Afterglow (12 page)

Rand imagined the soft ginger curls at the juncture of her thighs, his heartbeat manic. He couldn’t take his eyes off her face as he stalked toward her. He wanted her. Needed her. His heart threatened to explode in his chest. His dick throbbed, a painfully hard entity that demanded satisfaction.

Mouth dry, he forced out the words, “Get. Out. Now!”

“DAMN. DAMN. DAMN!”
The blood drained from her head as Dakota surveyed the bodies sprawled behind Rand, then fixed her eyes on his dopey smile. She sucked in a rose-scented breath, then mentally cursed a blue streak as she realized what she’d just done. Even though she’d never smelled Rapture in this form, she knew what it was right away. The effect was immediate and delicious. The silky pink smell curled through her, expanding her awareness of her body, urging her to tackle Rand and take him to the floor—oh, for crap’s sake!

She grabbed his arm. “
Rapture
. Move it!”

The tanned skin was pulled taut over his features, giving him a feral look that made the hair on the back of her neck lift. He resisted her urging to race to the doors. His eyes glittered feverishly. His hair was mussed, and his mouth looked delicious.

What was it that she’d been saying? “Hey,” she protested. Her mind shimmered into someplace warm and comfortable. Someplace without cold marble floors or dead people.

Just Rand.

“
Now,
” she shouted, but the word edged on a groan as he placed his large hand on her breast, curling his fingers around the aching weight. Holding her breath, she grabbed his hand hard, trying to pull him with her. “Rapture. Don’t breathe. Don’t talk.
Move
!” But she’d already taken several breaths herself. The soft pink rose flavor of the drug seeped into every cell in her body, expanding her veins and blood vessels with pleasure and happiness.

But she knew they had to get out. Knew …

The tantalizing, sensual fragrance of roses perfumed the air. Her mind floated free, and she turned into Rand’s chest, catching herself inhaling deeply. Eager for even a trace of the smell of his skin, that wonderfully hot, musky smell she remembered so well. He was so damn hot. Hot, sexy, and fiery to the touch. His skin burned as she ran her hand up his arm, feeling the tensile strength of muscles and tendons under her fingers. He had on too many clothes. A jacket. A shirt. She wanted to touch bare skin and feel the crisp rasp of the hair on his forearm. She rose on her toes to taste him.

His other hand shot out and his fingers curled around her upper arm. There was something metallic and cold in his palm, and he pressed it hard against her skin as he rasped, “Don’t. Touch. Me.”

She shoved hard at his chest but couldn’t quite grasp why. She did it again, walking him backward as if they were dancing. Very romantic. Except for the gun aimed point-blank at her shoulder.

Did it matter? No, of course not. Damn it, why couldn’t she think? Because she had trouble forming coherent sentences when she was around him, that’s why. Their footsteps slowed as Dakota leaned into him, her tight breasts rubbing against his chest. God that felt amazing. She did it again, back arching just enough to change the pressure, the angle, to something decadently wicked. She moaned low in her throat, and tried to wrap her arms around his neck to pull him harder against her.

She ached and throbbed from the top of her head to the sensitized soles of her feet. It felt glorious. Magical.

Towering over her, he speared his fingers into her hair, drawing her face to his.

Rapture!
“Rapture!” Dakota slammed her fist into his shoulder. “You idiot,” she shouted, dancing him backward until she staggered. “We’re
drugged
! Hold your breath and
move
!”

His reply sounded muffled, thickly indistinct. She blinked and glanced down to see what they’d stumbled over.

Two people lay tightly entwined on the floor. It was odd, really, but now that she thought about it, the marble looked cool and slick, and God, she was burning up. Her skin was on fire and felt too tight. Her nipples hurt, and moisture pooled between her thighs. The throbbing, pulsing heartbeat of an orgasm made her dizzy with lust as she reached for him again.

She had a wisp of a thought that she had to do something important. What had she been saying? It didn’t matter. She knew what she wanted now. “Lie down with me,” she urged, trying to tug her arms free of the shackles of his fingers. He was running his thumbs up under the short sleeves of her T-shirt in a sensual caress, making her breath catch and her mind fuzzy. “I think—I think that gun is supposed to be in your pocket.” She laughed, filled with a wonderful euphoria that made everything around her glow and throb.

Her knees seemed to melt as she started to lower herself beside the couple at her feet.

Rand hauled her upright. “Up. Out. Now!”

“No, we don’t have to. Everyone is having fun, Rand. Look!” There had to be two dozen or more … couples? She blinked them into focus as Rand spun her around, now shoving her back through the double doors of the lobby and hauling her unceremoniously outside into the sunshine.

The sun was extraordinarily bright and hot on her upturned face, and she had to squint to see him. “I think we should stay.”

His fingers tightened around her arm as he forced her to move her feet or fall over. “Stop talking.”

Dakota was vaguely aware of car horns blasting as he hauled her across the street. He unlocked her door and shoved her unceremoniously inside. “Stay!”

FIVE

T
he car was toasty warm. Womblike. Dakota’s breasts ached—in fact, her entire body ached. Folding her arms over them, she pressed down. A little better. Best would be Rand’s large hands squeezing her nipples. God … was she … ? Whatever that thought had been whisked away. She crossed her legs to ease the ache, and because it felt so good, squeezed. The orgasm hit her fast and hard. She was gasping and shuddering as Rand slammed his door shut.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him grip the steering wheel with both hands, his knuckles white. He bowed his head over his hands and let out a shuddering breath.

