Chapter 28
The tension in the car was unbearable.
I gripped the wheel like it was the only thing tethering me to my self–control, watching as she shifted in her seat, thanked me for dinner, wished me a safe trip, her voice low, slightly strained. She was trying to keep it together, but I could hear the cracks forming.
Our eyes locked.
I felt it like a bit to the chest.
She licked her lips…fuck. My stomach tightened, heat coiling low in my spine. My gaze dropped to her mouth, and she noticed, because she sucked in a sharp breath, turned away, muttered something under her breath that I didn’t quite catch.
Then she was opening the door. Fleeing.
She was smart.
I watched her step out, my pulse hammering, jaw clenched so tightly I felt the strain in my temples. She walked around the car, and I told myself to stay put. To let her go. I could do this.
1 exhaled sharply, shaking my head.
Then I was out of the car.
She stopped in her tracks, turning toward me, and my entire body tensed at the way she looked up at me, those big blue eyes, dark with something unspoken.
Expectation
I swallowed hard, shoving my hands into my pockets. “I’ll walk you up.”
I expected resistance. A scoff, a sharp remark, something like, ‘I don’t
escort, Crest
She just nodded.
Fuck
We walked in silence, the air between us thick, electrified, I was hyper–aware of her, of her scent, her warmth, the way her dress clung to her body with every step. Every single step.
Halfway up the stairs, my palm found the small of her back. I told myself it was just to guide her, a gentlemanly gesture.
But when I felt the heat of her skin through the thin fabric of her dress, something low in my stomach clenched. My fingers flexed, itching to grab, to pull
She stiffened for a fraction of a second. Then, deliberately, purposefully, she relaxed into the touch
I exhaled hard through my nose, my restraint fraying. By the time we reached her apartment, I was on edge, the need clawing at my
She turned to me, hesitating before pulling out her keys. Another beat of silence. Then, quietly, “Thanks again. For dinner.*
I nodded, staring at her lips again. “You already said that.”
She swallowed, her throat working. “Right. Well… goodnight.”
She turned to unlock the door.
I’should’ve left. Should’ve let her go inside, walked away, got in my car, and driven off like a sane man.
insides.
But then she hesitated. Stopped. Her back was to me, but I could see her breathing, deep, unsteady. She turned her head, glancing at me over her shoulder. and that’s when I saw it,
The look.
Wide eyes. Dilated pupils. Breathless anticipation. She wanted me to stop her.
1/2
Chapter 28
I cleared my throat, my voice rough. “We agreed, No fucking.”
parted slightly. Her chest rose and fell. “We won’t.”
Her lips p
It was a lie. We both knew it.
I took a step closer, watching her reaction. Her breath hitched, but she held her ground. I tipped my head down, lowering my voice.
“What about kissing?”
Her throat bobbed. Her lashes fluttered.
I dingged my knuckles down the inside of her wrist, just lightly, and her whole body trembled.
Her voice was barely a whisper. “I… 1 guess I could be persuaded to make an exception.”
1 didn’t let her finish the sentence.
My lips crashed onto hers, and she melted into me instantly, like she’d been waiting, aching, just as much as I had,
No hesitation. No slow build–up. Just heat,
Her hands fisted in my shirt, pulling me closer, and I backed her up against the door without thinking, pressing into her, needing more, more,
She kissed me back just as hungrily, like she was trying to devour me, like she’d been starving for this. And fuck, I wanted to give it to her.
All of it.
more.
She was
still catching her breath, lips parted, eyes hazy with heat, when I took her hand and pressed it on my hand aching cock. A sharp inhale, her fingers twitching just slightly, but she didn’t pull away. Didn’t deny what we both knew, that I was hard as a fucking rock and she was sorely to blame. That if I wanted to, I could take her apart right here, now, against the damn door.
But where was the fun in that? The sinister part of me wondered what would happen if I made her wait.
