Forbidden Valentine: A Forbidden Novel (7 page)

“You’re heading out too?” Seraphim complained. “I never get to see my babies anymore.”

“You saw us tonight, mother. I swear, if you had it your way, we’d all move in here with you.”

“What do you think I’ve been working toward all this time?”

Everyone grinned, then went in for hugs and kisses. Dani looked to Ransom, and he gave her a nod. Time to go.

“All right, everyone, we’re heading out.”

“Aren’t you going to tell your brother and his wife good-bye?”

Ransom’s whole body wound up tight at the question, which was more of a demand than anything. Dani felt the tone in the room shift from slightly tense to volatile. There was no doubt in her mind that, if the wind shifted just right, it could very well come to blows.

But Seraphim’s words were a command that wasn’t to be ignored.

Cautiously, each of the women watched as the two men came together, a gulf between them as their upper bodies bent forward and they clapped each other once on the back. A muttered “later” was issued and then the room separated them once again.

Dani released the breath she’d been holding, then, thankfully, they were free to go.

THERE WAS A STRANGE sensation bubbling just beneath the surface of his skin. Ransom couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but he knew it had to do with his brother and that hug they were forced to share. All he knew was it was warm, comforting, and the underlying meaning he refused to acknowledge set him on edge.

He wasn’t ready to let go of his anger. Some bridges weren’t meant to be crossed, not after so much water had passed beneath it.

The knowledge that his brother couldn’t guard his heart any better than he could made no difference at all, though he knew it should. The problem was that they’d always had a sort of rivalry between them, taking from one another, especially when it came to women. So in his mind, he’d been scorned. Left out to dry like a piece of wet laundry.

And now the very fabric of him was wrinkled, and he didn’t know the first thing about how to iron himself out.

Except that a faint voice in his head whispered to him, and it sounded suspiciously like Dani’s name.

They sat in his living room, the silence a pulsing beat of sexual tension that no one could deny. He wanted her, and he knew, despite her best efforts to deny it, she wanted him, too.

He’d enjoyed having her with him at the party. Hadn’t realized just how much it would mean to him or how much it would affect him. Just by being there, she’d calmed his nerves, as well as silencing the little voice inside his head that wanted nothing more than to climb back in his car and leave.

But she’d served as a safety net. A lifeline. Someone he could lean on, even if she didn’t know it. And she clearly didn’t judging by the way she sat so stiff now, her shyness calling to him. Begging for him to take it away.

He only knew of one way to do that, and he didn’t think she’d go for it.

Sex was something that Ransom had grown accustomed to using in order to bury his feelings, in order to keep the overwhelming depression from sucking him down into an inescapable oblivion. Somehow, he didn’t think it would be the same with Dani. It was a terrifying thought, and the only thing that kept him from jumping on her and ravishing her small, curvy body.

Hers was a body made for sin, and Ransom was inclined to explore every dark corner. Somehow he resisted, though only barely.

There was still the matter of her possibly being a student that sat on a shelf in his mind, demanding to be recognized.

Was she a student? And at his school no less? He racked his brain, but for the life of him, he couldn’t recall ever seeing her face in class or around campus.

But that wasn’t much to weigh against. After all, he’d spent the better half of a year chasing after Joe. During that time, no other woman existed.

Until one night in a bar when a woman agreed to go home with him.

Everything had changed since then. His perspective, his entire outlook on life. For the first time in months, he wasn’t dreading waking up in the morning.

It’d only been a matter of days, but Dani was doing something to him. Changing him. Just by being herself.

And he liked it.

Never wanted it to end.

He stared into her eyes, and she graced him with a shy smile that hit him right in the groin. God, could she possibly be any sexier?

Taking a risk, he picked her hand up from her lap and brought it over to his, toying with each of her slender fingers. “You mentioned your friends were students? Does that mean you are too?”

“Oh no,” she said automatically, which gave him a margin of relief. “I graduated early. No, I’m a junior accountant with Jackson and Powers.”

Ransom’s hand stilled over hers, surprised. “You seem young to be that high up, especially with such a well-known company.”

