Dance Like Nobody's Watching (Summer Lake 3) (15 page)

His gaze softened as he smiled back at her. He
lowered his head until his lips touched hers all too briefly. When he
straightened up, he lifted her off her feet, pressing her body to him
as she clung to his neck. “Hey, beautiful! Are you ready for
this?”

“You'll have to tell me what
this
is,
but yes, I'm ready. Where are we going?”

He put her down, his eyes shining even brighter.
“My place.”

“What?”

“We always hang out here. I thought you
might like to come see where I live, too?”

Missy was stunned. “You mean, go? Now? Fly
back to San Jose tonight?”

“Yeah, I do.” He cocked his head to
one side and fixed her with his big brown eyes. “Please say
you'll come, Miss?”

How could she no to that? “But what about
Scotty?”

Dan grinned. “I told you. I talked to him.
He's cool with it. We'll be back in time for you to see him before
you go shopping with the girls.”

“You mean, not come back ’til
tomorrow?”

For the first time his smile faltered. “We
could get you back later, if you want. But,” he brought a hand
up to stroke the back of her neck, making her sag against him as
desire rushed through her, “I was hoping you might want to stay
with me.”

“I do.” She wasn't going to lie. She'd
hoped they would spend the night together, but in her bed, not his!
“But, I'd have to bring some things. My toothbrush....”
Well. That sounded stupid! But she was trying to get her head around
this.

His smile was a lot cockier now than she'd ever
seen before. “Why don't you just grab your bag from the van?”

She stared at him, not understanding. Then she
remembered. Emma! She'd put her overnight bag in the back of the van.
She started to laugh. “You mean, you...?”

“Yep.” He grinned as he nodded.

She tightened her arms around his neck and reached
up to peck his lips. “Well, aren't you full of surprises? How
could I say no?”

He looked way too pleased with himself. “I
was hoping you wouldn't find a way to. Let's go get your bag and lock
the van up. Smoke is having the plane refueled and then we can go.”
They went through the building and out to the van. Missy reached for
the bag in the back and Dan took it while she locked up. She grinned
to think how sneaky Emma had been yesterday, with her sweet smile and
her,
I'm not as crazy as I make out
.

Missy was torn between wanting to thank her old
friend and wanting to tell her off. As she turned back to Dan, she
knew she wanted to thank Emma, and her lucky stars, that she was
flying away with this beautiful man. That she would get to spend the
night with him, at his place, in a city a couple of hundred miles
away from here.

“Ready?”

She nodded and he shifted her bag to his other
hand so he could put an arm around her as they walked.

“I want to show you my life, Miss. Take you
out for dinner.” He smiled down at her. “Take you back to
my place, so you can see it.”

Her stomach fluttered madly at the thought of
going back to his place. As they walked back through the building,
Rochelle caught her eye and gave her a big grin and two thumbs up.

*
**

Missy buckled herself in and gripped on to the
arms of her seat.

“Are you okay? We're not even moving yet,”
said Dan.

She let out a little laugh, but didn't loosen her
grip. “I'm fine. I'm just a big old weenie about flying.”

Dan looked puzzled. “You do realize that,
statistically, it's much safer than driving?”

“Maybe, but I'll bet those statistics aren't
much comfort when you're falling out of the sky!”

He laughed. “Don't worry. Smoke's a
fantastic pilot. Little hops like this are just like popping round
the corner for him. We'll be there in no time.”

“I know, I'm fine really. It's just the
taking off and landing that get to me. I don't understand how it's
possible to get a big hunk of metal up in the air in the first place,
or how it can hit the ground at a hundred miles an hour without
smashing itself, and us, to pieces.”

“Ground speed is around sixty-five miles an
hour, I think, when we touch down and....” Dan stopped himself
and smiled. “You don't want to know, do you?”

“No, thank you. I do not!”

He pried her hand off the armrest and held it
between his own. “Then how about you hang on to me ’til
we get there?”

Now that was an idea she could go for. “Okay.
Thanks, hero.”

As they thundered down the runway, Missy held on
tight and closed her eyes. When she opened them, he was smiling at
her. “There. See? We're up.”

