Page 70 of Unbelonging
He suddenly grew very still. So did I, other than the wind whipping at my hair and clothes. My fingertips remained frozen in place as I waited to see what he did next. His gaze narrowed as he studied my face.
"Have you been drinking?" he asked.
"No." I withdrew my finger and stared up at him. "Well, not much anyway." Here I was, trying to seduce the guy, and he was asking about my drinking habits? I couldn't say for sure, but I'd have bet almost anything that Britney and friend were never stone-cold sober when they'd been in my shoes.
"Why?" I said. "Does it matter?"
He met my gaze. "Yes. With you, it does."
"Why?" I blurted out, briefly forgetting my role as seductress.
"I don't know," he said, "but it does."
I let out a long breath. This wasn't going the way I'd planned. A mortifying thought occurred to me. What if his drinking comment was just an excuse? What if he just didn't see me that way anymore?
I wasn't a Brittney, and I certainly wasn't anything like the other girls he'd been linked to in the news. I wasn't a siren or a starlet or a party girl in any conceivable way. What if the other night had been a fluke? Maybe I should've dressed up after all.
Oh shit.
I'd been so naïve. I thought just because I was a girl, and he was a guy who'd expressed some interest in me, that if I showed up and offered myself to him that he'd be willing. Okay, more than willing.
Screw it. I'd come this far, and my day couldn't get any more humiliating. Bracing myself, I laid my cards on the table. "So you're saying youdon'twant me?" I lifted my chin. Even if the situation was humiliating, I wasn't going to slink away like some whipped dog.
I'd leave, but I'd keep my dignity. Well, what dignity remained. I guess it wasn't much.
Something in his expression changed. He chuckled. "Chloe," he said. "If you knew how much I wanted you." He shook his head. "Well, let's just say you'd be smart to run back the way you came." He took a step closer until we were almost touching. "And you'd run right now. Before I show you exactly how much." His gaze smoldered into mine, and I swear, I felt my panties ignite.
"Yeah?" I said, feeling my earlier boldness return with a vengeance. "Prove it."
He gave me a wicked grin. "Is that a dare?"
Mutely, I nodded.
Before I knew it, he'd swooped me up in his arms, literally, carrying me the final feet to the brick steps of his front entryway. I heard myself laugh, a joyful sound that had been sadly lacking lately. His steps were sure and steady, and his arms were rock-hard under my knees, as he moved easily up the steps.
With me still in his arms, he pushed open his front door and carried me inside, turning to walk through a set of large double doors.
When I'd come here the previous times, those doors had been closed.
But now, inside this strangely cozy room, I saw cream-colored walls, gleaming oak floors, a huge unlit fireplace with brown leather furniture arranged in a square pattern around a plush, gold-colored rug.
Still carrying me, he strode toward the leather sofa that sat opposite the huge fireplace. His chest was rock-hard against my cheek as I nestled into him, soaking up the clean scent and masculine feel of him.
I couldn’t see his face, but I heard the smile in his voice as he said, "If I let you go, you're not gonna run off, are you?"
I shook my head, too caught up in the moment to be embarrassed at the fact I'd done exactly that on my last visit. But tonight, I was someone different. If I ran, it would be toward him, not the other way around. "Not a chance," I said.
"Good," he said, tossing me onto the couch, "because trust me, you wouldn't get far."
Chapter 40
I could only imagine how I looked. My hair had to be a wild mess, and I knew by the feel of my clothes that they were twisted around me in a way that was decidedly unfashionable. But as he stood by the sofa, looking down at me with an expression of unbridled desire, none of that mattered.
All I knew was that I wanted him. And he wanted me. And for just one night, that was more than enough.
"Don’t move," he said. "I'll be right back."
When he strode from the room, I wanted to whimper. The place felt way too empty without him. To distract myself, I looked around. The room was gorgeous with gold-framed paintings and vases with flowers in all the right places. Obviously, the guy had a decorator.
