Chapter 14 #2
She shrugs. “So you say.”
I step out of our embrace and text my driver to pick us up. As I slide my phone back into my suit jacket, she takes my other hand in hers.
I want to yank it back because I didn’t give her permission, but I gave up that right. And dammit once again, because my chest expands and heats with her touch.
She leans into my side. “Thank you for understanding and not being an uptight ass.”
“Is that how you see me?”
“No, but I’m changing the way you laid out our arrangement. I know that can’t be easy for a guy like you.” She peeks up at me. “I was just trying to acknowledge you for making me feel comfortable. Thank you.”
A strange lump forms in my throat. I nod because I can’t say anything. There’s a foreign emotion brewing inside me.
Just what is Livianna’s hold on me? I’d better figure it out before I fall into her web. She warned me it would happen, and I’m starting to believe her.
As we relax in the backseat on the way back to my place, she hooks one of her arms with mine and caresses my bicep with the other. It’s nurturing and not something I expected from her, but I like it.
She stares at me for a moment. “I’ve been wondering. How did you get into my apartment?”
I growl. “Well, that was something I planned on teaching you a lesson about later tonight. But since you asked… I sent my personal assistant over to drop off the items. When she got there, she called and said you weren’t answering the door, but it was slightly ajar.”
Livianna pushes away and gasps. “Trent and I went dancing after I got back from meeting with you. He was the last one out of my place. He must not have shut the door tight. It’s hard to close. Sometimes I have to slam it shut.”
“In that case, I’ll send someone over to fix it.”
“That’s unnecessary. I can call maintenance.”
“Why haven’t you called them before now?”
“I haven’t made the time.”
I face her. “Livianna, I’m sending someone to repair it tonight.”
Her face bunches up. “Why? I’m not even there.”
“I won’t have you in a dangerous home. If the door is malfunctioning, something terrible could happen.”
“Jax…” She suppresses a smile. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re worrying about me.”
My stomach hardens. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting you to be safe.”
“I never said that.” She shifts as if she’s about to move away. “I think that’s very sweet of you.”
She hikes her mid-thigh red dress up and straddles me.
I tense. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”
“Showing you my appreciation.” She cups her palm against my cheek and presses her lips to mine.
I want to resist and take control, but the way she’s grinding against my cock has me lost in her like I’m being pulled under a current I can’t fight.
There’s something wild yet calming about it. And after witnessing her at Elite-Sinsations, I’ve wanted nothing more than to feel her doing exactly what she is.
She whimpers into my mouth, and I respond with a groan. I take her ass in my grip and rock her against my growing erection.
Fuck, I want her so much.
Her body shifts on top of mine, and her thighs grip tighter with purpose. This isn’t the same girl who ran out of the restaurant shaking.
No, this is Livianna in her true form, somewhere between ache and rebellion, between the girl who pleads and the woman who takes.
She pulls away slightly and moves her lips to my jaw. “Still think I’m the one who needs taming?”
I squeeze her hips. “I think you’re playing with fire.”
“That sounds like fun.” Her voice thrums against my throat. “Maybe I’ll be the one who’s going to strike the match.”
Fuck.
There’s something about the way she rotates on top of me like she’s testing how far I’ll let her go before I snap. It’s like she’s hoping I will.
Her dress slips higher as her hips circle, brushing the evidence of what she’s doing to me with each pass. I’m not even sure if she’s unaware of the effect she’s having or if she’s engineering it on purpose, but either way, it’s working.
“Tell me to stop.” She sucks on my lower lip. “And I will.”
I don’t say a word. Instead, I groan like a teenager who’s having his first lesson with a very experienced woman.
Damn this to hell.
Because this girl, the one who trembles but is still bold enough to straddle me in the back of a chauffeured car like we’re not minutes away from tearing this world apart, is the only chaos I’ve ever wanted to lose myself in.
I lean forward, my mouth grazing the column of her neck, and whisper, “You think this is how you win, don’t you?”
“Isn’t it?”
“No.” I drag my lips to her ear. “You winning would mean you’re taking something from me.”
“Are you saying I’m not?”
I slide my hand up her spine until my palm is splayed against the back of her neck, grounding her to me. “Livianna, I want to give you everything you think you have to steal.”
Her inhale is sharp and needy. Her movements stop.
I sense the shift. Not in her position, but something deeper. It’s like the part of her that’s always been running from a monster just turned back and saw it was only me. I’m not chasing her or trying to hurt her. I just want her.
She melts against me. “I don’t know what to do with that.”
“Good.” I nuzzle the shell of her ear. “Maybe tonight we’ll both learn something new.”
She grinds her hips one more time, slower now, as if she’s memorizing the feel of control before she loses it.
And just as my hands slide around her thighs, the driver’s voice cuts through the intercom. “We’ve arrived, sir.”
She climbs off my lap and straightens her dress like she wasn’t just grinding on me.
Her gaze sparkles my way. “Let’s see if your penthouse is as sexy as your promises.”