No freaking way. She wasn’t afraid of him. She wasn’t. And she wasn’t attracted to him. She wasn’t. Sure, he had awesome good looks, and an awesome voice, but the son-of-a-bitch knew all of that. So what was there to be attracted to? She refused to be attracted to him.
So what was she afraid of here? She didn’t know exactly, but her heart rate was telling her she was terrified.
“It’s been a month,” he finally announced.
“A month?” How she managed to respond she hadn’t a single clue.
“Since I came to Florida,” he answered as if that explained it all.
“Yeah, so?” Okay, that’s good, Maria. Totally sounded confident. Bad-ass.
His face turned into lines of antagonism. “I’ve waited a goddamn month, Maria.”
For what? Jesus Christ, were her legs shaking? Where the hell had her damn confidence gone? “For what?”
He pushed away from the wall and took a step toward her. “What do you think?”
The butterflies in her stomach won out as her palms began sweating. “I don’t know—”
“Bullshit.” With the word still ringing in her ears, he kicked her gym bag away and reached out a hand, wrapping his fingers around her wrist. She was forced to let go of the rail, and in seconds her torso was flush against his as he held her caged in the corner, her wrist manacled in his hand and held to the wall.
She felt her eyes widen and her breath snag. He was leaning down, his face in hers, his body pressed to hers with a masculine force that introduced his erection to her stomach without preamble. She began to pant. “You can’t do this. It’s illegal—”
“Yeah, just like I couldn’t ask how old you are. That was illegal, wasn’t it? Just like I couldn’t ask you if you were married or had ever been married. But I finally broke down and asked you those questions, didn’t I? I asked you that and more. Didn’t I?”
A stroke of anger rose up and bled together with her panic. So, the gloves were coming off? Oh, goody. “Yes, asshole.” she got out between pants.
His brows drew down even further at her unconcealed belligerence. “So we both know I don’t have a problem crossing the line with you.”
“You’re insane, she bit out, throwing her head back, almost completely forgetting about the enclosed space in which she was virtually trapped. “I’m going to sue your fucking ass for everyth—” It was the last word she got out before his mouth dropped down and cut off both her voice and her oxygen. His lips were hot, hard, and possessive as they covered hers with a force that left her reeling. Unable to compute that this was really happening, her brain went into meltdown as her anger blended with the raw attraction she felt for him. Lights went off in her head as his thumb began pressing against the pulse point in her wrist at the same time that his tongue plunged into her mouth, demanding more.
A primitive thrill shot up her spine and momentarily, she forgot how much she hated him as she gave him what he wanted. She began to wrap her free hand around his neck, but within seconds, he made a grab for it, fisting it in his fingers and lifting it over her head, holding her hostage against the wall.
Securing her firmly, he kissed her repeatedly, his tongue delving inside her mouth and exploring every inch he could seem to reach. He growled low in his throat, biting her bottom lip as if punishing her for something, before pressing his tongue back inside as if he owned her and always had.
He pushed his erection against her stomach, thrusting his hips back and forth just as he thrust his tongue inside her mouth. Imprisoned by his hands, Maria began to sink under his erotic spell. She tried to kiss him back, but the force he was using gave her no room to do anything but attempt to keep breathing through the sexual, erotic assault she was experiencing. As if he needed oxygen as much as she did, he lifted his mouth and took huge dregs of air before rasping, “I’ve wanted to fuck you since the first time I heard your voice.”
Maria’s eyes snapped open and found his demonic gaze leveled on hers. As his words sank in, she fought for breath. There was something about that particular declaration that was telling her that she needed to come to attention. There was something she wasn’t getting . . . something that was tickling her poor brain, but wasn’t computing because she wasn’t firing on all cylinders.
She felt him transfer both of her wrists to one large hand and then, with an arm free, he slid his fingers down, over her shoulder, between her breasts, to land on her naked thigh just below the hem of her gym shorts.