Wanting—needing—more, Taryn tried to shrug out of her coat but it caught at her elbows. “Dammit,” she complained, a husky whine in her voice.
“Problem?” Ash looked up from where he was nibbling her neck, that sly smile in his eyes.
“Help me.” She wiggled her shoulders, trying to shake the fabric loose. All it did was rub her breasts against his chest.
His gaze dropped to the view. “I’m not seeing a problem at all.” His laugh was pure evil. Sexy, sexy evil. His gray eyes met hers, laughter and desire burning in their depths. “More of an opportunity.”
With her arms pinned, breasts thrust forward, she was at his mercy. She wasn’t helpless—she could rip through the fabric with her cyberarm—but freeing herself wouldn’t be instantaneous. Taryn waited for the panic to set in.
It never came.
She wasn’t worried about getting free. She wanted to get closer.
Ash didn’t react the way she’d expected. Didn’t immediately take advantage of the situation. Instead, he two-stepped them away from the door. Then he circled her slowly, a predator studying his prey.
Taryn had never considered hackers a threat until now. Their crimes weren’t generally violent. They weren’t trafficking women or robbing people on the streets.
Today, though... Ash was proving himself a predator.
She shouldn’t find that so fucking hot.
Taryn stood still, letting him look his fill.
The little hairs on the back of her neck quivered in awareness. He was behind her.
He stepped close, his body heat warming her—burning her—even though he hadn’t touched her.
She reached behind her with searching fingers. Between her coat and his caution, all she grasped was air.
He laughed, a wicked, wicked sound.
Chills shivered up her spine.
“It’s killing you not to turn around, isn’t it?” His voice close to her ear, his body still not touching her.
“Yes.” Holy shit. Was that her voice? All breathy and husky?
“Thank you for trusting me.” He stepped closer before he said it. The whisper of his words against her neck nearly made her jump.
She closed her eyes and concentrated on the sensations coursing through her. Her belly clenched in anticipation. Her pulse beat rapidly. She wanted...
“I want to kiss you,” he whispered.
“Thank god.” Because she wanted to kiss him too. “More kissing, less talking.”
He laughed.
She could get addicted to his laugh. It made her all shivery inside.
“I like watching you tremble with anticipation.”
Oh my god, she was going to kill him. Or he was going to kill her.
“I like watching you think about me kissing you.” His words were warm against the delicate skin of her ear. His tongue flicked out, licking the shell of her ear. “I like watching you tremble as you keep strict control over your body. It makes me think about making you lose control.”
Heat flooded her body, settling between her thighs, and she whimpered. She wanted that. All of it.
“But damn, I can’t stop thinking about kissing you.” His arm circled her and he ran the pad of his thumb running over her bottom lip.