She let go of his hand and he rubbed it. “Sorry.”

“That's okay. You've got quite a grip.”

She nodded. “Yeah. Sorry.”

He touched her cheek. “Please don't be. I
liked it. It makes me feel like I really am your hero. You can hold
on to me whenever you're afraid.”

Wouldn't that be something? To have someone to
hold on to when life got scary. Especially if that someone were Dan.
Dan with his big, brown eyes fixed on her. She reached out and
touched his cheek, loving the stubble under her fingers. “Thank
you.”

He lowered his head towards her, sliding his hand
around the back of her neck to draw her closer. She closed her eyes
and felt his warm, soft lips meet hers. He ran his tongue across her
bottom lip. She kissed him back. His tongue met hers and explored her
mouth slowly, gently, driving her crazy. He drew back, gently nipping
at her lips. Her breath was coming fast. She wanted more.

“I've wanted to do that since the first time
I saw you on the deck of the Boathouse,” he murmured.

Missy unbuckled her seatbelt and slid across into
his lap. “Me too, and now we've started I don't plan on letting
you stop any time soon.” She slid her arms up around his neck
and brought his head back down to her. His arms closed around her and
she clung to him as their lips met once more. Everything faded away
except the feel of him. His lips, his tongue, her breasts pressed
against his chest as he held her to him. She could feel him growing
hard as she sat in his lap. She could feel herself getting wet as he
ran his hand up and down her back, stroking her neck when it reached
the top and her ass when it reached the bottom. They may be making
out like a couple of kids, but the desires he awakened within her
were the adult-only type. She slipped her hand inside his shirt. She
needed to touch him, his warm skin, the lean muscles of his chest. He
moaned through the kiss as she slid her hand lower. His arms closed
around her, holding her against his erection. She wriggled against
him, wanting more.

He lifted his head. “Jesus, Miss! We have to
stop.”

She grinned at him and wriggled some more, knowing
she was tormenting him. “I don't want to stop, and besides,
we're hardly getting started.”

He groaned. “We can't get started because I
won't be able to stop. I've waited too long already.”

“That's okay, because I don't want you to.”
She brought his face down to her and started to kiss him again.

He pulled back. “We have to though. We're
going out for dinner, then if you're not too tired I thought we could
go to the club, dance?”

Missy wrinkled her nose. “What if I said I'm
too tired for all that and I need to go to bed? Would you take me
straight to bed? Or would you think I'm a slut?”

All the humor left his face. “Don't use that
word. You could never be one of those.”

She was taken aback by the force with which he
said it. “Sorry, hero. I was only joking.”

His face softened. “I know, but no one, not
even you, gets to call my beautiful, little Missy that horrible name.
You're so sweet, so soft, you smell so good, you feel so good, I want
you so badly. I'd take you straight home, straight to bed in a
heartbeat. It's all I've been able to think about. But I'm afraid I'd
never let you out again. There'd be no dinner, no dancing, just your
body and mine, lips, arms, legs tangling ’til morning. I'm not
even sure I'll be able to let you go then.”

He was melting her with his words. She didn't want
dinner, or dancing, just his body tangling with hers. “Take me
home, Dan. Please?

He nodded and drew her back into that kiss.

***

A golf cart met them on the tarmac at San Jose and
took them to the FBO building.

“That was quick, Mr. Benson,” said the
guy behind the desk. “Want me to bring your car around?”

Dan shook his head. “I've got it, thanks.”
Normally he would indulge the guy, let him have a quick drive, but
right now all he wanted to do was get Missy back to his place. All
his plans for a memorable evening, the dinner, the club, were
forgotten. He just had to get her to his place. To his bed. He'd been
proud of himself last weekend, of the restraint he'd shown. But she'd
been ill. Now she wasn't and he had no self-control left. He wanted
her, and she made it so clear she wanted him too. Nothing else
mattered. He held her hand as they walked out to the parking lot. His
car beeped and flashed when he pressed the remote. The doors swung up
into the air and he threw her bag in.

Missy stood stock still and stared at him
wide-eyed. “This is your car?”

