Dani Wade - Son Of Scandal

Even though the warning bells she’d been silencing for a year were back full force, Ivy let his arms close around her, pull her closer. As they danced under the crystal chandeliers, amid dozens of other couples in the impeccably restored ballroom, the moment felt surreal. Out of time. His black tux was classic. The striking contrast between it and her emerald-green ball gown caught her eye as they glided past the wall of ornately framed mirrors.

The decadent illusion was dangerous—just like him.

She’d tried hard since her parents died to be practical, independent. But a small, hidden part of her still clung to the fantasy of fairy tales and Prince Charming.

Tonight, that part of her refused to be denied.

So she let him lead her, turn her, bend her to his touch. The touch that she’d fantasized about for the last year and a half she’d worked for him. During their daily routine, she’d resisted the pull of attraction, attempted to distract herself with clients and travel arrangements and meeting preparations. She’d thrown herself into the busy schedule of the head of the manufacturing division of his family’s shipping conglomerate. But at the most unexpected of moments, she’d find herself immersed in far more intimate thoughts than she should have about her boss.

Tonight, he was that dream come to life. His touch and the intensity of his gaze made her feel beautiful, wanted. Her body tingled whenever he pressed close. This far surpassed her simple fantasies. The feelings were intense. Impossible to ignore.

They moved through the sea of people as if alone. The way her heart raced and her skin tingled with every brush of his hand was pure magic.

Every time logic attempted to assert itself, the intensity of his stare pushed it back. She wanted nothing more than to be his entire focus and let reality melt away.

He drew her closer, cocooning her in his arms. His gaze turned hungrier. His body grew harder.

Somewhere in the intensity, Ivy’s resistance evaporated and she knew she’d go wherever he led her.

Even when the song was over and she had left him to do her hostessing rounds for her sister, she caught glimpses of him nearby. No matter how close or how far away, she could sense exactly where he was in the crowd. And it wasn’t long before they found each other again in the muffled quiet of the front foyer.

Ivy held her breath, uncertainty washing over her. “Paxton...”

“I know,” he said, reaching out to rub a finger over the velvet ribbon that held her mask in place. “I didn’t expect this either. But I can’t deny that I want you...very much.”

He leaned into her, his mint-scented breath making her mouth water.

“We shouldn’t...” she whispered, though her eyelids were already fluttering closed.

“I know...” He groaned.

Then his mouth covered hers and all protests were lost.

His kiss was just this side of demanding. Her body melted in acquiescence. He pressed closer, as if to absorb her surrender and claim his victory.

She knew how the night would end, and couldn’t find an ounce of hesitation in her mind or body. Not even when he had paused, giving logic an opening to fracture the fantasy.

“I know I shouldn’t ask you, that I have no right,” Paxton said, the intensity of his stare making her shiver. “But, Ivy, will you go home with me?”

In that moment fantasy ruled. Though she’d denied it for over a year, Ivy had never wanted anything more than she wanted to spend tonight in Paxton’s arms. “Yes. Yes, I will.”

The happiness and excitement Ivy felt left her in a very surreal place, as if she couldn’t quite grasp the reality of the decision she’d made.

Still she forced herself to be practical for one moment and made a quick call to her sister Jasmine. Hunting her down in the throngs of people would take too long. As she waited for Paxton to get the car brought around, Ivy heard the hesitation and concern in her sister’s voice. Her tone escalated to alarm as Ivy told her where she was going but Ivy couldn’t bring herself to care.

She’d spent the past year ignoring her family’s secret connection to Paxton’s. She justified taking the position with him by telling herself that he never had to know who she really was. Becoming his assistant had been a dream job for someone her age. With her drive to stand on her own two feet, there was no way she could have passed up such an incredible opportunity to advance. Or the temptation it had presented. Yes, it was a foolish hope. But maybe, just maybe, this was the right thing.

She glanced at the teardrop emerald on her right ring finger, swearing it actually twinkled in the subdued lighting on the front stone steps, where she waited. The piece of jewelry handed down to her and her sisters through generations of their family, who believed its magic would guide them to find their true love.

The professional Ivy wanted to scoff at the notion that the ring had anything to do with what was happening tonight. But the princess wannabe she hid deep down inside regarded the ring with a smile before she glanced up to see Paxton step out of the back of the company limo.

“Come with me?” he asked, reaching his hand out to her.

She knew what was happening. Knew he was giving her a way out at the same time that he made his preference known. He was a gentleman, through and through. Tonight, she wanted him to be hers.

He quickly handed her into the dim interior, which got even darker as he closed the door behind him. The driver pulled away from the curb right away. Paxton wasn’t wasting time on niceties. His urgency mirrored hers—much to her relief.

Paxton immediately distracted her from thoughts of rings, sisters and the fact that he was her boss. In the private world of the back seat, he embraced her without hesitation. Their decision was made.

He cupped her head in his large, warm hands, holding her steady for his kiss. In the tight space, every breath, every gasp, every moan was amplified. Then his hands traveled downward, heating up her neck, collarbone and the tops of her breasts. The air stuttered in her lungs as she ached for him to slip his hand beneath the edge of her dress. Instead his mouth followed the trail, creating a heated path of sizzling nerves. She arched into the pull of his lips and tongue and teeth against her skin.

Then he was slipping away from her, pulling back from the grip of her fingers around his upper arms. But the disappointment was quickly replaced by a thrill of both fear and need as he insinuated his big body between the V-shape of her thighs.

The thickly layered skirt of her ball gown proved no match for Paxton. She felt his long fingers close around her ankles in a firm grip, tight enough to let her know he was there without leaving a mark. Her thighs clenched as everything inside her tightened. She needed to surrender to that touch, to let him do with her what he chose.

His fingers traced down over her four-inch heels, a rumbling groan rolling out of his chest. A half smile escaped her, one he might see in the occasional streetlights they passed. They were nearing the city now.

Slowly his palms traced upward, beneath the layers of material. Cupping her calves. Rubbing her knees. Massaging her thighs. Ivy panted as she grew wet with need. Would he touch her there? Or would he leave her to wait?

His fingertips found the line of her garters. “Heaven help me, Ivy.” Without warning, he bunched up the heavy skirt and disappeared beneath it. His hands curled around her knees and pulled her forward. She felt open and vulnerable. She swallowed hard, wishing now for just a hint of the logic that had made a brief appearance earlier.

But it was nowhere to be seen.

His mouth met the tender skin right above the top of her thigh-high stockings, sucking hard as if he could swallow her into him. Her muscles tightened as if to push him away, but the move was merely instinctual. Truthfully, she wanted him to taste her there...wanted him to taste her more. His tongue flicked firmly along the upper lace edge, then along the garter, until he buried his face in the crook between her thigh and hip. She felt the breath he drew with every nerve ending in her body.