Dangerous Secrets
Page 7
Page 7
She tasted like coffee and mint. He fisted his hands into the tangle of her dark curls, tugging her closer. Her scent, something exotic and tropical, enveloped him.
Their tongues clashed in a fervent need. He sucked on her bottom lip, earning a low moan from her. His cock was like a heat-seeking missile with a mind of its own. Involuntarily, his hips surged against hers.
When her hands slid up his chest and around his neck, he couldn’t help himself. He palmed one of her breasts through the dress. Her nipple was rock hard and straining against the thin material.
In small, slow circles, he rubbed his thumb over the peak.
Pulling her head back, she let out some sort of strangled noise. Primal satisfaction rolled through him. The woman was incredibly reactive.
With her neck bared, he zeroed in on the soft skin and lightly raked his teeth over her pulse point before feathering her with kisses.
She clutched his shoulders and lifted one leg so that it was wrapped around his back. All he’d have to do was shove up her dress and he could be inside her in seconds. His cock jerked at the thought.
He backed her up against the door with a thud and with one hand reached around until he cupped her ass. He bunched up the material until he felt skin. He grasped her tighter, needing to feel her against him. Then he froze.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered.
“Are you wearing anything under this dress?”
he managed to gasp out. At first he’d thought she had on a thong but as he traced his hand down her curves, there was no barrier.
She shook her head and smiled in what he could only describe as mischievous. “Nothing at all. ”
His stomach muscles bunched in anticipation as his hips automatically rocked up against hers.
Again. The woman was determined to drive him insane. “Do you always go commando?”
Her dark hair waved seductively around her shoulders as she shook her head again. “Nope. ”
Shit, shit, shit. He was thirty-two and the woman was going to give him a heart attack.
Though it took all the willpower he possessed, he dropped his hands and took a step back. “We’ve got to stop, Izzy. ” Even to his own ears, his voice was ragged and unsteady.
God, he was ready to take her right up against the door. He’d been about to start slamming into her right outside for anyone to see. He had to get a grip on himself before he did something he couldn’t take back. And if he slept with Izzy, there wouldn’t be any going back. He knew once he had a taste of her it would never be enough and he’d be the one to get burned in the end.
“Why?” She crossed her arms, pushing her breasts up and showing more than a hint of smooth skin. No doubt intentionally. A small, flirtatious smile played across her features when their gazes clashed.
He cleared his throat and tried to concentrate on a semi-decent answer. “We work together. ”
Smooth. He inwardly cursed at himself.
One of her dark eyebrows lifted in a perfect arch. “You’re leaving soon. ”
“Yes. ” That was all he could seem to get out.
“So what’s the problem? Not attracted to me?”
Her eyes strayed downward toward his crotch before she looked at him with an amused, almost haughty expression.
Attraction obviously wasn’t the problem. His erection was damn painful. So how the hell could he get out of this? He was a red-blooded American male. What reason could he possibly give for not wanting to be with her?
“I’ll see you at work tonight. ” Without waiting for a response and before he changed his mind, he turned and hurried back to his truck. Thankfully he didn’t run into anyone on his way. His erection strained painfully against his jeans, digging into the zipper. For once in his life, he knew his fist just wouldn’t cut it. Neither would another woman. Only Izzy could ease his ache.
Once inside his truck, he pounded his fist against the center console. What the hell had he been thinking, kissing her like that? Now that he’d had a taste of her, he wanted so much more. And if she found out the real reason he was in town, she’d never forgive him.
Izzy stepped inside her apartment and sagged against the door. One kiss shouldn’t affect her entire body this way. Her legs shook and though it was impossible, she felt as if her insides trembled, as well.
Adam had looked almost surprised that he’d kissed her. There was no doubt that the sexy man had been turned on. Oh yeah, he’d been turned on something fierce. Some things were simply impossible to deny. She couldn’t figure why he’d stopped though.
He hadn’t wanted to pull back. She was almost sure of it. Maybe he felt guilty because he knew he’d be leaving in a couple weeks. That had to be it. And if that was his only hang-up, she’d soon help him get over it.
Starting tonight.
He didn’t know it yet, but he was going to be hers for the next two weeks. And there was nothing he could do about it.
