Kate Hoffmann - Danny

“I can make you feel even better,” she said.

“I’m not sure that’s possible,” Danny replied.

Jordan slid down along his body, drawing the sheet back, inch by inch. When she reached his waist, she traced a line of kisses across his belly, then moved lower still.

Danny knew what was coming and he wasn’t about to stop her. Instead, he stretched his arms over his head and arched his back, waiting for the warmth of her mouth to surround him. When she finally took him between her lips, he was forced to look away. Watching her made it almost impossible to control his release.

There were many things that Jordan was good at, but she excelled at this particular activity. In fact, there were times when he wondered if it could get any better.

But it wasn’t just about him. It was about the two of them sharing something so intimate that a touch replaced a word, a sigh replaced a glance. When real life was pushed aside, they had this pleasure between them and it was a powerful drug that he found himself craving constantly.

“Do you know what this does to me?” he whispered.

“Yes,” she said. “But isn’t that the intended result?”

“No. I’m not talking about an orgasm,” he said.

She looked up at him, her hair tumbled around her face, her lips damp. “What?”

“I can’t resist you,” he murmured. “I don’t want to anymore. You’ve stolen my ability to think for myself.”

“That’s not true.”

He ran his fingers through her hair. “Ask me anything. I’ll be your knight in shining armor. I’ll slay dragons for you and rescue you from the tower. I’ll lay down my life for you. That’s what I feel when you touch me.”

“Well, the next time I run into a dragon, I’ll give you a call,” she said, smiling. She moved back to her task, her tongue soft and warm against his shaft.

She thought he was joking. And for a moment, Danny almost let it slide. But he wanted her to understand what she meant to him, how deeply he cared about her. “It’s not funny,” he said. “I’m tired of dancing around it, playing like it doesn’t really matter. You do matter to me, Jordan.”

She stared at him. “Don’t do this,” she murmured. “Don’t make it more difficult than it already is.”

“I don’t give a feck if it is difficult. It should be. It should feel like a knife to the heart, like falling off a cliff onto sharp rocks. It should make your soul bleed. I want it to be hard.”

She sat up, pulling the sheet up around her body. “Why? It doesn’t have to be.”

“It’s the only way we’re going to know it was real,” Danny said.

He reached out and grabbed her waist, then pulled her on top of him. She watched him, warily, all of her insecurities reflected in her expression. He shifted and then he was inside her, in the sweet warmth that had become home to him.

As he moved, Danny felt his need rise, a knot tightening deep inside of him until the ache was too much to bear. He reached between them and touched her, so that he could make her come right along with him.

Danny waited until her face grew flushed with desire, until her breath came in quick, desperate gasps. And then, when he felt her swell around him, he came. The intensity of his release was enough to make his body jerk and his muscles tense. He opened his eyes and watched her dissolve into her own orgasm, her fingers digging into his chest as she rocked above him.

And when she grew still, he pulled her down on top of him, holding her close. “Don’t you dare tell me it’s going to be easy,” he whispered. Danny drew a ragged breath. “I’m going to do everything I can to convince you to stay.”

“Please don’t do that,” Jordan said.

“I don’t have any choice.”

She fell back asleep stretched out on top of him, her thighs straddling his hips, her head resting on his shoulder. But Danny couldn’t sleep. His mind was filled with desperate thoughts.

It was clear she didn’t feel the same way about him as he did about her. Every time he brought up the future, she deflected the conversation. He only had two choices-convince her of his point of view or prepare to let her go. But he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. He had a chance to change the course of his life, to make Jordan a part of it. And he’d do anything to make that happen.

JORDAN CAREFULLY LAID the tape measure down on the floor, measuring the width of the library. She scribbled the number on a pad of paper, then slowly measured in the opposite direction. Kellan had said that if there was a secret entrance into the house, they’d find it this way.

Drawing a ragged breath, she walked out into the foyer. What difference did it make? In a few weeks, the new owners could worry about it. They could afford to hire someone to come in and draw a new floorplan. She glanced down at her watch.

She was already an hour late for Nan and Riley’s engagement party and though she was dressed and ready to go, she couldn’t bring herself to walk out the front door. Everything was such a mess. The closer she got to finishing, the more confused she became. She’d put off talking to her father for fear that it might force her into a decision she wasn’t ready to make. Whenever Danny spoke of the future, she deftly changed the subject. And now, she was quickly losing interest in finally finishing the house.

She pushed the button on the tape measure and it snapped back into the plastic case. All this indecision was beginning to wear on her. She wanted to know if she had a future at Kencor. She needed to know if she had a future with Danny. It was time to ask the hard questions and get on with the rest of her life.

Jordan grabbed her pad and pencil and strode back to the library. She’d do it now. She’d call her father and if it all went bad, she’d have the party to distract her mind for the rest of the night.

Grabbing her cell phone from the desk, she quickly punched in her father’s number and waited as it rang. It was Saturday afternoon in New York. He’d probably be finishing up his regular round of golf at his country club and having a few drinks with his buddies. Now would be a good time. Two martinis always made him more amenable.

The phone rang and then went to voice mail. Drawing a shaky breath, she decided to forgo a message. Maybe it wasn’t the right time. But then, a few seconds later, the phone buzzed and she saw an incoming text from her father. “Busy. What do you want?” she read aloud.

“All right. Do it now,” Jordan murmured to herself. Ireland job done in two weeks. I want hotel project.

“Matt already started. Maybe next time,” she read.

No next time! Hotel project, now, or… Jordan bit her bottom lip, closed her eyes and said a silent prayer. This was the right thing to do. She didn’t want to go on working for someone who didn’t appreciate her talents.

“Or what?” she murmured.

Was she ready to do this? She was playing a giant game of poker and she was ready to go all in…I quit. She stared at the words for a long moment, drew another breath and then hit Send. “Oh, God,” Jordan groaned. “Please, please, please, let this work. This has to work.”

“Hey, what’s going on? Why are you still here?”

Jordan jumped at the sound of Danny’s voice. She spun around in her chair. “I’m sorry. I just-I had to do this. It couldn’t wait.”

“What couldn’t wait?” Danny asked. “I’ve been trying to ring you and you haven’t answered. I was getting worried.”

“I was trying to find the passageway,” Jordan lied, grabbing the paper. “I didn’t want to leave the house without-”

“The house will be fine. And I promise, we’ll look for the passageway tomorrow. I’ll help you. It’s Sunday, it will be a good way to pass our only day off for the week.”