“Who says I want just a fling?”
She spun around and checked his face. It was flushed with arousal, but his expression was dead serious. Her heart gave a quiver. “I can’t reevaluate my life choices just because you turned up in my hotel suite with a bottle of expensive bubbly. That’s not fair.”
“I’m not trying to rush you.” He shook his head and then ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, that’s a lie. I am trying to inspire you. But only because we’ve lost too much time already.”
“So all of a sudden you remember that I exist, and now you’re in a hurry?”
He walked over to the bed and perched on the edge. “Baby, I dream about you more often than it’s healthy to admit. You’re the one, Lo. There’s nobody else.”
Seriously? “You had a hell of a way of showing it.”
“You own me,” he said. “I never wanted to let you go.”
“It’s not easy for me to believe in you,” she said quietly.
He looked up at her. “I know. But I’m going to change that.”
FOURTEEN
Mike watched her expression from too many feet away. Her face was flushed with defiance. He didn’t know how to break through her anger, and there very, very few tools left in his arsenal. Charm hadn’t worked yet. And his apology had only gotten him so far.
Laying all of his cards on the table, he tried to make her understand. “What if I told you the last person I kissed was you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Since you ambushed me on the sidewalk just the other night, forgive me if I’m not impressed.”
Slowly, he shook his head. “Not then. Two years ago.”
Her disbelief was palpable. “What are you trying to say?”
Bracing a foot on the carpet, he leaned forward and snagged her hand, tugging her close to where he sat. As soon as she was in range, he put his cheek to her ribcage and wrapped his arms around her waist. “The last person I kissed was you. The last person I took to bed was you. Just you.”
Her body went still, but he could hear her heart pounding beneath his ear. “You can’t be serious,” she whispered.
Tilting his chin upward, he found her gaze. “I’ve never been more serious.”
“But . . .” she stammered. “You . . . Your wife . . .”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t like that with us. I was there to ease her pain. And Elsa’s.”
“That’s so incredibly sad,” she whispered.
Now she gets it. “Yeah, I noticed. I signed up for a whole lot of sad. But Shelly got one final year with her child, and she got a husband who came home whenever he could to tuck our kid into bed and try to convince the two of them that everything was going to be okay.”
Lauren’s arms closed around his head, her fingers gripping him distractedly. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” His throat was rough but he cleared it. “Not trying to depress you. I’m just telling you how it is with me, and that I’ve always wanted you. Even if it’s only for tonight. I’m not dumb enough to ask you to make promises.”
Her fingers brushed through his hair, caressing his scalp, and he closed his eyes and tried to memorize the feel of her touch. She smelled of expensive perfume and sunshine. She smelled so fucking whole and alive that his eyes stung with happiness.
“I’m sorry for your troubles,” she said. “I really mean that.”
He made a grunt of acknowledgement, though it sounded like he was about to get the brush-off. “I know I came on strong tonight. But I meant every word I said.”
“It’s not easy for me to give in to you.”
“I’ll bet it isn’t. Tell you what—let me fill up that kickass tub in the other room.”
“W-what?” she stammered.
“Let’s have a soak. I’m trying not to paw at you like a beast.”
She actually laughed, but he hadn’t been joking. He was hard as a goalie stick and having her body in his arms was making him crazy. Without waiting for a response, he gently disengaged from her and stood up. He nabbed the bottle of champagne and their glasses, and carried them into the giant spa bathroom, where he started the water flowing.
The lights were on a dimmer switch, so he lowered them to just a glow. Then he refilled both their glasses and stripped out of his clothes.
He was already in the tub, sipping champagne, when Lauren came to stand in the doorway, still fully dressed.
“Last one in is a total babe,” he said, taking a casual sip. But his heart was thudding inside his chest.
She gave him a tiny smile. “I can’t believe I’m actually considering getting in that tub with you.”
“You hold all the cards, sweetheart.” No truer words were ever spoken.
Lauren looked him over with gentle eyes. “You know I want to. I never stopped wanting you, you jerk.”
He grinned.
“If I do this, it’s just for tonight,” she said. “My life is complicated right now.”
His smile faded in a hurry. “Is there someone else?”
She shook her head. “Just a lot of changes I’m considering. Graduating in a few weeks, making plans. That sort of thing.”
“Oh.” He tried to imagine what that could mean. Maybe she was considering moving away from New York? Now there was a ghastly thought. “Hop in, Lo. If a night is all I can have, I’ll take it.” Not that he’d give up on her tomorrow. But a guy had to start somewhere.
When Lauren’s gaze perused his body, he knew victory was near. They’d always had the kind of sexual chemistry that other people only dreamt about. He closed his eyes and relaxed against the slanted tub, inviting her gaze to linger.
He heard the rustle of clothing, so he opened his eyes again. She’d turned her back on him. But he made an involuntary grunt when he realized she’d reached back to find the zipper of her dress.
“Want help with that?” he offered.
Wordlessly she took a couple of steps backward until he could reach her with his free hand. She held the fabric taut while he lowered the zipper slowly. The dress began to fall away, leaving her in a tiny strapless bra and a white lace thong.
“Jesus,” he muttered. “Way to kill a guy.”
“You don’t have to look,” she pointed out, stepping out of the dress.
He groaned, his cock jumping below the surface of the water. “Yeah, I really do. But it’s been two years since I saw anything that hot, so I might need one of those things you use to look at an eclipse of the sun without burning your retinas.”
“A pinhole camera?” she asked, hanging the dress on a hook on the back of the door.
“Yeah that.”
She turned around suddenly, giving him the front view of a beautiful, shapely woman in tiny lingerie. Her tits spilled over the tops of that inadequate bra, and his mouth began to water. “You know why I wore the dress?” she asked.
“Mmm?” he managed.
“Eyes up here,” she said, pointing at her own. “The dress. I wore it because it’s beautiful. And I wanted to feel beautiful again.”
“Well it worked.” His voice was like gravel. “Never seen anything so beautiful.”