The corner of his mouth curls again. Dammit. “You owe me a date.”
Well, that’s a statement I wasn’t expecting.
I jerk back as my eyebrows pull together. “I don’toweyou anything.”
“The winning bidder of the auction gets a kissanda date.”
“For someone as intelligent as you’re supposed to be, you aren’t very good at reading the fine print,” I snap. “First, the kiss was supposed to be on the cheek, not the mouth. You clearly bulldozed over that rule.”
Chuckling, he lifts his hand and massages his chin. His eyes spark with humor. “And second?”
“Second,” I force out, annoyed. “The date is optional. I have a right to say no if I don’t want to go on a date.”
“Are you telling me you don’t want to go on a date with me?”
I’m at a loss for words.
He steps forward, bringing his face dangerously close to mine. “Go on a date with me, Wallflower.”
I haven’t even asked him where he came up with that nickname for me yet. He’s said it a few times, but I don’t have the energy to dig into it right now.
“Holt, I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” I turn my face away from him so he can’t read my thoughts. He’s already managed to break through some of the walls I’ve put up. I don’t want him getting any closer to how I’m feeling when I can’t even make sense of it myself.
Slowly, he hooks two fingers under my chin, pulling me back to him. “You have to admit something about that kiss lit something inside you.” His voice is deep and velvety, slithering across my skin with determination, like it knows exactly the kind of reaction it’s drawing out of me.
He doesn’t care that we aren’t alone. The clerk working the front desk is clearly watching us now. She isn’t even shy about it. Her mouth pops open, and her eyes spread wide.
I focus on Holt. His close proximity causes the blood to rush to my face, deepening the heat in my cheeks.
“Holt, I?—"
“You need someone to challenge you.”
“I don’t need anyone.”
“No,” he chuckles, lifting his hand and tucking my hair behind my ear. “You don’t need anyone. But, see? You’re proving my point already.”
“What point?”
“I make you feel something.” His fingers graze the shell of my ear, then along the curve of my neck.
“You do not.”
I’ve sworn off dating. Adam was a momentary lapse in judgment. Like taking a test drive that I soon decided was a massivemistake. And while going on a date with Holt would be counterproductive to my own argument, he has a point. He does light something inside me. I’m just not sure it’s something I want to confront at the moment.
“What would Julianna think if we went on a date?”
He pauses and swallows. His neck bobs with the motion, and I want to press my lips to his delicate flesh just to feel his pulse beating against me.
“I hardly care what my sister thinks.”
“I do,” I tell him honestly, dropping my gaze to his lips.
His mouth curls into a knowing smirk and a chuckle erupts from his throat. “I think she’d understand.”
