Page 24 of Piece Of Me

“Angel is a friend. She works for me. That’s all.”

“I’m sorry. I’m in a weird mood.” She squeezed her eyes shut, mortified at the way she was acting. “You don’t owe me an explanation. It’s none of my business.”

“But I want it to be.” His mouth was near her ear. “Your business that is.” He slid his arms around her waist from behind. “You’re the lady I want to dance with.” She froze, his breath warm against the side of her neck. At first her body was rigid, but then she relaxed, unable to resist him. Because he felt so right.

God, why does he feel so good?

Her head fell back onto his chest and two of them swayed together, alone in the dark and rain. His mouth began to trace a path up the side of her neck, and she inhaled sharply, feeling the sensation sink through skin and bone until lit up her blood. Blindly she turned in his embrace and reached for him, but he was ahead of her. His hands were on each side of her face, and for one moment their eyes met…a moment where she could have pulled away and stopped the kiss. Instead, she pressed against him, loving how hard and masculine he felt. He bent his head and brushed her lips with his mouth, a featherlight touch that zinged through her body, lighting a fire she couldn’t control.

Scarlett sank her hands into the hair at his nape and opened her mouth fully, starving for his kiss. And good Lord, but the man could kiss. His mouth was both soft yet forceful, his tongue inquisitive and bold. He kissed her until her head spun. Until her bones liquified. If not for his embrace she would have been a puddle of need melted into the Montana earth.

The kiss lasted forever it seemed, and when they broke apart, she could tell that Taz was just as affected by their connection as she was. Breathing heavily, they watched each other in silence, bodies still connected by touch. Gently he smoothed a wet strand of hair behind her ear, and followed up by nibbling the lobe, which only managed to awaken more need than she could cope with.

“Stop,” she whispered roughly. “I have to go.”

Taz exhaled and dropped his arms just as a set of headlights cut across the parking lot. It was Ryland.

“My brother,” she managed to say.

“I need to see you again,” he said, voice low and intimate.

“I don’t…I don’t think…” she began but he placed his finger over her mouth.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow night.”

Panic blossomed in her chest, and she shook her head. “I don’t date, Taz. Especially men like you. Not anymore.”

“A normal man might take offence with that. But I’ll let you in on a little secret, sweets.” He winked. “I’m not normal.”

“No.”

“No, what?” He asked.

“We’re not doing this.”

“Give me one good reason.”

“You’re so infuriating.”

“Got me there.” The look in his eye was enough to melt a girl’s panties. Which in turn made that need in the pit of her stomach ratchet up to the point she would either jump his bones or go home and have at it with her vibrator. The fact that she thought about it for two seconds told her just how dangerous he was. This had already gone too far.

The vibrator was safer.

“I have a son and you have two little girls. We can’t…”

Her growled or something. Because the sound that came from him called to the basest, most animalistic need she had. She needed a force field to combat it.

“We can’t hang out or anything or… Until we know what this is… I mean, we’re not even friends. Not really.” Her words died at the back of her throat, drowned in all that need that had bubbled up from a place inside her she thought was dead.

He leaned in real close, and the air practically sizzled with heat. “I’m going to take that as a win.” He practically growled the words. The man was an alpha through and through, and if they were wild animals, he’d have her bent over the nearest car and she’d be screaming his name.

Her eyes were on his mouth. Was he going to kiss her again? She wanted him to kiss her again. Scarlett might have whined. And maybe it was the tequila shots that gave her the balls to inch forward, but Taz did something most folks never could. He surprised the ever-loving crap out of her.

He stood back, a devil of a grin on his face. “I’ll be seeing you around peaches.”

Wait. What? “Peaches?” she managed to say.

“You smell like peaches.”

---