Wrong for You (Before You #3)(17)
She should step away, but his fathomless eyes held her captive and she couldn’t do anything but stare back at him, taking in every detail of his face—his slightly crooked angular nose, the light scar that ran through his left eyebrow, his full lips that begged to be touched. No part of him was perfect, but taken as a whole, he was the epitome of perfection, and as much as she tried to convince herself otherwise, she liked the feel of his hard body next her, his big, warm hand pressing into her back sheltering her from God knows what, but damn it felt amazing.
For long, combustible seconds, neither of them moved, the sound of their breathing echoing in the sudden silence of the room. His fingertips whispered along her jaw line, more of a suggestion than a real touch, and even with that little contact, her skin was on fire wanting more of Alec than any woman with half a brain should.
“Sorry,” she finally said, dropping her hands from his waist as her eyes bounced around the room, trying to find safety from his soul-searching gaze. “I don’t know. I got a little excited and I just—”
“Threw yourself at me,” he finished for her, a mocking smile tainting the beauty of his lips.
“Something like that,” she mumbled as she closed her eyes in horror, certain that thirty shades of pink colored her hopelessly pale skin.
He dropped his hand from her back and took a couple steps away from her. She immediately missed his touch. “Don’t worry about it. I’m used to it.”
She believed him. Everything about Alec Reed, from his walk to his velvet voice and his angry tattoos, screamed of sex and sin, and there was no doubt in her mind that most women would die to give him anything and everything he wanted. She couldn’t let herself be one of them. She turned her back to him, adding a teaspoon or two of sugar to her black coffee, stirring it, tasting it, trying to ignore Alec because she felt like a fool, no—an unoriginal fool.
“Violet?” His voice was soft and barely audible. Her name would have gone undetected if the room weren’t incredibly silent, every sound echoing and amplifying unnaturally.
“Uh huh,” she answered without turning around. She couldn’t look at him yet and then he placed his hands on her shoulders, massaging the tension that had become a permanent fixture over the last year and she couldn’t stop herself. She leaned into his heat again, soaking up every ounce of attention he’d give her.
“I’m just f*cking with you,” he whispered next to her ear, his warm breath and darkly sensual voice causing all kinds of turmoil in her mind and maybe an unexpected shiver or two that she’d never admit to. He kissed the top of her head before turning around to face him, his face only inches from her, his dark magnetic eyes sucking her in like nothing she’d ever felt before.
She stepped to the side. “What’s that?” she asked, waving her hand toward the bags on the table. She needed to change the subject fast. For her, a woman who’d only had a couple relationships in her life, this situation was dipping into dangerous territory.
He exhaled loudly before he walked to the table and pulled out all kinds of food, setting them on the counter. “Groceries.”
“Oh.” Her brow wrinkled in confusion. “Is the refrigerator in the basement broken?”
“Nope. I thought I’d make you dinner tonight to celebrate making the fundraising goal for the year.”
“What do you mean? I need two hundred and fifty thousand for the year.”
“Yep.” He placed a stick of butter and a bottle of wine in her refrigerator. “I’ll have it by the end of this weekend, if not today.”
“What are you going to do for the rest of the month?” Her stomach lurched at the thought of him walking out of her life so quickly. She didn’t want him to leave yet. Being the only remaining full-time employee at the Foundation bothered her. Sure, she had the kids, but they weren’t her peers, people she could confide in if needed.
“I’m going to raise money.” He grinned. “Unless you want me to stop, but judging from the condition of the building, overfunding the Foundation isn’t possible. The building needs a new paint job on the exterior and interior, the gym floors need to be refinished.” He shrugged. “The whole place needs to be updated.”
“I’d hate to invest all that money in the building when the lease is only for another year. I can’t count on the owners renewing the lease. I think they’d like to sell it.”
“They want to sell it?” His eyes narrowed.
“That’s what I’ve heard.” She took a sip of the coffee she’d abandoned on the counter. “The rumor is that a few developers are interested in demolishing the Foundation and building apartments for college kids.”
“How much?”
“How much what?”
“What do they want for the building?”
“I don’t know. It can’t be much. You’ve probably noticed that the building is in shambles.”
“I’ll find out.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re going to find a way to buy it.”
She laughed. “You think?”
He smiled. It was only a small lopsided grin, but her heart may have skipped a beat or two. “I know so.” He folded up the paper grocery bags and stacked them next to the sink. “I have some stuff to take care of today so I won’t see you at the Foundation, but I’ll be here at six to make you dinner.”