Page 34 of Sweet Temptation

“They’re yours.”

Finally, finally, he slid a hand between her legs, dipping into her core, but only for a moment. He palmed her pussy and squeezed gently.

“This is mine. Say it.”

“It’s yours.” Her mouth was dry. She pushed back against him, desperate for more, but instead of sliding inside her again, she felt his fingers hooking in the waist of her panties. Her breath escaped on a shocked gasp as he tugged them back up and settled them in place.

Was that...it? While she struggled to grasp the idea of John turning away sex, he smoothed her skirt back over her hips, then turned her to face him. His hand slid under her long waves of hair to cup the back of her neck. The softness on his face, the unexpected tenderness excited and frightened her all at once.

“You know when lunch is a euphemism for a booty call that some booty is actually expected, right?” Trying to lighten the mood, she smirked up at him.

“Today, lunch isn’t a euphemism for anything.” Closing his eyes, he lifted the hand that had sampled the wetness between her legs up to his nose and inhaled. “And this isn’t on the menu, to my everlasting regret.”

“I...” she started, thoroughly confused. “What?”

He shook his head like a dog coming in from the rain. Not taking her on the steel island seemed to be hurting him just as much as it was her... So why were they abstaining, exactly?

She opened her mouth to ask but stopped when he smiled fiercely, looking not unlike he was in pain.

“Are you hungry?”

“I’m actually feeling a little faint,” she said, although she wasn’t entirely certain it was from lack of food.

“Let’s get you fed.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

JOHN’S CELL RANG as he pulled out into traffic. He took his eyes off the road to glance at the Bluetooth display on the dashboard.

Lhane Todoroki. Dammit.

Turning his eyes back to the road, he let the phone ring. Finally, it stopped, being channeled to voice mail, but five seconds later, the ringing started again.

“Someone wants to get a hold of you.” He felt Meg’s eyes on him, inquisitive but too polite to ask.

He grunted, instinct telling him that answering this call would reveal far more of him than he liked people to see.

The call clicked over to voice mail again, but this time the caller left a message.

“John, I know darn well you’re sitting there staring at the call display.” Lhane Todoroki sounded more amused than annoyed. “You’re planning on pretending that you didn’t hear this message until it suits your purposes, but that’s not going to work this time. A little birdie told me you’re in Boston, and guess what? So am I, today only, so stop avoiding human contact and pick up the damn phone.”

Shit. John hissed out a breath as Meg shifted on the seat beside him.

He didn’t let people know about this part of him. It made them feel for him, and feeling for him invited attachment.

But wasn’t that what he wanted from Meg?

“I’m going to keep calling, John.” Lhane’s voice singsonged through the car. “My meeting was this morning, and my flight isn’t till tonight. I have all day...”

At that moment, he had a taste, just the slightest taste, of what submission felt like. Sometimes it was easier to do hard things when someone you trusted took your choice away.

John answered the call, letting the connection remain on the speaker.

“Hi, Lhane.”

“John!” The delight in the woman’s voice was genuine. “Ha, I wasn’t sure that would work. But now I’ve caught you, and we’re going to have lunch.”

John waited for the panic to claw at his chest.

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