CHAPTER 7 #2
It was so, so very tempting. But impossible.
She shook her head. “I can’t, Ian.”
He paused, the bottle poised at his lips. “I know, you don’t really drink. We can have orange juice, water. It doesn’t matter to me, as long as we’re—”
“I can’t go out with you.”
He frowned. “Why not? I thought the last time we were together went rather well.”
Because I’ve been burned so many times, and you would immolate me.
“It was supposed to be a onetime thing.”
“As I recall, that onetime thing turned into an all-night thing.”
“I meant, it was supposed to stay in Vegas.”
The smile in his eyes gradually faded. A muscle tightened at his jaw.
“Look. I had fun,” she continued. “We both did. But a lot is going on right now in my life, and I don’t have any room for—”
She stopped abruptly because, in his blue eyes, she briefly saw what could only be described as hurt.
To her relief, he recovered quickly, but that glimpse was enough to make her throat tighten.
He’d come all this way, suffered a nasty allergic reaction because of her, and now, she was rejecting him.
“I appreciate you coming all the way out here to see me. I really do.”
He crossed his arms. “But?”
“But I can’t date anyone right now. And you live in Las Vegas?”
“Right now, I live in Fargo.”
“Fargo? That’s way out in North Dakota. I’ve seen it so many times; long distance just doesn’t work. At least, it wouldn’t work for me.”
“I see.” His jaw visibly tensed.
“Please understand.”
“Oh, I understand perfectly.” For a long moment, he studied her, as if seeking to imprint her features on his mind.
When he next spoke, it was with cool detachment. “It was nice seeing you, Claire.”
He eased into the driver’s seat, fastened his seat belt, then slid his hands over the steering wheel. After a beat, she saw him inhale and tap the top of the wheel.
He was leaving.
It was what she’d implied she wanted him to do. Why, then, were her insides screaming?
She opened her mouth, but he turned a key in the dash, and the Porsche’s engine roared to life. Raising his brows pointedly, he grasped the door handle, and she stepped back, allowing him to close it.
It shut with that muted thud of an expensive car.
She expected him to begin backing up, but instead, the tinted window slowly lowered, and he motioned her closer with two fingers. Before she could stop herself, she leaned in to hear what else he had to say.
But Ian said nothing. Instead, he fisted the hair at the nape of her neck, pulling her in.
Swiftly, he took her lips.
And, oh, how he took them. The sheer possessiveness of his mouth on hers literally robbed her of breath.
Unable to help herself, she opened for him, and he delved deep, taking her in a kiss so carnal, she whimpered.
Her hands gripped the windowsill for purchase as he thoroughly plundered her mouth, then softened his strokes, making her entire body seem to burst into multiple flames.
She wanted to dive right through the window and jump him.
Just as suddenly, he broke the kiss, releasing her.
She stood there, tingling lips parted, unable to catch her breath.
He took one last, long look at her, his blue eyes blazing, but then, his mouth curled into a smirk.
He revved the engine.
She saw him grasp the gearshift, and she quickly straightened, almost banging her head on the top of the frame in her haste.
She stepped back. He gave her a two-fingered salute, and then she watched him disappear behind the slowly rising tinted window as he backed out of the space.
The orange Porsche drove away, the engine’s growl competing with the roar of blood still pounding in Claire’s ears.
·
Ian
Ian eased the Porsche into a reserved parking spot at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport FBO and shut off the engine. Driving this Panamera GTS had been a blast, the only good thing about this impulse trip he’d taken.
He hadn’t gotten over his shock at the words that had come out of Claire’s gorgeous mouth. Her lips on his and eyes drinking him in had told an entirely different story. He’d almost gotten out of the car right after that hot kiss, but he wasn’t one to ask again after being rejected.
“Ian!”
His sister’s voice made his head turn, and he watched her sprint to him from the direction of the FBO.
His brow furrowed as he opened his arms. “Hey, Jannie.”
She grasped him tightly for a moment, and he carefully returned the hug. “Aren’t you supposed to be taking it easy?”
“I’m pregnant, dummy, not sick. And why are you returning my car already? You said you’d need it for—” She stopped abruptly and gasped loudly, her blue eyes widening. “What the heck happened to you?”
Damn. He’d thought he’d covered that. Apparently, by how she stared at his neck, he guessed the hives had progressed upward.
“Tomatoes happened.”
“Are they itchy?”
He recognized her doctor voice, all business, and smiled. “No.”
It was just a contact allergy since he hadn’t actually ingested anything.
Jannie looked puzzled. “I guess I shouldn’t ask, huh?”
He grimaced. “You guess correctly.”
Her sharp eyes narrowed on him. “Did you find her?”
Ian gave her his best stink-eye. “You said you wouldn’t ask.”
“She said no such thing,” came his brother’s voice from behind him. “Just because she shouldn’t doesn’t mean she lets you off the hook.”
Ian turned to give Adam a half-smile, noting he was still in uniform. Good. The sooner he could get out of here, the better. “Hey, man.”
“Hey, yourself. I got your text. You want to fly back already? I guess you crashed and burned, huh?” There was nothing teasing in Adam’s voice, only concern, but to Ian, that was even worse.
Ian glowered. “What the fuck do you know about anything?”
“Uh-oh,” Jannie murmured. “It’s bad. He’s swearing.”