“You do not!”
“I’ll take you there if you don’t believe me, but be prepared to sweat.” I stroke my thumb over the tender curve on the inside of her elbow. “I’ve taken it for a couple of years, it helps with the demands of residency.” Another brush over her skin and when she shivers under me, I’m filled with satisfaction. “I also run and lift weights.”
Unable to help herself, her gaze drifts down my body, where my chest is still bare and a flush stains her cheeks. She grits her teeth and hisses, “Let me go.”
She yanks her arm and I look down at her. I’m significantly taller than her—six-two compared to her probably five-five. I’m not above using my height to remind her of all the things I can do, like pick her up and hold her against the wall while I thrust into her. Like I’d done in the closet, and again on the way home, in between two buildings, our mouths frantic and hungry.
I gaze down at her. “Are you going to run?”
“Yes.” Her attention flickers on my mouth then jerks away.
“Can you just listen to me for a minute?”
“There’s nothing to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want, you can just listen to what I have to say.”
She shrugs a bare shoulder. “I can’t stop you.”
I loosen my hold, and run my fingers up and down her arm, pleased when goose bumps break across her skin. “You can run if you need to, but I’m still going to catch you.”
She shakes her head.
I’m not going to bother arguing with her. I know I’m right. There’s something here. I skim my fingers over her shoulders, the curve of her neck, and her pupils dilate, her breath quickens.
“What do you want to say?” Her voice is breathless. Needy.
I curl my hand around her nape, and our eyes lock. Sparks, flicker and ignite, and heat fills the space between us. I slide my other hand along her waist, her bare skin smooth and warm to my touch.
She lets out a little whimper.
I walk forward, tightening my hold, and taking her with me as I guide us backward into a little alcove. The second I have some semblance of privacy, my mouth covers hers, and lust explodes around us.
I press her against the wall.
Her hands climb up my chest and clutch my shoulders.
My tongue slides between her lips.
Her nails dig into my skin.
My head tilts, deepening the contact, as I become consumed with her mouth. Her taste. The press of her lips. The feel of her tongue.
That same possession that took residence in me that night rears up.
The kiss turns hotter. Wetter. More insistent.
I’m generally an easygoing guy, I like sex fun and playful, but Ashley brings out something insatiable and feral in me.
I grip her tighter.
Our bodies slide together, the contact making us both lose our breaths.
She shifts, lifting up, and my cock nudges between her legs. It’s so fucking perfect. She’s so perfect.
I grip her hip, rocking into her.
She gasps, surging up to meet me.
A frantic, almost desperate quality fuels the melding of our mouths.
Any control I have over the situation is quickly fraying, ready to snap.
Before I end up taking her in public, I rip away.
She pants up at me, her blue eyes glazed and glassy. Her lips swollen.
I suck in air while I try and gain control over my body. I run my thumb over her lower lip, wet and red from the bruising of my mouth.
She’ll wear the evidence of me all day. I like that idea entirely too much.
When I speak my voice is deep. “My conference goes until five today, but I will come looking for you later.”
She shakes her head and whispers, “Please don’t.”
I don’t think she realizes how her fingers tighten on my skin, as though she doesn’t want to let me go.
I trace her mouth with the pad of my thumb, wanting nothing more than to stay with her, right here in this hot, needy place where nothing but the two of us seems to matter. But I have to go. “I will see you later.”
I kiss the no from her lips.
“I’ll find you.” Then I turn and walk away.
Six
Ashley
I’m sitting in the main dining room of the hotel at a table, on the balcony overlooking the ocean, sipping wine and waiting for my dinner salad to arrive. I wanted to hide out in my room, but sheer pride won’t let me. I would not let Christopher’s presence ruin my vacation. I would not hole up in an effort to avoid him.
This was my time. I was taking it.
It’s been a strange day. After the shattering kiss with Christopher I’d gone back to my room, shaken, my body needy and desperate.
I hadn’t put up any fight at all. Worse, I’d melted against him and practically begged for more.
How had he broken through my resolve so quickly? So fast and ruthlessly?
I’ve been with my share of guys. I like sex. Like orgasms. Like losing myself in a guy’s body. I wasn’t naive, or innocent, or kittenish. I enjoy seduction.