Page 35 of Brew
He didn’t.
I slide my palm off the soft leather, moving to his chest as I feel and hear his intake of breath. Over his shirt, I can feel his heart racing like a wild horse. He’s affected by me. He’s into this just as much as I am. Maybe he thought his crude comment would put me off, but it only seems to be spurring me on.
My veins feel like they’re on fire as I feel the hard ridge of his pecs. Man, oh man, Brew is ripped. It’s obvious he works out, but come on. Leave some brutes for the rest of the world.
“Fuck,” he mutters.
Bravely, I cast my eyes down and I see the bulge in his jeans. A big, fat bulge.
He’s got a hard on for me.Me.
I want to touch it. I know, I know, we’re going from first base right on over to third, but this is the power he has over me. I don’t like it, I don’t like not being in control of my emotions, but Brew has no idea he’s doing it, so it isn’t his fault. It’smyfault. I should tell him no.
Instead, I slide my hand down, feeling his abs as he holds his breath, then I untuck his shirt, sliding my palm onto his bare skin. Holy macaroni. His skin is warm, smooth, and rippling with muscles. Just like I knew he would be.
“You shouldn’t,” he starts as if reading my mind. Oh, IknowI shouldn’t, but he started it.
“Why? You touched me first.”
“Is that what this is, blow for blow?” Our eyes meet. He’s intense, his jaw steeled and his eyes locked on mine. “Answer me.”
I continue my travels until I’m pressing my palm over his pecs. My insides almost curdle at his demand. “Weshouldn’t be doing this, but yet here we are with our hands on one another.”
He moves his hand, gripping the back of my neck. “You think you can handle me?”
For the first time, I see his lips twitch in amusement.
“I escaped a cult and a horrible life before this, what makes you think I can’t?”
His eyebrows pop up ever so slightly. “Touché.” Then my insides flame when he adds in a dark voice, “You know what you’re doin’ to me?”
I feel like I have cotton wool stuck in my throat. I can barely breathe. This man is so sexy. He has no clue. None. I’m convinced of it. He knows the effect he has on women, I’ve seen it at the clubhouse a million times, but I’ve never seen him act on it with my own eyes. Why is that? Why does he not drag a sweet butt up to one of the rooms upstairs like the other single guys?
“The question is why haven’t you done anything about it before now?”There, tough guy.
He jerks back in surprise, my hand falling, hitting his belt buckle on the way down. We both cast our eyes to the bulge clearly visible tenting his jeans. “Because of that.”
My mouth opens, my eyes still south, and I want to grab it. I want to be wild, but I’m not that brave.
As if reading my mind, he snickers. “Told you, you couldn’t handle me.”
I tuck my hair behind my ears, my cheeks burning. He’s right. I don’t know what I was thinking. This isn’t me. I’m Erica. Dependable, loyal, abysmally boring Erica. I never do anything spontaneous or fun. I live to ensure everyone else is happy. AndI don’t mean to do it, I’ve just done it so long that it’s engrained into me now.
“It’s not that,” my voice is quiet. “It’s that I haven’t done this in so long, I’ve almost forgotten how.”
I don’t know what I see in his eyes, but a thrill runs through me as he pushes me back farther into the desk. “How long?”
My eyes widen. “I—uh, that’s private.”
He quirks a brow. “You just had your hands all over me and now you wanna be shy?”
“Iamshy, you big oaf!” I thump him on his chest with both fists, annoyed at myself more than anything. Then I see it. It’s glorious. His eyes soften as I sit my ass on my desk, my legs parting as he moves between them, and then he smiles. I love it when he smiles.
“Big oaf? Big bad wolf, you’re mixin’ your metaphors,Sparky.”
“And you’re drunk.”
He shakes his head. “Not drunk, but I bet your little panties are flutterin’ just thinkin’ about what I could do to you.”
