Page 45 of Roughing the Player
“Fine. I’ll bite. Why?”
“Because you’re the only woman I want. The only one I need.” I lean forward and lick the throbbing vein on her neck. God. The taste of her.
“Don’t do that.” She pushes against my chest as if she wants me to stop. But there’s no stopping me. Not anymore. I’ve burned for her for too long.
I prop my left hand on her other side and cage her in. We’re doing this my way.
She tries to move past my arm, but I won’t budge. “Please let me go.” She begs.
“Not in a million years.”
Her gaze finds me, pleads with me. “I can’t. We can’t.”
“Oh, darling, of course we can.” I breathe in the intoxicating scent of her. Honeydew, honey melon, honey . . . something. Damn if I don’t grow harder. “You want me. You know you do.”
“I don’t.”
She’s lying, and I can prove it. I play with her nipples until her breath comes out in short bursts. I rub my palm across her wet pussy until she pushes back against my hand. “Ahhhh.”
She can deny it all she wants, but her body’s telling a different tale. I curl my lips into a triumphant smile. “See?”
Trembling, she says, “Please, Brock, back off.”
Feeling generous, I give her just enough room to breathe.
She takes in big noisy gulps, as if she can’t quite get enough air into her lungs.
Why she’s denying herself, denying us is beyond me. “Don’t you miss having a man between your legs, Ellie?”
Still breathing hard, she licks her lips. “N-no.”
My nostrils flare.
“I d-don’t want you.”
Oh, she wants me all right, and everything I can give her. But maybe, just maybe, she doesn’t want to want me. Because she’s got somebody else. “Do you have another man in your life? Is that where you were on Thursday? Did he fuck you?”
She stops breathing hard long enough to glare at me. “You’re a pig.”
That doesn’t answer my question. But I don’t give a fuck. Not when she can’t hide her attraction for me. The heat coming off her, the pheromones, the dilated pupils, her tight little nipples beneath her top. All clear signs of desire. I don’t care if she has another man in her life. She’s mine. And I’m going to prove it to her once and for all. “Maybe, but you want me.”
“No.”
“That’s the third time you’ve denied me. Aren’t you tired of lying, Ellie?”
“I’m not lying.”
I take my time studying her. She’s shaking. Clear proof she desires me? Or evidence she’s scared of me? God. How did we get to this point? I’ll be damned if I force her to do something she doesn’t want. Disgusted with myself, I step back, giving her the space she needs. “Leave, Ellie. Go on. Get out of here.” I pick up the duffel and trudge toward my bedroom before I do something we’ll both regret.
Behind me, the front door closes as she makes her get away. Well, that’s it. She’s gone. And she won’t be back. Fine. I lived without her for close to thirteen years. I can live without her again. Even if it kills me.
