I just had to know. "Are you mad because I kissed you?"
When he made no reply, I said, "Because I wasn't coming on to you, if that's what you think."
"I don't."
I wasn't quite sure I believed him. Did he think that I was like Mackenzie? Eager for a taste of him regardless of our history?
I forced a nervous laugh. "Relax, I'm not going to jump you or anything."
His only reply was a low scoff.
"What?" I said. "You think I want to?"
Okay, maybe for a minute there, I'd been almost tempted, but not anymore. When he still didn't answer, I made a sound of frustration. "I'm serious. You want the truth? You couldn’t make me want you if you tried." And I meant it, too.
Already, I wanted to slap myself silly for falling under his spell.
Now that I'd been jerked back to reality, I realized that there was nothing on this Earth that could make me want someone who was so completely impossible.
Or so I thought.
Chapter 42
Flynn
Anna was dead wrong. Making her want me? It would be easier than she knew.
But that wasn't my style, to fuck someone to prove a point. Whether Anna deserved it or not, I gave it to her straight. "Yeah I could."
Her lips, glistening from the rain, parted in obvious surprise. The way it looked, she was about to argue.
I didn't give her the chance. "So drop it, all right?"
She rolled her eyes. "Well, someone's awful sure of himself."
Yeah. I was. And it wasn't because of my celebrity status. Yeah, these days I could probably fuck a dozen girls a day if that's what I wanted.
But I didn't.
I did, however, know what I was doing when it came to the opposite sex. And I never faked it.
I gave Anna a long, lingering look. If I were able to forget how much I despised her, I could find plenty there to appreciate. Her hair, dripping wet, clung to her face and fell partially over her eyes as they warmed with some emotion that she was trying to hide.
But I knew exactly what it was.
Lust.
I leaned across the center console and said, "You look way too sweet for your own good, you know that?" For my own good, too. But she didn't need to know that, did she?
She tried for a laugh. "Yeah, right."
"What? You think I'm joking?"
"Yes, actually." She glanced down, taking in her soaked appearance. "I’m a mess."
I almost smiled. "Yeah. A hot mess." And I meant it, too. Her dress clung to her curves in a way that was nearly obscene. Even in the dim light of the parking lot, I could see the outlines of her hard nipples, straining against the thin fabric.
They were obviously cold. I could warm them with my touch, or even better, with my mouth.
But not yet.
I knew how to take it slow.
With the backs of my fingers, I reached out and caressed the side of her face. Her skin was damp with raindrops and colder than I'd expected. Good. It meant my fingers were warm in comparison.
With slow deliberation, I left a trail of heat from her cheekbone down to the side of her neck. When she leaned into the touch, I felt my lips curve into a secret smile.
She breathed, "What are you doing?"
I gave her a knowing look. "You want me to stop?"
She swallowed hard. "Not if you don't want to."
Fuck.
I didn't want to.
Never in my life had I wanted someone who was so malicious underneath. I mean, take Felicity, she had plenty of issues, but in her case, I'd known exactly what I was getting.
But Anna? She was something else – sweet on the outside and vicious in her cruelty. I thought back to what I'd overheard just a few minutes earlier.
They'd laughed.
Yeah, high school was a long time ago, and maybe Anna wasn't that girl anymore. But she wasn't what she was pretending to be either.
She couldn’t be.
No one was that sweet.
Maybe I did hate her. But I wanted her just the same.
And, foolish or not, I was going to make her want me even more. I was going to make her say it, too. I wasn't even sure why. Revenge? Or raw desire?
Shit, it was probably both.
Five minutes. That's all it would take to make her say yes, to prove that she wasn't the person she was pretending to be. I glanced toward the dashboard clock. It was 9:32, and the rain was still pouring.
Slowly, I moved my head closer to hers as if intending to deliver a slow, sultry kiss. But I didn't. Instead, I waited on the edge, giving her the chance to turn away – or move forward.
Your move, Anna Burke.
And she made it, all right.
She closed the distance, pressing her sweet lips to mine in a kiss that nearly made me groan out loud. I slid my hand behind her head and pulled her close. The tendrils of her wet hair wrapped around my fingers as I plunged my tongue into her mouth and felt a surge of satisfaction when she moaned against me.
She wasn't just wet from the rain. I knew this just as sure as I knew that I was taking this a lot further than I'd originally intended.
I pulled back and stared into her eyes. "You can tell me to stop at any time, you know."
She bit her lip. "Do you want me to? Tell you to stop, I mean?"
Why lie? "Hell no." I leaned my forehead against hers and said, "What I want is to take your cold nipples into my hot mouth and warm them 'til you beg for me to take you right there in the back seat."
Her breath hitched. "You mean in the car?" She gave the back seat a nervous glance. "But that's crazy. I mean…we shouldn't."
She was right, but not in the way she thought. I wasn't worried about anyone seeing us. Between the rain and tinted windows, we were practically invisible.
But that didn't mean it was a good idea. I should've stopped at the kiss. Or better yet, she should've stopped me.
It would've been the smart thing to do.
When I made a move to pull back, she said, "Wait."
