Page 36 of Nothing to Deny
“Hmm,” he said. “No, we’ll have dinner tomorrow night. Usual time.”
And her driver would know the where after her grandfather decided on it.
Her mind blanked. “We don’t have to—”
“I insist.” And that was the end of the conversation. “When I call, you pick up.”
“Yes, Grandaddy. I love you.”
Hanging up the phone, she stared down at it. He did love her. He did care about her. He just didn’t always understand her. She couldn’t blame him for that, sometimes she didn’t understand herself.
TWELVE
STILL FIXATED ON the phone, the brush of fingertips on her hip broke her daze. Something about the feel of them, how they took their time gliding around her hip then tightened, with delicate but sure possession, closed her eyes.
That wasn’t a threat.
That was Baer.
Switching her phone into her other hand, her fingers joined his, threading between them, caressing them deep. As she stood straight, she guided them up her stomach, through her cleavage, onto her opposite cheek.
Rubbing her face against his palm, she leaned on his solid body, grateful to have him in her life, even if it was only for a limited time.
“Little Skit,” he murmured above her head.
“God, it’s so wrong,” she whispered, tasting the words more than she heard them. “It’s wrong to want you like this.” Insistent in her redirection, she forced him to cup her breast rather than her face. Squeezing his fingers with hers, her coerced fondling fired more guilt. “I’m sorry.”
Dropping her hand, she expected his to loosen immediately. It didn’t. Instead, he tucked his fingers into the fabric covering her breast to caress her skin to skin.
“You can’t touch me like this,” she whispered. Oh, but she wanted it, this and so much more. Her tormented clit heated and tingled as he squeezed her nipple between his strong fingers. “You shouldn’t want to—”
He pinched her so hard that a quake of almost climax shot through her. On a yelp, her body bucked back against his.Her phone dropped from her slack fingers, but she didn’t care, nothing except him mattered.
Proving that, eager to progress, she slid a hand up his thigh, intending to go higher until he caught her wrist and pressed her palm flat on his leg. He bent down, burying his mouth in her hair, resting his head on her shoulder, pushing his face into the side of her neck.
“Tell me to stop,” he mumbled, teeth grazing her, something pained about the request. “Say I’m an asshole who has no right to put his hands on you… Tell me, Lil’… Tell me to fuck off.”
“I can’t,” she gasped, fighting to keep her volume low. “I can’t say it. I can’t say it when I’m so desperate to beg you to fuck me.” Grabbing her arms, he jerked her around to face him, picking her up to perch her on the back of the bench. Steadying herself, she planted her hands on his chest. “I know we can’t. I know you’re working, and I know…” Talk about pained. No words were harder to say than these. “I know after you go home with Hol tonight, we can’t ever do this again.”
“I won’t.” He shook her. “Complimentary dates don’t include sex, and if Donoghue tries to touch you—”
“I don’t want sex,” she said, statement matching her paperwork. Except the documentation didn’t reveal the whole, honest truth. “Not from him.”
“You didn’t write preferences; I’m not on your schedule.”
He’d found the best and quickest way to remind her this was a terrible idea. The only way she’d ever have this man deeper between her thighs, embedded in her, was if she paid for the privilege.
“Baer…” she said, trying to push him away.
He didn’t budge. “No.” Blocking her way, he held her on the top of the bench. “How long is your trip?”
“Two weeks,” she said. The serious line of his brow matched the movement of his jaw. “Baer, I—”
“There’s no man I trust to go with you. Seeing Don’s hands on you tonight—”
“Baer, what is this about?” she asked, stroking his chest in an attempt to soothe. “You were wound up in the car, and you’re tense now. Something’s upsetting you and I don’t know what it is. Talk to me, baby.”
Grabbing her hand, he squeezed her fingers, raising them to his mouth. “Why did the white rose upset you?”
