Unexpected Rush (Play-By-Play #11)(36)

And he continued to kiss her, a dizzying array of kisses.

The man had an amazing mouth, making her wonder what else he could do with it.

And when he lifted her arms over her head and nuzzled her jaw, then licked along the side of her neck, she arched her hips, rubbing her clit against his erection.

He raised his head to look at her, his eyes dark with passion.

A very good look for him.

“Harmony.”

She undulated her hips against him. “Barrett.”

His breathing was harsh, and she hoped his pulse raced fast like hers. She felt out of control, breathless, and she really, really, wanted to see him naked.

“We shouldn’t do this.”

Not at all what she wanted to hear. Not right now, not when things were just starting to get good.

“Which part? You kissing me or you rocking your damned impressive cock against me?”

He kissed her neck, groaned, then raised up on his arms. “Any of it.”

The sexy, sultry mood evaporated. “You are not going to bring up that man code thing again right now, are you?”

He slid off of her and sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s more than that.”

Refusing to cover herself, because she wanted him to see exactly what he was not having at the moment, she rolled to her side and propped herself up on her elbow. “Then what is it?”

He threaded his fingers through his hair, looking down at the floor for a few seconds before dragging in a breath. Then he turned his gaze to her. “It’s just that I have so much respect for you.”

That did it. She slid her legs over the side of the bed. “That is such bullshit, Barrett.”

She grabbed her dress and slid into it, pulling the straps up over her shoulders, then marched into the bathroom, threw all her things into her overnight bag and zipped it up.

Barrett was still sitting on the side of the bed when she came out. She slipped on her sandals, shoved the rest of her clothes into her bag and closed it.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m leaving.”

“We can talk about this.”

“No. We can’t. If you’re too much of a coward to take what you want, then I’m sure as hell not going to throw myself at you.”

She went to the door to open it, but he was right there. “You came with me, remember?”

Refusing to even look at him, she opened the door. “I did. But I’m not leaving with you.”

She walked out, hearing the door close behind her as she made her way down the hall.

Barrett stared at the closed door in front of him.

Okay, so that hadn’t gone like he’d expected.

The entire night hadn’t gone like he’d expected. He sure as hell hadn’t expected Harmony to greet him on the balcony in the sexiest red underwear he’d ever seen. And he hadn’t planned on kissing her, or dragging her to the bed to touch her, inhale her sweet scent and think about f*cking her.

He finally walked away from the door and went out onto the balcony.

Okay, so maybe he’d screwed up. He’d spent the entire day—and night—with Harmony. Everything had been going well. Maybe he’d subconsciously rented the room with this in mind.

He turned and looked back into the darkened room.

“This” being spending the night with her, having her in bed. They’d been so close.

Until he’d been the one to put on the brakes. And then to make matters worse, he’d made up a lame excuse about respecting her too much.

Not that he didn’t respect her—he did. But that hadn’t been the reason.

He knew it. And so did Harmony.

It was time for him to decide if he wanted to move forward with her, or forever keep his distance.

He was going to have to have an honest conversation with her.

Which could be difficult, because judging from the way she looked when she stormed out of here, it was possible she’d never speak to him again.





Seventeen





There was nothing like throwing yourself into your work to get your mind off your personal problems. And despite thinking she was going to have a light day, Harmony’s morning had been super busy. She had had an unexpected meeting with a walk-in client to discuss the potential for new business, had fielded multiple phone calls and had met with another client to cover a new kitchen and family room makeover.

So it was well after lunch by the time she was free, and, conscious of what had happened to her yesterday, she stopped and had a great salad before heading back to the office.

Since she hadn’t slept at all last night, by the end of today she was going to drive back to her town house, do a workout at the gym, then climb into a pair of shorts and a tank top and settle in on her sofa for a night of relaxation. Maybe she’d get back to that book she’d been reading yesterday, or catch a baseball game on TV.

Either way, she was already wiped out and looking forward to the end of the day. All she had left at the office was some paperwork and several e-mails.

She walked in to find Barrett having a conversation with Rosalie.

He was the absolute last thing she needed today.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I need to talk to you.”

Not wanting to get into it with him in front of her assistant, she nodded. “We can talk in my office.”