He walked inside the casino and headed directly toward the tower my room was in. Was it over? He was going to take me back, and we weren’t going to dinner or anything? I felt deflated and wondered if I’d made a mistake. I went over everything that had happened and what I had done. Had I been expected to do more? Had I made a mistake in the helicopter, opening my legs to him and allowing him to touch me and slap me? Had there been a test I’d failed? I’d thought he wanted to dominate me. Every time I moaned at his punishment, he got more aggressive.

Nothing I could think of would warrant him being upset with me.

I cut my eyes up to look at him. His firm jaw was tight, and the veins in his neck were bulging. That was sexy, too. Why did he have to be so big and strong and . . . ugh!

The elevator doors opened, and he pressed my floor number.

I needed to say something. It was getting awkward now. Maybe I hadn’t thanked him for the ride. I couldn’t remember. When we had gotten off the helicopter, my legs had been wobbly and my breathing a little erratic from his touch.

I turned to look up at him again, but before I could speak, he was in front of me, pressing me against the wall. The heat from his body sent shivers over me, as he grabbed my waist and inhaled sharply. “God, you’re fucking killing me,” he whispered, and then his mouth was on mine, and I didn’t care who found us or if we got lost or if the place blew up. This was all I wanted.

I reached up to grab his shoulders and hold on and opened my mouth to taste more. The peppermint freshness of his mouth was delicious, and I leaned in, trying to get more. Anything he was willing to give, I was going to take.

The ding of the door came too soon, and he was moving me with his hand on my waist out into the hallway and toward my door. “Key,” he almost growled, and I quickly grabbed my purse and pulled it out.

He took it from my hand and opened the door to my suite, then pulled me inside.

I hoped this meant he wasn’t leaving.

With one hand, he slammed the door closed, then picked me up and carried me to the sofa, where he sank down with me in his lap before grabbing my face and continuing to kiss me senseless. He seemed as hungry for me as I had been for him. His mouth trailed from mine to my ear and then focused on my neck. I arched to give him more access, loving the feel of his whiskers on my skin. Every touch sent tiny jolts through my body. I couldn’t get enough of him.

“Fucking squirming in the car,” he muttered. “Watching you like that was driving me insane. Goddamn, I wanted to bend you over the seat and fuck you while the driver watched me pound your ass.”

Oh, my God. Who talked like that? Was he even serious? That was naughty and taboo. I liked the mental image in my head.

His hand slid up my thigh until his fingers brushed my panties. “This what you’re offering?” he asked, kissing my collarbone and then lifting his head to look at me. The tender places he’d been too rough with earlier he now soothed as if they were precious to him. My heart melted, and I leaned into him, opening my legs more so he could touch everything. All of me.

I was pretty sure I’d offer him anything at this point if he’d promise me another orgasm. I’d never experienced one like the one on that flight. My body had lost all function, and the sensation had taken me with it. Not caring about where I was or who saw or heard me. The pleasure was all I craved then. I wanted more.

“Yes,” I replied in a whisper.

He held my gaze as he moved a finger inside the silk and lace, and I held my breath. The gentle touch was almost too much. When you were wanting something that badly and you finally got it, you lost your stuff.

I heard the cry of pleasure that ripped through me as I held on to his shoulders tighter.

“That’s fucking hot,” he said, and although I could feel his eyes on me, I couldn’t open my eyes just yet. Not with his finger sliding over the heat pooled between my legs. “You ignited for me when I took this pussy hard. Now you’re purring like a kitten while I gently stroke it. So hungry for sex. You want it all, don’t you? Stingy and needy.” He paused and ran a finger up my clit. “I want you to come for me. Like this. Right here in my lap.” The fact that it sounded like a command sent my reaction to a new level of intensity. If he told me to come one more time in that thick voice, I would scream the place down with what was building up inside me. I was almost scared to let it go. To reach what he could give me. It was more than I’d felt before, and I knew it would rock my world, but was I ready for that?

He moved his mouth back up to my ear and in a low, deep growl, said, “Come.”

And the lights went out as my body exploded. I knew I cried out his name. I remembered bucking my hips up to meet his hand as he pressed it harder into me. But other than that, it was all a blur. The bliss was even more than I had feared, and I didn’t want to return from it. I wanted to live in this moment forever, even if it killed me.

However, like all good orgasms do, this one faded slowly, and my eyes eventually fluttered back open. My body was completely spent, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever walk again. When my vision cleared, I could see that Gannon was watching me. The hardness underneath me told me this had turned him on. Did I have the energy to help with that? I wasn’t sure I could move.

“Which way is your bed?” he asked, his voice tight and a little pleased with himself.

“To the right,” I said, sounding exhausted.

He stood up and carried me to the bed. If we were going to finish this, he needed to give me a moment to return from the clouds he’d sent me to. I wasn’t back just yet.