Page 12 of Don't Run
“You like what you see, pet?” His words are deep. Gritty and attention grabbing. I don’t know if he always sounds like this or if it’s a consequence of his words being funneled through the mask, and I don’t care. Either way, the pulse between my legs quickens.
Arms crossed across his chest, the movement pushes his pecs up. And as hard as I try, I can’t snatch my eyes away; just like I can’t ignore the way my mouth waters the longer I look at him.
“Yes.” There damn sure isn’t a reason to lie about it. He knows what he looks like, and hell if I’m immune to any of it.
With two steps, he advances on me. Without thinking, I inch away. Not enough to make up for the space he erased, but enough to exhale without my breaths tickling his chest.
“Is she waiting for you?”
“W-who?” I back up until the brass handle of the bathroom door is digging into my back.
“Thecheerleaderyou were fucking upstairs.”
Shit. Two minutes in his presence and I already forgot what the hell I was doing before him.
Swallowing, my head moves up and down in a shaky semblance of a nod.
“Are you one of the scare actors?” I gulp, trying to remember what Ladasia said about him earlier.
“That depends.” He lifts his arms to cage me between his body and the door. “Are you scared right now, pet?”
Am I scared? No.
Aroused? Hell yeah.
The notes of his earthy scent soothe me in a way I can’t explain. There’s something familiar about the cedar and mint scenting the air between us, but I can’t place it before my other senses are overwhelmed with the awareness of him.
He’s massive despite not standing at his full height, and the heat pouring off of him has a dizzying effect. I can’t think straight when he’s this close to me. I’m not sure I want to.
For as long as I can remember, dark skin men have been my weakness. And this one is wrapped up in enough arrogance and mystery to pique both my curiosity and desire.
What I can see of the hall past his bicep is empty. It shouldn’t be surprising no one is interrupting us because when I walked through the first floor on my way outside, the crowd had thinned significantly.
By now, I imagine they’re upstairs, too busy fucking orwatchingsomeone get fucked to wander into the shadowy alcoves of this mansion.
Dark and melodic, “The Party and the Afterparty” filters through hidden speakers, pulling an exhale out of me when the familiar cadence of the song reaches my ears.
Fingers graze my chin as I begin to mouth the words engrained in my brain, breaking my focus as I peer at the man hovering over me.
“Who pissed you off outside?”
My brows fall. “How long have you been watching me?” Not just watching but following me.
“Long enough to know I want you.” He straightens slightly. “Now tell me who has you pissed off, pet.”
“Nobody,” I say, shaking my head. Tahj is exasperating as all hell, but he didn’t piss me off. And the last thing I want to do is think about my boss when I have this fine ass man in front of me. “It was just my boss. He can be needy.”
His fingers still under my chin and I can feel his gaze searing me. In vain, I try to search for his eyes but all I see is a yellowy-orange netting that makes the pumpkin look like it’s glowing. “Needy, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let me help you work off some of that frustration.”
“Huh?”
A dark laugh rumbles from his chest. “You heard me.”
I talk a lot of shit about not letting men get me flustered, but here I am…hanging onto this man’s every word while everything outside of us fades into obscurity. “What you want with me?”
