I nodded. "Yeah. Definitely."
He leaned forward until our lips almost touched. And then, in a low whisper, he said, "Well, too bad."
My mouth fell open. "Too bad?"
His eyes filled with mischief. And then, he kissed me, hard and hungry. I felt his tongue dancing against mine, and his pelvis pressing hard against my hip. His hands drifted lower, grazing the seat of my shorts. I gave a muffled moan, and pressed my hips so tight against his that I could feel his hardness surging against my stomach.
He wanted me, too. I was absolutely sure of it.
And yet, to my infinite frustration, he pulled away.What the hell?
He said, "But youdoowe me something."
I was so breathless I could hardly think. "What?"
"Youknowwhat. So you'd better get talking."
I didn't know whether to laugh or scream. "God, you are such a tease." I wasn't even kidding. Already, I was slick with wanting him, and it was beyond obvious that he wanted me, too.
And yet, the way it looked, he wasn't going to back down. I let my gaze travel the length of him. I wanted him so bad I could taste it. Or maybe that was just the wine, lingering like that amazing kiss.
He flashed me a grin. "We can do this all night." He shrugged. "Or something else. It's up to you."
Talk about cocky.
And yet, the prospect was irresistible. So in a rush, I told him almost everything that was relevant – how Derek and I had been really close until recently, how Derek's dad controlled the estate, and finally, how the estate needed a lot of work and wouldn’t be fully mine until I turned twenty-five.
The explanation didn't take nearly as long as I'd anticipated, maybe two minutes at the most, probably because I glossed over a ton of details, in particular the sorry state of my finances. But I had my reasons. If that wasn't a mood-killer, I didn't know what was.
I finished by saying, "So there you go. Are you happy now?"
"With what you just told me?" He gave me a smile. "Hell no."
"So why are you smiling?"
He leaned forward and brushed his lips against my ear. And then, in a voice filled with sin, he said, "Because in five seconds or so, I'm gonna carry your sweet ass upstairs, and give you something else to think about."
Chapter 51
Before I could say anything in response, he'd already swooped me up into his arms and started carrying me toward the back patio door.
And then, I was laughing. No. Giggling. "Wait. What are you doing?"
He didn't even pause. "Youknowwhat I'm doing. Now, tell me which way."
Already, we were at the patio door. "Oh, come on," I laughed. "You can't be serious."
"Why not?"
"Because it's too far."
With one hand, he opened the door and then pushed us through it. "That's whatyouthink."
With me still cradled in his arms, he turned and pulled the door shut behind us. Soon, he was moving again, striding toward the main stairway.
I was still laughing, and it struck me how long it had been since the house had been filled with anything like this – the sounds of laughter, the anticipation of something wonderful, and the sensation of strong arms holding me like I weighed next-to-nothing.
At the stairway, he turned and began taking the stairs two at a time, shocking me with how easy he made everything seem. In utter amazement, I teased, "Do you do this often?"
