Page 30 of Abduction
“Thank you, Josh,” I told him, my voice lowering slightly. I couldn’t believe he had really done this for me, really gone out of his way to buy me something this expensive. He must have beenrollingin cash to be able to drop this much on a woman he barely knew, but I wasn’t going to go complaining. I kind of liked being spoiled like this, even if it was all pretty new to me.
“You don’t have to thank me,” he replied. “Just promise me you’ll remember how much you’re worth, okay?”
“I’ll try,” I promised him. I knew material goods didn’t directly correlate to self-confidence, but it would be hard not to smile every time I looked down and saw this. And hey, if times got tough, I could pawn it to pay off my students loans.
I didn’t know what we were going to do now, but I was having so much fun, I didn’t want it to end. What else was he going to do? How else was he going to spoil me? I didn’t want to start acting entitled, but I was curious to see what else he would try to wow me with. There was clearly some part of him that got off on knowing how much he was impressing me, and there was no way I was going to call time on it when I was having so much damn fun.
We stepped out of the store—and were greeted at once by near sheet-rain waiting for us on the other side. I let out a shriek and pressed myself back against him without thinking. I just felt so comfortable being near him, and I didn’t want to lose out on his comfort. I was starting to forget there was another man in my life already, and I knew how damn dangerous it was to let myself focus on anyone else.
“It’s okay,” he laughed. “Just a little rain...”
But as I turned to him and realized just how close we were to one another, I didn’t want to hold back. I wasn’t sure who kissed who first, but a moment later, our lips had found one another, his hand on my waist, pulling me in close, the other in my hair as he cupped my head and kissed me softly. His touch was impossibly tender, lighting a burning fire deep in my belly that I knew I couldn’t put out until I...
I pulled back. I couldn’t do this. I needed it to stop. I needed to remember who I was, who I was engaged to. I couldn’t just go around kissing guys, even if they made me feels things my actual fiancé didn’t.
“Okay, I really need to go now,” I told him hurriedly, grabbing my bag from his shoulder and clutching it to my chest like a protective shield. I had to get out of here. If I didn’t, I knew I was going to be drawn into something I couldn’t take back, another kiss, maybe more, and I didn’t want to be that girl.
“You sure?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow. He was still totally confident and cool and collected, and I wondered if he had expected me to freak out the way I was. Nothing seemed to throw him off, as though he knew just what to say and how to handle himself to make sure he came across the very best he could. I nodded.
“I’m sure,” I blurted out. I looked out in to the rain. I was going to get soaked if I went out there, and all my papers would be ruined. I needed to get out of there, but there was no way I could walk out into that downpour.
I sighed. I needed to leave. But right now, I was stuck here with the man I had just kissed—and I didn’t know how I was supposed to keep myself from doing it again.
Chapter Seventeen
Josh
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ICOULD SEE HOW MUCHshe wanted to leave, but yet, she was still standing there right beside me. Though her better instincts might have been telling her to get out of there, something was keeping her here, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to go complaining about it.
The kiss had been electric. Even though it was brief, the feel of her body pressed up against mine, the heat of it, the want as she finally gave in to what we needed from each other, had me hot and bothered. I wasn’t going to push her if she wasn’t into it, but I would be damned if I gave up so quickly.
“Or you could stay,” I suggested, my hand on the small of her back again. She shot a look at me and then shook her head.
“No, I think it’d be better if I left,” she told me firmly. She chewed her lip as she looked out into the rain.