She did that thing again, where her gaze dropped whenever she felt uncomfortable. It made him wonder what he could have said to make her feel that way, and triggered a need in him to fix it so it would never happen again.

Moving closer, Ransom placed himself side by side so that their shoulders and thighs touched. She stiffened for a moment, then slowly began to relax.

“I’ve always been ahead of my classmates,” she said softly. Her foot rubbed the carpet, revealing her nerves. “Ever since I was in grade school, I understood things better than the other kids, so my teachers gave me harder work, but it never seemed hard enough. Eventually, they started moving me up. After a while, I’d skipped so many grades, I was heads shorter than the high schoolers.” The twinge of pain in her voice touched Ransom, and he found himself needing to touch her.

Lifting his arm, he circled the curtain of hair hiding her face around her ear so he could see her, read her every expression. He didn’t want to miss a second of her story, the need to know who she was and what made her tick tugging at his insides.

Pink colored her cheeks, and she refused to meet his questioning gaze.

“Did they tease you?”

“Mercilessly. I guess it was normal, the older kids picking on the smaller kids. It’s why they always let the elementary school out earlier, so they wouldn’t cross paths with the big kids.”

“But you were right there in the heart of it. That must have been hard.”

“It was, but I got through it. If anything, they made me work harder. I ended up doing four years of work in two.”

Ransom turned the revelation over in his mind, amazed at the kind of intelligence she must harbor to have accomplished so much in so little time. “How old were you when you graduated?”

“Fifteen. I went straight to college after that. Two years in community and two at university.”

“A regular Doogie Howser,” he teased lightly. “I bet your parents are proud of you.”

“My mom was. She always cheered me on, told me I could do anything I put my mind to.”

“And your dad?”

“He wasn’t around much, and when he was, it wasn’t always good.” She cleared her throat, and Ransom sensed that she wasn’t going to give him any more than that. “College was better, but not a lot. I still stuck out, but I made some friends toward the end, and that made it better.”

“Would those friends happen to be the ones I met the other night?” He knew they were, but he wanted to keep her talking. The sound of her voice, so gentle and full of emotion, was something he could listen to forever.

“A couple of them, yes. I met Ashlyn in my accounting class. Her sister, Brit, sort of comes with the territory. They’re close.”

She looked up at him then, and Ransom knew the direction of her thoughts. Without prompting, he gave her what she wanted. “Rebel and I have never been close, per se. We’re too much alike.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Not always. We bump heads more often than not. Mainly because of me though, because of choices I’ve made.”

“You’re talking about Joe.”

“She’s part of it, yes.”

“She told me a bit about what happened between you three. Is that the reason you drink?”

Releasing a heavy breath, Ransom came to terms with the fact that he couldn’t keep hiding the truth from everyone. They all seemed to know it anyway, so what was the point. “It helps me forget.”

“Until it wears off. What do you do then?”

“Have another drink.”

“And work? You were falling down drunk when you brought me back here that night. How do you function when the high wears off?”

She asked too damn many questions. Prying questions. Questions that made Ransom’s skin too tight. He pulled at his collar and swallowed thickly. “I won’t lie. It is starting to affect my work. I’ve lost my edge, and the students sense that. If I’m not inspired, neither are they.” But for the life of him, he didn’t know how to get it back, didn’t know how to find the man he used to be.

Even though he had pulled away, Dani reached out to him, taking his hand back in hers. “Well, that’s all in the past now. You’ve already taken the most important step, and I haven’t seen you take a drink since dinner the other night. Together we’ll make sure you get that edge back.”

Together
. He liked that. With her beautiful face turned toward his, her pale pink lips curled up at the corners, and a reassuring light in her eyes, Ransom couldn’t help himself.

His lips touched down on hers gently, catching her off-guard. Her lush, warm, delicately formed lips were like a Rococo painting—elegant and beautiful, inspiring.

She tasted of spice and orange from the tea she’d drank, and the way she melted against him made Ransom’s chest swell. His hand drifted into her silky brown hair and fisted, bringing her closer as his tongue delved into her wet mouth. He tasted her deeply, sweeping every corner and pulling soft, sweet moans from her.

