding sports car.
She grinned at his praise and a little at the chivalry. He really did have his moments.
“So did you,” she said, letting him close her door.
He slid into the driver’s seat, and she set her hand on his thigh. He covered it with his, and a smile tugged at the side of his mouth. “Thanks again for giving up one of your date nights.”
Something in his tone pricked her attention. Almost as if he were testing out how sorry she’d been to spend the evening with him. She hadn’t been. Not at all.
“It was nice to take a break.”
“Yeah?”
“It’s tiring, you know? Always being on your best behavior.”
Dylan laughed, taking his hand back to shift. He steered toward her neighborhood, and she watched the lights flash by her window, briefly wondering if he would stay the night. They’d never done that before, but it was past midnight.
“I don’t know if I would like you on your best behavior, Dani-pie,” he said, his eyes on the road. “Your snark is my favorite part about you.”
“Oh yeah? You have a favorite part about me, huh?”
“I wasn’t counting the physical parts. I could never choose a favorite there.”
He put his hand back on her thigh, his thumb nudging the fabric of her skirt up another inch. Whatever had come over him earlier was gone and he was back to the Dylan she knew. The one who smiled dangerously and pushed his luck. Her blood heated at the thought of that Dylan, and what he was about to do to her. She watched the traffic whoosh by, the summer air and the low growl of his engine making her feel warm and buzzed and free.
Maybe too free.
“Do you think this is a bad idea?” she asked, her voice suddenly thick.
“What?”
Me taking you home, letting myself feel whatever that was in my chest earlier.
“We’ve never really been friends who hang out alone. With Cat and Josh, sure. Or at some group event. But we’re together a lot lately.”
Dylan pulled his hand back, scraping it over his face. “You’re confusing the hell out of me, Dani.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. This whole idea of this was to get around some rule you didn’t like, and now you’re making more rules. Stop worrying so much and just let it happen.”
Maybe she was worrying too much, but that comment certainly didn’t help. Let what happen? What did Dylan think was happening? Because what should be happening is her focusing on finding her soulmate… or whatever. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure what that looked like anymore. She’d now been on two scientifically-matched dates that should have given her this feeling in her belly, but none of them did. Dylan takes her out one night to a work event and her blood is hot and her head woozy. Was it the sexual tension they had? That wasn’t a good sign for the way she was supposed to be finding her soulmate. Or was it that she had something broken in her brain that always found the wrong men exciting?
“Do you want me right now, Dani?” His blunt question startled her. He’d slowed to a stoplight and turned to pin her with his gaze. The low light of the dashboard made his features look sharper, more dangerous. Her heart raced.
“I—what?”
“Tell the truth.”
Fire trickled down her neck and between her breasts. Low in her belly. “Yes. I want you.”
He picked her hand up and brushed his lips over her knuckles, so sweetly that she almost swooned. “Did you have fun tonight?”
“Yes.”
His cheek ticked up playfully, that flicker of danger going out in favor of his Good Boy smile. “Me too. So what’s it matter what we said we were or weren’t going to do?”
She had no answer to that. She was sure there was some sort of articulable reason why she and Dylan spending time together outside of their arrangement was wrong, but she didn’t have it. Sonya would have it, maybe Cat, but she couldn’t tell them. She’d promised. She was on her own. Just her and Dylan making decisions together.
They were utterly screwed.
“I should go.” Dylan heard himself say the words, but his body made no attempt to make good on it. They hadn’t bothered to turn on the lights when they’d come back to Dani’s apartment, leaving a trail of formalwear from the front door to her bedroom, and it was too dark to see her expression, to tell if she was going to let him stay.
He put his hand on her back, feeling the way it rose and fell smoothly like she was near sleep. It was early morning now, a few hours until dawn. As they’d made their way out of the city, the humid air had materialized into a soft, late summer drizzle. Now the steady sound of rain beat against the window. Fuck, he didn’t want to move. Dani’s naked body was like a furnace beside him. He wanted to curl up next to her, bury his face in her hair. Breathe her in while he gave in to sleep.
She was right, what she’d said in the car about them spending time like this together. He’d been thinking the same thing outside on the terrace—how nothing about tonight had felt like a part of their deal, or her doing him a favor by playing a part. It felt fun and easy. Listening to her have his back with Mrs. Jansen had sent a ripple of pleasure down his spine that he usually only got from sex.
And this, falling asleep beside her, this felt good too.
But neither one of them had any business exploring that if this arrangement was going to work, and he wasn’t giving up the short time he had with Dani because she’d decided to go all analytical on him.
He smiled to himself at the way she’d been lying like dead weight beside him for half an hour, still in a daze. He was pretty sure he’d fixed that for now.
“Relax, Dylan,” she said into her pillow. “I’m not going to kick you out.”
“Isn’t staying over against the rules?” Even as he pretended to argue, he closed his eyes in relief and pulled the sheet up around them.
“This is all against the rules.”
He smiled, but something worried him on the heels of his victory. “I promise this wasn’t what I was trying for when I asked you to go with me tonight.” He let his lips brush the back of her shoulder. “I’ll go if you want me to. No hard feelings.”