Hard Way (12 page)

Dash frowned. A protest formed on his tongue, but it…faded. Left him completely. “So that was a good thing?”

“Telling me the truth?” That tiny smile of hers was so much more endearing when there was actual humor behind it. “Yes, that was a good thing.”

“Noted.”

Again without asking, he slid his fingers along either side of her face and pushed the towel down, down, off. Her hair was all his. She didn’t normally wash it on weekdays, and he didn’t know why she had this time. A distraction? Wasting time so she could delay coming out and seeing him? He stroked wet, loose strands, then wound his fingers around and back until he interlaced them at her nape. The kiss he placed on her lips was as soft as each he’d danced up her arms.

That was it. One touch of lips to lips. He tasted her surprised huff of exhaled breath before he straightened.

“So, question number one. You ready?”

She didn’t seem to know where to put her hands. They toyed with bits of terrycloth and smoothed along her thighs.

With an amused grin, Dash took hold of her wrists again, but this time to guide her. He pulled her arms up so that they draped over his shoulders, almost around his neck. He held them there. He’d relinquish the feel of her heavy, wet hair in his hands as long as she was nearly holding him.

“There,” he said. “Quit fidgeting. You’ll give yourself away.”

She raised her brows. “Give myself…?”

“My question or not, Sunny? I have two, remember.”

“Go ahead.”

His cure didn’t work. She was still fidgeting, but this time using the collar of his robe as her victim. Wow. He hadn’t seen her this flustered in ages. She’d always fought vehemently against outright conflicts. Hardass professors. Challenging colleagues.

And Dash. On and off the sparring mat, in and out of the bedroom.

Touching her, though? Slowly seducing her in the sweet, aching way he’d missed? That was undoing her. Him too. Through the dissipating steam, she looked at him with a heady mix of curiosity and wariness, hope and suspicion. Eyes so wide. Flawless. Dark, dark lashes and expressive brows. Her face was framed by thick tendrils of midnight hair.

“You’re beautiful.”

Shit.

Apparently he still knew how to say it, if not when. Now it was a matter of whether she’d believe it.

Her lips tipped into that perfectly frustrating, perfectly sexy smile. Restless fingers stilled in the crease between terrycloth and the back of his neck. “That wasn’t a question,” she said, almost teasing.

“But it’s true.”

Their gazes held. She didn’t brush him off, but she didn’t beam with happy confidence either. Whether she truly believed it would need to wait for another day.

“Get on with it, Liam. It’s getting chilly in here.”

Rather than thinking about how the chill would tighten her nipples, he cleared his throat. Took a breath. “Was I too rough?”

“Now I suppose it’s my turn to keep from playing dumb as shit.”

“Yup. You avoided the issue pretty well last night.” He shrugged, found her waist again. “I did too.”

To notice a blush on his Sunny took some doing. She was golden. Finding a hint of pink on her cheeks meant watching for it, hoping to see it. Dash kept his smile hidden when he did.

“I…” She shook her head. Her fingers closed so that she cupped the tendons between his neck and shoulders. Fully skin to skin now. “The zip ties don’t need to be that tight to make me feel…” Again she shook her head. Then she seemed to make a decision. “I like the feeling of being helpless. For it to sting some. To seem real. Maybe you can find a place in the middle where it still works for you but doesn’t bite so hard.”

Dash nodded. He pushed the surreal away. What they were talking about… What topics they
should
be talking about…

By comparison, discussing the nuances of their taboo sex life was much safer than revisiting the future of their marriage.

“Otherwise,” she said with a shrug of her own. “I’d complain about ruining my good clothes, but that would defeat the whole point of not knowing when…or where…”

“You like that.”

“That wasn’t question number two, was it?”

“Nope. That was a statement of fact.”

Her cheeks changed color again. That special blush. It was like another secret for him.

For her husband.

Rather than indulge in the fury that tried to sweep over him—the anger and frustration—he put it aside. Forced it, actually. He took a deep breath. The red rage faded so that he could see her almost girlish blush once again.

“Yes,” she whispered, glancing down. “Statement of fact.”

Dash tipped her chin up so that she couldn’t look away. “Sunny, it’s us. No one else. A private thing and… We’re enjoying this, yes?”

“
That
was a question.”

“Yes. Fine. Answer me, please.”

Sunny stretched her fingers up into his hair. He had to steel himself against the urge to close his eyes, moan, lean into the safety of her touch. There was no such safety right now. “I’m enjoying it, Liam. Yes.”

“And if a police car had happened by at any point yesterday…?”

She
tsk
ed. “Next time don’t set those parameters. Otherwise I’ll think you mean two questions to become a full-on seduction.”

Dash stammered some reply, but it didn’t sound like the words he wanted to say. That he hadn’t intended to stand there in the bathroom with his arms around her back and her hands clasped at his neck. That he hadn’t meant to kiss his way up her arms. That he hadn’t thought to unravel her hair from the confines of the towel. Because in truth, he hadn’t done any of it by calculation.

Instinct. Old, scared, reawakening instinct.

Something that looked a lot like how to win his wife back.

“Had the police showed up,” she said, “I’d have politely, calmly asked you to unhand me and untie me. Then they’d have met the Ice Queen of Bangalore. And you know how scary she can be.”

Dash laughed. It burst out of him, without plan or pretense. She matched him in surprise and ducked her forehead against his chest. Laughter shook her upper back.

“Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.” He kissed the top of her hair, which indeed had turned cold as they spoke. “It would look
really
bad.”

“For both of us, believe me. Can you imagine my parents?” She shuddered, but Dash didn’t think it was exaggerated. “So, yeah. No getting caught.”

“Second question now?”

