He ravished her, stealing her breath and her ability to think. But then he broke off the kiss, his thumb moving over her harder. He shoved her panties aside and thrust a finger inside her. “You want to come. You want me to make you finish.”
“Y-Yes.” She squeezed her lids shut, thisclose to coming. “Jake.”
“Ask me,” he demanded.
“May I please come?” she asked, her voice breathy and needy.
“No.”
Wait. What? She’d almost been there. Two more seconds, and she’d have been feeling satisfied instead of frustrated. “But—”
“I said no.” He pulled back, taking his touch away. Taking it all away. “Let’s go. We’re going to be late.”
Comprehension struck. He’d said he might punish her…and he had.
He so had.
“You…I…”
He looked completely calm and collected, while she was a quivering mass of want. Every single hair on his head was smoothed into place, and he watched her with a steely composure that had her wondering if he was actually human. “You going to finish that sentence, or what?”
She straightened her skirt. “I hate you sometimes.”
He grasped her waist, tugging her close enough that her sensitive breasts brushed against his vest. “Is that supposed to hurt my feelings?”
She tilted her chin up. He was such a control freak…and she wanted him so badly it hurt. It wasn’t fair. “Fuck you.”
“Maybe later, if you behave yourself.” He steered her outside into the sunlight. “But right now, I’d like to discuss work.”
She ground her teeth, sexual frustration humming through her veins like a bolt of electricity. “I’ve got nothing more to tell you.”
He opened her car door and waited without saying a word. Once she slid inside, he gently closed the door and then went around the back to get to the driver’s side. When he reached the bumper, his footsteps faltered, and his jaw dropped.
Oh, crap, she’d forgotten about that…
He turned to her as if in slow motion, and crooked his finger. She shook her head, but he simply repeated the gesture, his mouth pressed tight.
“Shit.” She took a deep breath and got out of the car. “Yeah?”
“What did you do?” he asked, his voice clipped.
“Me?” She concentrated on the New York Giants bumper sticker, trying her best to imitate innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Maybe someone thought you liked them?”
“Doubtful.” His jawline hardened. “And the cats? Would you care to explain those?”
A smile tried to emerge, but she bit down hard to try to stop it. “What about them?”
“Would you like to tell me why I have a stick figure family with me and nine cats, Tara?” he asked, his voice deceptively calm.
She shifted on her feet, her joke now seeming like a way to get her ass handed to her on a platter. If he broke out another one of his so-called punishments, she might die before he finished. “Uh…maybe that someone thought you liked cats, too?”
“I’m going to fucking—” He cut off and dragged his hands down his face. Oh, shit. He was going to kill her. Legit kill her. “Jesus.”
“I can try to get them—”
He fell against the car and burst into laughter. Full-belly, actual laughter—the kind she didn’t think he still had in him. She gaped, unable to believe he was actually laughing. The deep, rich sound sent a fist of need to her core, making her want to leap on him and screw him right in his driveway, cats and all.
“You’re so ridiculous. Cats? Cats?”
He lost it again.
Her lips twitched, and she joined in, laughing harder than she had in years. “It seemed fitting.”
He convulsed at that, and she joined in. When they both finally pulled themselves together, he watched her, his green eyes still lit with amusement. “You’re too much. You know that?”
She grinned, unable to help herself. “I didn’t know you could laugh like that anymore,” she breathed. “I like it.”
“You know what? Me too.” He dragged her close, cupping her ass. “I really, really do. What are you doing to me, Tara?”
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice breaking. “But I’m having fun with whatever it is. With you.”
“Good.” His fingers were perilously close to her core, and she ached to beg for him to move lower. To touch her harder. He played with a lock of her hair, jerking enough to sting. “You know you’ll pay for this little trick later, right? That there will be consequences?”