“Nope.” She leaned in, touching his leg as she did so. He was rock-hard to the touch. “I’ll have you know, I turn into a pumpkin at midnight.”
A hint of amusement tugged his lips upward…right until he pressed them tightly together to stop it. “Yeah. Sure you do, Cinderella.”
She held her hand to her mouth like a microphone. “Alert the presses. Jake Forsythe, big-shot security officer, almost smiled. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we’re talking a real smile here.”
He studied her, turned his attention back to his notebook, and physically picked up her hand, removing it from his thigh. “You haven’t changed at all, have you? Still don’t take a damn thing seriously.”
“Oh, I’ve changed,” she muttered, breaking free. “I’m not a stick-in-the-mud like you.”
He quirked a brow. “Is that supposed to be an insult?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you should be trying to save your ass instead of arguing with me.” He scribbled something down on the paper, his motions harsh. “We’re not here to joke around. There’s work to be done, and it needs to be done fast.”
She trailed her finger down his arm, and his muscles jerked under her touch. She should stop teasing him, touching him, but it was too much fun to resist. And he clearly didn’t mind, if that erection he’d pressed against her outside was any indication.
“I can think of much better things to do than work.”
He snatched her wrist up, his grip on her gentle, yet unyielding. “Are you trying to make me think you want to fuck me so I’ll release you? Because it won’t work.”
“What if I want to fuck you for the hell of it?”
He cocked his head. “Why would you want to do that?”
“If you have to ask, then you’re a hell of a lot worse off than I imagined,” she said, her heart thundering in her ears. “I want you, and thanks to that little show of masculinity outside, I know that you want me, too.”
“The difference is, I won’t act on my wants until I’m damn good and ready. I have self-control.” He shifted his weight, but it didn’t hide the bulge of his erection from her. He wasn’t as unaffected as he was trying to pretend. “Right now, all I want from you is answers.”
What did she have to do to get him to take her? Beg? Plead? She’d never begged for a man before, but for him…she might make an exception. But first she’d break the damn self-control he kept throwing in her face. “You want answers?”
“Yes,” he said, every muscle in his body rock-hard.
“Fine. I’ll give them to you.”
He stared at her suspiciously. “Okay.”
She stood up and grabbed hold of the hem of her shirt, lifting it the slightest bit. “Go on. Ask me a question.”
Hands fisted, his green gaze flitted down, then flew back up. “What are you doing?”
“That’s an easy one.” She lifted her shirt a little higher, letting the bottom of her breasts show. She had a bra on, but it was black and transparent. “I’m taking my shirt off.”
He let out a sound that was half tortured growl, half groan. Her stomach quivered. For a second, just a second, she forgot all about her plan to break him and throw it in his face. It felt all too real.
“Tara…” he said, an unspoken warning ringing out in his voice.
She lifted the shirt higher, giving him full view of her breasts. “You want me. Admit it.”
He reached for her without admitting anything.
“No,” she said, leaping back.
He froze, glowering at her. “No?”
“No,” she repeated firmly, letting her shirt drop down. “I told you to admit it, and you didn’t. Like you, I say when and I say how. I don’t sit around waiting for a man to tell me what to do, and I don’t shy away from a challenge because a man likes to play a little rough in bed. And I don’t obey men, either. So kiss my ass.” She tossed her hair back. “I’m tired. I’ll go to bed now. We can discuss this again in the morning.”
His jaw hardened, and he caught her elbow as she passed. His grip was firm and yet somehow soft, all at the same time. “Make no mistake. If you were mine, I’d have you bent over the arm of the couch right now for that little show, and you’d be begging for my permission to come.”
Her stomach twisted in knots. His permission? She didn’t know if that infuriated her or turned her on. All she knew was her body was saying yes please. She tore free of his grip. He let her. “I don’t beg.”
“Correction: you haven’t begged yet.” He looked her up and down, from head to toe, his shadowed gaze speaking of promises she wanted to collect on. But not tonight. “Go to bed now before I decide to teach you a lesson.”