Yet only now did he feel something other than anger and tiredness and irritation. Only now, squaring off to Savannah, did he feel even slightly fulfilled.
Jeez, was it as simple as sex? Was that all he needed?
Yes. His body screamed louder. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Why shouldn’t he take a few minutes at midnight to fence with a worthy opponent? Why shouldn’t he flirt for once? Even if he suspected she might be an enemy.
“Talk to me then,” he suggested amiably. “So I can want you for your mind as much as I want you for your body.”
He chuckled at the shocked expression in her eyes. What, she hadn’t expected that kind of honesty? Because it wasn’t a line and they both knew it.
“Besides,” he added. “You’re looking at me the exact same way. I don’t mind. Objectify away.”
She straightened. He liked that she didn’t try to deny it. Somehow he’d known she’d take up a challenge. She ran her gaze over him, acutely assessing. Pointedly. Her lips pursed, like she was disappointed. “It’s hard to objectify when I can barely see what you’ve got to show.”
Connor was momentarily stunned. Wow, she really knew how to throw a challenge.
“You want me to strip?” His blood quickened. He stood and pulled off his jacket. He had a thin merino sweater on beneath.
She cocked her head and gave him another once-over. “Not bad.” Her eyes narrowed. “Now you talk to me. I wouldn’t want to treat you like a piece of meat.” She smiled at him beatifically.
He chuckled. Sugarlips had principles? “What did you want to know?”
Her eyes glittered as she stalked back to the bar with the last couple of glasses in her hands. “Net worth, of course. What else?”
He laughed aloud. Nice. “You don’t want to know that I’ve got a sense of humor and can cook and know how to change a tire?”
“I take that as read.” She put the glasses down and shrugged. “But it makes no difference.”
It didn’t? “Is this why you’re here?” He probed with gentle viciousness. “To hook yourself a wealthy banker who likes to ski at exclusive resorts?”
“Of course.” She nodded sarcastically. “That’s why I’m so charming to them.”
“Treat them mean to keep them keen?”
He laughed at the filthy look she sent him. “I’ll tell you my net worth, if you tell me yours.” He leaned his elbows on the bar conspiratorially and waited.
“Not willing to share?” he prompted after only a moment.
“It’s irrelevant,” she drawled, like she didn’t give a damn. “Given you operate the ski lifts, I already know you’re not a wealthy banker.”
“Ah.” He nodded his head sadly. “You’re right. Maybe I’d better take off more clothes and try to up my rating that way.”
“You’re confident that’ll work?” she asked in a bored tone. But she was still watching him. So alert. So alive.
“I’m confident. No stunted growth issues here.” Hell, his usually loose pants were killing him, he was harder than he’d been in his life.
Something lit in her eyes.
“You want to check that out for yourself?” he invited. Please.
“I’ll take your word for it. For now.”
Had he just gotten harder? Game on. “Can I go back to objectifying you, or are you going to talk to me?”
Savannah glanced at him, weighing up her answer. Was it terrible to admit she was getting off on the way he was looking at her?
This wasn’t like being leered at by those pricks, this was like being savored. Like she was something rare and precious… and yeah, she’d clearly gotten high from the antiseptic fumes or something.
He laughed, suddenly looking so carefree. So sexy. “I do like the view,” he confessed. “Nothing wrong with looking, is there?”
No, maybe not. She was stupidly flattered. The desire to flirt unfurled completely. It was so foreign to her. When he’d walked in he’d struck her as the kind of guy who never smiled, he’d seemed so damn serious and pissed off. How wrong could a girl be?
“How much do you like it?” she asked more from genuine curiosity than any kind of attempt to be an ingénue.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “An indecent amount.”
A purely genuine answer.
Sexual awareness zinged through her. Indecent. She couldn’t help a quick glance at his crotch. Oh my. He was hard just from looking at her? She didn’t reply but turned away, conscious of his gaze still on her. She could feel it, burning through her clothing.
Yeah, like he had laser vision. But her nipples tightened. Beneath her pressed white shirt they were obvious.
He noticed. He fell silent.
Who knew closing up a bar could count as foreplay? In silence she moved around the room, tweaking the last few things. Unnecessary really given she’d be back in to clean properly first thing. But she wanted to spin this moment out to it’s fullest.
Because it could only ever be a moment.
She bent over to clear the last table and heard the hiss of indrawn breath from behind her. Deliberately provocative, she turned her head over her shoulder and raised her brows at him.
“Come here.”
Was that a command? Oh she didn’t think so. She straightened and turned to face him, but didn’t take a single step nearer.
He smiled, understanding flashing in his face. “You’re teasing me.”
“It’s your choice whether or not to watch.”
“My choice?” He laughed, rough and sexy. “I’m watching.” He answered in a low voice. “Everything.”
Everything.
Savannah paused, her inner alarm ringing. She didn’t do everything with anyone and as fun as this moment had been, it was over. It had to be.
“Well sorry.” And she was. “It’s time for you to leave now.” Her voice was embarrassingly husky and she tasted regret in the back of her throat. “I need to lock up and get going. I’m sure you’re well enough to walk now.”
