Why I couldn’t let this woman go? Why in the hell was I working so hard to keep her attention? She was a prize. Part of a poker pot. Yet none of that stopped me from craving her like no woman I’d ever met.
Ashton appeared by the bar, redressed in his suit. He gave me a slight nod on the way out, a smirk lifting a corner of his lips. I knew exactly what was running through his head. I wanted to groan or growl at him. Something to make it very clear that his little fantasy of me and this woman together was just that: a fantasy. Telling him I lied would have probably been better than whatever he was going to go home and tell Elena, which, in turn, she would tell Mom and then the two of them would be screaming to meet “the new woman in my life,” even though there wasn’t one.
Heat seeped through her dress into my fingertips, and suddenly thoughts of my family and the pressure to settle down flew from my brain. The only thing I could focus on was what her skin might feel like when I had her beneath me. I was determined to have her. I’d never coerce her by using the bet, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t try to convince her to get naked between the sheets with me with whatever arsenal I had.
Lust poured through me all the way to the car and the entire ride back to my place. Tess fidgeted in her seat and practically jumped from the car when I pulled into the driveway. I adjusted my dick and stepped out.
“This is beautiful,” she said, staring up at the two-story home.
“Thank you. Would you like to see inside?”
I’d purchased the house two years ago. It was older and needed a few repairs, but I knew enough people to have them done for very little money. It was private and secluded. All the better for me.
“I’d love to.” She smiled and followed me up the steps to the front door.
Normally I would enter the house through the garage, but you only got the full effect by coming through the front door. There was a soft gasp behind me as we walked in and she took in the large sunken living room, leading to a grand staircase to the second floor.
“Let me get you a drink,” I said, leading her to the sofa closest to the recessed bar.
She shook her head. “I don’t think I need another.”
“One won’t hurt.” I looked for the bottle of wine Ashton had brought me before. I uncorked the bottle and poured two glasses.
I turned back toward where she sat and noticed the soft highlights in her hair; the way it fell in waves down her back. Her lips had a natural pout and I couldn’t help but wonder what they would feel like pressed to mine . . . or wrapped around my dick.
The simple thought brought with it a new round of lust. I pushed it back and forced myself to take a seat on the couch beside her.
“Here.” I handed over one of the glasses and took a sip from my own.
She looked at it for a moment before bringing it up to her lips. “This is the same wine as earlier.”
“You liked it.”
She cocked her head. “You paid attention.”
“I always do. Now tell me more about you. What do you like to do when you’re not going to school?”
She giggled. “You mean when I don’t have hours’ worth of homework.”
Her laugh was infectious. That, or maybe it was the alcohol in my system finally starting to take effect. “Okay, when you don’t have hours’ worth of homework?”
“I don’t really know. I like to read. I enjoyed the show Ray took me to not too long ago. He won tickets, although, probably not through a contest, like he claimed. Asshole.”
Unable to stop myself, I took her chin between my thumb and forefinger, forcing her gaze to mine. “You deserve better than him. He’s a bastard and doesn’t know how to treat women. He’ll probably spend the rest of his life jerking off in the shower. You’re beautiful and sexy. Don’t for a second think that you can’t find a better man than him.”
Something softened in the depths of those blue eyes. Fear morphed into trust, which then became something else entirely. Her focus flicked to my mouth and back again, her tongue darting out to wet her lips, and all thought and reason fled my brain. The only thing I was focusing on was the taste of her lips on mine.
Without giving her a chance to protest, I bent my head and captured her mouth. She gasped and I used the opportunity to deepen the kiss, the taste of wine lingering on her lips as I slipped my tongue between them. My body moved, trying to get as close to her as possible, her own body mimicking my movements until she was flush against me and every inch of her body touched mine, her soft curves and full breasts more than any man could resist.
My hand landed on her ribs, trailing up over the fabric of her dress. When I reached her breasts, I noticed her nipples were tight and hard, pushing through the material, begging to be free of their confines.