Would Lily have set me up in the way I thought? I wasn’t so sure she was capable. Then again, she had told me ages ago that her boss had spotted a photo of us on her desk and asked about me. Never wanting to be set up, I denied every pleading of hers to go on a double date with her at-the-time boyfriend and her boss.
“It was a setup,” I sneered under my breath. The taste of the coffee was unimpressive, but the drink scorched as it hit my lips. “Ouch. Son of a bitch,” I snarled, my eyes watering from the burn.
“Dirty mouth for someone so innocent.” Dammit, why had he come after me? I looked up to see his face painted with amusement as he sauntered toward me. “Or are you?”
I placed the coffee down and nervously fumbled through the basket of goodies on the table. I wasn’t hungry, but anything to avoid looking at the gorgeous jerk. He stood beside me, his large frame hovering, smelling like yummy warm things you wanted to snuggle. I made the mistake of looking up at him. His deep blue eyes looked as if he was deliberating something about me. Why was I intimidated by him? I barely knew the man. Flashes of his lips pressed to mine caused a chill of fear to sweep through my body.
“If you came to gloat about last night, I’ll have you know you weren’t all that good.” My dismissive tone meant nothing to him, and in a moment, his hands were on my waist. He turned me toward him, his large hands spanning my lower back as he pressed me against his body.
“You weren’t awake long enough to find out how good I can be, Miss Sanders.”
“What are you doing?” I asked breathlessly.
“I’m here to set you straight.” I could feel his fingertips pressing firmly. They were like branding irons searing through the fabric of my clothes. “Nothing happened last night. I don’t know who you were expecting, though from the things you said, I have an idea.”
My cheeks flared and I tried to pull out of his grasp. “Let’s forget all of this, please.”
“I can’t,” he grated. His grip tightened. His body pressed closer. “The way you kissed me…”
A small gasp escaped me as he pressed closer. I couldn’t look at him…not without losing my brainpower. “You said nothing happened.”
“Well, a few things happened…” He smirked.
My equilibrium was thrown off as my eyes met his. I steadied myself by grasping his large forearms. They were sturdy, so muscular. And his eyes… “So, blue,” I whispered, staring into them, desperately out of breath. I’d lost any train of thought I had to ask him what those few things were.
“Thanks.”
“It wasn’t a compliment, it was an assessment.”
His grin invited me to stare at those soft lips of his, and goose bumps prickled over my skin. His giant hand glided up my back and cradled the base of my head, his fingers digging through my wild waves of hair. An ache between my legs began and the nerve endings in my body heightened to new awareness. Was this what passion felt like?
His thumb moved under my jaw toward the middle of my neck, fingertips circling around the back of my ear, caressing the skin. “Are you planning to choke me?” I asked nervously.
A rough laugh escaped his lips. “I’m thinking about it.” His eyes were hooded as he bent lower. I didn’t answer him, just stared at his mouth as it got closer to mine. “I need you to breathe, actually, because I’m getting ready to kiss you and this time you’ll remember every bit of it.”
As soon as I tried to allow the air in, his grip tightened around my body. He brought his head to mine, our lips crashing against each other with strength and hunger. Our tongues wrestled as my hands moved up and clung tightly around his shoulders. The feel of the slick leather jacket under my fingers wasn’t enough. I craved skin-on-skin contact, and an unfamiliar moan broke out of me as he took a fraction of a second to readjust his mouth to take the kiss deeper. His smell of fresh leather and cotton mixed with the taste of butterscotch from his tongue made me frantic.
A heavy sigh escaped me as he drew away, but I didn’t want him to stop. My hand reached up and embraced the nape of his neck, pulling his mouth back to mine. My fingers dug into his thick hair, tugging, needing more. He complied, releasing a small snicker as if he was pleased with my reaction.
He finally pulled his lips away. The action felt unfair. I wanted more. I reminded myself that pouting wasn’t attractive. “Come on, Tiny. Let’s get back before someone comes looking for us.” His fingertip trailed from the edge of my jaw slowly to the tip of my nose, where he gave it a small tap.
