Page 50 of Tempt Me

Chapter 20

Gigi quicklycollected her clothesfromthehallwayandslipped into her room.Lessthan a heartbeat later,shecould hearMax’sheavyfootstepswalkpast,followed bythefrontdoorclicking shut. She letouta shuddering breath,feeling herbodystilltingling in all theplaceshe had touched…and sucked and bitten.

A moan rolled from herthroat. She had never been touched likethatbefore.He had knownwhat hewasdoing,unlikeall theotherguysshe’d been with before.Shelaughed. ‘Boys’wasamore accuratedescription. Theywereinexperienced boys.Maxwasaman—aman whohadmadesure shewaspleasured andsatisfied. Hewasamanwhoshewanted tohave moreof. Therealityof life had suredisrupted themoment,butshewould becounting down the hoursuntil theycould finish whatthey’d started.

Thisdevelopment—although amazing and justwhatGigi had wanted—alsocreated new problems. Sherealized whatsheandMaxweredoing wasjustaboutsex—aboutmutual attraction—and although shewasn’tactuallyokaywiththat,shewanted toexplorethesefeeling for him.The other problemwas,whatwasshegoing todoabout Alex?Hewastoosweetand too naive for her tohurt him sobadly.Itwasobviousshehadtocancelthedate,butshe didn’tknowhow hewould takethenews.Picking up herphonefromthedresser,shecreateda newmessagetohimand startedtyping.

Alex,I’m reallysorrytohavetodo thistoyou,but Ican’tgooutwithyoutomorrow nightaswe’d planned…

Shepaused,wonderingwhetherthe truthora liewasgoing tospill outintothemessage.

Mybossneedsme toworktomorrownight.I’mreallysorry.Raincheck?

Gigi hitsend and placed thephonecarefullybackwhereithad been. Shechewed on herbottomlip, waiting forhis reply,whichnevercame.

Picking up her towelfromthebackof herdeskchair,shewenttotakeashoweralthough shewas loath towashawaythelingering scentofMax. Shecouldn’tjustwalkaround fortherestof the nightsmellingof him. Itwould comeacrossastoodesperate.When shesteppedoutof the bathroom,sheheard Erin stirring. Shegotthelittlegirl up and broughther intotheliving roomto prepareher dinner.

OnceErinwasfed,bathedand dressed in herpajamas,Gigi satupwith heruntil shebegan to yawn. Taking Erin backintothenursery,shereadhera bookand settled herdown tosleep. She drifted offlikeshedidn’thaveacarein theworld,and for asecond Gigi enviedher. Shecouldn’t rememberatimewhen shedidn’thavetoworryaboutsomething. Evenwhenshewaslittle, her momhad told hershe had worried aboutsmall,insignificantthingslikewhether ornotthe goldfish had had enoughtoeat,orwhether she had brushed thecatonetimetoomany.

Asshe’d grown up,thatsense of worry hadn’tabated—ithad gotten alittleworse. Gigi blamed it on universityand her highdriveand desiretosucceed ateverything she puthermind to. Closing Erin’sbedroomdoorbehind her,shecollected her phoneand acoupleoftextbooksfromherroom and setup in theliving room. Therewasamovieon shehadn’tseen sinceshewasa kid. She left itplayinginthebackground asshestudied…or tried tostudy.

Her brain didn’tseemtowanttoconcentrateon cultural anthropology. Rather itwasmuchmore interested in replaying thewholeencountershe’d hadwithMax…overand overand over. Her body reactedasif hewereactuallytheretouching her again. Shehad been solostin thesensationshe’d been abletodrawfromher thatshewouldn’thavecared whether theapartmentwasburning down around them,orwhether theywere being robbed. Allthathadmatteredwasthefeelof hisbody againsthers,thefeelof hismouth on hers.

