A Tricky Proposition(43)

“You and I have been best friends for a long time.” Since she wasn’t making any effort to slip out of that provocative halter-top and insanely short skirt, he prowled toward her. “And I’ve shared with you some of the hardest things I’ve ever had to go through.”

She made no attempt to stop him as he tugged at the thin ribbon holding up her top, but she did grab at the fabric as it began to fall away from her breasts. “If you’re saying I know you better than anyone except Max, I’d agree.”

Jason hooked his fingers in the top and pulled it from her fingers, exposing her small, perfect breasts. His lungs had to work hard to draw in the air he required. Damn it. They had been together all week, but he still couldn’t get over how gorgeous she was, or how much he wanted to mark her as his own.

“Then it seems as if I’m doing our friendship an injustice by not telling you what’s going on in my head at the moment.”

Reaching around her, he slid down the zipper on her skirt and lowered it past her hips. When it hit the floor, she stepped out of it.

“And what’s that?”

Jason crossed his arms over his chest and stared into her eyes. It was nearly impossible to keep his attention from wandering over her mostly naked body. Standing before him in only a black lace thong and four-inch black sandals, she was an exotic feast for the eyes.

“I didn’t like seeing you dancing with another man.”

The challenge in her almond-shaped eyes faded at his admission. Raw hope rushed in to replace it. “You didn’t?”

Jason ground his teeth. He should have been able to contain the truth from her. That he’d admitted to such possessive feelings meant a crack had developed in the well-constructed wall around his heart. But a couple weaknesses in the structure didn’t mean he had to demolish the whole thing. He needed to get over his annoyance at her harmless interaction with some random guy. Besides, wasn’t he the one who’d initially encouraged her that there was someone out there for her?

To hell with that.

Taking her hand, he drew her toward the bed.

“Not one bit.” It reminded him too much of how he’d lost her to his brother. “It looked like you were having fun without me.”

“Did it, now?” His confession had restored her confidence. With a sexy smile, she coasted her nails from his chest to the waistband of his underwear. “I guess I was imagining that you were otherwise occupied with your exotic dancers. Did they get you all revved up? Is that why we’re here right now?”

He snorted. “The only woman I have any interest in seeing out of her clothes is you.”

Heaven help him—it was true. He hadn’t even looked at another woman since this business of her wanting to become a mother came up. No. It had been longer than that. Since his brother had broken off their engagement.

The level of desire he felt for her had been eating at him since last weekend when she’d kissed him good-bye at the track. That had been one hell of a parting and if his knee hadn’t been so banged up he never would’ve let her walk away.

This isn’t what he’d expected when he’d proposed making love rather than using a clinic to help her conceive. He’d figured his craving for her was strictly physical. That it would wane after his curiosity was satisfied.

What he was feeling right now threatened to alter the temper of their friendship. He should slow things down or stop altogether. Yeah. That had worked great for him earlier. He’d dropped her off and then raced back before he’d gotten more than a couple blocks away.

Frustrated with himself, he didn’t give her smug smile a chance to do more than bud before picking her up and dumping her unceremoniously on the bed. Without giving her a chance to recover, he removed first one then the other of her shoes. As each one hit the floor, her expression evolved from surprised to anticipatory.

It drove him crazy how much he wanted her. Every cell in his body ached with need. Nothing in his life had ever compared. Was it knowing her inside and out that made the sexual chemistry between them stronger than normal?

While he snagged her panties and slid them down her pale thighs, she lifted her arms above her head, surrendering herself to his hot gaze. The vision of her splayed across the bed, awaiting his possession, stirred a tremor in his muscles. His hands shook as he dropped his underwear to the floor.

Any thought of taking things slow vanished as she reached for him. A curse made its way past his lips as her confident strokes brought him dangerously close to release.

“Stop.” His harsh command sounded desperate.

He took her wrist in a firm grip and pinned it above her head. Lowering himself into the cradle between her thighs, he paused before sliding into her. Two things were eating at him tonight: that picture of her dancing and her preoccupation with Evan and Lily’s romance.