Chapter 6 #2
Bree blinked in surprise. Instinctively, she turned her head to look inside—and immediately met Smiley’s gaze.
And in that moment, she saw what Julie was talking about. She’d either blocked it out or purposely misconstrued what she was seeing because of everything that was happening.
He wanted her.
Which was a heady feeling.
And she secretly admitted…she wanted him too. She’d already wondered what kind of lover he’d be, and now she couldn’t think of anything other than his hands on her.
He’d thrust his hand into her hair earlier that afternoon, and now she couldn’t help wondering if he’d do the same thing to hold her still as he kissed the hell out of her. Her mouth practically watered at the thought of getting her hands on him. Of him touching her in return.
Fiona chuckled. “I think you got through, Julie.”
But Bree barely heard her. She only had eyes for her man. And there was no mistake, Smiley was hers. She’d been watching him for months, and he’d been with no one else.
She suddenly decided if she didn’t experience everything that was Jude Stark, she was going to die.
Okay, that was a bit dramatic, but she didn’t care.
She felt transfixed as Smiley stalked toward the door, still holding her gaze. He slid open the door and asked, “You ready to go?”
“Yes.”
Bree felt no remorse that she was ditching her new friends. That she was suddenly having a hard time talking at all.
Before she knew it, she was walking toward Smiley’s truck.
She didn’t really remember saying goodbye to Julie, Fiona, and the others.
She vaguely recalled promising to stop by My Sister’s Closet to check out some outfits Julie said she’d put together for her, and Fiona agreeing to come too.
Her entire focus was on the man next to her.
It was as if Smiley was in the same trance. He kept looking over at her while he drove, and eventually he reached out and took her hand in his. Bree jolted with the first touch, feeling as if she was truly living for the first time.
It was corny. Ridiculous. And yet that’s how she felt.
Despite whatever had come over them, Smiley didn’t skimp on her safety.
His sharp gaze swept over every inch of the rapidly darkening parking lot before he walked them into his building.
His fingers were tight around hers as he led her toward his apartment.
He didn’t relax until the door was locked behind them.
“You want to talk about what Julie and Fiona told you?” he asked.
Bree shook her head and licked her lips.
“Are you upset?” Smiley asked next, with a tilt of his head.
“No.”
“Something’s up. And I can’t figure out what it is.”
In response, Bree took a deep breath and stepped into his personal space, as she’d done earlier in front of Caroline’s house. As she’d hoped, he immediately put his arms around her waist, holding her steady.
“I’m thirty-five years old,” she said. “I’ve been with men before. But I’ve never, in all my years, felt the way I do right now.”
As soon as she mentioned other men, Smiley’s muscles tightened under her hands. “And how’s that?” he asked hesitatingly.
“As if I don’t kiss you, feel you against me, inside me, I’m going to literally die.”
He went completely still. “What?”
“I want you, Jude Stark. All of you. In every way. I’ve got an IUD, so pregnancy isn’t an issue, and it’s been almost a year since I’ve been with anyone else.
You’ve gotten under my skin…and I need you more than I’ve ever needed anything in my life.
I’m coming on too strong, and I know it, but this isn’t me being desperate for any old dick.
I’m desperate for you, Smiley. I need you.
Your brand of intensity and broodiness. Need you to hold me close and remind me that you’re here.
If anything happens, you’ll find me and make the bad guys pay.
But if you’re horrified by my forwardness, and wondering how the hell to get out of this situation, that’s okay. I’ll leave and—”
She didn’t get to finish her statement before Smiley seemed to snap himself out of whatever shock he was in. His hand speared into her hair exactly like she’d imagined, and he slammed his mouth down onto hers.
This was no exploratory first kiss. It was a claiming. And Bree was more than happy to be claimed.
She moaned as Smiley bent her backward slightly, holding her up with an arm at her back.
Her nipples hardened and her heartrate doubled.
She felt a momentary ping of relief that she hadn’t misinterpreted the look she’d seen in his eyes back at Caroline’s house.
He wanted her. As much as she wanted him, it seemed.
She hadn’t felt this carefree, this sure of herself, since before she’d been kidnapped by the man her ex had hired and thrown into the back of his car. All her worries fled. The only thing she could think about was the man in her arms. Currently kissing the hell out of her.
Smiley moved, not taking his mouth from hers, and picked her up. Bree wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and held on as he carried her down the hall toward his bedroom.
He didn’t stop kissing her as he entered the room and dropped her on the bed, following her down.
What happened next was a scene worthy of the movies. He pulled back, stared down at her for a beat—then at the same time, they began to tear at their clothes, wanting to get them off as soon as humanly possible.