Chapter 5 #3
He swiped his thumb along my jawline. “I know today was rough. And it was completely unfair of me to push you to come over here and save me.”
I ground my teeth together and growled. I looked up at him. “Don’t be sweet, dammit.”
His fingers slid up into my hair and he gathered it tight at the nape of my neck. “You got it.”
I didn’t have time to dodge or pull away from him. I didn’t have the heart to do it either. I’d had a truly shitty day and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Finally.
For years I’d seen women come and go from his life. A knowledge always seemed to live in their eyes when they touched him. I wanted that too. I wanted to feel something other than sad and frustrated.
I met his gaze. The dark, turbulent anger swirled with something else. Something I couldn’t define. I had a limited scope with men, but I had some.
Nothing came close to this man though.
I shifted against him and my damp T-shirt met with his wrinkled Oxford blue. Working class and old money between us in every way. And then none of that mattered.
He lowered his mouth and covered mine. My eyes fluttered shut and I fell into the kiss.
Nothing soft and hesitant here. He was no fumbling boy. I was pretty sure he hadn’t been one of those in a very long time.
His other arm wrapped around me from the back, gripping the hem of my shirt until his fingers curled into the belt loops of my shorts. His grip drew me up until I rose on my tiptoes, desperate for more.
He dragged me closer and opened me for his invading tongue. No easy transition into a carnal kiss. Instead it was a tempest of flavors and heat.
I curled my arms around his neck and hung on, giving back as much as I could manage.
I was out of my league. Hell, out of the galaxy, but I was determined to show him I belonged here in his arms.
Before I could allow myself to analyze that little thought, I was swept up into Hurricane Seth. He turned me around and pinned me to the wall, my toes dangling off the floor as he ground his hard cock against my shorts.
God, yes.
My fingers dug into his shoulders and I groaned into his mouth. We were a tangle of tongues and limbs. His hand coasted down my waist to my hip before a groan buzzed through my tongue and along my mouth. Mine? His? Who knew?
Then he swept lower to hook my knee and drag my leg up around his hips. I hopped up with the other and finally his hard length was right where I needed it.
The seam of my cutoffs dug into my panties and the little bit of friction was better than anything I’d done alone. Sweet merciful heaven, there was a God.
Not that I’d tell Seth he was on par with God. He didn’t need that kind of help ego-wise, but yes. So much yes.
My sandal thumped to the floor and my eyes flew wide. We both froze, praying that the noise didn’t wake the little girl across the hall from us.
Right across from us.
What the hell was wrong with me? I struggled and pulled my mouth away from his. “Put me down,” I whispered.
“It’s fine,” he said against my cheek. “She didn’t wake up. She’s a heavy sleeper, except for the nightmares.” He grazed his mouth along my cheek to my jaw and headed for my ear.
Nightmares? I shook my head to clear it. “We can’t do this.”
He jerked his head back. “What? Why?”
“Because we’re right down the hall from her. God, what the hell was I thinking?”
“You weren’t. That was the good part.”
I wiggled until I slid down the wall and my foot hit the floor.
“We can go downstairs.”
“What and make out on the couch like teenagers?”
“We can go to my room if it makes you feel better.”
“No, it doesn’t make me feel better.” I pushed him away from me and jammed my foot into my shoe. “None of this makes me feel better.”
“I promise you I can.” His eyes were hot and his shirt was wrinkled. Oh, and another button had come free thanks to our little mauling make out session against the frigging wall. The little bit of hair at the center of his chest arrowed down his hard abs that were now showing.
Yeah, I was so not looking. I pulled down my shirt and cursed my overstimulated body. Everything was hot and tingling and it was all so wrong.
I spun on my heel and silently sprinted down the hallway to the stairs. I heard him curse under his breath behind me, but I kept going.
Yeah, I was running. Sue me.
There was no way I could handle any of this today. Not emotionally and definitely not intellectually. I’d found out why Seth made all the girls come around.
Five more minutes and I would have come.
And that was five minutes I could never get back, nor live through over and over again.
He caught me at the door and jerked me to a stop before I could make it to the safety of the night. To the normalcy of my piece of shit car.
“Dammit, Al.” He turned me around and gripped both my upper arms. “Why are you running?”
“We can’t do this. Not now.”
His dark eyes fired. “Why not?”
My chest was heaving. My fight or flight instincts were in full-on escape route mode. “Please, let me go.”
I don’t know if it was the please or something he saw in my eyes. Whatever it was, he dropped his hands and I stumbled back and out the door.
I didn’t look back to see if he followed. I could only pray he wouldn’t.
My breath returned to normal when I was inside my car. I finally dared a look and quickly returned my eyes to front and center. To the moonlit water off the bank of his property.
To the lake that had been the only home I’d ever truly known.
I had to.
I couldn’t watch him stand on that huge staircase and drive away from him. So I stared out the back window until I was on the road again, and I didn’t look into my rearview mirror.
Not even once.