Hs eyes narrowed for a moment and he looked at her too long, too intensely again. But then it was like the final part of the puzzle clicked in his head and he smiled. He stood.
“That’s what you want? Me to leave you alone?” His blue-eyes seemed to be asking something while still seeing everything.
No.
Yes.
She hesitated, running her tongue over her dry lip. She needed to be alone. She knew what happened if you relied on someone. They let you down. Every. Single. Time. And as tantalizing as this had been, she couldn’t see it through. “Yes.”
“Okay.” He stood up from the stool and walked over to the door, going straight through it and along the short corridor to the main entrance door. He turned and flashed a heart-stopping smile. He’d known she’d followed him. “Thanks for taking care of me,” he said.
And he was gone.
On auto she locked the door after him.
She hadn’t taken care of him. Not the way she could have. And she wasn’t disappointed. But when she went back into the bar she saw his wool hat still on that wide, polished wood. She touched it, felt the soft warmth. Felt another kind of warmth flood her core.
Hell. She’d gone crushtastic and turned into a pathetic stalker. She didn’t do crushes. She didn’t do affairs. She didn’t do anything. She was here to work. Here to call out a family of creeps. Here to get over the past and then she could move on alone and strong and feeling like she’d vindicated her father and restored his honor. Or something.
Glancing around the place in one final check, she then set the alarms before pulling on her thick coat and taking the back exit.
She wasn’t worried about walking home so late in such cold weather. She’d move fast to keep warm and there was zero street crime in this perfectly constructed ski village. But as she started along the snow pale path, a shadow stepped away from the side of the building.
“What are you doing?” she squeaked, reaching into her pocket for her pepper spray, but
recognising him in the same breathless heartbeat.
“Did you really think I’d give up that easily?” His teeth flashed white in the starlight as he smiled. “Thought I’d see you home.” He held out his hands and gave a little shrug. “Thought it was my turn to take care of you. Just a little.”
“I don’t need you to see me home.” She didn’t need anyone to take care of her.
He inhaled deep and let out a long sigh. “I know, but I don’t want to say goodbye to you just yet,” he added oh so reasonably. “I’ve had such a nice night looking.”
“And that’s all you want to do?” she asked sceptically. “Look?”
“You already know I want to do way more than that. The question is whether you want me to.”
She stared at him, remembering what he’d said she needed. What he’d promised. Pleasure.
“The way you look at me? The way you talk to me?” He tempted so easily, so confidently. Like he was used to persuading rooms full of people. “You’re not the kind of woman to play games. You see something you want, you go for it. You call those guys on their crap. You deliver on your customer service. It’s plain and simple for you. If you’re attracted, you step up and take it, right?”
What, he saw her as some empowered, go-for-it woman? Such a seductive fantasy. But he didn’t have it right, she wasn’t like that.
“Are you going to go for it?” he asked.
Damn good question.
King of the Mountain was strong and fit and he was leaving. He’d said it was his last day on the lifts. So she’d be just another of the many women he’d no doubt enjoyed.
And when had she last enjoyed? When had she last felt pleasure? Why shouldn’t she have one night just for her? Didn’t she deserve that when she’d been working so hard for so long and so little?
She took a step towards him. Something flashed in his blue eyes, but he stayed still. Waiting. Letting her make the move. She took another step.
“You want me to go for it?” she asked, a whisper in the cold, cold night.
“I just want you.”
What little hesitation she had left, melted. He was different to the other guys who’d flirted with her. To the guys who’d insulted her. To any other guy she’d met. Maybe he was right. This was simple.
As simple as reaching up and touching her mouth to his.
He remained motionless as she did. But as she neared, she felt his heat. Felt his restraint. And suddenly she didn’t want that restraint anymore.
“I just want you, too.” She wanted it all. Just for now. “Kiss me back.”
Suddenly he moved, his hands lifting to her chin, to hold her face up to his. His lips didn’t just brush hers, they tasted. She heard his muffled groan as he stepped in closer and deepened the kiss.
Savannah simply melted. Because he kissed anything but plain and simple.
His tongue? Wicked. Teasing.
His lips? Firm. Commanding.
His embrace? Hot.
“Here’s the thing,” he said, breaking the seal while pressing his body harder against hers, sounding as breathless and desperate as she felt.
His arms locked deliciously tight about her waist. “I want you. Want this. Just... now. That’s all. I can’t do more than that.”
Sex with her the once was all he wanted? There was a god. “Perfect.”
She heard his groan. Felt power and pleasure at how strongly he was affected. And felt relief. Because she was the same. She reached higher onto tiptoes, pouring herself into the kisses, sliding her hands under his bulky jacket. Turned out the bulk was him as much as the jacket. Strong, broad, built. And so freaking hot.
“No one’s ever gonna know,” he said. “Just us. Just once.”
“Why will no one know?” She pulled back, horrified by a sudden thought. “Are you cheating?”
“No,” he answered quickly. “There’s no one in my life. I just get the feeling you like your privacy. All I meant was that I’m not gonna to brag to everyone in town that I banged you.”
