Searching for Beautiful(85)

“Yes, you are.” He flinched. She wiped the counter and began stacking the dishwasher. “As my friend, you’ll make yourself scarce. I’d rather bring him here than go to his place. This date means a lot to me. I have a good feeling about it, and I miss sex. Connection. I need to know there’s something more than what I had. Is that so wrong?”

He pushed his fingers through his already tousled hair. Frustration beat in waves around his figure. “Does Kate know your intentions?”

“Yes.”

He frowned. “And she’s okay with this?”

Gen dragged in a breath and grabbed for patience. How could he have slept with a woman last night and have the nerve to ask her questions? Judge? Why were the rules different for her? “Kate encouraged the encounter.” The lie came easily. Was it the first one she’d really told him? Or did all the denial about being unhappy with David count, too?

“Can I meet him first?”

She gasped. “No! Did I meet your so-called date last night before you screwed her? Look, this topic is now closed for discussion. The house is off-limits tonight. And I’ll share as many details about my date as you did yours.”

Gen stalked out of the breakfast nook with those fighting words, but he grabbed her arm and spun her around. Wolfe never lost his temper. Gen knew he was ruthless in business. Sexual around women. But with her, he was consistently easygoing and relaxed.

Fascinated, she stared into his eyes and noticed the tick in his jaw. The way he ground his teeth. The raw sexual energy pouring from his body in waves. Those blue eyes filled with a swirling array of emotions she couldn’t name. What did he want from her? And why did this anger feel so different? Almost as if it was combined with lust and want and sexual frustration?

“You really want to know what happened last night?” he growled. His fingers burned into her skin. She wanted to cry out with satisfaction for receiving his mark.

“No thanks,” she shot back. “Don’t need to know how many orgasms you gave her. I already know you’re a champion in that department.”

“Don’t push me. You may get more than you bargained for.” His breath rushed over her mouth. Coffee and peppermint. She stiffened so she wouldn’t lean closer for a taste. Gen meant to step back, cool down, and let it go. The song from Frozen screamed out at her. Begged her. Let it go. Let it go.

“Maybe not.” She tilted her head all the way back and challenged him. “Maybe it’s you who’ll be surprised if you push me.”

His breath came out choppy. “What are you doing, Gen? Or do you even know?”

The cryptic conversation seethed with boatloads of meaning. Her body shook with the force of holding her emotions back. “Ready to tell me about your hot date now?” she taunted. “Bet she was a skinny-ass model. You like those. Bet she had moves that put you to shame. Did she stay the night or did you kick her out at the 3 a.m. mark? That’s when you usually get itchy.”

He muttered a vicious curse. A sense of danger settled over her, and she pushed harder to make him lose his patience, sensing she’d finally get to the real stuff.

“Did you have the talk beforehand, letting her know it’s just fun and games and you don’t do relationships? At least after she screams your name a number of times, you can make yourself feel better by saying you were honest. Walk away with a clear conscience and a smile on your face. How many orgasms erase your guilt?”

His other arm shot out. He dragged her against his chest, fury pumping from his pores. “One more word,” he warned, “and I’ll show you clearly what she got last night.”

Excitement curled in her belly. “I’ll give you two.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Fuck. You.”

His mouth slammed down and claimed her.

Gen pushed herself up on tiptoe, dug her nails into his shoulders, and met his tongue halfway. They drank, twisting their bodies against each other in a desperate, vicious craving for contact, for skin and lips and teeth, for his dick thrusting between her thighs again and again and again.

Feasting, drowning, he cupped her ass and lifted her high up, grinding against her while his tongue never stopped diving in and out of her mouth. Gen burned up in his arms, shaking with a desperation and need to have him completely, and she moaned low and needy while he captured the sound and drank deeper, until . . .

The doorbell rang.

They stumbled back from each other like they were caught in a White House sex scandal. A knock followed the bell.

“Gen? It’s Arilyn. Kate’s running late so she’ll meet us at the dog park. You ready?”