The Billionaire's Paradise (Sexy Billionaires)(23)

His smile widened as he leaned down to her. “No, you won’t,” he murmured.

She inhaled his unique scent, knowing he was right. That bracelet would forever be tied to the man she was trying to hold at arm’s length.

He withdrew, his mouth hovering for a brief second over hers, before striding to the cashier.

Shaking herself, Avery forced her wooden feet to carry her to the exit, where she waited for her companion to return. When he did, he snapped off the price tag and clasped the beads around her wrist.

“Beautiful,” he said, but his eyes weren’t on the bracelet.

Blushing, she stared down at her new accessory. “Thanks,” she said.

“Any time.”

Avoiding his gaze, she ducked out of the store and began to make her way back to the car. They’d parked in an out of the way lot, but even it was picture-perfect, with hanging trees making a natural ceiling over the parked cars, offering a quiet privacy she was growing increasingly aware of. Hayden followed her without a word, but even so, her body tingled with his nearness.

Reaching the car, she moved to get in when he stopped her.

“We should go,” she said, pressing against the closed car door when he took a step forward. “The whole day has wasted away.”

“I wouldn’t call today a waste,” he replied.

“And what would you call it?”

“Progress.” He moved closer, gripping the car on either side of her to trap her within his arms.

“How arrogant,” she teased.

He shook his head. “I few days ago you were trying to escape before I noticed you. Today you’re enjoying my company. I call that an improvement.”

“Must be sunstroke.”

“Or maybe you’re realizing that the night of the gala wasn’t a fluke. Nor was it an ending.”

She lifted her chin. “It had to be.”

“Tell me why.”

Because you’ll never be what I need. You’ll never come to care for me the way I’ll grow to want you to.

But those words were far too revealing. Instead she simply said, “We’re too different, Hayden.”

“That’s what I like about us,” he replied and pressed his mouth to hers before she could protest.

She wanted to be the kind of woman who’d have the strength to push him away, but the instant her hands touched the hard planes of his chest, her fingers coiled around the material of his shirt to pull him closer. This was no gentle kiss of an unsure suitor. Instead Hayden claimed her mouth as if he had every right to touch her. He kissed her with the practiced ease of a man used to getting his own way, and as much as she hated his certainty, she craved more.

Heat roared through her body as it stood to attention, remembering the pleasure he’d delivered the last time he’d kissed her this way. She’d learned first-hand that Hayden was fully capable of delivering on any promises his kiss made. He knew how to make her purr.

His hands slid down her sides to rest on her hips as he pressed her back against the car. Without conscious thought, she twined her arms around his shoulders as stroked her tongue along his.

More. Kiss me again.

They weren’t words she could say aloud, but he knew what to do without any instruction. His tongue invaded her mouth, kissing her with a thoroughness that left her breathless.

Why does it have to be him?

Why couldn’t anyone else make her feel the way he did? Her life would be so much easier if she were immune to his touch.

But Hayden burst past all her defenses. Only he could make her body pulse with need after just one kiss. Her head filled with memories of what else his clever lips could do. She remembered them trailing down her abdomen as she arched beneath him. He’d lapped at her navel before pushing her legs apart with sure hands. The first touch of his tongue against her swollen clit had forced a cry from her throat even as her fingers had delved into his golden hair to encourage him to continue.

One hand cupped her breast as the edge of the car dug into her thighs. She bit back a moan as her nipples tightened under the thin material of her blouse. He must be able to feel her reaction to him. There was no hiding that, despite what logic and reason whispered through her brain, her body begged for him, wanted him with a desire that shook her with its intensity. Why, oh why, was the only man who’d made her come alive like this the very last one she could ever be with?

“More,” he ordered, hooking one hand under her knee and hoisting her leg higher to straddle his hip.

This time she did moan when he rocked his straining erection against her, the skirt riding dangerously high. It would take so little effort for him to be inside her.

“Stop,” she panted. “We’re in public.”