More Than Hate You (More Than Words)

I jump to my feet and curl my fingers around her arm, inching closer. “I want you. You know that, right? I can’t forget that night in my hotel room.” I fuse my stare with hers. “You think about it, too, don’t you?”

Color creeps up her face, blooming across her cheeks, as she clears her plate. “This is dangerous territory.”

“Because we’re rivals?”

“Because I don’t trust you. You lied to me. I don’t care why you did it. A lie is a lie.”

“I never wanted to do it.”

“But you did.”

I follow her to the sink. She sets down her plate, and I brace my hands on the counter, one on either side of her hips, then press my lips to her ear. “Not because I don’t want you. Or don’t care about you. I do. One has nothing to do with the other.”

She stiffens. “It sure feels like it does.”

“Ultimately, we’re both working to save Reservoir. And we’re doing shockingly well together in the office.” The heat of her body lures me closer. The sweet scent of strawberries fills my nose. The desire I feel for her is something I can’t ignore. “We’d be damn good together in the bedroom, too.”

Sloan doesn’t answer. Nor does she protest when I slide the curtain of her fiery hair over her shoulder.

The silky skin I expose and the graceful curve of her neck tempt me. I can’t stand not touching her anymore.

“Baby…” I breathe against her just before I lay my mouth on her nape.

She gasps, her whole body tightening. But she doesn’t push me away.

I take a gamble and drag my lips up her neck, then finger the sensitive patch of skin I just worshipped before licking my way to nip at her lobe.

She exhales roughly and shudders, gripping the counter in front of her as if it alone will keep her from melting into my arms.

I’m getting to her.

“I would be so good to you,” I vow as I cup her hips and fit myself against her back, rocking forward to let her feel just how hard I am for her. “I would give you nonstop pleasure, devote myself to making your body hum. I would be here for you, day and night.”

“You’re flying home in less than three days,” she points out, half panting.

“I could stay the weekend, too.” I lick the shell of her ear, then kiss the spot just behind it. “We could commit every spare moment to your ecstasy. Let me show you how good it would be.”

She turns in my arms, her blue eyes searching mine. “Why? So you can scratch an itch? Because you’re horny, and I’m the only female within easy reach tonight?”

“No. I told you, from our first conversation I was fascinated by you. That’s not a lie or a come-on. At first, I was pissed when you blackmailed me. I admit it. But I was thrilled as hell when I realized I’d be spending a week with you. I’ve respected your wishes and kept the office about business. You should know, though, even when you needle me, I want you. When you’re prickly, I want you. When you push me away…it doesn’t matter. I still want you.”

“Pfft. Desire is easy.”

“That’s not all this is. I feel things for you I never thought I’d feel again.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?”

Talk is frustrating me, but I have to dial back my impatience. She has every reason to distrust me…and only one reason to give in. “The business is the only dirty thing between us. Everything else is right. I think you feel it, too. Don’t you, baby?”

She doesn’t agree…but she doesn’t refute me, either.

Fuck, I can’t resist her anymore. Her mouth is right there, plump and rosy and pouty.

I lower my head, giving her plenty of time to object or pull away. Instead, she tilts to me, her eyes slide shut, and she welcomes my invasion, parting her lips and sliding her tongue against mine with a soft moan.

The instant we connect, I know my plan is the right one. I have to make this woman mine.

Groaning, I surge deeper into her mouth, cupping her nape and plastering my body against hers. Sloan rises on to her tiptoes, throwing her arms around me and gripping my shoulders, giving herself over to the kiss—to me—entirely. She’s heady, addictive. I feel drunk, my head swimming. Kissing her is like diving into honeyed quicksand, sweet and inexorable. My fall into something more than desire for her is shockingly easy, sugar-spun, and totally unavoidable.