I waited in silence, knowing exactly what she was going to say.
Yes.
That's what they all said.
Instead she surprised me by teasing, "How do you know they're cold?"
Resisting an inexplicable urge to smile, I let my gaze drift to her breasts. Underneath the wet fabric, her nipples were so erect, I wondered if I'd be the one begging her, not the other way around.
If so, that would be a first.
Damn it. She was killing me.
But hey, what else was new?
Now, I did smile. Her question lingered between us. How did I know that her nipples were cold?
"I don't know," I said. "But I have ways of finding out." And with that, I turned and gave the back seat a significant look.
If I was going to find out anything, it would be there – not up front, where the center console would put a serious kink in all of the things I wanted to do.
As she followed my gaze, Anna chewed on her bottom lip. Even that gesture, as small as it was, went straight to my groin, making my erection surge against my zipper.
I almost felt like a kid in high school – messing around in a car and feeling too eager for my own good.
This whole thing was seriously messed up. I had, in Mackenzie's words, my own mansion. And in that mansion were more bedrooms than I needed.
Hell, I even had the kitchen table. And yeah, a washing machine for fuck's sake. But those were twenty minutes away and weren't going to cut it.
I wanted Anna now, not later. And from the look in her eyes, the feeling was more than mutual.
Sure enough, with a breathless laugh, she made her move toward the back seat, not going out the door, but rather over the center console, giving me a nice view of her sweet ass as she crawled toward the back.
I gave her ass a playful swat, liking the sound it made over the wet fabric of her dress. With a laughing squeal, she dove forward. "Oh, stop it!"
She
didn't mean it. That much was obvious. And if I had any doubt – which I didn't – the look of breathless anticipation on her sweet face told me that she just might get off on that sort of thing.
Nice.
And yeah, just a little nasty.
I liked it.
Anna Burke—she was full of surprises, wasn't she?
As for myself, I didn't go over the center console. No. What I did was open my car door.
From the back seat, Anna laughed, "No fair!"
I turned and gave her a shameless smile. "I know." And with that, I left the vehicle for just a moment before slipping back in through the rear door almost like I was civilized.
As I joined her in the back seat, I thanked my lucky stars that I'd driven the sedan as opposed to any of my other cars, which were seriously lacking when it came to room in the back.
Shutting the car door firmly behind me, I told Anna, "If you want fair, you've got the wrong guy." And with that, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her hard and heavy.
When she moaned against my mouth, I let my hand drift down the side of her neck and then to her shoulder. I nudged aside the soaked fabric of her little black dress, pushing its neckline down until the only thing standing between me and my mission was the sheer fabric of her lacy bra.
With a practiced hand, I nudged it aside, and took a hard nipple between my warm fingers. The nipple was cool and damp, just as I'd expected – but not for long. As I kissed her, I warmed it with light pinches and gentle strokes, alternating just enough to keep her guessing.
When the nipple was warmed to my satisfaction – and hers – I moved onto the second one and did the same.
Anna's hips were rising now, not a lot, but enough for me to know – as if the little sounds she made weren't enough – that she was ready and willing to do almost anything I wanted.
I knew exactly what I wanted first.
I wanted to make her cum with my fingers right here in the back seat of my car. When my hand slid down toward the inside of her thigh, she gave a little whimper of need that told me everything I needed to know.
As my mouth moved against hers, I stroked her thigh, edging ever closer to the crotch of her panties without ever quite reaching it. Her hips were moving more insistently now in a silent plea for me to give her what I knew she wanted.
When I finally trailed a slow finger across her swollen center, she trembled in my arms and kissed me with an urgency that made me smile against her mouth.
Even through the panties, she was hot and soaking wet. With expert fingers, I teased the hardened knob to my heart's content, making her move against me in a desperate bid for more of what she liked.
Oh yeah, she was ready and then some. As the realization hit home, I felt a sudden urge to make her mine in every way that counted.
As we kissed, her hands fumbled for the button of my pants and then the zipper. When she freed me from the fabric and took my hard length into her warm hands, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
Her hands were soft and sweet, just like the rest of her, and my control wavered more than it had in a long, long time.
It had never been like this, not with Felicity or any other girl. In the back of my mind, I wondered if it was because Anna was so different or because my feelings for her were so completely messed up.
Through the crotch of her panties, I continued to rub, tease and taunt, bringing her just to the edge, but never over. Was I torturing her? Maybe. But trust me, she wasn't complaining.
Her skin was on fire now, and her chest was rising and falling in time with the strokes. When I lowered my head and took a hard nipple into my mouth, she let out the sweetest moan I'd ever heard.
As I teased her with my fingers and tongue, her breath came in short, erotic bursts, barely audible over the pounding rain.
When I couldn't resist a moment longer, I didn't let up. Through her panties, I rubbed her just the way I knew she wanted and didn't stop until she climaxed in a series of shudders and moans that made me nearly cum myself.
And then, with a breathless sigh, she said it. "I want you."
There it was.
With a sudden pang, I recalled what had started me down this twisted road in the first place. The recollection was a swift kick in the ass, and I pulled back to look at her.
