"Haley." The deep tone of his voice sent butterflies to her stomach. She needed to regroup. Subduing the strange feelings as forcefully as she could, Haley squared her shoulders and lifted her head, crooking the corner of her mouth and gazing at him with total disregard.
"You didn't hurt my feelings, Crew. I'm just done for the night. We can begin my transformation tomorrow." She was quite proud of her performance.
She knew as he gripped both her arms and pulled her close to him, though, that she hadn't fooled him. Still, she didn't reveal the effect he was having on her. That would be giving up too much, and she couldn't let the tables turn completely in his favor. She had pride, and she'd sunk as low as she was willing to allow herself.
"Mmm, Haley. The more I think about this, the more I am liking it. Can you feel the sparks?"
"What sparks?" she bluffed.
"You don't have to say it out loud. I can see the fire in your eyes, and I can feel your thighs quivering."
"Let go," she demanded, enraged that she was exposing so much of herself and her feelings to him when all she wanted was to run and hide. After all, that's what she was best at doing.
Crew held her for just a moment longer - just long enough to let her know he was stronger, could take what her eyes were offering him - then, he finally released his grip.
Haley wanted to bolt, run to her room, lock the door, and then slide down it and fold into herself. She wanted to do what she'd always done. But, wasn't this her seduction makeover? Wasn't it time for her to be that wanton woman she'd fashioned in her brain?
Before she could talk herself out of it, Haley reached up and grabbed his neck, pulling his head down to hers. She gloried in the shocked look in his eyes just before their lips connected.
"Lesson One: Take What You Want," she whispered. As his lips touched hers and his tongue quickly demanded entrance, Haley was nearly knocked flat. She was grateful there was a door behind her, because she had to lean against it as heat pooled deep within her.
Her mind blanked while her body flamed and their tongues danced back and forth between them. It was the steamiest kiss she'd ever shared - not that she'd shared many. Two, in fact, before this one.
When her brain started to completely short-circuit, she knew it was time to pull back. With extreme reluctance she broke the connection of their lips, with her tongue automatically emerging one last time to lick his flavor from her mouth.
"Well, that wasn't unpleasant," she said with a laugh that was far too breathy, and not as casual as she'd intended. If only she could clear the fog from her dazed brain, she could think enough to turn and leave the room. Eventually she got her feet to cooperate.
"Oh, no," Crew said with a huge smile as his hands shot around her and grabbed her from behind. "Lesson Two: When You Play with Fire, You Get Burned."
Before Haley could reply, he pulled her tightly against his body, the rock-hard evidence of his arousal pressing into her stomach as he leaned down and began kissing her again as if they'd never paused.
Taking a step back, he pressed her against his door, then moved his hands down the curve of her backside as he lifted her off her feet so he could press his straining manhood against her heat.
His mouth ravished hers, showing no mercy as he stole the air right from her lungs, and sizzled her skin. She forgot why she needed to stay in control, forgot everything as he continued taking her deeper and deeper into the throes of passion.
Had she known years earlier how explosive a kiss could be, she wouldn't have remained a virgin, wouldn't have let her grandparents' constant voice in her head keep her from enjoying something so amazing.
For the first time ever, she was alive, wanting only to sink further and further into sensation, to feel the passion he was so easily igniting. She pressed against him, her hands fisting in his hair as she silently begged him to continue -never, ever to stop filling her with the magical emotions she was losing herself in.
When a low growl rumbled deep in his chest, a feeling of power surged through Haley at her beginner's luck. She'd turned this man into an animal bent only on fulfilling his needs. She'd brought this handsome, powerful playboy to a state of no return.
When his mouth softened on hers, she wanted to scream out in passion. When he pulled back, sliding his tongue across her bottom lip before pulling all the way back and setting her on her feet, she felt disoriented, not even sure if she could stand.
"Do you still think there are no sparks, Haley?" he asked, his voice drifting over her as his breath warmed her neck. She thought she felt the barest of kisses, but then he pulled back so she was looking into his eyes.
Haley didn't know how to respond. Should she be flippant? Laugh it off? Or should she just run away until she figured it out?