Page 74 of Holding Out

Oh, Jesus, she was—too damn much.He couldn’t fit the way she made him feel under his skin anymore.

“I wish—” He stopped.

She put her hand on the table and he covered it with his.He wrapped hers up, small in his grip.“I wish you could stay longer.I know I’m a craptastic friend for not being a hundred percent gung-ho about the salon job—”

She shook her head.“No.I’m not a hundred percent gung-ho, either.”

“You could stay here.Work for Jake.And Nate.”

She smiled weakly.“One successful tutoring session doesn’t suddenly make me qualified for this kind of thing.”

“You loved it, though.Admit it.”

She couldn’t hold back her smile.“I loved it.”

Watching her smile like that was battle victory and a military parade, a Memorial Day picnic,The Princess Bride, the best bitter hoppy beer, Robbie’s unconditional affection.

This was how he wanted her to be all the time.He wanted her to have a life full of things she loved that much.

“God,” he said, because it was actually painful to want that.To feel like this again.He was walking on a tightrope and he was going to fall, any minute.“God, Becca, that makes me really happy, you know?”

She reached out and rubbed a hand over his jaw where afternoon scruff was sprouting.Then put the same hand in his hair and gave it a little tug, so he was forced to lean across the table and meet her kiss.She bit his lip and he groaned.

She pulled back and gave him a look, the one he now recognized as loaded with his favorite kind of trouble.“We still haven’t done it with me on top.Or you behind me.”

All that was true, but it wasn’t what he wanted.He wanted—

“What if I said—?”

She was very still across the table from him, picking up on how serious he was.

“What if I said I didn’t want to do you any favors or work on any projects or fulfill any kama sutra fantasies or one-up Jondalar the Wonder Schlong or play any more fucking games?What if I said I just wanted to take you back to my room and make love to you?”

“Oh,” she said, softly.

“Would that totally freak you out?”

She shook her head.“No.”

“Good,” he said.He put his hand out, and she slipped her small, soft one into his again.He tugged her out from her side of the booth, close to his side.

“Griff,” she whispered, coming into his arms.

He couldn’t help himself—he kissed her.Her mouth was soft and hot and so, so hungry.As if up to this point, she’d been holding something back, and now she was giving everything to him.He wasn’t sure he could take it.He was going to catch fire and burn up.

But he kissed her back anyway, because he couldn’tnotdo it.Her tongue was eager and bossy.Her hands grabbed his clothes, his ass, his hair.She was whimpering and murmuring things he couldn’t understand, and he was going to do something very, very bad if they didn’t get out of here.

He put his hands on her shoulders, held her away from him.She didn’t like it.She clutched at him, which almost made him give in.

“We have to stop, just for now,” he said.“I don’t like it either.I want to fuck you on that table right there.Right now.But I want to make love to you in my bed more than that, so that’s where we’re going.”He paused.“But I need an hour, first.There’s something I have to do.”

She raised an eyebrow.“I have condoms.”

He laughed.“Not that.I’ll tell you afterwards, okay?Meet me at my room—” He looked at his watch, “at six fifteen.”

He could tell she didn’t understand, but that was okay.She would.

Jake was just leavinghis office—perfect timing.

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