Tell Me You Crave Me (Search and Seduce #3)(26)

“You know, being as sweet as you are, it makes a man wonder where else you taste so sweet.”

His hands trailed up her thighs, scrunching up her loose skirt as he went.

“Easton,” she whispered. Fuck, he liked the sound of his name from her soft red lips. He liked the way she looked, the way she smelled, the way she felt, and he had to have more. Now.

To hell with the rest. He just needed the kind of sugar only she could offer. And he was going to take it.



Natalie was in between a cake and a hard place. Literally. And she couldn’t bring herself to complain. Yeah, she had been thinking of East way too much, especially after their little outdoor experience the other night.

But East was so good at what he did. Dating. Enjoying life effortlessly. It just came naturally to him, and she found that oddly appealing. But she just wasn’t as good at that as he was. And she’d almost just told him so. Almost told him about this weird warmth in her chest that only seemed to come around whenever he did. Almost told him that seeing him with another woman made that warmth turn to a blazing heat. She just didn’t know how to deal with this…this…

Unknown?

Yeah, unknown seemed right, since she didn’t seem to know a damn thing when it came to East—how to avoid him, how to want, how to handle him. She thought about him, thought about what this all meant, how to stop, how to continue. It was annoying. Like him.

But now, with his softer tone and his hands getting dangerously close to where she needed him the most, she couldn’t bring herself to think of anything but those hands, his mouth…just his body on hers. Because he gave her passion, made her feel heat, and that was enough. It was all it’d ever be, and that was fine. She could even use it to her advantage until she found a date she didn’t want to punch in the face. A relationship with East was definitely never going to happen—not that she wanted it to—but she could stock up on that passion he offered and try to figure out how to deal with these kinds of emotions so she could better understand them with the next man.

“What are you doing?” she asked with more rasp in her voice than she’d intended.

“Oh, baby, if you don’t know, then you need my help more than I thought.”

She needed to maintain her grip on reality somehow. Needed to stay strong, because deep in the back of her mind she knew he was breaking her down, slowly, like a melting sugar cube.

Sweet…

Just as his fingers skimmed her panties, she grabbed a fist full of his hair and tugged. He faced her with a hiss.

“Like I said,” she murmured, “I don’t need your help.”

“But you want it,” he said.

Yeah, she did. She wanted a lot of things. Things East seemed to be able to give her. Sex. Passion. Maybe it wasn’t a date or a relationship, but she wanted what he was offering. And she was finding it harder and harder to deny that desire.

“I do want it. But there’s nothing between us, East.”

“There’s a lot between us.” He thrust his hip against her inner thigh, and she felt his erection press against her.

“Nothing real,” she clarified.

She thought for sure he’d come back with a joke about how real he was and thrust again, but he didn’t. He didn’t joke. Didn’t play coy. He looked her in the eyes and said the one thing she wasn’t expecting:

“You’re right.” Something in that admission hit her hard. Truth. They both recognized it and yet…he was still between her thighs. “There’s nothing real here. I’m casual and emotionless most of the time, right?”

She opened her mouth to refute that, because he had a lot of emotion. He just kept it hidden. But hadn’t she fired a similar comment at him the other night? Told him that if he had feelings she sure as hell couldn’t see them?

“East, you’re not emotionless—”

“So then there’s no reason why I can’t have my cake…” He slowly sank to his knees, cutting off her statement. He kissed the inside of her knee, then tossed her legs over his shoulders. “And eat it, too.”

When his mouth ran along her panties, she moaned.

“I still kind of hate you.” She mostly hated how he made her feel. And loved it. But hated that she loved it.

He nodded. His hair brushed between her thighs and set her skin prickling with heat. “You also kind of like me.”

Maybe she did. He was so confident. And lord knew he brought out the best passion and worst irritation in her.

“Maybe a little…” she said.

“Oh, sweet Natalie,” he said, and moved her panties down her legs and off. “Can’t we just get along?” And then his tongue snaked out and hit her clit in one strong lash.

“Oh! God yes!” she said and tunneled her hands into his hair.

He ran his mouth the entire length of her core, then back down again, slowly sampling every inch of her. He sucked gently on her soft folds. Then his strong arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her closer, and he impaled her on his stiffened, waiting tongue.

“Oh yes!” she cried again, the only word she could think to say. There she was, in her shop with the sexiest, most infuriating man between her thighs, and all she could do was turn into a puddle for him and beg for more.

It was this kind of feeling she didn’t know what to do with. The kind that was addicting. The kind that could get her heart into trouble.