His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. I think I might explode.
“Is that a trick question?” he asks.
“Nope.”
“So ‘you panting my name’ would be a sufficient answer?”
I snort. “Trash answer, Doc.”
He shrugs. “Look, I’m not functioning on all my brain cells right now. Thinking with two heads is hard.”
“Especially if they’re both hardheaded.”
He flashes me a look, making me giggle.
“Look, maybe this isn’t the right thing after all.” I start to turn around, but he cages me against the counter with both hands.
His breathing is shallow, his body warm as it almost touches mine. I stand still and wonder if he can hear the speed of my blood roaring through my veins.
If I moved, even a little bit, our skin would make contact, and that would be it for me. I’d dissolve on the spot. But I don’t twitch a muscle, and neither does he. He doesn’t even flutter those ridiculous lashes.
“I want this to be the right thing,” he says. “But I don’t want to complicate things between us.”
I search his eyes for the truth. It’s not hidden; it’s right there on the surface.
He wants me as much as I want him. That feeling alone is heady as fuck. But there’s also a stroke of concern, of care and caution, because he’s looking at me. And while that should make me rethink whether this is a good decision, it instead makes me want him that much more.
There will never be another Holden McKenzie waltzing into my life. There aren’t many men like him. I know that’s a fact. And while it might be a good thing in its own way, it also makes it an opportunity. One that I don’t want to pass up.
“Things are already kind of tangled up, aren’t they?” I ask.
He grins. “Does this mean you want me?”
My legs ache. The apex of my thighs burns. My stomach squeezes so hard I nearly yelp for mercy.
I reach out and touch his cheek. A smattering of stubble dots his skin. The coarseness of it against my palm is the final shot to my libido.
I look him in the eye and smile. “Only if you agree that I wasn’t the one trying to seduce you.”
He leans forward, his breath hot against my neck. “But you were.”
“I . . .” Words fail me as he presses kiss after kiss along my throat. My head falls back as he touches his lips in a trail along my jawline. A moan escapes my lips seconds before his mouth finds them.
I arch my back as his lips work against mine. With each second that passes, his kisses become more frenzied. It’s as if he’s waiting for my consent—some kind of confirmation that I really do want this. Or maybe it’s that he’s giving me time to change my mind. But what is crystal clear is that he wants it.
It’s a good thing that I do too.
His tongue parts my lips. He grasps my head in both hands, and his tongue enters my mouth. I lean against the counter, my knees going weak, as he slowly and expertly demonstrates exactly how into this he is.
I grip his hips and tug him closer. His hardened cock presses into my stomach. I whimper as he slips out of my mouth and sucks on my bottom lip, letting it spring free only when I open my eyes.
“See?” I say, gasping for air. “It’s you who’s seducing me.”
He grins as he lifts the hem of my shirt over my head. Taking a step back, he looks me up and down. “I’m not too sure about that, sugar.”
Our eyes meet. As if a clock is ticking down the seconds, we watch each other to see who will make the next move.
I can taste his sweetness on my lips. My skin blazes from the caress of the backs of his knuckles. My core shakes with desperation, needing a release from the energy building.
“Last chance,” he says.
“Do you want me to back out?”
“Fuck no.”
“Good.”
With a confidence I didn’t know I had, I reach out and raise his shirt up over his head. His grin deepens as he assists me in my venture.
The fabric of my bra brushes across his chest. My nipples pearl, begging for his touch.
I take a step back and assess.
His abs are cut into six imperfect squares. A line of dark hair trails from his belly button to below his waistband. His shoulders are impeccable, his pectoral muscles rock solid.
If this is a dream, I hope I never wake up.
“You know what?” I ask. “Screw it. Maybe I am trying to seduce you.”
He laughs, the sound full and loud, as I dig my fingers into the sides of his scrubs and shove them down his legs. As if this were the cue he was looking for, he jumps into action.