My eyes were wide as saucers and his lips tipped up in a smile as if he knew he’d won me over.
“You okay?” He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear with tenderness. My ability to communicate ceased. I was an incoherent idiot in front of this glorious creature. “I shocked you, didn’t I?”
“Wha… Uh…” I swallowed, my breath as shaky as my body. “It’s fine. I’m…fine.”
“After today’s activities, you and I need to have a chat.” He took my hand in his, leading me to the door.
I came back to reality, mind zapping into place. “Why?”
“Because whatever this is between us, I definitely want more of it.” He looked at my mouth, my breasts, then trailed back to my eyes. “Don’t even lie to yourself and say you don’t.”
Well, how could I argue with that?
The bastard released my hand before we walked into the room where Lily was chatting with Andy, the coordinator, and I instantly regretted my actions. He wanted more of it? What was it exactly? I had tugged him back when we were kissing. I hadn’t wanted to let him go, like a sex-starved woman. Humiliation flooded me as I remembered that ridiculous sound I’d made as he kissed me. Was that what he wanted? Me gawking over him, desperate for his touch?
Lily’s eagle eyes landed on me, her lips pressed in a hard line. She beelined my way at warp speed, grasping my hand in hers. “I need to talk to you.”
Her voice sounded like a schoolteacher as she led me to the room Sebastian and I had just left. The memory of his tongue, his hands, the way I tugged at his hair made my insides twist.
The feeling disappeared when Lily stopped and crossed her arms, confusion on her face. “What the hell is going on, Em? I got a call from the escort service a bit ago saying nobody answered the door last night. Then today Sebastian and you are acting weird. Where’s your phone?”
“I don’t know. I…” I took a deep breath, my voice quiet as I began. “I was drunk last night. Really drunk. I guess I was more nervous than I’d let on. I don’t remember much.”
Her arms dropped to her sides. “That’s okay. It’s understandable, but why did you lie to me about it?”
My explanation of Sebastian coming to the room had her laughter ringing out loud. I glanced around in hopes nobody would hear.
“Quiet. And don’t let on that I told you!”
She crossed her arms and tipped her head up defiantly. “I think it’s funny. I’ve always thought you two would be great together.” I rolled my eyes and turned away, but she pulled me back toward her. “He’s a nice guy. His ex-girlfriend really hurt him a few years back. He hasn’t been in a relationship since.”
I didn’t need to hear how the man with the gorgeous blue eyes was perfect. “They all have their flaws, Lily. I’m sure he was just as in the wrong as she was.”
“Like you and Dan?” She stumped me there. Then again, if I’d had sex with him, it wouldn’t have been an issue. Lily continued, “I’ll call the escort service and tell them you changed your mind.”
“Don’t cancel,” I blurted.
“Why?”
I stared at my hands, heat rushing my cheeks. “I can’t be nervous about sex anymore. I need to get this over with. I’m done being an inexperienced fool.”
“But what if Sebastian—”
“He doesn’t know I’m a virgin. At least I don’t think...” My teeth dug into my lip as I tried to recall the night’s events. “Though the moment he finds out, he’ll probably drop me.”
Lily chu
ckled. “I don’t think that’s how it works. Typically, the guys turn the girl into a conquest.”
“I don’t want games. I want someone who knows the terms. If Sebastian’s not for that, I’d rather keep the escort on call. Just in case.” Tears stung the backs of my eyes, and I shuddered a sigh. “I wanna get it over with, Lily.”
“I know you do.” She gave me a near smile as we walked back into the conference room.
Sebastian and I’d barely spoken since that moment in the conference room, but we constantly stole glances throughout the day. He looked divine, and those eyes, like the perfect summer sky, teased and coaxed, which only heightened my senses. I was about ready to crawl out of my skin. If he could accomplish that with a gaze across the room, I had no clue how things would be if he took me to bed. I couldn’t let myself develop a crush — it was too taxing on my spirit and I was exhausted.
By the time we finished up the day’s activities, dinner was being served in the dining hall. I wasn’t hungry, so I wandered a path nearby and reviewed my messy life. The powerful smell of upcoming rain hit my nostrils but it wouldn’t stop me from my needed walk.