Twisting to face him, her hands rose up to grasp the backs of his arms with a desperation that fueled Ransom’s desire. His cock thickened, pressing against his fly, wanting to get inside her with an urgency that wouldn’t be tamed.

“You taste so sweet,” he told her as he nibbled on her plump bottom lip. “I could kiss you forever.”

“Ransom,” she breathed, the sound and erotic plea that Ransom longed to answer.

But he knew he shouldn’t. Neither of them were in the right frame of mind to be making such a big step. She was fresh out of a relationship, and he was still dealing with the aftermath of one. Add to that a drinking problem, and at least one of them had no business diving into a relationship.

Because that’s where this was sure to go. Dani was the type that a man could take one look at and know to touch her was to marry her.

Not that it would prevent him from exploring everything she had to offer.

In her own unique way, Dani enticed him. Lured him in like a fish on a hook, and he had to see what was on the other end of that line.

Shelving his concerns for the time being, Ransom followed his baser instincts, heedless of the consequences because it felt too good to deny himself the kind of pleasures she offered.

With her knee pressed against the outside of his thigh, her body angled toward his, she was too far away to satisfy his craving to touch her. Needing to feel her lush heat against him, Ransom looped his arm around her waist and leveraged her over him. Her knees planted firmly on either side of his legs, her hot core centered over his throbbing length, causing Ransom’s eyes to cross beneath his closed lids.

She felt it too, gasping into his mouth in a most delicious way, inciting his need to devour her.

Fingers locked tight in his hair, she turned her head to break the kiss. “This doesn’t feel very friendly,” she panted as he moved his lips along her jaw.

“I don’t know,” he said against her delicate throat that arched as she tilted her head to allow him better access. “It feels pretty damn friendly to me.” His pelvis pushed up, showing her just how friendly he was feeling, and despite her reservations, her hips rolled in answer.

Feeling that concentrated heat against him, Ransom’s cock jumped, the blood rushing south and making it harder than a steel pipe. His heart began to race as thoughts of getting her on her back beneath him filled his mind.

To hell with reservations. He had to have her.

Gripping her tight, he rolled Dani onto her back and followed her down, fitting tight between her spread legs and pressing her deep into the cushions. From his perch above her, he paused to study her delicately formed lips, high cheekbones, graceful nose, and heavy-lidded eyes.

“You’re sex incarnate,” he murmured, brushing her soft-as-silk honeyed locks from her face. “Aphrodite in the flesh.”

She giggled sweetly, making his cock pulse. “I’ve never been compared to a goddess before.”

“Then you’ve been with the wrong men.”

“So if I’m a goddess, what does that make you?”

Touching a finger to her soft, kiss-plumped lips, Ransom answered honestly. “Your humble servant.”

Something in her eyes softened and Dani reached up, caressing the side of his face. The tenderness with which she touched him floored Ransom. “You’re worth more than you give yourself credit for. I only wish you could see what I see when I look at you.”

Witnessing the answer in her eyes was enough. He didn’t have the strength to ask. Fearing what she would say, and knowing he wouldn’t be able to accept it, Ransom kissed her instead. Kissed her with the same tenderness she viewed him with. Kissed her as if his next breath depended on it.

And she gave it all back to him and more.

Touching her body was the worst and best tease. Skimming his hand up the outside of her thigh sent goosebumps rippling across his heated flesh and a tremor of need trickling down his spine. Finding a strip of bare skin where her shirt rode up around her abdomen, Ransom reached inside, covering her ribs with his palm.

Dani’s whole body trembled beneath his, rocking in time with his rhythmic thrusts between her legs. He felt like a teenager again, dry humping the hottest girl in high school in the middle of the living room while his parents were out.

Only now he was an adult and there was no fear of being caught.

Only of being rejected.

Arching into him, Dani’s body seemed to ask for more, and Ransom was happy to provide it. The tips of his fingers tickled the edge of her bra before diving beneath the fabric to glide along the underside of her breast.