She nodded, and when she looked up at him again, he saw tears in her eyes.

He drew in a sharp breath. The desire to touch her, to taste her, was overwhelming. He wanted to give her this. He wanted to give her everything. To prove to her he was worth staying for.

A hand fluttered to her chest.

“Where’s your inhaler,” he asked.

She flashed him an aggravated eye-roll. “In my clutch in my coat, hanging up right inside the door,” she promised. “I’m just overwhelmed by this.”

He shrugged, pretending like it hadn’t occupied nearly every waking hour for the last week. Pretending that he hadn’t done it to put that exact look on her beautiful face. “It was no problem.”

“Well, shit.” Remi snatched a bright yellow napkin off one of the tables and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. “This took work. A lot of that. I can see it. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, his voice strained.

Need had taken over. He couldn’t stand not being able to touch her.

When she looked at him, he read it in her eyes.

“Can I see you for a second to talk about that thing?” She hooked her thumb toward the door and batted those big green eyes at him. When her teeth sank into that full, red lip, he barely managed not to pick her up and carry her out of there.

“Sure,” he said, absolute shit at pretending.

His heart raced as he held the door open for her. When she made a move for the stairs, he grabbed her arm and hauled her inside the storage room instead.

He hadn’t even managed to shut the door or find the light switch when her arms looped around his neck and dragged him down for a kiss.

It was pitch black in the room, but his senses were full of her. That electric scent. The breathy little moan she made when he forced her mouth open so his tongue could thrust inside. All the soft, willing warmth of her body under his rough palms.

It was insanity. An obsession. This need that grew bigger in him, threatening to overwhelm him. The desire to claim her choked him.

“How much time do we have?” she whispered.

“Thirty minutes,” he said, dragging his teeth down the column of her neck.

“More than enough time to reapply my lipstick,” she said cheerfully. Her gasp was music to his fucking ears when his hands coasted down over those generous breasts.

“You are so fucking beautiful, Remi.”

She laughed lightly. “It’s pitch black in here,” she teased.

“You looked beautiful in the light and you feel beautiful in the dark.”

Her breath hitched and then her fingers began to work their magic in the waistband of his pants.

“Remington,” he growled.

“I forgot how hot you are in a tie. The beard, the tie, your sleeves rolled up. God, the way you look at me. It makes me stop thinking about anything but you.”