He pulled her against him and took her in another smoldering kiss, tempting himself to the point of madness. He fastened her seat belt beside him, wanting her near as he drove out of the parking lot. Her hand rested on his thigh, inching higher, squeezing. Faith slid her other hand up the far side of his face. His eyes remained trained on the road as she began her assault, pressing kisses to his jaw, up his neck. She licked his earlobe and traced the outer shell of his ear.
“Faith,” he said on a jagged breath. “I can only take so much teasing.”
“I know,” she whispered in his ear. “I can’t help it.”
He turned on to a side road, barely able to hold it together. Every muscle in his body was rigid, and if her thumb brushed any closer to his cock, he was going to lose his battle for control.
He rounded a bend and turned onto another side road, drove a mile or two, and pulled off onto the shoulder as Faith’s tongue slid into his ear, obliterating his focus. He slammed the truck into park and in three seconds flat he had their seat belts off and Faith lying beneath him with a sexy smile on her face.
“You are trouble with a capital ‘T.’” He nipped at her chin. “You taunt and tease.” He traced her lips with his tongue. She tried to lean up and catch his mouth, but he pulled back. “Uh-uh-uh, sweet girl. Two can play at this game.”
“Sam.” She rocked her hips against his arousal.
“Tell me what you want, baby. You tell me to behave and then you drive me wild. I’m not sure where we stand.”
She laughed softly, pulling his face closer. He fought the kiss, hovering a breath away as every inch of her fought to reach him. He ran his hand up her side, over her ribs, and cupped her breast. His thumb played over her nipple the way he knew she loved.
“Sam,” she pleaded.
“Do you want me to behave, or do you want me to take you right here, hard and dirty? Slow and sensual? Or both, baby? Is that what you want?” He yanked her shirt up, lifting her bra along with it, freeing one beautiful breast, and licked her taut nipple.
“Ohmygod. Sam.”
“I’ve heard my name enough to know what it is,” he teased. “Tell me what you want.” His mouth came down over her breast and he sucked—hard. Her entire body bowed off the seat. Still sucking her breast, his hand slid down her belly and into her jeans. His fingertips grazed her wetness. The pit of his stomach burned as he dipped a finger inside her. “God, baby, you’re so ready for me.”
She bit her lower lip.
“Oh no. None of that.” Using his teeth, he tugged that lip free. “Talk to me, baby. I’m not going to give you what you need until you do.”
She silently rocked her hips again, and he withdrew his hands from her pants and slipped those fingers into his mouth, sucking them clean. Her eyes widened, and their mouths crashed together in a messy, wet kiss. The ache between his legs pumped through his body, as he felt every lush curve, supple and eager. Her nails claimed his back, and when their lips parted, both of them barely breathing, the raw passion he saw in her eyes nearly did him in.
“You’re the best kind of torture,” he whispered between kisses. “But you’re too important to me to get caught up in desire only to have you regret it later. I need to hear you tell me what you want, Faith.”
Her eyes clouded over in that middle ground that worried him so much. Fuck.
“Faith?”
She shifted her eyes away, breaking his heart in two.
His foot hit the window of the truck. How had he misread her? He was sure she’d tell him she wanted him as much as he wanted her. And he wanted her more than he wanted his next breath, but not like this. Not when she couldn’t look him in the eyes and tell him. And—how could I have been such an asshole?—not in the truck.
He closed his eyes for a second, trying to regain control.
“It’s okay, baby.” He kissed her lightly, tucking away his frustration and letting her know he understood her indecision. He backed out of the truck before he could give in to the heat blazing through him or the need throbbing in his pants—focusing instead on the emotions swelling in his spliced-open heart.
“Sam?” She sat up, eyes ablaze. “You’re leaving me high and dry?”
“No, babe. I’m leaving you wet and hungry.” He pulled her to the edge of the seat and pressed her hand to his zipper so she could feel the effect she had on him and that he was aching just as badly as she was. “And leaving myself hard as a rock.”