She walked the few steps down the short hall to her bedroom, dropped her purse onto her dresser, then opened the top drawer. She smiled to herself as she pulled out one of the La Perla sets she’d never worn. When she’d moved out on her own, she hadn’t left all luxuries behind. She might have wanted to be independent, but it was mainly about getting out from under her father’s thumb.
And now she was very grateful she’d brought sexy lingerie. The sheer black satin and silk bra and matching G-string were sure to do the trick. In reality, she knew that by the time they got to the part where their clothes came off, he wouldn’t care what she was wearing. The sexy getup made her feel better though. Since Adam made her a little nervous—in a good way, but nervous nonetheless—she needed to be somewhat in control.
It had been a couple years since she’d been with a man, and even longer since she’d actually trusted someone implicitly. With Adam, everything seemed different. He was different. He didn’t know who her family was and the desire she’d seen in his eyes—and felt against her abdomen—was all about her. Not money, not power, nothing other than her. That was a turn on in itself.
Her cell rang, pulling her back to reality. When she saw the number on the caller ID she tensed, but flipped open the phone anyway. It had been too long since she’d talked to her father, and stubborn and meddling as the man was, she missed him.
“Hey, Dad. ”
“Hi, Izzy. Tired of working in a bar yet?”
She groaned and fell onto her bed. All the air rushed from the thick duvet and all thoughts of Adam and sexy lingerie disappeared as she stretched out. Would this conversation never change? “Drop it, Dad. If that’s the only reason you called, then I don’t have anything to say to you. ”
He sighed that familiar tired sound and she felt a twinge of guilt. “I just wanted to check on you. I haven’t heard from you in a while. ”
The last words were like a punch to her gut. He might drive her crazy, but they’d always been close. Until recently. Until he’d started trying to invade every aspect of her life and pushing that she take a job with his company and settle down.
Then he’d started setting her up with horrid dates.
That had been one of the many final straws. Was it really too much to accept that she simply wanted to figure out what she wanted in life on her own?
“I know Dad, and I’m sorry. I’ve been busy with work but that’s no excuse. How’s Edna? Finally decide to make an honest woman of her?”
“Izzy, for the last time, there’s nothing going on between us. ” His words were practically a growl.
She bit her lip to hold back a laugh, knowing she’d gotten a rise out of him. She seriously doubted anything had ever happened between him and his assistant, but she loved teasing him about it. “Whatever you say. ”
“I swear child, you didn’t get that imagination from my side of the family. ” He chuckled and she could imagine him sitting by his pool with his legs kic
ked up on a table, sipping a scotch. It was Sunday afternoon and he was a man of habit.
“So how have you been? Taking your cholesterol medicine?”
He was silent for a beat too long. “Of course I am. ”
“Do I need to call Edna?”
“Damn it Izzy, I’m a grown man. I don’t need you checking up on me. ”
She smiled to herself. “See? It’s not fun when someone meddles in your life. Still, I’ll probably put in a call to her anyway because if I know you, you haven’t upped your vegetable intake either. ”
Though he’d never admit it, he needed someone to take care of him more than she did.
“What I’m doing is completely different. I just want you to be happy. If you call her—”
“There’s not a thing you can do. And I simply want you to keep your good health. Can’t have you keeling over before I have grandkids. ” She said the last part mainly to hush him up.
He choked for a second, she guessed on his drink, before continuing. “Grandkids? Is there something I don’t know?”
Sighing, she sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed. “No, there’s not. I’m trying to make a point. You’re still young enough and so am I. And I guess I don’t understand why you’ve been pushing me so hard to settle down lately. ”
“I want you to be happy. ”
“What makes you think I’m not?”
“You moved to another city to get away from me. ”
His words embedded deep in her chest. “You know exactly why I left, Dad. It’s because—”
“I’m getting another call. I’ll talk to you soon, sweetie. ” His voice was gruff and hoarse.
“Love you, Dad. ”
“Love you too. ”
She knew he’d gotten off the phone because he hadn’t liked where the conversation was headed.
It didn’t matter that she’d been justifiably angry at him when she’d left Savannah, she somehow still felt guilty when she talked to him.
She pushed up from the bed and shoved away her guilt. If she was going to seduce Adam tonight, she had to stop worrying about things she couldn’t do anything about. She quickly changed into a bathing suit and grabbed a towel from her linen closet. Work was a couple hours away and for the first time in a while, she didn’t have a thing to do.