Her face was flushed, and her eyes were warm and sleepy. If she were any other girl, I swear, I might've fallen in love with her right then and there.
But she was Anna Burke. And she was pure poison, wrapped up in the sweetest package I'd ever seen.
With something that felt an awful lot like regret, I reminded myself that she wasn't the kind of girl you fell in love with, not unless you'd lost your fucking mind.
And love? Shit. I didn't know the meaning of the word.
Before I had time to second-guess it, I pulled back and said, "I win."
She gave me a confused smile. "Sorry, what?"
I didn’t smile back. "Just now. You said you wanted me."
She glanced down, taking in my massive erection. Her hand was still there, but her grip faltered. "Um, yeah. I do."
"Told ya." And with that, I pulled away, stifling a groan of my own when her hand left my swollen cock. Yeah, I was still hard, but I wasn't stupid. Quicker than I might've thought possible, I was zipped and buttoned, as if I didn't feel like showing her exactly how much I still wanted her.
And now, Anna was staring, thunderstruck. "Told me what?"
"That I could make you want me." I gave her my cockiest smile. "Remember?"
Her breath caught, and she looked at me for another long moment before saying, "You asshole."
She was right. I was.
But I wasn't so big of an asshole that I'd fuck a girl I hated – though lord knows I wanted to.
As I pushed open the car door, I didn't look back.
I knew why, too. If I did, I'd regret it for more reasons than I cared to admit.
Fuck.
Chapter 43
Anna
I wanted to kill him. Instead, I pulled myself together as best I could as he reclaimed the driver's seat without so much as a glance in my direction.
From the back seat, I said with as much dignity as I could muster, "Well, I guess you showed me, huh."
The sad thing was, he did show me, and probably more than he'd intended.
I wasn't terribly experienced, but I'd been around the block enough to know that it wasn't always like this, and that Flynn's abilities went well beyond the norm – as he obviously knew.
But now, in the aftermath, my face was burning with humiliation. Shit. He'd made me climax through my panties for God's sake. How embarrassing was that?
Of course, it wouldn't have been embarrassing at all if not for the fact that the whole thing had been just one big stupid game to him – a way to prove his point.
He'd even told me what he was doing.
In advance.
To think, he'd literally warned me.
But had I listened?
No.
Idiot that I was, I'd let myself get swept away like a groupie at a rock concert. Oh, he was an asshole all right, but I had to face reality head-on. He hadn't done anything I hadn't asked for, personally.
How messed up was that?
With a hard scoff, I tried to look on the bright side. He could've announced his little victory after having sex with me – meaning actual intercourse as opposed to what we'd done instead.
That would've been an even jollier joke, wouldn't it?
Part of me almost wondered why he hadn't. I mean, I had asked for it. Then again, I was no Felicity Saint Cloud. Maybe what happened between us was as far as he'd be willing to take it with somebody like me, a normal girl in a normal place.
Asshole.
Yes, it did bear repeating.
I slammed out of the back seat, intending to walk away entirely. To where, I had no idea. The rain was still pouring, and I didn't have my own vehicle.
Or a coat.
Or an umbrella.
Shit.
But it wasn't my lack of accessories that made me stop. It was the sight of Mackenzie coming out of the restaurant, dragging Preston along behind her.
I knew the exact moment she spotted me, because she stopped walking and stared straight in my direction. When she smiled like she knew something I didn't, I literally wanted to scream.
Could their timing be any worse?
Damn it. Could my timing be any worse? Tears pricked at my eyes. Could this night get any worse?
Somehow I doubted it.
With a muttered curse, I turned and yanked open Flynn's passenger's side door and climbed in, looking straight ahead even as he fired up the engine and backed out of the spot.
I hated him.
More than that, I hated myself.
As usual, he made no attempt at conversation. And for once, neither did I.
When we pulled into his garage, I slammed out of his car and stalked straight up to the pink nightmare that was my room, where I spent the next hour crying into my pillow, nice and quiet so he wouldn't hear.
And why?
It was because I refused to give him the satisfaction.
But one thing was for damned sure. I wasn't going to make such a mistake again. And tomorrow, when I recovered my composure, we were going to have a little talk.
A few hours later, I found myself sitting in the upstairs hallway outside Flynn's bedroom door.
I hadn't slept. I hadn't even tried. Instead, I'd spent the nighttime hours getting my stuff ready and replaying not the scene from last night, but rather a different scene, one from ten years earlier, when I'd shown even sorrier judgment than I'd shown in Flynn's back seat.
Chapter 44
Anna – Ten Years Earlier
"Honey," my mom said. "Just be honest. That's all we ask, all right?"
I was slumped in a living room chair, facing my mom and Gordon, who were sitting side-by-side on the sofa opposite me. I gave my mom a pleading look. "I am being honest."
"No," she said with a stiff smile. "You're not." She gave Gordon a sideways glance. "We know the truth, remember?"
One of them knew the truth. Of this, I was absolutely certain. And it wasn't my mom.
Flipping His Script: A Loathing to Love Romance Page 17