Not meeting my eyes, she says, “I can just get a cab from here.”
Oh no. This will not do.
I tilt her face up to mine by her chin. “Hey, boss lady, none of that. I’ve got plans on how to return the favor.”
“Having trouble counting, are we?” she asks, laughing nervously. “One for you and one for me. No return needed.” She may be meeting my eyes, but I can still sense a distance. A distance I don’t like.
Dropping my hands from her face, I lean into her and trace my lips up her neck. “I may not be from the South, but I still like to consider myself a gentleman,” I whisper into the shell of her ear. “I’m pretty sure the going market rate isat leasttwo female to every one male orgasm.” I gently bite her earlobe, making her gasp before sucking the hurt away and moving toward her mouth. “And a Moore always pays his debts.”
Tenderly, I touch my mouth to hers. It’s completely different from any of our previous kisses. I want her to know there is more to this than sex. More than just scratching an itch or notching our respective bedposts. I want to woo her, charm her,romanceher. I pull back to tell her that, but I’m momentarily transfixed by the ardent look on her face, her eyes still closed, savoring our kiss.
Before her eyes open, a slow grin lifts the corners of her mouth, making me all that more dumbfounded by her beauty.
“Okay then, boss man. Let’s go get you out of debt.” She steps around me and saunters over to the elevator, expecting me to follow.
I do, but not because she expects it. She doesn’t understand—hell, I don’t even understand. But I don’t need to make sense of everything going on between us to know I’d follow her anywhere.
Bell
Focusingon the shiny elevator doors, I put one booted foot in front of the other and try to calm down.
Road head? What am I, eighteen?
In the moment it felt right, but in the light of oncoming headlights, I panicked.
I mean, I guess technically we were parked, but still. And nine inches? The ache in my jaw says differently.
Too quickly, my boots take me to the elevator door. I wait for Chase to catch up, refusing to look back at him. Still revved up from sucking him off like a prizewinning Hoover, I don’t trust myself not to ride him like a stallion at a Wild West show. Jesus, listen to me. I’m so turned on I’m mixing up metaphors.
I’ve been fighting the need to jump his bones since that first phone call. Since I dosed him with hot coffee. Don’t even get me started on the state of my newly purchased panties while he watched me play dress up. True, I had some setbacks. Dinner. The elevator…
But I’d regrouped!
I flew halfway across the country and avoided all phone-sex-voiced phone calls, for heaven’s sake. Distance. Time. Both things that should’ve lessened an overwhelming, no-good, should-know-better desire for Chase Moore.
It didn’t.
And then I had to watch him affectionately tease his little sister before he sweetly held my hand on our walk to his car.
There’s only so much a girl can take.
Speaking of… His body heat invades my personal space as he leans forward and swipes a card to open the elevator doors. As we cross the threshold, he swipes his card again before pushing the button for the top floor. Then he slips his hand into mine.
I’ve never been one for public displays of affection, not even simple ones like holding hands. But for some reason, his hand in mine calms me. The feel of Chase’s skin, even just the smooth glide of his palm on mine, brings a smile to my face that I don’t entirely understand.
There are a lot of things I don’t understand about my body’s reactions when it comes to Chase Moore. But I’m tired of fighting it, tired of expending so much energy avoiding and trying to rationalize my irrational behavior. It’s time for a little less conversation and a little more you-know-what.
“Are you humming Elvis again?”
Blinking, I focus my attention on Chase’s amused grin. “Uh…” Oh dear lord. Iwashumming the King again. My face heats when I realize just which song I’d been humming.
Chase laughs, pulling me to him with our connected hands. Now we’re more than just palm to palm, we’re front to front, all his good bits against mine. The elevator door chimes and slides open. I don’t look away, still caught in Chase’s smiling gaze.
“You needing a little more action?” His voice husky, he leans down and gives me a light kiss on the tip of my nose. “I think you’re on to something, Bell.” He sings a little of the song, his phone-sex-operator voice ten times more powerful when put to a melody. But what he does next seals the deal. Changes the tone from sweet to sexy in one move.
He winks at me.
That freaking wink.