“Hey,” the familiar voice approached. The velvet quality of its tone swathed my heart. How could he have an effect on me so quickly? I felt as if a connection was already existent instead of having to work toward initiating one. Our eyes locked and we smiled, though mine was less enthusiastic as I tried to find reason behind the absurdity of my thoughts. He noticed. “What’s wrong, Tiny?”
I gave a small chuckle. “Tiny, huh?”
“Would you rather me keep calling you Miss Sanders?”
“God, no.”
We both laughed.
“You’re the one who told me to call you that.”
The gravel crunched beneath our feet, the wind picked up, the scent of ozone grew, and dark clouds loomed. We trailed to the side of the main house as random sprinkles of water fell from the sky.
“Do you always follow rules?” I asked.
“Hardly. I set them.”
I halted, looked up at him, and waited for him to say anything else, but he stared at me until I could no longer hold back.
“Why did you kiss me? In the conference room. Why did you do that?” I realized this chat was going to happen, and I had started it. I glanced to make sure nobody was around. “I didn’t remember anything from the night before, and you could’ve left it alone.”
He backed me up against the brick wall and leaned down, our faces only inches apart. “You enjoyed and needed it. Admit it.” I stiffened in defense but shrugged offhandedly as he backed his face away. He could probably sense how nervous he made me and how those bright blues made me tingle. “I also think you’ve been secretly hoping I’d kiss you again.”
“Nope,” I said, indignantly crossing my arms over my chest. God, why couldn’t I talk properly to him? Tell him what I needed to say? Dan had left me an insecure mess. We stared at each other, and Sebastian’s expression made me jumpy. If I wanted honesty, however, I needed to be candid, too. “Okay, maybe I have. And maybe I did like that kiss…a little too much. Go ahead, make fun of me.” I exhaled.
“What?”
“I said go ahead and make fun of me. Little desperate, pathetic Emmie can’t control herself, making weird noises, clawing at me like a horny teenager. She needed to be kissed, poor thing. It’s fine, tease away. I’m used to it by now.”
His eyes turned dark as he clasped my upper arm in his giant hand. Those fingers could wrap around twice. “Emerie, listen to me. I kissed you because I wanted to just as much, and I tease you because I’d like to think of it as foreplay. I’d never think of you as pathetic.”
“Only desperate, then,” I remarked, ignoring the squeeze in my throat.
“Desperate.” He sighed and shook his head, letting me go. “I don’t think you’re desperate, but I do want to know why you’re willing to give your body up to some random escort.”
I gasped. He knew. My breathing climbed as the thunder rumbled and sprinkles fell from the sky, the air smelling sharply of soil. “So that’s what this is? You kissed me because now I’m some kind of conquest? You just want to be the one to take my v-card, don’t you? I’m not gonna give it up to you, so dream on.”
He ran his hands over his face, frustration in his expression. “You’re going to drive me to an early grave. You’re willing to pay someone to sleep with you, yet you’re upset at me for trying to seduce you. I don’t understand this. Help me understand it.”
The word seduce was barely dangling in the air between us before I rang out over his words. “Because at least I know his intention. I know what I’m in for,” I said brasher than I meant.
“His intention is to get paid and laid. Period. He wouldn’t give a shit about you.”
“And you would?” I scoffed.
“Trust me, I’d make it so good for you, you’d never want anyone else.”
I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest as he drew closer. “Oh, please, you don’t even know me.”
He growled, his voice kicking up a notch. “I’ve wanted to know you since I found out you existed.”
I blinked up at him, stunned by the confession. “What?”
He took a moment before he lowered his voice in response. His body shifted uncomfortably. “You visited Lily in the office.” He had his hands on his hips, then pulled them through his hair. He looked at the ground, and when he glanced at me he groaned and ran his hands over his face. Was he shy? “You took her a coffee and chatted with her for a little while. You wore this soft yellow sweater, and you had the brightest shade of red lipstick I think I’d ever seen on a woman. You were like sunshine.”