Dakota reached out to touch his hair, but he jerked out of reach, eyes blazing. “Don’t touch me!
Jesus
. Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me.”

She heard and vaguely computed, but her hand slid across his leg to settle on the hard erection beneath his pants. She pressed her knees together, shuddering as another climax rolled through her. The blast of air from the air conditioner teased her sweaty skin, making her nipples painfully hard. She tried to pull down Rand’s zipper. Impossible. Frustratingly impossible over the ridged length of his erect penis.

He grabbed her wrist, grinding her palm against his hardness. He was hot, even through his pants, hot and throbbing beneath her fingers. Leaning over the center console, she tried to get closer as she tightened her hand like a vise around him. She reveled in the hard length of him,
remembered
it. His penis jerked under her hand. She still wanted to undo his zipper, but she didn’t want to let go of him long enough to do that.

So many decisions.

“Don’t,” he said thickly, but he lifted his hips to increase the pressure. Dakota tightened her fingers, and he groaned and flung back his head, the tendons in his arched neck throbbing. His body clenched as her thumb pressed against the head. She remembered the taste of his skin and came again, spasming in her seat, gasping for breath.

“Jesus …” His breathing was fast and labored, sweat rolling down his temple. His fingers clamped around her wrist. She pressed the heel of her hand down hard, causing him to jerk and cry out. His climax made her want him more. But this time, he was almost breaking her wrist in his attempt to pry her fingers off him.

Something prodded at the edge of her consciousness. Something bad. Something …

A man pounded on the side window, giving them an evil look, before walking away. Dakota frowned. What on earth … “Look around you,” she gritted as a moment of lucidity shocked her into awareness. They were parked on a busy street; pedestrians strolled by, most unaware of what was happening inside the car.

Sensation flooded her body. Heat. Light. Need.

He shoved away her hand, then placed his own on the steering wheel in a death-defying grip so tight the bones shone through his skin. Color rode high on his cheeks, and a nerve jumped in his jaw. “We’ve been drugged.”

“It’ll pass,” she insisted. She knew it would, but the feeling filled her to the brim, and she didn’t want to be rational and sensible right then.

He gave her a cool look from hot eyes. “Whoever put the drug in the champagne at the wedding must’ve run it through the vents at the bank. Didn’t you see everyone on the fucking floor?” He glared at her. “They were
dead,
Dakota. This time, the dose was lethal. We got a whiff. Thank God you had the presence of mind to get us out of there, but it was close, very close. Those poor bastards had no idea. They lost their inhibitions and were so busy screwing anyone who moved that they didn’t notice or care what they were doing. The bank was robbed, and those people are all dead.”

Think. She had to reel her brain back into functionality. Dakota wasn’t sure if she’d sucked in enough Rapture for it to have such a profound effect, or if she just wanted
him
, any way she could get him—floor, car, on the freaking moon, if that was an option.

A small sliver of sanity parted the euphoria like a curtain. She forced herself hard against the seat back as his words resonated. “The drug’s in our systems. It’s going to be a bitch to fight it, but we can’t stay here, Rand. We’re right outside the bank! We have to leave. Can you drive?” She could barely form coherent words, let alone thoughts. She fought the insidious pleasure with all her might.

“I don’t give a fuck what it is. I want you!”

“We’re horny because of
Rapture
.”

His hot gaze stripped her bare, leaving her breathless and wanting. How long had they breathed the drug? How long had it taken her to realize the smell of roses was Rapture? Rand had been inside the building a lot longer than she had.

Crazed and ragged, balanced on a razor’s edge of succumbing to the effects of the raging want of the drug, she dug her nails into her forearm and searched his eyes for any sign of the bloom. His eyes were feverishly bright, glittering. Clear. The pain in her arm from her nails was dull, but it brought her a moment’s clarity. “Everyone ripped off their clothes, grandmothers and housewives, bankers and office workers, falling to the floor and having sex with total strangers. In the middle of the bank. In broad daylight! Rand, listen to me! We have to get a grip. Straighten our clothes and go somewhere.
Anywhere
. Now!”

Her breasts ached, and she pressed her arms against them to ease the pain. The pressure didn’t help. She wanted Rand’s large hands on her. Cupping. Kneading. She wanted his mouth on her. She needed to be naked and spread wide. She wanted his body pounding into hers until she didn’t know where she ended and he began.

Fighting for control with every fiber of her being, she snapped her fingers in front of his eyes as he reached for her breast. “Stay with me, Rand. Sta—” She blinked and brought his face into focus. It took a moment for reality to seep back into the euphoria. “Oh, shit! Let me see your eyes.” Had she already checked? She didn’t remember. “Damn it, Rand, let me—” She managed to grab his face and turn him.

She shouldn’t have touched him. His face was rough and hot, his lips smooth. The smell of his skin made her dizzy with lust. The tiny logical part of her brain drowning in heat and need and lust screamed a warning, but too late. As she looked deeply into his eyes, she forgot they’d ever been at odds, forgot that she had so many secrets from him she couldn’t keep track. She forgot everything as she drowned in hazel. Looking into Rand’s eyes was like floating in a clear, cool mountain stream.