Instant Gratification
Page 25
“Ah, let’s review our agreement then. It’s that we could hate each other in private but not in public?”
“The understanding was that we wouldn’t publicly try to undermine each other.”
She takes a step closer, her tone touched once more by the accent she drapes on now and then, the one that winds me up. “So what are we allowed to do in private then? I’m just not clear on what the rules are. Because the rules seem to change with you all the time. In private we should cut each other? And in public, we suck up? Maybe we should write these rules down.”
I can barely think straight with her this close to me, and I’m starting to regret coming to her room. Because she’s in my space, she’s in my zone, and everything about her is a red-hot distraction. “I’m talking about common courtesy. And part of that—”
“Yes?” she challenges in that damn seductive voice, meeting me eye-to-eye.
I stop, trying to shake off the absolutely intoxicating effect of her, from the scent that’s driving me wild to the way she’s speaking. “Why the hell are you talking like that around me? Are you trying to turn me on?”
She’s inches away, and I can breathe in all that delicious honey scent of her. It swirls around my head, toys with my brain, and tangos with my libido.
She arches a curious brow and gazes at me far too seductively for my own good. “Does it turn you on? I didn’t realize what it did to you.” Her eyes travel up and down my body. “Or maybe still does.”
I inhale sharply, trying to clear her from my mind, an absolutely futile effort with her so damn close. She is my mind right now. She’s the only thing in it, on it, and around it, but I have to get her out. “Haven, I thought we were trying to move on.”
“But I’ve moved on. Or maybe that’s what bothers you so much. That I’ve moved on, that I’m not the same woman I was a year ago.”
I swallow roughly, my throat drier than a desert right now. “I’ve moved on too.”
Her lips curve in a smirk. “That’s good to know. Because I would hate to think you were affected by things I say, how I speak, or the scents I wear. Or wait—are you still affected?”
She knows I am. She fucking knows it. But I know something too. She’s not immune. And since she’s been getting in my space, I return the favor, moving closer to her, and there it is—her tell. The soft rush of breath.
I grin. Wickedly. Then I take the reins from her. “I think the question is—are you still affected? Because when I look at you, when I see the goose bumps rising over your skin, when I see the flush on your chest, and when you do that . . .” I gesture to her mouth.
Her eyes widen. “Do what?”
I brush my finger against the corner of her lips, barely touching her. “When you nibble ever so slightly on your lips. I know what that means.”
She swallows visibly. “What does it mean?”
I lift a hand, reach for her face, and cup her cheek. She gasps.
“That. It means both of us are completely unaffected. In fact, I bet we’re so unaffected that if I kissed you right now, we’d probably not even care.”
She slides next to me, up against me, sealing her fantastic body against mine. “I wouldn’t care one bit if you did.”
“Let’s find out.”
She lifts her defiant chin, her pretty pink lips parted. “Go right ahead.”
I band my arm around her waist—her tight, trim waist—and haul her in close. I drop my lips to hers, and in an instant, the world disappears…
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Acknowledgments
Big thanks to Lauren Clarke, Jen McCoy, Helen Williams, Kim Bias, Virginia, Lynn, Karen, Tiffany, Janice, Stephanie and more for their eyes. Big thanks to Helen for the beautiful cover. Thank you to Kelley and Candi, KP and Jenn. Massive hugs to Laurelin Paige. As always, my readers make everything possible. Songs referenced in this book are in the public domain. The exception is the pancake song. That written by Andi Arndt. Who is awesome.
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Contact
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