One hand came up to frame her jaw. “This isn’t a rebound.”

“Call it whatever you want,” she whispered back.

Lips traced over hers before his tongue dipped inside to sample her mouth, as if seeking the answer to a question. Seconds ticked by while he teased her, exploring her reactions to every brush of his lips, lick of his tongue. If she’d felt exposed before, the feeling increased tenfold as he learned her secrets, drawing them out of her with his kiss. Forcing her to reveal herself.

Then he took his newfound knowledge and used it against her.

With strong, capable hands, Daniel grasped her hips and backed her against the wall with lightning speed. His thigh wedged itself between her legs. No longer gentle or curious, his mouth took complete ownership of hers, fusing it with his in a kiss meant to destroy and rebuild. Despite the brutality behind it, she felt worshiped, as if his pleasure far exceeded her own, which had to be impossible.

Story might as well have never been kissed before. All at once, she felt reckless. Wild. Free. Digging desperate hands into his hair, she pulled him closer, begging him to deepen the kiss further. Daniel obliged, sinking his tongue into her mouth with a growl.

As they parted for breath, his voice grated against her lips. “If you keep working that hot little tongue against mine, I’ll have no choice but to f**k you.”

Before she could respond, he pressed his muscular thigh higher and tighter against her core, stemming her words. Story’s feet left the ground until he’d pinned her to the wall. The insistent pressure between her legs robbed her of thought. Her breath came in harsh little pants and nothing could stop her from moving on his hard thigh, working her hips up and down in an attempt to ease the growing ache.

“Would you like to come now, gorgeous?”

Story’s answer sounded breathless. “What do you think?” Her head fell back against the wall with a thud. One of his hands slid up her bare thigh, higher and higher until it reached her ass. She felt him gather the backside of her thong in his fist, twisting the fabric until it wrapped around his fingers once. The silky material pulled taut, sliding over the most sensitive part of her and making her head spin. His teeth scraped against her neck, sending a thrill of sensation shuddering through her body.

“Say please, baby.”

“Please,” she moaned.

Then he tugged on the thong and her mind went blank, oblivious to everything but the pleasure coursing through her. She shook against him as her orgasm battered its way through her system, prolonged by the calculated tugging of material between her legs. His mouth latched onto hers, absorbing her cries, groaning at her wild response.

When her shaking subsided, Daniel released her mouth, his panting breaths matching her own. “Set it again. I haven’t even gotten started.” He thrust himself, hard and thick, against her thigh. “More.”

More? Story’s world tilted. What in the hell had just happened? She’d been standing on terra firma carrying on a conversation with him and a minute later he’d managed to give her the most powerful orgasm she could remember. In over her head? What a gross under-exaggeration on her part. Daniel was operating on an entirely different level. One that her sleep-deprived, recently dumped brain couldn’t begin to comprehend.

More than likely, his skill had been perfected with hundreds of women. And she’d just inflated his ego even more by acting out her own amateur version of Gone in Sixty Seconds against his leg.

Oh God, could I be more pathetic?

“Hey. Come back to me, Story.”

Something knotted in her throat at the earnest plea made against her neck. The events of the last twenty-four hours suddenly landed on her head like a ton of bricks. She could barely get oxygen into her lungs. If she allowed herself to think clearly for even one more moment, every ounce of pain and humiliation would rush to the surface. She would drown in tears and self-pity, forcing herself to admit that the last three years were a waste of time and a drain on her spirit. So she wouldn’t think. Not yet.

Daniel could distract her. Make her feel like a desirable woman if only for one afternoon. Prevent her from thinking too much about her mistakes and shortcomings. Threading her fingers through his hair, she tugged until his mouth left her neck. He raised his head and looked at her questioningly, eyes dark and heavy, mouth damp from kissing her. He appeared drugged in his arousal. For her.

She’d done that to him. The knowledge filled her with desperately needed confidence. Hadn’t she made the decision last night to stop sitting idly by while life happened around her? She didn’t want to be the girl who played it safe anymore. In the end, hadn’t her “safe” choice in Fisher come back to bite her in the ass? Right here, in this moment, she wanted Daniel.

“There you are,” he murmured, golden-brown eyes heating. He ducked his head to scrape his stubbled chin across her cle**age. “Whatever is going on in your head right now, keep thinking it.”

Her breath hitched in her throat. “I’m thinking about you taking me to bed.”

Daniel’s big body shuddered against her in response. His hands caressed the sides of her thighs, sliding up and around to palm her bottom. “Tell me. In your mind, what are we doing in that bed? Are we f**king nice and slow or are you making me sweat for it?”

“I’m…you’re…” Story tried to form words and failed as he kneaded her flesh.

The timer went off on her phone, but he continued as though he didn’t even hear it. “Am I under you, watching your br**sts bounce as you buck those hips? Or am I on top of you the first time? I could force those thighs wide and bury myself deep in between them.” He leaned forward to lick the curve of her ear. “Maybe I’m behind you. Ah, f**k, I could get in so deep that way, gorgeous. Tell me what you want. I’ll make it happen.”

The answer materialized in her mind. Just as she opened her mouth to tell him, somewhere in the room a cell phone rang, loud and siren-like. Daniel dropped his head forward with a sharp curse, fist pounding against the wall above her.

Looking as though he wanted to ignore it, he finally reached into his back pocket to extricate his phone. “It’s work. I have to answer,” he explained through clenched teeth.

Nodding mutely, Story slid down his thigh until her feet touched the floor and she stood. He made a sound of protest over their separation, but the incessant ringing interrupted him.

“Chase.” He barked into the phone. After listening for a moment, his eyes slid shut. “Fine. I’ll be there in ten.” As he hung up, his hot gaze swept her from head to toe, lingering on her still-hiked-up skirt. Cheeks heating, she quickly pulled it back in place. “I have to go.”

Avoiding his stare, she nodded. “So I heard. Um. Thanks for everything.” Oh my God. “I mean, thanks for dropping me off and carrying the suitcase and all that. Not thanks for the orgasm or whatever.” Shut up. Shut up now. “Well, I mean, thanks for that, too. I guess.”

Mortification complete. Kill me now.

Daniel’s eyebrows rose and the corners of his mouth quirked up. “You’re welcome.” He took a step toward her. “I really don’t want to leave.”

“Maybe it’s for the best,” she rushed out before he came any closer.

His face darkened. “We’ll talk about this later. There’s a situation where I’m needed or we’d discuss it right now.”