Ithad beenterriblyone-sided—Max had been giving,and shehad greedilytakenitall. Gigi alsohadn’thadthechancetotouch himas much asshewantedto. She’d decidedthatwhen hegothome,shewould dosomething aboutit. Anylingering doubtsaboutwhether ornotthiswasright orwrongwerenowgone. Sheknew, unequivocally,thatsheand Maxweremeanttohappen.

Her phonebeeped.

Sorrytohearthat,Gigi.Wasreallylookingforwardtotomorrow.I’lldefinitelytakethatraincheck. XX

Her gazewasstuckon thelittlekissesAlexhad putattheend of histext. Staring atthem,her stomach dropped. Theywere onlya singleletter,buttheyrepresented somuch;theywere hishope for therelationship he’dalwayswanted with her andtheywerethephysical signof her betrayalof Alex by leading him tobelievetherecould bemore.

*

Gigiwokewithastart.Sheblinked,takingin theroom;theTV was on,hertextbookswereall on the floor,thesideofherfacewascreasedfromthecouchcushions.Shetriedtofocusonwhathad woken her up,her eyessweeping up tofind Maxstanding in thedoorway. Shesatup.

“Hi,”shesaid,hervoicerough.

Foramoment,heonlystaredandshecouldfeelhis eyesrovingovereveryinchofherexposed skin.Shehadchangedintohersleepshortsandteeafterherearliershower,forgettinghowtight and shorttheywere.“I’ve been thinking aboutyou allnight,”hesaid.

Sheswallowed,herfaceflushingwithheat.“Youhave?”Henodded.“Whathaveyoubeen thinking?”

Hetookastepcloserand athrillwentthroughher. “I’vebeenthinkingabouthowI madeyou comewith mymouth.”His voicehadtaken onacoarsenessthat madeGigitremble.Heclosedthe feetbetweenthemlike theywere onlyinches.Thisnear,shecouldsmellhisaftershave,hisskinand thedistinctsmell of hard liquor frompouring drinks all night. “And I was alsothinking abouthowI’d liketodoitagain.”

“Oh.”Thewordcameoutofhermouthwithahesitantshudder,hernippleshardeningagainst her shirt.

Max’seyestrackeddowntoherchest,andhisliphitchedupononeside.“Iseeyoulikethat idea.”

Lickingherlips,shemanagedtonodherhead.Hereachedoutand tookherbythehand,tugging heragainsthim.Shewentwillingly,inhalingdeeply.Shelookedupintohis eyes,seeinghowmolten hisbourbon depthshad become. Onehand wenttoher neck,hisstrong fingerswrapping around the base of her skull. Heapplied tosmallestamount of pressureand,likebefore,she yielded tohim. His lipspressed impatientlyagainsthers,histongueforcing itswayinsidehermouth. Heswallowed her moan,thesound draggingoutashisfreehand brushed against one ofhertaut,aching nipples.

“Yourbreastsareperfect,”hesaidagainsther,hislipsmovingfromhermouthtoherjaw.“You areperfect.”

Gigididn’tthinkthataboutherself,butwhenhesaidthewords,shebelieved them. “Yes,”she whispered,herbreathcatchingonthewordwhenhishandskimmeddownhertorsoanddipped pastthewaistbandof her shorts.

“Youwearthingslikethis onpurpose,don’t you?”hegrowled, hismouthnowonhercollarbone. Shedidn’tunderstandwhathemeantuntilhesnappedtheelasticwaistbandofhersleepshorts, making hergasp. “You drivemeinsane,Gigi.”

Shewhimperedinreply,bringingherhandsintohishair,grabbinglargehandfulsofit.“Youdrive meinsane,Max.”

Helowered hertothecouch,draggingherhipstotheedge.Fallingtohisknees,heplaceda hand oneitherside ofhershortsandtuggedthefabricdownandoffherlegs.Gigi’s plaincottonpanties looked tootameforwhat hewasdoing toher—what hewasgoing todotoher. For onceshewished she’d listened toJen and goneoutand boughta blacklacethong.

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