Page 31 of Twisted Secrets
Which was exactly why she needed to keep him at a distance. “No, thank you.” A girl a few feet down the bar caught her eye and she moved away to fill that drink order, but she could feel Cillian watching her the entire time. It made her skin hot and tingly and, holy hell, it made herwant.
Having sex with him had been a mistake. After over a year of celibacy, she should have known there was no way to keep her neat little boundaries in place, no matter how sure she was that she didn’t particularly like Cillian.Thatwas why she was responding so strongly to him. It had to be.
She turned around and nearly ran into Benji. He stopped her from mowing him over—or, more likely, bouncing off his chest—with his hands on her shoulders. “Whoa, there. You look a little out of it. Why don’t you take a break?”
Taking a break would just give her more time to think, which was exactly what she didn’t need. She was about to tell him that, but the girl behind her squawked. “This isn’t a Cosmo! I ordered a Cosmo!”
Well, hell, there went all her arguments that she was fine. Sheneverscrewed up orders. Olivia glanced at the drink in the girl’s hand, but she couldn’t figure out what it was that she’d actually made.Shit. She forced a smile. “I think a break is a great idea.”Some air. I just need some air. “I’ll be back in ten.”
“Make it fifteen.” He softened the command with a smile. “You work hard, Olivia. Sit down and take a breather. I canhold down the fort.”
Of course he could. He’d been doing it for years. She managed something closer to a real smile. “You’re a good guy, Benji.”
“Don’t go saying that where people can hear you.” He gave her a nudge. “Go on.”
She went.
As soon as she stepped out into the cool night—a welcome relief from the heat wave that had hit during the last few days—she tilted her head back and took what felt like her first deep breath in a week. Cillian wasn’t dead on the street or something equally awful. He was okay—an ass, but okay.Great, now that you know that, you can move on with your life.
Easier said than done.
“Olivia.”
She turned; a secret part of herself that she’d never admit existed was simply thrilled at the sight of him. Cillian had cut quite the figure with his tattoos and expensive clothing every time they’d met, but knowing the meaning of those tattoos—and how extensive they were beneath his clothing—only made him more attractive. It really wasn’t fair. She drank in the sight of him like a woman in the desert who finally caught sight of an oasis, not sure when she’d be able to do it again.
You’re putting distance between you two, remember?Distance. “You shouldn’t be back here.”
“Neither should you.” He glanced at the spot where he’d been beaten. “I would have thought that would go without saying.”
“I can take care of myself.” Maybe if she said it enough times, the men around her would start believing it. She almost snorted.Unlikely.
“And you can take care of me, too.” He grinned, quick and easy, and she almost found herself grinning back.
It was an effort to keep any warmth from her voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Well.” He moved closer, almost within touching distance. “If you won’t go out with me, I thought we could talk out here.” Something must have shown on her face, because he took another step. “I should have called. I’m sorry.”
She caught herself staring at his mouth and jerked her gaze up to his eyes. “Really, I should thank you for dropping the ball so effectively. I needed the reminder.” She took a tiny step back. “Now, please go. You’re ruining my break.”
“Do you really want me to leave?”
No.“Cillian…” Before she could think better of it, she grabbed his tie and hauled him the last step forward and against her. She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him. Instantly, his arms came around her, and one hand cradled the back of her head while the other yanked her even closer. He took charge of the kiss before she could process the sheer bliss of having so much of him pressed against so much of her.
He teased open her mouth, any hesitance gone as his tongue stroked hers. It wasn’t the same kind of kiss that they’d shared in the hotel room. No, this was down and dirty and had her flashing back to the night in the alley, her legs around his waist and his cock buried deep inside her.
She arched against him, needing to be closer, needing to feel skin against skin.This is such a bad idea. She didn’t care. She didn’t want to think about anything except the next second and his mouth on hers. He backed her up two steps and pressed her against the brickwall. The cold provided a shocking counterpoint of the heat of him at her front, which only made her want him more. She rolled her hips, moaning when she encountered his hard length.
Before she had a chance to really enjoy it, he spun her around, forcing her to catch herself on the wall. “You are so damn determined to drive me out of my mind.” He sounded as frustrated as she felt. “I’m trying to do this the right way, but that isn’t what you want, is it?”
The only thing she wanted right now was exactly what he was giving her, his body against hers, his erection pressing against the small of her back. She shook her head, trying to clear it. “I’m not going to date you.”I shouldn’t be doingthis. Not here, not like this.She felt like she was on a roller coaster, tipping over the edge of the first drop, past the point of no return.
And she didn’t want to stop.
“You want me.”
She used her leverage on the wall to roll her ass against him. “I want you.”
“Fuck.” His mouth came down on the back of her neck, the move somewhere between a bite and a kiss. “And if I shoved down that ridiculous excuse for shorts and took you right here, you’d love every fucking second of it. But you won’t go out for one drink with me.” His hand moved across her stomach, stopping at the top button of her shorts.