“Jesus, Dash, that’s about eight now.”

“Oh, now I’m ‘Dash’ when it’s time to make fun.”

“Own it or don’t.”

He stroked her cheek with one swipe of his finger. “You’re the only person who still calls me Liam. I like that.” Emotion he couldn’t name caught in his throat. He swallowed it back, refusing to ask for more than that moment. “So, yeah. Question. Do you want to head in late to work, or spend the afternoon playing hooky with me?”

Chapter Twelve

Lunch was an innocuous thing. Food, table, waitress. The little café was a public place off the Strip that did a hefty business of locals and business people. No biggie. So why was Sunny’s heart tumbling around in her throat?

Her hands rested in her lap, but she played with the thick hem of the white tablecloth. She dug the cloth under her thumbnail. She swallowed her nerves through her clenched throat. “I’ve always liked this place.”

The place was French bistro style, with intimate tables and black-and-white photos on the wall. Dash shifted in the small metal chair. He looked so damn handsome. Patently unfair. He wore blue jeans and scuffed-to-hell loafers, but it didn’t detract from his appeal. Hell, if she were being honest, it probably added. He hadn’t shaved this morning, which left him with a scruffy growth that was barely ginger. She wanted to scrub her palms over his jaw then follow with the insides of her wrists.

Where she was still sore and raw. She’d feel that scruff with a prickle of pain.

She clenched her thighs together.

He leaned forward in his seat. His elbow propped next to his plate and half-eaten sandwich. “It’s nice. I can see why.”

Only now, at the end of the meal, had things gotten awkward. She felt the metal seat under her raw ass. A throb of pain shot up her arm when she banged her elbow against the table. Her chest was tight, and all because…she didn’t want this to end.

How strange.

At first, conversation through their meal had been surprisingly comfortable. They’d chattered in a way they hadn’t for a long time. Sunny had mentioned seeing a movie while she was out east. Turned out that Dash had seen it at almost the same time. She wondered why she hadn’t known that—why they hadn’t bothered to tell each other the small details of their life. As far as Sunny had known, Dash did nothing but hang out with Eric and Mike.

She hadn’t asked how he was spending his time, and she hadn’t mentioned that she’d gone to see a giant-explosion-filled action flick. Now they were able to talk at length about the surprising implications of using violence as a means of revenge.

But now their meal was done.

He’d said playing hooky for the afternoon. That must mean he had other ideas, right? She’d spent years planning, coming up with outings and dates and events for them to share. Dash had gone along with the flow, but with this sense that he was doing her a favor.

She was done.

Time for him to bring it.

“So,” she said, consciously leaning back while he was still leaning toward her. “Where to next?”

“It’s a surprise.”

Something hot jolted inside her, up under her ribs. Yes, he’d planned something.

She kept her expression placid. “
That
kind of surprise?”

He chuckled, shaking his head. She loved the way his eyes sparkled, but rarely had he let her in on the joke. Opening up used to be simple and uncomplicated. Now it had shriveled down to damn near impossible. She
needed
that. How cruel to get glimpses only now, when she was done.

Wasn’t she done?

He reached forward with deliberation, taking her hand. His thumb rubbed the tender inside of her wrist beneath the knob of bone, the way he’d done so patiently after her shower. Her skin was raw, but she loved the soft attention.

“Something completely different,” he said. “I figure we’re worn out enough for today.”

“Speak for yourself.” She gave him a smile that verged on menacing, trying to hide the warm want that spilled through her.

Answering heat flared in his eyes but quickly was banked. “Later. Trust me, I’ll remember that.”

“Will you?”

“Mouthy girls get what they want. Eventually. Because the place where we’re going? It has a little-used storage closet, right at the back. I’d make an extra effort to keep you quiet.” Maybe he intended to look mean, but his lips parted as if in awe, as if he still couldn’t believe she was letting him spin such raunchy stories. She couldn’t believe it either. “But today is for something fun.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Again, your definition of fun is up for debate lately.”

“So’s yours. Trust me. You’ll love this as much as you did riding in the trunk of my car.”

An hour later, Sunny had to admit his boast might be possible. She set her hands on her hips and turned in a full circle. “I can’t decide if this is spooky or one of the best places on Earth.”

Liam watched her with amusement. His smile was quiet and his posture loose. “I always figure it’s both.”

Rows and rows of pinball machines stretched through a building as big as a warehouse. The overhead lights were dim and the carpet a strange dark blue industrial. But good Lord, the games—arcade games and pinball. Glowing, dinging and blinking, they ranged from relatively new to decades old.

Midafternoon on a Friday meant they were practically alone. A row over, a kid stood on a milk crate as his father fed him coin after coin. An attendant walked the rows with a broom in hand and a short red apron tied around his waist.

She and Liam had their pick. He fed a twenty into a change machine and loaded his pockets with quarters.

“Don’t I get some of those?” She tilted her head to the side.

“Nope.” He flashed her one of his pretty smiles. “They’ll wreck the line of those slacks.”

“Is that really your biggest concern?”

He cupped her hips between his hands, thumbs following her pockets’ hems. “Maybe I don’t want you to get away from me.”

Her mouth went dry. His words were heavy with an importance that she wasn’t sure he meant. She almost didn’t ask. Why bother when they shared so little authenticity? But things felt different that afternoon.

“Tell me, Dash. Do you mean for now? Or in more broad terms?”

His ever-present grin fell away. Without it, he was intense in a way that made her bones shiver and her nipples bead. “Both, Sunny. You and I have a good thing. I won’t let you throw it away.”

“You don’t know what we have. You’re never even here.”

“You’re the one who runs to DC every chance you get.”