I ran my cheek along her jaw. I could feel her struggling to not cave in to me, to not turn her head and find my lips. I kissed the very corner of her jaw, then lightly ran my tongue up to her ear. She was trembling, I was throbbing. I nibbled on her ear, wishing it were her nipple. “Ready?” I breathed.
Her eyes flashed open and locked on mine. Her breath was heavy with desire, but she was clearly panicked by my question. Her gaze lowered to my mouth as she turned her face to mine. Mere inches separated our lips now. It took a tremendous amount of willpower, but I made myself not kiss her. I needed her to cave before I kissed her, but God, not doing it was difficult.
Shifting my focus, I unbuckled her seat belt. Knowing this was nowhere near what she expected, a playful laugh escaped me as I pulled away. Sure enough, my tease frustrated her. Irritated, she shoved open her door, then slammed it closed. I couldn’t help but grin at the annoyed, embarrassed look on her face before she stormed off toward the bar.
Sorry, Kiera, but if you want more, you have to ask for it. And this time, you have to mean it.
Kiera practically attacked me the next morning, but not in the way I wanted her to. She cut off my cheerful greeting by ramming her finger in my chest. Having her initiate contact between us made me smile as I returned the coffeepot to its base.
“You need to back off!” she demanded, her face a mixture of desire and irritation.
Grabbing her hand, I pulled her into my arms, where she belonged. “I haven’t done anything to you…recently.” But I’d love to, if you’d just let me.
She made a show of trying to get away from me, but it wasn’t enough to break my grasp. She’d have to try a lot harder to push me away. I wasn’t going anywhere anymore. Her lips pursed in an expression of annoyance, she glanced at her arms trapped under mine. “Uhhh…this?”
A small laugh left me as I kissed her jaw and nuzzled against her. She felt so good in my arms. Amazing. “We do this all the time. Sometimes we do more…” We could do more now. I could take you upstairs, undress you, ravish you. I could make you happy.
Kiera wasn’t on the same page as me. Flustered, she sputtered, “The car?”
I laughed harder at that response. “That was all you. You were getting all…excited on me, just sitting there.” Squatting down, I met her gorgeous hazel eyes. “Was I supposed to just ignore that?” How could I possibly ignore you?
Her face filled with color, and she turned away from me with a sigh. She knew I was right. She knew she wanted me. She kept avoiding the truth, but that didn’t make it go away.
I knew I should be honest with her, tell her everything in my heart, but I couldn’t go there. Just the thought of opening up, letting her in, made my insides twist into painful knots. I’d rather stick myself in the eye with a dozen needles. No, teasing her was all I was comfortable with, so that was what I did.
“Hmmm…do you want me to stop?” I traced a line from her hair to her cheek, down her neck, right between her breasts, and down to her hips. Like a flower turning toward the sun, her body opened under my touch. It was so subtle, she probably wasn’t even aware she was arching toward me, but I knew women. I could read their body language better than my own. And Kiera’s was screaming Take me.
Her eyes closed as her breath quickened. “Yes,” she breathed. Exactly, Kiera. Say yes to me.
In a low voice, I told her, “You don’t seem so sure…do I make you uncomfortable?”
I ran my finger along the inside of her waistband and watched her face while she struggled to not let me see how much she enjoyed it. I was sure she was ready for me. I’d just have to move my hand a bit and I’d feel it. God, I wanted to. I wanted her so much.
“Yes,” she whispered. Her voice was almost pleading more than rejecting.
Leaning in, I whispered in her ear, “Do you want me inside you again?”
Her answer was instant. And surprising. “Yes…”
Her eyes snapped open as she came out of the mini-trance I’d coaxed her into. Her eyes were wide, like she was terrified I’d take her up on her suggestion without giving her a second to reconsider. “No! I meant no!”
I couldn’t help but smile at the expression on her face. She was flushed, from either embarrassment or desire. I tried not to laugh at her, but when anger flooded her face and she repeated, “I meant no, Kellan,” one brief laugh escaped me.
“Yes, I know—I know exactly what you meant.” You want to say yes, but you’re not ready.
When I saw Kiera again that afternoon, when she got back from school, she seemed spent. She was sitting on the couch, staring at the TV, but she obviously wasn’t watching it. She didn’t seem to notice me standing at the edge of the room, staring at her. Definitely tired then. She usually knew the instant I was looking at her. As I approached the couch, I wondered if I was to blame for her exhaustion. I hoped not.