Hell on Wheels (Black Knights Inc. #1)(68)

“Uh…”

“Because it’s obvious your body is totally onboard with the idea. And you admitted you like me.” She was standing in front of him, so close he could still make out the subtle aroma of her honeysuckle fabric softener even after a day spent on the back of a bike. “I like you—”

He shot her a startled look.

She shook her head and chuckled and all he could think was, geez, her hair looks good all wild and windblown.

“Well, I like you most of the time, anyway. The other times I usually don’t know whether I want to strangle you or kiss you. And that’s kinda my whole point, you know? The fact that even when you’re making me crazy, I still think maybe I want to kiss you? So…” she made a helpless little gesture with her hands, “why? Why can’t we give in and scratch this itch?”

There was a sudden humming in the air. It licked over his skin like an electric tongue, raising goose bumps.

“Uh…”

“And if you’re calling a halt because of loyalty to Grigg, because you think you’d owe me, his baby sister, more than a one-night stand, you’re wrong.”

Whoa. What? Did she just say one-night stand?

“I know your type,” she continued with a seductive little grin. “Heck, I grew up with a guy who was exactly you’re type. Love ’em and leave ’em, you know?”

“Ali—”

Oh, Lord. She moved to stand between his legs and her pert little breasts were right there. In his face.

What was he about to say? Something. Something important, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember.

“Nate,” she whispered his name and lifted a hand to run her fingers through his hair. Chills raced down his spine.

“Hmm?” he asked, mesmerized by the unsurpassable vista in front of his eyes and the feel of her, her touching him…on purpose.

She chuckled again, and it was the sound of a siren. Low and sexy and goddamned irresistible. He wasn’t consciously aware of movement, but at some point he lifted his right hand to cup the back of her thigh, urging her forward until he could bury his nose in the sweet smelling valley between her lovely, lovely breasts.

“You said my name,” she replied and covered his hand on the back of her thigh with her own, encouraging him upward until he was cupping her full, firm ass.

Lord in heaven.

“I was saying yours in return,” she explained in an indulgent tone.

What? What was she chattering about? It was impossible to comprehend anything with her soft breasts cuddling his cheeks and her subtle, honeysuckle scent making his head spin.

This had to stop.

She may talk big about a one-night stand, but she didn’t mean it. Did she…?

With the reluctance of a starving man walking away from an all-you-can-eat buffet, he dropped his hand and stood, causing her to step back. She glanced up at him quizzically, then gifted him with a knowing little smile. The same one women have been smiling for centuries. The one Da Vinci immortalized in the Mona Lisa.

He was in trouble.

And, yep, right on cue she stepped forward, went up on tiptoe, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Oh, man. He should’ve stayed seated, because now she was pressed all along his length. And it was delicious and distracting and goddamned dangerous. He was starting to forget all the reasons he was resisting her. They were important reasons, weren’t they?

He was certain they were, even though he couldn’t manage to recall them when she grabbed his ears to pull him down for a kiss.

Reasons…important reasons…

Her breath brushed against his lips, and he groaned.

Reasons!

“We have to stop this, Ali. We have to—”

“No,” she gave up trying to catch his lips and instead trailed a string of wet kisses across his jaw. “I’m not stopping this time, and you’re out of excuses. You say there are things I don’t know about you? Well, I don’t care about them. You don’t want a commitment? Well, I’m not asking for one.”

“Grigg,” he managed to croak, congratulating himself on finally, finally managing to come up with a plausible excuse.

“What about him?” she pulled back and stared into his face, her lips already pink from the abrasion of his beard stubble. He lost a couple of layers of enamel on his back molars when the sight of those plump lips brought to mind another part of her anatomy that would be soft and pink.

“He wouldn’t approve.” Yes! That’s where he’d been going.

“Of course he would.” The look she gave him was amused and indulgent. “He always told me you were the best man he’d ever known and I could do a whole lot worse than you.”

He jerked his head back when she would’ve resumed her deliciously maddening nibbling. “What? He always told me he’d kill me if I laid a finger on you.”

The indulgent smile she gave him was the facial equivalent of well, duh. “Of course, he did, you big silly. That’s what older brothers say to guys who are interested in getting into their little sister’s pants. What did you expect?”

What had he expected?

“He really told y’that? That you could do a lot worse than me?”

“Yes,” she started nipping on his neck again. “But my plan is to do my worst to you. How does that sound?”