He cocked a brow. The expression faded into something akin to resignation. “Maybe.” His gaze raked over her once again and Chloe felt her cheeks flush. “I’m reserving judgment until I get to know you better.”
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. Chloe had had enough champagne to know that one more would push her past tipsy, and it was time to head home and form a new game plan for how to handle Nate before she said something she might regret. Like how much she wanted to bite the delicious curve of his ass cheek for starters. The man was perfection. Every hard angle of his body begging for a closer inspection. Chloe wanted to bite him. Lick him. Taste that lovely junction between his hip and thigh right before she ventured lower.
Oookaaay. Time to go home. She couldn’t curb the train of her erotic thoughts any longer and the future of her foundation depended on her keeping her damned panties on. She wanted a professional relationship with Nate Christensen. Nothing more. Good god, his ass …
“I think it’s time for me to call it a night.” Chloe placed the empty flute on a nearby table. “It was nice to meet you, Nate. And again, I’m sorry for your loss.”
His brow furrowed as though he waged some internal battle. Chloe knew the feeling all too well. Before he could convince her to stay—and it wouldn’t take more than a look—she turned and headed for the coat closet just outside the ballroom.
As Chloe searched through the rows of hangers for her jacket, she tried to slow her racing heart. Nate’s gruff demeanor, no-nonsense attitude, and piercing hazel eyes stirred Chloe’s lust to a fever pitch. How could she possibly charm him into parting with his money when she couldn’t even look at him without being starstruck? He tied her into knots without even trying. Hell, if he asked her right now, she’d empty her own bank account and lay it all at his feet in tribute to his magnificence. Way to melt into a useless heap at the first sight of a good-looking guy, Chloe. Oh, hell. Who was she kidding? Nate Christensen left good-looking in his freaking wake!
The hairs on the back of Chloe’s neck prickled as she sensed someone behind her. Her breaths came quick and shallow. She didn’t have to turn around to know that Nate had followed her—and what he wanted. His gaze had practically set her on fire.
“Do you always run off in the middle of a conversation?” His deep voice rumbled close to her ear and Chloe shivered.
“I didn’t know you had something more to say.” Her own response was nothing more than a breathy whisper. Her pounding heart didn’t allow for her to fill her lungs.
Nate’s palms came to rest at her hips and the contact sent a jolt of electricity through Chloe’s body that settled between her thighs. Her sex pulsed in time with her heart and her tongue darted out to lick her suddenly dry lips.
“I’ve got a lot more to say.”
She swallowed. Hard. This was a bad idea, and yet, she couldn’t help but ask, “Like what?”
“Like I want to fuck you.”
A rush of wet heat spread between Chloe’s thighs at Nate’s brash words. Her head spun with his scent, his proximity, the sheer size of him that crowded her from behind. The length of his erection brushed her ass and Chloe hissed in a breath. “Are you sure that’s not the IPA talking?”
“You and I both know we haven’t had that much to drink.”
True. If she had, Chloe could blame the epically bad decision she was about to make on the champagne. As it was, she had no one to blame but herself. His fingertips dug into her hips, a delicious amount of pressure that made Chloe bite back a moan. “Right here in the coat closet, huh? Wanna bend me over that chair in the corner and get right to it?”
“If you want.” Nate’s voice rippled over her skin as his mouth moved to her neck. He nipped at the skin and a thrill raced through her. God, the anticipation would give her an orgasm long before Nate was able to even get her clothes off. “I’ll hike up your skirt right here and now if you want me to. But I’d rather take you upstairs.”
Chloe couldn’t help but grin. “Why’s that?”
“Because I’m dying to get a glimpse of your pussy.”
Oh. Wow.
“Are you wet, Chloe?” He eased his erection against her ass again. A slow roll of his hips that made Chloe’s breath hitch. Nate Christensen was a first-class dirty talker and he was talking her right into a wanton frenzy.
She didn’t even have to guess. “Yes.”
“Mmmm.” His warm growl of approval made her wetter still. “My room’s upstairs. All you have to say is yes, Chloe. Goddamn, I want to fuck you.”
His mouth touched down on her throat, hot and wet. The scrape of his teeth on her sensitive skin coaxed goose bumps to the surface of Chloe’s skin and she shuddered. If she gave in, if she said the word he wanted to hear, it might submarine her chances of saving her foundation. Problem was, only one word formed on her lips and she was powerless not to speak it. “Yes.”