“I want you,” she whispered.
He wasn’t the kind of guy led around by the silent partner in his pants. Did most of his thinking with the head on his shoulders. But he was having trouble processing—recalibrating—since those three words had tightened a cord of longing attaching his sternum to his balls.
“Honey,” he rasped, tightening his hold on her arms. “You can have me.” He went for her lips, but she spoke before he caught them.
“But it could only be temporary.”
He hadn’t expected her to say something along those lines. Her face clouded with doubt, her words a question rather than a statement that she waited for him to confirm. Yet she’d spoken with authority. Certainty. Almost like she was letting him down easily.
He’d play along. For now. “Okay.” She had assured him last night that he didn’t have to handle her with kid gloves. “Tell me what you had in mind.”
Because he had no clue what she was thinking. Lissa had been easy to figure out. She’d always been thinking of one of two things: herself or her career. Kimber, though… the sky was the limit.
“We can make a list… of things to do. Together…” She flinched, just a little, making him fairly sure she didn’t make a habit of creating sex lists with men. Thank God. “When we reach the end of the list,” she said, “we can end things… no harm, no foul.”
Well, hell. He liked that. A lot. But he wasn’t this much of a Cretan. “Honey, you don’t have to talk yourself into this. If this is going to be a struggle—”
She surprised him by laughing. She clapped her hand over her mouth as if she’d surprised herself, too. Lifting her eyes, she met his gaze with that soft, green stare of hers. “It won’t be a struggle for me. I’ve wanted you for as long as I can remember.”
His chest expanded as he pulled all the oxygen he could hold into his lungs. He suddenly wanted to do right by this woman. This honest, sexy, amazing woman. Winding her hair around his fingers, he tested its softness. “Dorothy and the Tin Man,” he murmured.
“You’re not that heartless,” she said. “And I’m not that innocent.”
She tipped her lips and kissed him. His hands found the back of her neck as his eyes fell closed. Soon the kiss turned deeper, then borderline rough. His only thoughts were the taste of her, the feel of her against him, his ratcheting pulse rushing the blood to his crotch.
Until the television rattled from a digital explosion. Lyon cheered from the other room, and Landon pulled his lips from Kimber’s and tried to catch his breath. Their privacy had yet to be breached. But it would be, and long before he’d gotten as far as he wanted.
“So?” she asked, licking her lips. “What do you think of my proposal?”
With a sly grin, he pulled her a fraction closer so that her body pressed up against his. He thought it was perfect. He wasn’t in any position for a girlfriend—arranged or not—so her suggestion couldn’t have fit into his life any better. They wanted one another and she, for whatever reason, didn’t want to have a commitment. This was gift wrapped for him.
“What kind of list?” he asked.
“Top ten?” she suggested, a mischievous light in her eyes.
He loved how she kept surprising him. “As you wish.”
“Then a clean break,” she affirmed with a nod. This was an important part of the agreement, he was seeing. He wasn’t sure why but wasn’t foolish enough to ask.
“Ten locations?” He leaned in and breathed into her ear, loving how she shuddered. “Or ten positions?” He had no trouble thinking of twenty of each, maybe twenty-five, but he didn’t want to send her fleeing.
“Both,” she whispered when he kissed her neck. He lingered there a moment, tasting her skin before lifting his face to kiss her lips. She put her palm on his cheek to stop him. “What about Lyon?” she asked. “He rarely sleeps through the night.”
So she wanted to do this tonight. He was flattered. And excited. He didn’t want to wait, either. “Guess we’ll have to be quiet.” He smiled. “I’ll add that to the list.”
She chuckled, a decadent sound matching the rich mahogany tones in her hair. “I feel like we’re making battle plans.”
“Not battle.” No, making love to Kimber Reynolds wouldn’t be a battle. It’d be nothing short of incredible; a perfect release of the tension he’d been stockpiling since he’d landed the Windy City account and his brother had appeared on his doorstep.