Dane sat up next to Austen and put his arm around her. “Hey,” he whispered, softly kissing her neck. “Last night was amazing.”
“I know. I can’t believe we stayed up that late,” she said, biting her lip.
“I can believe it.” Gently, he ran his fingers up and down the pillow-soft flesh of her inner thigh. She moaned and spread her legs ever so slightly. Her breath baited when he touched his hand to her crotch. The delicate fibers of her lace panties caught in the rough burrs of his calloused hand.
“Wait,” she said, suddenly clasping her legs shut on his hand. “Don’t get too excited. We ran out of condoms, remember?”
“We can do other things, can’t we?” He grinned. “After last night, I’ve suddenly got a taste for it …”
“You’resomuch trouble,” she said. “But I’ve got to finish this piece.” She returned to her laptop, and her fingers became a frenetic blur across the keyboard.Clickety-clack, clickety-clack.
“What are you working on?” he asked.
“The true story of your interview.”
“Yeah? Really?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “I kinda have to saysomethingafter posting those hospital pictures last night. I figure I should strike while the iron’s hot, and everyone’s talking about us.”
“What are they saying?”
“They want to know what’s going on—with your injury, the trade talks, and why the heck I’m visiting you at the hospital.”
“That’s easy,” he said. “Broken hand, out six to eight weeks, which means no trade. As for us, we’re boyfriend and girlfriend. End of story.”
She looked at him and smiled. “You’re sweet. I don’t think anyone would believe me if I said that.”
He shrugged. “What else are you gonna say in your piece?”
“Everything.”
“Everythingeverything? Like, Soupy and Hath, and the gag order? And what a huge cretin Thayer is?”
“All that, but especially what a huge cretin Thayer is,” she said. “I wanna bring that weasel down.”
Dane smiled from ear to ear. “Hell yeah! See, this is why I wanna call you my girlfriend.”
She looked at him again. “You really mean it? You want to make it official? You don’t want to wait a while?”
He nodded. “Wait for what? We already know we like each other, right? What do you say? You wanna be my girlfriend?”
“Hmmmmmmmmm.” She tapped her chin, thinking it over.
“You better say yes,” he joked. But his heart pounded beneath his sternum. Was she serious? Or just messing with him? Dane couldn’t take the suspense. His heart pounded in his chest. “Argh. You’re killing me. Is it a yes or a no?”
Beaming, she touched her palm to his cheek. “The answer isyes, Dane.”
“Fuck yeah.” He pumped his fist, then held her jaw and gave her a kiss. One kiss led to another, and soon Dane’s hand was between her thighs again, softly stroking her folds through her panties. She moaned in his mouth, her body turning to mush in his arms, when—
“Dane!” she squealed, prying herself away. “I’mnevergoing to get any work done with you around!”
“That’s fine.” He grinned. “Let’s just stay in and fuck all day.”
“God … you don’t know how good that sounds …” she muttered. “But there’s no more condoms and Ihaveto get this piece done, Dane. It might be the thing that keeps you here in Dallas.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” He nodded. “Hey, you mind if I take a shower?”
“Not at all. Everything you need is in the bathroom.”