“You’re going to bang me?” Goosebumps rippled over her skin, but she was far from cold.
“If you want me to,” he said, lifting a hand to cup the side of her face. She felt the rough bandage on his finger. “I’ll give you whatever you want.” His other hand tightened on her butt, pulling her against him again as he kissed his way down her neck. Cold air, warm breath, hot lips. Shivers. “This is only about you tonight. I’m only for you.”
Since when was her skin so damn sensitive? Since when had she ever been so turned on?
“We need privacy,” he muttered, rocking his hips into hers. Even with all the bulk of their winter wear, she felt his tension, the hard-on he was packing. “There are security cameras all along the streets.”
“The bar has cameras everywhere too,” she groaned breathlessly, aching to rub closer to that rigid length, wanting to explore it up close. To have him bared beneath her. “But I don’t want you coming back to my place. And I don’t want to go to yours.”
She didn’t want to have to wait that long.
He seemed to understand her rejection sprang from desperate urgency. “My car. Tinted windows.” He tensed up. “Come on.”
Seriously? Savannah managed to peel herself away from his luscious strength and turn. He took her hand and walked her a few paces down the street before stopping. It wasn’t a car. It was a giant all-terrain SUV with ridiculously huge wheels. He could probably drive it straight up to the summit of the mountain. And even in the dim night sky she could see it had tinted windows like it was purpose built for celebrities who wanted to avoid all those cameras. Or for people who wanted to indulge in lewd acts in town beyond midnight.
She frowned at its obvious expense. “Work car?”
“Uh huh.”
She hesitated. They’d be like teens finding space to make out. Like the teen she’d never been. She’d missed out on all that fun stuff because by then her mom’s actions had made Savannah a social pariah.
And since then, she’d been so afraid of letting go.
“It looks powerful,” she muttered, just for something to say because she knew she’d been silent and still for too long.
“It is,” he said, turning to her. He pressed something sharp edged into her palm. She looked down and saw he’d handed her the car key.
She looked up at him in query, but couldn’t read his expression, his face was in shadow.
His words came to her on a rough, thrilling whisper. “You drive. We go as far and as fast as you want.”
Savannah knew he didn’t actually mean the car. And she already knew the road she wanted to take.
The one that went all the way. As quickly as possible.
Chapter Three
She glanced down and pressed the small button on the keychain. The lights flashed and there was a beep. She’d unlocked the machine.
She turned to him. “After you?”
“The back seat’s bigger.” He shrugged off his jacket and opened the rear passenger door. “If that’s okay with you?”
“You do need your space,” she murmured with approval.
Despite the dark, with the jacket gone she could see his jeans, and then his butt as he bent to slide into the car. The guy was built. Heat slicked between her legs. Apparently she’d turned into some Neanderthal woman who wanted no one less than a warrior. The strongest, the fittest. The one who could fuck her the best.
He glanced over his shoulder, his smile flashing in the starry night. “You like what you see?”
In answer she removed her own winter coat. And it wasn’t the frigid air that had made her nipples erect.
Anticipation thudded through her. This one night was what she needed. What she’d never really thought she could ever have. How often did a woman find a guy who was man enough to let her take the lead. Man enough to want to satisfy, to service, her.
Even better he was a man leaving town. A man with a smile that was all icing to his sexy, serious swagger.
She bent, still clutching the key, and climbed into the car, dropping her coat into the front as she did. She knelt sideways on the back seat. He sat in the middle of it, his feet planted wide on the floor. There was only one place for her to go and they both knew it.
He turned his head and watched her. Waited.
The car wasn’t warm, but she was so hot she didn’t care. Anticipation licked higher as she curled her leg and then spread it wide to reach across him. She lightly rested her hands on his broad shoulders, as she hovered above him. Gently she sat down onto his lap, taking a moment to enjoy the strength she could feel in the thighs beneath hers.
Yeah. There was nothing to be afraid of here. This was once only. Not even a whole night.
“I’m gonna have to kiss you again, Sugarlips,” he teased.
“Sugarlips?”
“You speak so sweetly.”
She nearly choked.
He put his hands to her waist and gently squeezed, then stroked those broad hands up her back. “I mean it. I like that you say what you think and make no apology for it.” His smile sounded. “Can you say what you want just as bluntly? Can you tell me what you want me to do to you? What you want to do to me?”
“You want me to talk dirty?” A streak of disappointment brushed over her. Was that why he was really here? Did he only get off on rough and tough talk from some kind of dominatrix bitch? Was that what he thought she was? Was this only going to be about what he wanted, what got him off, after all? She should have known it was too good to be true.
Should have known he hadn’t seen past her protective shell. As if anyone ever did?
“No, I just want to know what you want me to do,” he answered easily. “My only plan is to please you.”
Pleasure—and relief—swamped her now. She angled her head, listening to that edge of honesty in his voice. That edge that had caught her attention from the moment he’d first spoken. And that’s when she realized, she didn’t want him to speak at all. She didn’t want to connect in that way—too intense. She just wanted to feel good physically for a while. And he felt good. “Shut up and kiss me.”
Bound For Me Page 3