Unworthy Heart: The Donnellys, Book 1 by Dorothy F. Shaw

to dinner and ordering her meal for her—but he didn’t want it to have to mean anything more than simple polite gestures. Nevertheless, it did mean more didn’t it? It meant more to him than he was ready to admit to himself, least of all her.
    He helped Maiya from the car and curled an arm around her waist. Pressing his body against hers, Ryan kissed her. Slow and easy at first, and then deeper. She breathed a sigh and wrapped her arms around his neck.
    A spark caught at the base of his spine and fire spread, licking slow and easy, up his back. Pulling away, Ryan grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the elevator. He needed to get her upstairs, now.
    When they got in the elevator, she was on him before he even had a chance to blink. He turned them and pressed her against the back wall, shielding her from the elevator camera, enjoying the feel of her soft curves against his body. Running his hands up her sides, he passed his palms over her breasts, thumbed her nipples and kissed her.
    Maiya arched and speared her hands into his hair, gripped the strands and pulled. Ryan growled into her mouth and rubbed his erection against her abdomen. He nipped at her bottom lip and she clutched his hair tighter. Delving deeper into her mouth, he found her tongue. Heaven. He couldn’t stop kissing her, drowning in the taste of her strawberry gloss and the wine from dinner.
    Ryan’s heart raced, thudding in his ears. The things he planned to do to her once they made it to her room spun through his mind, riding the waves of arousal pulsing through him. She broke the kiss with a gasp for air. Ryan moved to her neck, sucked and grazed his teeth over the soft skin—
    The elevator dinged and the door opened. “Please tell me this is your floor.”
    She let out a little groan and pushed at his shoulders. “Yes, come on.”
    He stepped back and she took his hand and led the way down the hall.
    Maiya tilted her head, studying Ryan while he leaned against the wall outside her hotel room. The light in his eyes and the expression on his face was all devilish-James-Dean style, and she suspected the bad boy he’d shown her in the conference room was laying in wait under all the polish.
    “After you.” He gestured with his hand for her to enter.
    “Thank you, sir.” Stepping inside, she set her purse on the dresser. When she heard the hotel room door close, she turned to face him.
    He’d taken two steps into the room and stopped, and then, with a raised brow, spread his arms out at his sides. “Well, you’ve got me here. What will you do with me?”
    “I was going to ask you the same thing.”
    Ryan walked farther into the room and sat on the bed. Maiya stayed where she was, frozen between the bed and dresser, watching him out of the corner of her eye. Then she felt the heat of his hand on the back of her thigh through her skirt.
    “Turn toward me, please.”
    Annnnd here we go. The bad boy just made his appearance. Front and fucking center. She pivoted and faced him. This was it. From here on out, the rest of the night, he’d dictate how things would go between them. Just like in the conference room.
    Ryan removed his tie and unbuttoned the two top buttons of his shirt. His expression was dark, unreadable. Unaffected. “Take off your clothes.”
    Her stomach jumped like a child on a trampoline. Part fear, part excitement at his commands and change in demeanor. Could she do this? Could she submit to his commands? Giving up control was so foreign to her, but in order to do it, she needed to trust him. And also trust he’d understand how hard it was for her to give him this power over her. It scared her. Mostly because she liked it.
    Her throat gone dry, Maiya swallowed. With a deep breath, she took a small step back, pulled her blouse from the confines of her skirt and then raised shaking figures to the buttons. With care, she unbuttoned them. One, two, three… Breathe, Maiya …until she reached the end. She parted the halves of her