My heart fluttered. He remembered what I’d worn? “That…that was over a year ago.”
“I know,” he replied softly. “I gained the courage to ask Lily about you one day by pointing you out of this photo on her desk with her and her friends. She told me you hated being set up on dates. Then you got a boyfriend, and I had to forget about you. Until now.” He reached out, his hand cupping my jaw. The evening light darkened, the wind increased, and his eyes turned deep indigo. They assessed me delicately, sincerely. He studied me as if I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. I wished I could bottle the moment, keep it on hand whenever I needed a dose of confidence. My attraction to him was growing in spades. This couldn’t happen. My heart couldn’t take it.
“Tell me what happened, Tiny.” I almost stopped breathing. I tried to turn away, but his palms pressed against my shoulders gently. “Don’t be embarrassed. Tell me why you’re hiring someone to sleep with you.”
“It’s easier that way.”
“What did he do to you?”
The concern in his manner had my heart reacting while my mind begged me not to confide. I was reluctant to revisit the tragedy, but I closed my eyes as my traitorous mouth spoke. “My whole life I wanted to make sure my first time would be with the right person. I dated some jerks in college, but I could never go through with it. I thought maybe it would be Dan, and he said he’d wait for me.”
“He didn’t, though.”
I shook my head, my eyes opened to slits as I watched the small sprinkles trail down his leather jacket. “I knew something wasn’t right, like my gut was telling me to wait it out. And I’m glad I did. He was sleeping with my boss. Everyone knew about it but me.”
His eyebrows pinched and a scowl played over his face. “So, you left your job.”
I nodded in response. Stupid Emerie, so naïve. “I remembered all the ways she’d been passive-aggressive to me at work, the way all the co-workers teased me without understanding why. I thought of the times he’d controlled me, the ways I was deceived, but deep down, I knew. Working in HR and unable to manage my own life didn’t make for a good look. I’m such a fool,” I chastised myself.
“You’re not the fool. He is,” he whispered, reaching over to play with a tendril of my hair between his large fingers. There we were,
the two of us, against a wall, staring at each other with crazed, lust-filled eyes. And it was perfect. I didn’t want it to end. I looked at his lips and licked my own in anticipation.
“Are you gonna kiss me again?” I blurted out and cringed inwardly. Desperate.
“From my assessment, I can tell you want me to.” His lips stretched, revealing those perfectly straight teeth. Small dimples framed each side of his mouth like parentheses. His eyes roamed to my breasts and I looked down to see my nipples peaked under my good-for-nothing bra. He was doing his own brand of teasing…foreplay.
He reached out and rested his hands on my hips, grasping tightly. I lost my breath as he kissed me, pinned me with his body to the wall, and rubbed against me, creating a desired heat and energy. The match was struck, the fire lit as his mouth moved possessively on mine. I cupped the base of his neck and fisted the locks of thick hair through my fingers in a vain attempt at pulling him deeper. His hands slid up my body, slowly squeezing the small of my waist to the sides of my breasts. His thumbs grazed under the curve of each one, and I wished that stupid bra was gone.
“Did you want me to? Kiss you?” he asked for confirmation between breaths.
“Yes,” I whispered as I rocked forward, my hips pushing into his large thigh. I parted my legs for wider access and he ground into me, groaning in response.
“Good.”
My pulse quickened throughout my body, including between my legs, where I grew heavy and warm. His lips traveled down, where he kissed the angle of my jaw.
“Emerie.” His hand journeyed south as his tongue peeked out from his mouth, trailing the lines of my neck. His fingers grazed the hem of my skirt, and his dark blue eyes cut to mine, twisting my stomach in knots. As if I knew what he asked, I lifted my leg and wrapped it around him, giving him better access, urging him to continue.
His hungry mouth increased in pressure and his hand lowered to move the satin of my panties. He dipped his fingers inside. I quivered, unable to kiss him as I drew in oxygen and held it in my lungs. My hips moved against his strokes. His arousal was evident as he pressed against my stomach, and I clenched where I was empty and in need. “Please,” I panted.
Alphas of Seduction Page 16
