REDEMPTION

Chapter 6: Unsavoury Revelations

Dan watched Sierra walk out the elevator and she left him breathless.

Dear Lord she was gorgeous.

Seeing Sierra walk towards him in all her glory gave him a strange kind of high.

All day he had been looking forward to seeing her again, anticipating the moment and also being weirdly nervous about it too, and now that it was at hand he felt only relief.

Every question and doubt he had had about her effect on him was laid to rest.

Dan knew she felt it to, this sensation of honing in on another human being like a guided missile. He could tell from the shuttered expression on her face, the one she had donned the minute she had seen him standing there across the lobby, but not before her eyes had flared with recognition, and something else, something fleeting and oddly elusive.

"You look beautiful," Dan breathed sincerely.

"Thank you," Sierra said, colouring slightly.

Obviously discomfited by the intense way he keenly watched her.

He had never been out with a classy dame like Sierra before. All those bleach blonde bimbos, throwing themselves at him all his life seemed so cheap, now that he finally saw what he had really been looking for all his life.

Dan loved the way she filled the room with her quiet serenity.

Lightly made up, with her curtain of silky hair swaying like a waterfall around her slender shoulders, hair that Dan itched to run his fingers through given half a chance. The bulky brown coat she wore showed enticing glimpses of the flattering black and white concoction she had on underneath, and it did little to detract from her appeal. 

She was stunning, and it made Dan feel just a little unsure of himself, uncharacteristic for him he had to admit with an inner sense of incredulity. 

He was wearing another one of the ridiculously expensive Tom Ford suits ma had gotten him for the wedding, Dan knew he looked good, but he felt distinctly out of place next to this elegant creature.

How could someone look so goddamn sexy with so many clothes on, he wondered.

"Did you find the place alright," she asked, breaking the awkward silence.

Dan picked up on the nervous edge to her voice and smiled.

He could just bet she was thinking he was about to jump her bones any minute, which was not far off the mark.

Dan knew he had been a real ass so far. But he was going to show Sierra he could be a gentleman too, his mother had raised him right, he wasn't a "huff and puff and blow your house down type of guy" all the time, there was more to him, far more. 

Now that Sierra had finally given him a chance to prove he was worth knowing, Dan was determined to set things straight. Sex wasn't all he wanted from her, not anymore. Granted lust was the principal impulse governing his actions, but it wasn't the only thing he felt for her. Something vague within him told him that he wanted to get to know her better too. And if that meant keeping his hands to himself, for awhile at least, and letting her ease into knowing him, so be it.

They might not have gotten off on the best foot, but tonight Dan fully intended to remedy the situation.

"It took me a bit of time finding the place. But once I drove into West London, there were plenty of signs pointing to Dicken's Yard,"

He wasn't lying, the apartment block where Sierra lived was quite posh, not in an obvious way but understated, luxury was the impression that had hit him as he had parked his car just outside.