Her heart raced faster, seeming to jump from her chest. His hand was still stroking the center of her need, and he had her angled so that every thrust sent his c**k over her most sensitive flesh.
His open pants brushed against her legs. Still dressed. We’re both—
“I like it when you scream.”
Her release was coming. Tightening her body. Spiraling up and blazing through her.
He thrust harder. Harder. His grip was so tight, she wondered if it might bruise her.
Then she—
Trace drove deep.
She exploded with a release so hard and consuming that her whole body shuddered. A cry broke from her lips.
“Yes, hell, yes.” Trace found his own pleasure. A hot tide filled her as he came.
For a few moments, she couldn’t see anything. She could only feel the pleasure that shook her body in hard, desperate waves. Her breath wasn’t deep enough. Her heart couldn’t slow down.
“So f**king beautiful…” He brushed back her hair. Kissed her.
Was that the first time he’d kissed her on that plane?
She blinked, and some of the darkness seemed to fade.
“We’re about to begin our descent…” The pilot’s voice floated to her. “Please make sure you’re buckled.”
Heat burned her face.
Trace just laughed.
She’d screamed. Right at the end there, she’d screamed for him.
Fumbling, Skye pulled away from Trace. Her panties were on the floor. She grabbed for them.
But Trace got to them first. His hand fisted around her underwear. “They’re ruined. Don’t worry. I’ll buy you a new pair.”
She sank into her seat. Her thighs were trembling. She could still feel him inside of her.
Her sex kept contracting.
Her hands fumbled as she hooked the seatbelt. Skye squeezed her legs together as she tried to stop that trembling.
Very slowly, he readjusted his own clothes. He tucked her panties in his pocket. Trace kept his eyes on her. “That’s the thing,” he murmured.
“Wh-what thing?” Why did she have to stutter around him?
“You are afraid of me, but you want me anyway.” His lips twisted in a smile that held no humor. “Sometimes I even wonder, do you want me because you fear me?”
The plane began to descend. She felt the slight change. “What kind of question is that?”
“I think you like my darkness, Skye. Because it’s so damn different from what you are.”
She wasn’t some kind of light to his dark. She’d never seen him that way. Actually, she saw things very differently.
He should see my darkness.
“You know what I’m capable of doing.” His gaze seemed to see right into her. “I almost killed for you when I barely knew you. And now…now you know I would kill for you. In an instant, with no hesitation.”
She didn’t want to think about what he might do. “I didn’t…I didn’t come looking for you because I wanted you to kill someone.” That wasn’t who she was.
“Are you sure about that?” he asked, and there was doubt in his deep voice. “Are you very, very sure? Think about it, Skye. Just what is it you want me to do to this man who is after you?”
The plane bumped a bit. Her hands clamped down on the armrests. “I want him stopped. I don’t want him dead.”
“If he was the one who caused your wreck, if he tried to kill you…do you truly believe I’d just turn him over to the cops?” His gaze swept over her face. “You know me better than that.”
She couldn’t speak then. Because he was right. She did know him better than that. He might look like the successful businessman, but there was a primal intensity to him. Just below the surface, waiting to break out.
He nodded. “Now you see me, and I see you.”
***
Her dance studio was going to open tomorrow. Skye stood in the middle of the cavernous room, her gaze sweeping across the mirrors that cast her reflection right back at her.
No more broken glass. Trace’s men had taken care of that for her. There were no flickering lights. And every time the front door opened or closed, the new alarm system gave a reassuring beep.
“Are you all done for tonight, Ms. Sullivan?”
She glanced toward Reese. Trace had insisted that Reese stay with her while she made all of her last minute prep work at the studio. And she certainly wasn’t going to deny that having the guy with her had been reassuring.
Because she’d been afraid when she first stepped inside the studio.
But I won’t let him make me afraid. The studio was important to her. It was her dream, her chance at having a new life.
“I’m done.” She was. The floor sparkled. The barres were all in place. Her new students would come in to a perfect dance studio tomorrow.
A small start. That was her plan. To begin with a few classes and grow this place into the best damn dance studio in Chicago. She could do it.
I will do it.
She approached Reese with a determined smile. “Thanks for all of your help.”
He inclined his head. “Anytime.”
She had to laugh at that. “I doubt that you usually provide guard service at a dance studio.”
“You’re a special case for the boss. What matters to him…” Reese shrugged. “It matters to me.” He glanced down at his watch. “He’ll be meeting you soon.”
It had been almost twelve hours since she’d last seen Trace. He’d had his work to attend to, she’d needed to see to her studio. And…
I wanted some distance.
Because he’d left her shattered after that ride on the plane.
She headed out with Reese. Pausing for a moment, Skye reset the alarm. Then they were outside. The night air wasn’t as cool as it had been a few days before.
A quick glance around the area showed her that only Reese’s car was in the parking lot. Everything was dark and still and—
Skye groaned. “I forget my bag. I’ll be right back, okay?”
He grabbed her arm. “No, ma’am. That’s not the way it works. I’ll go back inside with you.”
“You don’t—”
“Boss’s orders. Where you go, I go.”
Right. She spun around and marched back toward the door. She unlocked the door and her fingers flew over the alarm pad. Reese was right at her back.