She stepped from the truck and he reached for her hand. Her pouty lip cut him to his core. He bent down for a kiss, and she leaned out of his reach.
“Where’s the guy with the rep for taking what he wants?” she asked, half teasing, half annoyed.
Frustration from holding back his emotions broke free. “The guy you wanted nothing to do with? That’s the guy you want now? Because I can be any guy you want, as long as you make it clear.”
She stared up at him with a perplexed look in her eyes that slayed him, but he was unable to stop the frustration from coming out.
“Tell me, Faith. Do you want the guy who takes what he wants, where he wants, regardless of the ramifications?”
“No. Yes? I don’t know.” She shifted her eyes away.
“Baby.” His voice softened as he gathered her in his arms. “You’re just as conflicted as I am. That’s why you’re sending mixed signals. I saw it in your eyes. One second you wanted me, but the next you weren’t sure. That’s why I stopped.”
She trapped that damn lip again.
“It’s okay,” he assured her. “I’m right here, and I’m into you. Long-term into you. But, Faith, you’ve changed the way I think. I wanted to make love to you in the truck—with my hands, my mouth, my body. And I know the truck isn’t the right place, but regardless of that, when we do make love, I need to know you’re all in. The other night, you were right there with me. I felt it, saw it, tasted it. When you were teasing me on the drive over, you were knee deep into me, but when I was on top of you in the truck, beneath the passion, there was hesitation in your eyes.”
The disappointment in her eyes was killing him. He was trying to do the right thing. Isn’t that what she wanted? What she deserved? For a guy who thought he knew women, he suddenly felt like a bumbling idiot.
“Everything’s different with you, baby. Looks are easy to misinterpret, but words are clear. I need clarity with you, just as you said you needed from me. Complete transparency. Once we get to that point, when I know you’re not doubting me, I promise you, baby, I won’t hold back another second.”
**
FAITH STOOD WITH her heart lodged in her throat, watching Sam pace. Some men needed a suit and tie to look like they could take on the world. Not Sam. He exuded a staggering air of confidence regardless of what he wore or what he was doing, and she’d never seen that confidence waver, except when it came to her. He was known for taking what he wanted. Except with me. Everything really was different with her.
Isn’t that what I wanted? What I demanded?
She’d unknowingly created this fissure between them, and tonight what he’d seen in her eyes was Faith rifling through the things Vivian had said to her and trying to push them away, because in her heart she knew her friend was wrong. But Sam was that in tune with her. He’d read her emotions before she’d had time to process them. Where most guys would overlook the moment of hesitation she’d felt, Sam had clung to it. He was that worried about doing things right where she was concerned, and that endeared him to her even more and made her feel like a fool for doubting him at all.
She reached for him. His eyes were so full of regret, guilt seared into her heart.
“I’m sorry I overreacted,” he said. “I shouldn’t have said those things.”
“You didn’t. I overreacted. You were right, and I appreciate you caring enough to stop, even if I wasn’t sure I wanted you to.”
“So I did see hesitation? Thank God, because you were so upset, I thought I’d made it up in my head.”
“You saw hesitation, Sam, but not because I wanted to stop. I was just working through my emotions. I talked to Vivian before we went to meet Brent, and she made me worry that you didn’t want to be seen with me around town because…” She paused, knowing she didn’t need to bring all that up. He knew why, and so did she.
“It doesn’t matter why,” she explained. “The truth is, I wanted you to make love to me, but I couldn’t think fast enough, and it was embarrassing to admit that aloud. I want you, Sam. All of you. But sometimes a girl just needs to be taken.”
“Christ, baby,” he whispered, and touched his forehead to hers. “I know all about ‘taking,’ but when it comes to you, I won’t ignore what I see. With anyone else—before you—maybe. But not with you, Faith. Never with you. It’s taken all of my control not to take you these past few days, and I’ll wait as long as you need, until you’re sure.”
“I know, and I appreciate that.” She knew this must be torture for him, hearing that she was doubting him and that she’d led him on. She wasn’t a tease—at least she didn’t mean to be—but that’s exactly what she must look like.