“Just let me do this one thing,” he says softly. His change in tone and his earnest expression has my hand slipping from the door handle. Maybe this is his way of making up for being an ass today.
“Can you ask the driver to take me straight back to my hotel, please…no diversions?”
“He knows where he’s going,” Aaron says. “So, how was your meeting with Holden?”
“Fine.”
“So, we have a deal?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
After that terse exchange, we’re silent, and I stare out the window as the vehicle moves smoothly through the busy streets. My mind isn’t on the view, though. It’s wrapped up in the scent of his cologne. Everything is a reminder of how intimate we were. Everything is a reminder of the most amazing sexual experience of my life.
“You’re panting,” he whispers against my ear, and I freeze, feeling his breath against my skin. He’s close enough to kiss me. I shouldn’t want it, but I do – just a graze of his lips against my tender flesh.
“I’m just tired. Jet-lagged.”
“And you’re holding the handle of that purse so tightly your knuckles are white.”
“It’s got my laptop in it, and I don’t want it to fall.”
Aaron reaches out and runs a finger across the top of my hand in a feather-light caress and my nerves buzz, even as I will myself to remain unaffected. Then he presses a finger gently to the side of my neck. I can feel my pulse hammering against his skin as irrefutable evidence of what he’s doing to my heart.
“Why won’t you let yourself want me,” he murmurs. “Your body knows how good it will be.”
“My body isn’t in charge,” I whisper back, still not looking at him but so aware of how close he still is.
His finger moves, trailing down the column of my neck and over the fragile bones of my clavicle.
“Maybe not, but your mind is tempted too. It knows how I can make you feel, and it also knows that there’s no real risk involved. We’ve been together once. You know me and what I like. I know you. You’ll be leaving soon. It’s just one more night. One last chance to re-experience what you’ve been craving since I left your room last night.”
“You’re so full of yourself,” I hiss, and he chuckles.
“Maybe, but only because I want you, and I know how you make me feel too. We were amazing together. Don’t you want to do it again?”
I decide at this point that Aaron Harrington is an asshole. He knows the answer to his question isn’t a hard no. He can tell that my body is craving his, but I’m so conflicted. Even as my pulse beats to his rhythm, my mind cowers in fear.
He gently cups my cheek and turns my face, so I have no choice but to look into his mesmerizing green eyes. “I promise I’ll make it good for you, Nicole. I’ll give it to you just the way you like it. We’ll have fun, that’s all. Nothing heavy. Nothing to worry about.” I close my eyes against the intensity of his, and then he kisses me with perfectly firm and teasing lips.
What can I say? My moment of hesitation is fractional, but it’s enough to let him go further than he should. I shouldn’t kiss him back, but I can’t resist. My whole body sings for his, the memory of last night too fresh to ignore. I think I’m the first to seek out his tongue, and it feels so damn good that I moan into his mouth.
So much for saying no.
So much for being firm.
My bag, forgotten, slips to the floor in the frenzy of our hands and mouths, the desire between us crackling. Aaron presses his lips against my neck, breathing hotly, while his hands tug my hips toward him, pushing up my skirt and groping my ass greedily.
Before I know what is happening, I’m on his lap, my pussy pressed against his very big, very hard erection. It’s frantic and stupid but so good I can’t stop.
“Fuck, you make me so hot,” he says, unbuttoning my jacket and smoothing his hands over my thin blouse until they cup my breasts and squeeze. I grind down against him, and he groans. “Come home with me,” he says, words interspersed with teasing kisses.
Home.
I thought he’d want to keep this impersonal and use my hotel room again. I’m buzzing so hard with sexual energy, wound up to the point of bursting. The thought of seeing where this man lives, combined with the ache between my legs, is enough for me to tell him what he wants to hear.
“Okay.”
There is so much I could have said instead of that one little word. Make this a great experience that I can walk away from with my head held high and my body singing. Be careful with me because I’m hurting and I don’t think my heart can take much more. Be everything that I need but not so great that I get attached.