“That’s not an answer. And the reason you won’t answer is because you’re afraid.”
Afraid doesn’t even cut it. I’m terrified. Terrified of what this all means. Of what’s going to happen. Because if he makes a move, I know for certain that I won’t be able to stop him…because I don’t want to.
“Shall I answer for you?” His voice is low, decadent.
Licking my dry lips, I nod.
He moves in, his mouth so very close to mine. His breath blows over my lips, drying the moisture I just gave them, and his stare is doing all kinds of extraordinary things to me.
“Your answer is yes, you would. You’re afraid to say it out loud because you know, once you do, it makes it real—this thing between us—and then you won’t be able to stop it from happening. What, deep down inside, you know is inevitable.”
Is he a mind reader?
He tilts his head back a touch, so his eyes are level with mine. “How did I do?”
My eyes drift to his mouth. His full perfect lips. God, I want to taste them again.
Focus, Andi.
I force my eyes away, and with a shrug of the shoulder, I say, “You did…meh.”
Meh? Jesus, what the hell was that?
I’m dying right now.
Fucking dying.
I close my eyes on a long blink. When I open them, I see a smile has kicked up the corners of his mouth while his eyes continue to fuck the hell out of me.
“Meh?” Low laughter rumbles in his chest. “Jesus, Andressa. Well, deny it all you want, but you know it’s true. You want me to fuck you.”
“And you want to fuck me,” I fire back.
“Sure I do. I’m not the one denying it here.” He lifts his hand from my waist to cup my cheek, his thumb touching dangerously close to my lips. “So, what do you say?”
“To what?”
“Fucking.”
“I’d say you’re seriously overconfident about it.”
He throws his head back on a deep laugh. It makes me glow inside.
A smile is still touching his eyes when he says, “You say that now. It’ll be a different story afterward.”
“Won’t I be calling you a bastard afterward?” I refer to our earlier conversation.
“Probably. But do you care about that right now?”
Do I?
I shake my head before even realizing what I’m doing.
I see lust burst to life in his eyes, and I feel it in every part of me.
We’re still dancing, but I don’t feel so awkward anymore. Now, I just feel turned on like I never have before. I feel connected to him. So very connected. Attuned to his body.
My skin is burning hot like a furnace. My hands are itching to touch him in places I really shouldn’t.
His fingers slide into my hair, and it feels like heaven. He moves closer to me, leaving hardly any space between us.
“I love your hair down.”
There’s a low groan to his voice that makes my belly quiver, in turn making me want to pull him in the rest of the way. Bring him in to the point where I don’t know where he begins and I end.
He twists strands of my hair around his fingers. “From the moment I saw you in the garage, bent over my car with your hair tied up, I haven’t been able to get the image out of my mind of me unraveling it and getting my hands all tangled up in it while I fuck you—hard.”
Sweet Jesus.
“Carrick…” My fingers curl into the lapel of his jacket.
What am I going to say? Stop talking to me this way?
I’m not sure if I can because I don’t think I want him to stop—ever.
“I…this isn’t a good idea.” My voice is breathy. I don’t sound like me at all.
“The best ones usually aren’t. Now, tell me to kiss you.”
“I…” Say no. No good can come of this. “No.” But my voice trembles, betraying me. Stupid voice.
“Stop fighting this…me…and just say it, Andressa.” His words are whispered, coaxing, and his mouth is so close to mine, a hairbreadth between us.
My lips are aching for his. The memory of our kiss in China explodes in my brain, kicking all my hormones to life.
But he’s my friend. And he’s a driver.
Do I really want to go there with him?
Yes, I really do. I’m tired of fighting my feelings for him.
I want him to kiss me. Actually, I want him to fuck me—for hours.
Rationality has left me. Gone. Buggered off. And I couldn’t give a shit right now.
If I lose my job, so be it. All I care about is having Carrick kiss me, touch me, and make me feel amazing, so I’ll forget all the reasons why I shouldn’t be doing this with him.
Which, I know he’ll be more than capable of the instant I let him.
“Carrick…”