“Tabitha. I—” He struggled to find the words. Because the last thing he wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable or bad in any way. He freaked out a little when she fell off that boulder yesterday, but really any of the other guides would have assessed her for injuries. His assessment might have been extra thorough, but still. “I’m not trying to make this week hard on you. I swear.”
“But you are.” She bit out, clenching her fists so hard he worried she’d cut her palms with her short fingernails.
“Then I’ll leave.”
“That’s the other problem,” she said softly, chest heaving with unsteady breath.
“What is?”
“I don’t want you to.” She released a frustrated moan and began pacing in the narrow alley. “Look. It took a long time to forget about you and even when I did, you’ve always been the guy I compare other men to. I rarely date, and I’m starting to wonder if it’s because of you.”
Zac moved closer, now only inches away, and stopped her pacing with a hand on each shoulder. Her messaging was so confusing. Was she saying she wanted him to stay away? Or that she wanted him? She said he was a big deal in her life, but she’d been so prickly the last few days, like she couldn’t bear to breathe the same air as him. “Tabby cat. Tell me what you want.”
Her wild eyes, bluer than the late summer sky, pleaded with him as they connected with his. She was so close, he could smell the coconut shampoo and sunscreen. One whiff told him it was the same exact brands she used all those years ago. The recollection made his knees weak.
“I know what I want, but I shouldn’t.”
“Because . . .?”
“Because,” she paused whatever she was about to blurt out, and replaced it with something else. “It would be messy, Zac. A hookup or whatever would be unprofessional, and I am here for work.”
Zac settled a hand on the brick wall behind her. When had he walked her back against it? She was a whisper away from him. Trapped between him and the building, she made no attempt to move. Why not? He had to know.
“Can I ask you a question?” He breathed in her coconut scent as she nodded. “Do you want me? Professionalism or whatever be damned. Do you think about me touching you? Does it turn you on?”
His lips hovered over hers, upturned to him, ready to be captured with a kiss. The vein in her neck pumped madly against her skin. He’d shifted so that his knee was between her legs, and it didn’t escape his notice that she shifted to allow the fit. He groaned as she pressed slightly against him.
“You’re killing me, Tabitha.”
“Good,” she murmured, eyes flaring, and flicked her tongue out to swipe his lower lip.
Chapter twenty-three
Tabitha
Possession.
She was possessed.
That was the only reason Tabitha could come up with that would explain her actions.
But she didn’t give a fuck as Zac’s firm lips claimed hers in a furious kiss. Suddenly, his hands were cupping her ass, pulling her tightly against the very obvious erection she’d caused. The awareness went straight to her head. When was the last time she’d aroused a man so much? Or wanted to at all?
The grit of the brick prickled her back as Zac pressed her against the wall. The texture and the heat emanating off of him elicited a low moan from her. She twined her hands around his neck and plunged her fingers into the base of his hair, fiddling with the loose bun of soft brown waves. His hair hadn’t been nearly this long before. It’d never been cropped but always sort of shaggy.
And that beard. It could use a trim, but the coarse drag against her sensitive skin was sending her over the edge. Moisture gathered between her legs with every kiss. Something far away nagged at her to end this. Cut things off before they went too far.
“Zac,” she said, pulling her lips away.
He simply trailed his kisses along her jaw and onto the tender flesh of her neck. “Hm?”
“We should stop,” Tabitha gritted out.
The whoosh of cold that engulfed her as he instantly separated himself from her was startling. Despite the warm evening air, she shivered.
“Is that what you want?” He stood back, panting just as hard as she was.
“It’s what weshoulddo,” she emphasized, trying desperately to convince her sex-starved body to agree. She glanced down at the strain of his pants and relished the flashes of memories that ran through her mind. Tabitha enjoyed men, and was attracted to men, but never thought the male genitalia was much to look at. How it felt? Sure, absolutely. But not so much the sight of it. Except for this man’s equipment. As she recalled, it was sculpted by gods, so smooth and proud. She licked her lips and reached.
