“I’ll look at it later,” I said, setting the envelope down on the end table and yawning. “How are you?”
Danielle shrugged again. “Pretty good.” She burped, then flushed and covered her mouth. “Sorry,” she said with a groan. “I ordered a pizza last night thinking that you’d be coming home, and you’re not going to believe me but I ate half of the damn thing in one sitting. Can you believe that?”
I giggled. “Yeah, maybe.”
“And then I had more for breakfast,” Danielle added, looking guilty. She got to her feet and stretched. “I think I might go for a run – feel like joining me?”
“God, no,” I said. I yawned. “I’m exhausted. I think I’m going to sleep for a while.”
“I bet you’ve already done your exercising,” Danielle said with a salacious grin.
“Oh, stop it,” I said, rolling my eyes and walking down the hall to my room. As soon as I was inside, I locked the door and flopped down on my bed. It was crazy – I’d slept so well with James, and yet somehow, I was still tired. Closing my eyes, I curled up under the covers and snuggled down deep into my mattress.
Chapter Thirteen
James
Now that I was back in Hanna’s good graces, I felt like I was on top of the world. Even with the weird stalker, I felt like things were finally going my way. Hanna and I went out three times over the next week. New Year’s Eve was coming up, and I wanted to surprise her with something really special. There were always the usual parties at the tony Boston hotels, and Langford threw an annual bash where the champagne flowed all night. But considering the last party hadn’t exactly been a success, I wanted something different – I wanted something that I knew Hanna would really love.
When we went out to dinner on Tuesday night, I reached across the table and took her hand in mine. Hanna bit her lip and flicked her bright green eyes over me in a way that made me shiver. My cock twitched in my pants just thinking about how it would feel to slide deep inside her slick body again and take her, make her mine, keep her safe for all eternity.
“What?” Hanna giggled nervously. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
I grinned. “Sorry,” I said. “I can’t help it – you look incredible.”
Hanna was wearing a low-cut black dress that showed off just a hint of cleavage. She shifted and licked her lips before smiling at me.
“Thank you,” she said. “I did try, after all.” She tossed her long brown hair over one shoulder and batted her lashes. Hanna glanced around the restaurant. “This is really nice – do you come here often?”
“No,” I said. “I’ve been saving it for someone special. Harry told me that their steak and seafood is out of this world, but I knew it would be wasted on just me.”
I could tell by the way Hanna flushed that she was pleased with what I’d said.
“I bet,” Hanna said. She was teasing, but I knew she really meant it. “And I appreciate it, James.”
I grinned. “Anything for you. By the way,” I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a red leather box. “I have something for you.”
Hanna narrowed her eyes as I slid the box across the table. She picked it up with trembling fingers and flipped it open, revealing the five-carat diamond tennis bracelet I’d bought her, set in platinum.
“James,” Hanna said softly. “This is too much! I can’t accept this.”
I smirked. “Well, too bad, because I bought it for you, so I guess you’ll have to take it.” I raised an eyebrow at her and grinned as Hanna took the long, sparkling bracelet from its leather cradle and held it against her wrist. She smiled as I reached across the table and fastened the clasp around her delicate bones.
“That suits you,” I said. In the dim lighting of the steakhouse, the diamonds twinkled and shimmered. Hanna was staring down at her wrist for a moment before looking at me with love in her eyes.
“I really shouldn’t take this,” Hanna said. She bit her lip. “But it’s so beautiful, James.” She smirked. “And besides, I have a feeling you’re not going to give in and take it back.”
I shook my head. “Definitely not. That’s for you, and you alone.”
“I love it,” Hanna admitted. She swallowed. “Do you think I’m turning into one of those materialistic women?”
I snorted. “No. Not at all – if anything, you’ve just proven how independent you are.”
Hanna leaned back against the leather booth and smiled. “I…I just can’t believe that things are working out so well between us,” she said, shaking her head and laughing to herself. “If someone had told me a few months ago that I’d be dating James West…well, yeah, I wouldn’t have believed them.”
“But you’re happy?” I asked, leaning forward.
Hanna nodded. “Yeah,” she said. She took a deep breath. “James, I’ve never been so happy…or felt so confident about where a relationship is going.”
At the end of the night, I pulled Hanna into my arms outside of the restaurant. Her skin was cold from the winter chill but her lips were warm when I put my face to hers for a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pushed her body close to mine as I pulled her into a tight embrace. Despite the heavy coats we both wore, I could feel the curves of Hanna’s body against mine and my cock began to throb. Hanna slipped her tongue into my mouth, warm and scented with wine from dinner. I tilted my head to the side and gently nibbled on her lip as she tangled her hands in my hair and tugged gently at my scalp, just hard enough to feel good.
“God,” I groaned, shoving one of my thighs between Hanna’s legs and pushing her against the brick wall. “I want you right now – I should take you right here.”
Hanna flushed. She pulled away and licked her lips. They were swollen from our kissing, and she glanced shyly down at the ground before leaning in again and kissing me gently. She nibbled on my lower lip and I slid my hands down her waist to her ass, where I squeezed both firm globes in my hands as Hanna shoved her crotch against mine. Desire and arousal flooded my body and I wanted to scoop her up in my arms, take her home, and ravish her all night.
“Can I come over?” Hanna whispered throatily when we broke apart. “I don’t have to get up too early tomorrow.”
I groaned. “I wish,” I said. “But I have a meeting with my shareholders first thing in the morning and I haven’t even looked at the fucking paperwork yet.”
Hanna giggled. “Call in sick,” she said. “We’ll blow work off and spend the whole day in bed. We can get take-out,” she added in an alluring, low voice as she snuggled closer to me. “Doesn’t that sound good?”
“It sounds amazing,” I admitted. “And trust me, I wish more than anything else in the world that we could do that. But Mark is going to kill me – it’s been a long time since we met, and I know he has plans to talk international development with me.”
“You’re no fun,” Hanna teased. “Besides,” she purred. “I’d much rather have you than this.” She dangled her wrist in front of me and the diamonds flashed in the moonlit street.