6
She stared right back at him. The roam of his stare over her body affected her just as thoroughly as a real touch from anyone else would have. She should insist on going home, but right now, at this moment, she couldn’t bring herself to care about anything. And it was all because of the heat in this sexy man’s eyes and the almost audible quality of his next, slowly indrawn breath. That was lust she saw there. Pure and undisguised, unhidden by social demands or proper breeding that insisted it wasn’t polite to visibly covet a woman.
He was coveting. She was being coveted. They were both caught in the tension of it.
Though her mind knew better, her body couldn’t help responding. Beneath the silky top, her skin puckered, tiny goose bumps rising on the deep V of her cleavage, her nipples tightening to jut against the lace of her bra. Her pulse fluttered in her throat, and the breaths she managed to inhale were shallow. Each was filled with the warmth of him and the dark, masculine scent of his body, which had edged to within inches of her own. All from a look. What in God’s name might happen to her if he ever laid a hand on her?
“Please say yes,” he murmured. “I feel like you and I would have a lot of fun together” His tone remained light, not demanding, not intense, despite the look in his eyes and the static in the air between them. As if he knew that coming on too strong might scare her off.
And suddenly, it was working. Her verbal defenses had been firmly in place at the start, but now…well, now all that was out the door.
If he’d played the lothario, Kelly would already have been out of here. But he hadn’t. He’d merely sounded friendly, en-gaging, and oh so tempting. His eyes did all the more intimate talking. He wanted her, yet managed to remain genuine and self-deprecating.
She watched him, searching for something in his expression, a hint that a predator lurked beneath his oh-so-sexy, laid-back, nice-guy appearance. There must be something- malice, greed, or lasciviousness-behind the open, honest interest in his stare. Just because she hadn’t seen it, didn’t mean it wasn’t there. There had to be more to him than she was seeing. And she almost wished she had time to find it.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
But she didn’t. For the second time tonight she had two options. Say no to his offer and go home, or she could play along and see where this little adventure would take her. She chose the latter. And a second later, she found herself saying in a voice that sounded like sin:
“Just a drink?” she said.
The look was back on her face. The one she had had on that stage, Dimitri observed, at first he was surprised, but hey, he was never one to back down from a challenge, and he took that look on her face as one. He inched closer to her.
“Do you have something else in mind?” he asked, his voice suggesting that he was willing to play along, with anything she wanted. “Because if you do, please tell me, I’m sure I’d be more than glad to oblige”
Kelly’s heart stuttered in excitement as he took another step. Almost losing her nerve, she took a step back, he grinned and followed. She took one more step and felt her back pressed against the wall.
Dimitri grinned at her, like a predator who had finally gotten his prey cornered. It was too late for her to back down, and God, he hoped she wouldn’t, because her bold approach had turned him on so badly. He placed his left hand on the wall above her head, the other on the wall closer to her waist. He didn’t touch her, but she could feel the heat radiating from his body, warming her skin. He watched her like a hawk, and she saw that his eyes had darkened.
Kelly looked quickly around the dimly lit hallway, no one was in sight. Thank God for that. She returned her attention to him.
His words and body language told her everything she needed to know: he wanted her. He was on the hook and honestly so was she. Things were gradually getting out of hand, and she needed a diversion so she could think straight about what she was about to do, But the only worthwhile diversion she could think of right now was thinking about the way the man looked, felt, and smelled. And imagining what he would feel like when he was underneath her, naked, panting, and begging for release as she rode him. Her hands ached to touch him and pleasure him.
“Tell me what you would like us to do,” he whispered, his breath tickling hair and neck as he leaned even closer, like a sorcerer trying to draw her in with his enchanted spell. And maybe that was what he was doing: using some witch power on her. She hadn’t considered it up till now. But it was the only explanation. It had to be, because never had she become so weak and pathetically compliant to anyone’s presence. But with his words in her ear and his body and scent so close, so tempting, she couldn’t concentrate on why this was probably a bad idea and why she shouldn’t do it. She could only think of how good it would feel to be touched and pleasured by him. She wanted to kiss him, and dear Lord he had an erotic mouth.
She longed to brace against the well-developed ball of his shoulder. Touch the heat of his neck. He smelled of something woodsy and spicy, fine wool and the barest hint of brandy. The look in those eyes, the sexy twist to his lips, the suggestive tone of his conversation…none of those things had indicated anything but exciting, intriguing male.
She was going to do this, she finally decided and once she did, she put on her ‘game on’ face, and locked eyes with him. She pushed her body from the wall, crushing her soft breasts against his chest, and Dimitri suppressed a groan.
“Listen…. Dimitri,” she began, dragging his name, making Dimitri wonder if it would sound better if she said while moaning. He wanted to find out so bad. He would find out.
“We both know why you’re here,” she continued.
“We do?” he asked, his voice husky and thick with lust.