Exposed Exposed (Dom Nation #1) - E. Davies Page 0,37
Then, carefully as I dared, I slid my hands down his until I took his hands in mine. He gripped back, his slender fingers firm and warm in mine.
“I appreciate it,” I told him quietly, which didn’t even touch on the depth of my gratitude. He’d seen me at my most vulnerable—straight past all my defenses and fears—and helped me like nobody else. “And I want more.”
The amused resignation on Rex’s face no longer discouraged me. I wanted to push him harder. Otherwise I was going to walk out of his apartment and never see him again.
And that might shatter me into dust.
But Rex didn’t discourage me. He just squeezed my hands, watching me. “Why?”
My heart leaped. Now that I’d been given the floor, I had to build my case on the fly. I hadn’t expected this.
“We work so well together,” I told him. Nobody could argue that. Just a day after meeting, every touch felt natural between us—like we were being pulled together, knitted by some greater external power. “We both hate Isaac. Like you told me to, I want to get him out of my system. And I know who with.”
There it was—the smile I’d slowly been coaxing from him, and Rex finally stopped holding it back. My heart lit up. Yes! I was getting somewhere. I playfully swayed into him for a moment.
“I can be patient and wait if that’s what you want, but…” I licked my lips, my throat suddenly tight. I cleared it. “I don’t want to pine after a man who doesn’t want me.”
Rex huffed, the sound amused yet not annoyed. The curl to his lips told me that. “God, you’re persistent,” he told me, shaking his head slightly. “I want you, Slate. That’s not even a question.”
Oh, thank God. I grinned at him, wishing I had the balls to lean in and seal it with a kiss. But I’d wait for him. Whatever was holding him back, I wasn’t going to force him.
Fuuuuck, I hated that decision the moment I made it. His lips looked soft, warm, and right there.
But I had to prove I could be patient, so I hit him with my cunning plan. “Then give me a ride home now, and I’ll repay you by coming by Daddy Cakes tonight to help serve more samples.”
Rex blinked at me twice, opening his mouth to say something. Then he blinked again. “Do I get a choice?”
I grinned at him. “Not unless there’s a hard limit I don’t know about.” I let go of his hands and folded my arms. Finally, I felt like I was on firm enough footing to tease him.
I might not know my way around a kink club, how to talk to a DM, or how Daddies were supposed to work, but goddammit I’d spent a whole lifetime being patient. I was a world-class expert.
At last, Rex grinned. I wasn’t sure if he was laughing at me or just putting up with me, but if it won me more time with him, I didn’t care.
“Okay,” Rex finally said. He clicked his tongue and shook his head, turning away from me to grab his phone and keys from the counter nearby. “Come on, then.”
I followed in his wake, enormously proud and impressed with myself. I’d negotiated—and I’d won that round!
Of course, waiting at the steel door directly between the apartment and the elevator gave me a lot of questions I hadn’t thought to ask last night.
But I just chatted about cupcake flavors, rather than ask Rex why he lived in a penthouse and drove an electric roadster.
There was time to get to know him later, and I worried that asking him that might lead to the wrong impression. Like I was only interested because of what he had.
No—what he had was the mystery. Why he was the person he was? Also a mystery.
But I knew who he was. I’d never even been naked with him, but I knew the most important parts of him.
The drive home was all too quick, and as we pulled up, I still hadn’t made my mind up about what to do for my next stage of the plan.
Crap. Time to wing it.
“I’ll see you later?” I said, pitching my voice up to make it a question.
I needed his permission for the next step. I had to give him a chance to back out—to say no and slip off into the shadows, where I sensed he liked to stand.