“We were going that fast?”
“Almost before I blinked.”
She zipped his pants, then refastened his belt. “There. You don’t look so disheveled.”
“I like that look.” He snatched her hand and kissed the center of her palm. “On you. And by the time I finish with you tonight? You will be thoroughly disheveled.”
Silence settled between them, only broken by the hum of the engine.
Amery angled her head in the confines of the car and stared at the Denver skyline as it came into view. How many of the people at the party tonight lived in the expensive high-rises with the gorgeous view of the mountains? Probably their places made Ronin’s penthouse look like a dive. But how many of them were poseurs like her? Only there rubbing elbows with Denver’s elite because of a benefactor who invited them to the fancy shindig?
“What’re you thinking about?”
“The ratio of people at tonight’s party who were filthy rich and how many of them were pretending to be. Tyler told me the event tickets were ten grand a pop.”
“They are. But for all the glamour and glitz, it is a worthwhile cause. The bulk of the money goes to the organizations, not to fund a party, which is why I’m still donating to them.”
Twenty grand. Poof. All that hard-earned cash just passed over and tucked in someone else’s pocket. Amery didn’t know if she could ever be that cavalier about money. Ronin must be doing better in his dojo than she assumed if dropping that many Benjamins didn’t put a dent in his checkbook.
She hated that Tyler’s questions about Ronin’s finances jumped into her head.
“Don’t fret about the money, Amery.”
“I can’t help it. I feel like I owe you.”
“You owed me nothing but the pleasure of your company tonight, and you provided that beautifully.”
Amery noticed they were close to his building and he turned into a parking garage. “Did the blow job fluster you so much you forgot where you live?”
“No. It’s the closest place to keep my car. This one doesn’t get parked on the street.” He pulled into a spot resembling a concrete bunker. After they climbed out of the car, he clamped a tire lock on the front tire. He brushed his hands and sent her a sheepish look. “I make this car as hard as possible to steal.” Then he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Is the jacket keeping you warm?”
“Yes. Thank you.” She glanced at his thin dress shirt. “Aren’t you cold?”
“Rarely. I’m pretty hot-blooded.”
“I’ll say.”
Ronin brushed a kiss on the top of her head. “And you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
They walked at a decent clip to his building and her feet were starting to get sore. Ronin opened the front door instead of entering through the alley. By the time they’d reached his penthouse, Ronin took it upon himself to ignite the fire that simmered between them with an urgent kiss.
His jacket hit the floor first. She wrapped her hands in the loose ends of his tie and pulled him closer to kiss him harder. Then she started in on his buttons.
He didn’t attempt to undress her; he just controlled her mouth as he controlled the direction they headed.
Once Amery had his shirt undone, her hands roamed over his torso, from his pectorals, to his rib cage, to his six-pack abs. Her thumbs traced the deep cut of his hip muscle until it disappeared into his pants.
His intense kiss didn’t falter.
She knew the instant they were in his bedroom. Not only did the flooring change, but Ronin changed. He ended the soul-deep kiss, but his mouth kept teasing hers with licks and nibbles and a teasing glide.
“I want you, Amery. But I want you my way.”
“Which way is that?”
“My way,” he repeated. “And you’ll have to trust me. Can you trust that I’ll make you feel beautiful and bold?” He tilted her head to kiss below her jawline. “Trust me to worship your body the way it’s meant to be?”
“Didn’t I already say yes?”
“You did.” His teeth followed the tendons in her neck. She shuddered in his arms and she felt his smile against her skin. “But I want to blindfold you so you can focus on how you feel, not on what I’m doing.”
“What will you be doing to me?”
A kiss below her ear. “Teasing you.” A soft kiss in front of her ear. “Pushing your boundaries.” He gently blew in her ear. “Boundaries that you claimed earlier might not be boundaries at all.”
She wanted this sexy, intense man to make her so mindless with lust, to get her so drunk on him that she couldn’t think. She nuzzled the base of his throat. “No boundaries, Ronin.”
He kissed her with zeal. With finesse.
And she lost herself in him.
“First I want to get you out of this dress.” Ronin turned her around and undid the zipper. Slowly. He dragged his fingertips up and down her spine in a featherlight touch that brought all of those nerve endings alive. He slipped his fingers across her shoulders and loosened her dress.
Amery felt the beaded material slipping down her chest and she stopped it just before it cleared her ni**les.
Then Ronin stood in front of her. He traced the edge of her jaw. “Do you have any idea how appealing you look right now? With your hair tangled from my fingers. With your mouth so full and ripe from kissing me.” His rough thumb followed the upper and lower bow of her lips. “With your sexy little dress clutched over your br**sts, attempting to conceal what’s mine tonight.”
The man had a way with words that made her tremble.
“Drop the dress, Amery.”
She let go and it landed on the floor in a soft whoosh.
“Bend over and place your hands on the bed.”
Amery put an extra swing in her hips as she rolled herself down until her palms were flat on the mattress. Ronin stared at her ass so intently she swore his heated gaze singed her skin.
“Head up.” Ronin nestled his groin against her ass.
A spike of desire nearly shot her through the roof.
Then something soft and silky covered her eyes and everything went dark. “Is that your tie?”
“Yes.” His fingers hooked inside her thong and he slowly dragged it down her legs. Once it reached her ankles, Ronin dropped to his knees. He tapped the inside of her right calf and she lifted her foot, expecting he’d take her thong off. “No. Widen your stance with the thong where it is.”
His commanding presence filled the room, permeating the air. His will seeped through her skin and settled into her bones. And it was like this every time they were together. Would it flame out because it burned so hot?