He nodded, waiting for her to get in. Then it
dawned on him that it wasn't exactly an everyday kind of vehicle, and
she was always making quips about her old minivan. He shrugged. “It
was my dream car as a kid and my one big indulgence when Prometheus
took off.”

She grinned at him. “I keep calling you
hero. I might have to change that to Batman. This is like the damned
Bat-mobile!”

He laughed and came to stand behind her, running
his fingers down her arm. “I'm glad you like it. If you'll get
in it, I'll take you to my bat-cave. Unless you want me to take you
out first?” He wasn't sure how he'd survive if she did, but
he'd wanted tonight to be about much more than sex. He was relieved
when she smiled up at him.

“I told you, the only place I want you to
take me is home, to your bed, or your bat-cave or whatever you call
it.”

He grinned. “Then can you get in the car and
let's go?” As they drove away from the airport Dan thought how
perfect she looked, sitting there in the passenger seat. He'd love to
drive her around, but that would have to wait for another time, right
now he was taking her straight home, as fast as he could get there.
When he pulled into the parking garage, Billy came to meet them.

“Hey, Mr. Dan.”

Dan pulled Missy’s bag out and threw the
keys to him. “Hey, Billy.” He didn't want to hang around,
Billy was a talker when he got started. He guided Missy to the
elevator, which luckily was there at the parking level.

When they were inside she looked at him. “You
live here?”

He laughed. “Yep. You don't think I’d
waste time taking you anywhere else at this point?” The
elevator stopped at the lobby and they got out. Dan wished it
connected the parking levels with the rest of the building. They'd
have to cross the lobby and waste precious minutes. He spotted Herb
at the concierge desk. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long.

He pressed the button to call the elevator before
he said, “Evening, Herb. I'd like you to meet Missy. The lady
responsible for my happy face these days.”

“Evening.”

Missy looked up at Dan, then left his side to go
shake hands. “Nice to meet you, Herb.”

Herb grinned. “It's very nice to meet you
too, Missy.”

Dan loved that Missy did that. Olivia had never
spared Herb more than a quick nod. The elevator doors opened behind
him and he stepped inside. “Come on, Miss. Good night, Herb.”

“Good night. I hope to see you again soon,
Missy.”

“You too,” she said. As she turned
away from him, Herb smiled over her shoulder at Dan and nodded his
head approvingly.

Dan smiled back, he'd known the old guy would like
her.

Once the elevator doors closed he pulled her to
him. “Almost there, beautiful.” She smiled at him, but
she looked nervous now. That wasn't what he wanted. “We can go
dump your bag and go out for dinner if you want?”

She smiled again, but still said nothing. He
wasn't used to her being nervous—or quiet. The elevator stopped
and the doors opened. His was the only door up here. He opened it and
ushered her in ahead of him. He put her bag down and took her hand.
“So, what do you think?” He'd wondered what she would
make of the place. Now she was here. She looked so small and unsure
of herself.

She looked around the huge, open plan space. “I
feel like the country mouse come to visit the big city! And we may
need to have a talk about false advertising.”

He cocked his head, not understanding.

She laughed. “Just last weekend you were
feeding me the ‘I'm just a poor, dumb, country boy’
crap!”

He held up his hands. “I am! Well, I never
claimed dumb.” He slipped into his Texan drawl, “But jus'
a good-ole, country boy done good.”

She smiled. “By the looks of your car and
this place? You done real good!”

“Do you like it?” It mattered to him
what she thought. He'd trade this place for her house any day. Her
place may be small, but it was full of life, full of her and Scot. It
was a real home, something he'd never known as a kid, and couldn't
imagine he'd be able to create for himself. He wouldn't know how.

“I love it,” she said. “It's
just....” She frowned.

“What?”

“Well, it’s just not
you
, is
it? Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this is you and I don't know you like I
thought I did.”

He put his arms around her. “Miss, you're
right. This isn't me. You already know me better than most people do.
This isn't me at all. It suits the life I somehow slipped into, but
it doesn't suit me, the man I am. The kind of man I want to be.”