Beauty from Pain(20)
It’s dark and I can’t make out his expression. “I pay Daniel to be available when I need him. He isn’t my confidant, so we don’t discuss what I do with the women I date.”
“The women you date,” I whisper as I turn to stare out the window. The streetlights flash like strobes as we pass. If I say yes, I will be number thirteen. I can’t imagine that going well. Thirteen is always unlucky.
He puts his hand on my knee and heat radiates up my thigh. “I want to know what you’re thinking.”
His intimate gesture gains my full attention. “I would be number thirteen.”
I’m not certain, but I think he’s amused by my observation. “I suppose you would be.”
I’m superstitious. I always have been. “It’s an unlucky number.”
“I don’t think it is. I was born on the thirteenth.”
If I do this, something will go wrong and this man will hurt me. I know it as sure as I’m sitting here next to him feeling how much he makes me want to say yes. “How can you think it’s possible to have something this hot without one of us getting burned?”
I see him grin in the darkness. “You think this thing between us is hot?”
Daniel pulls to a stop in front of Ben’s apartment building. I don’t reply to Lachlan—it’s never wise to throw fuel on a fire already raging out of control.
Daniel opens the door and I get out of the car behind Lachlan. We walk up the sidewalk to the building’s entrance and he shocks me by reaching for my hand. It’s such a sweet and intimate thing to do. “Do you have your own bedroom?”
“No. Addison and I share the guest room.”
“Good.”
What? Did he think I was sharing a bed with Ben? What if I were? He didn’t have a claim on me. Yet. “Where did you think I was sleeping?”
“I had no idea since these apartments are so small. However, I do know your friend’s brother would like nothing better than to have you in his bed. Then again, so would I, so I don’t guess I have room to say much.”
There he goes again, saying whatever is on his mind. I’m not sure if I should appreciate his honesty or brace myself for whatever might come out of his mouth next. “Are you missing your filter, or is it an Aussie thing to blurt out every inappropriate thought you have?”
We’re standing at the entrance to the building and I sense what’s coming next. I feel it in my bones. And my groin. He’s going to kiss me. And I want him to. Badly.
But then that isn’t what he does.
He pushes me until my back is against the building. He pins me with his hips so I’m trapped. There’s no escape—not that I would try. His eyes dart from mine to my mouth, then back up to my eyes. “I say exactly what’s on my mind because I don’t have time for silly games. I told you I don’t do pretenses, and this is me showing you what I mean. I want you to know exactly what’s on my mind.”
It’s unnerving the way his eyes pierce mine. “And what’s on your mind right now?”
His mouth is so close to mine, I feel his warm breath on my lips. “Right now, all I’m thinking about is how I’m going to get you in my bed so I can show you all the ways I can make you come.”
Umm … yes, please and thank you.
He makes me want to get on all fours and crawl like a tigress. I’m burning from the inside out, and he hasn’t even kissed me yet. This man is talented. I wonder what he’d be able to do if we weren’t standing in a very public place.
He takes my mouth with his hand and squeezes my jaw inward before he rubs his thumb over my lips. “I’ve been wanting to devour this mouth since the first time I saw you.”
“Then, why don’t you?” I feel audacious so I issue a challenge. “I dare you.”
I watch his face as I wait for him to take me up on my invite. Come on, I want you to do it. My chest heaves up and down so hard, I can see it moving in my peripheral vision, and my breathing is embarrassingly loud. I’m stunned by my sudden and unexpected urgency for him. I shove the bells and whistles I hear aside—the ones alerting me to how wrong this is—because I don’t want to heed my subconscious warnings. I only want to feel what this man is offering—to make my fantasies come true.