Big Shot(42)
Chapter Fourteen
Natalie moaned as Wes’s mouth claimed hers hungrily, greedily. His tongue pushed past her lips, and she didn’t hesitate to invite him in deeper. Her fingers fisted in his dress shirt, not to push him away but to keep him close, to make sure he could feel that she was kissing him back with as much passion as she felt coursing through him.
Passion . . . and possession.
The two emotions were not mutually exclusive, and she couldn’t deny that a part of her reveled in this aggressive side to Wes, mainly because of what had driven him to put his stamp of ownership on her. His kiss was laced with the hot taste of jealousy, and it thrilled her to know that she could have that kind of effect on him, a man who’d always had such a cavalier attitude toward women.
Judging by his abrupt, less-than-friendly behavior back at the event, cavalier was the last word she’d use to describe his feelings. Yet she was also smart enough to know that this covetous kiss didn’t change anything between them. It didn’t negate the fact that this affair between them had an end date, and it wasn’t a promise of a future. She’d be a fool to believe that was even a possibility with him.
When he finally lifted his mouth from hers, he was breathing hard and she could feel the tension vibrating off his body.
She exhaled to calm her racing heart, then reached up to grab his wrists and pulled his hands away from her face. “What the hell, Wes?” she demanded, her tone exasperated.
His jaw clenched tight with displeasure, and he jammed his hands on his hips. “Those guys were flirting with you.”
“They were being friendly,” she said reasonably.
“Same f*cking thing,” he growled irritably.
She rolled her eyes at him.
“Don’t f*cking mock me.”
She intentionally smirked, just to see his eyes flare with frustration. “I can’t help it. You’re acting like a jackass.”
He huffed out a breath, and damn if she didn’t think he looked kinda adorable. “Yeah, well, I don’t appreciate Richard being so friendly with you.”
She had to swallow back a burst of laughter. “Are you serious right now, Sinclair?”
“The guy provokes me without saying a word, and I know he’s doing it deliberately.” He jammed his fingers through his hair and started to pace in the small area.
“He’s not provoking you,” she said, then realized that was a lie. “Okay, maybe he is. A little. But it’s not because he’s in some kind of turf war with you over me.”
He scoffed at her. “You obviously don’t know men and how they think.”
She snickered to herself. “I know how Richard thinks, and it’s not about getting me naked but rather seeing you naked.”
Abruptly, he stopped pacing, and for a moment he looked dumbfounded by her comment, then his face scrunched up in confusion. “What?”
As fun as it was to see Wes suffer, he was about to learn the truth about her good friend. “Richard is gay, Wes. He likes guys, not girls. In fact, he thinks you’re kinda hot and that you have a nice ass.”
Wes’s eyes grew huge as realization dawned. “I do not need to know that he stares at my ass.”
She grinned and moved away from the concrete wall. “He’s just pushing your buttons because you’re being all territorial and trying to stake your claim like a He-Man. I’m surprised you didn’t whip out your penis for a dick-measuring contest back there, though I’m sure Richard would have enjoyed that.”
Gaze narrowed, he stalked toward her. “I’ll show you staking my claim.”
Before she realized what he intended, he hefted her over his shoulder, caveman style. Then he was jogging down the flight of stairs, jarring her body with every step he took.
She gasped in shock, unable to believe he’d do something so outrageous. “Wes! Stop!”
Of course, he didn’t listen, just kept spiraling his way down to the ground floor, carrying her as if he was used to hauling around an extra hundred and forty pounds over his shoulder. Since he didn’t seem inclined to let her go, and they were getting closer to the exit, she threatened him with the one thing all guys weren’t willing to give up.
“If you don’t put me down right now, before we step out onto the street, your dick isn’t going to get anywhere near my * tonight!” She winced at just how high-pitched her voice had gotten and hoped to God no one but Wes had heard her potty mouth.
Another effortless jog down a flight of stairs. “Baby, you know just how persuasive my dick can be.” He placed a hand on the back of her thigh and slid it beneath the hem of her skirt, right toward her panties. “Sweet little whispers and this * is all mine.”
She laughed at his arrogance. “So, now you’re the * whisperer?”
“Hmmm. We’ll have to test the theory when I have you naked and my mouth is between your legs.”
The erotic mental image that popped into her mind made her squirm on his shoulder. “Not gonna happen unless you put me down.”
He gave a long-suffering sigh but finally bent over and let her heels touch the ground again just as they reached the door leading to the outside world, then let her have a second to find her balance. When her head stopped spinning, she tugged her skirt back down her thighs and gave him a mock glare that told him he’d be lucky if he got anywhere near her girly bits for that stunt.