“But…”
“Kate.” His hands clenched in a way that made her want to experience his tight grip again and again.
“Thank you,” she said, holding up her hands in mock surrender. “I promise not to touch anything breakable.”
Liam moved about the bedroom area, muttering something about making sure the room was set up as he’d requested. She’d heard him order all kinds of extras over the phone, ones she could never hope to afford: free movies on demand, large toiletry bottles instead of those puny sample sizes, and a full-sized fridge stocked with everything from vintage wines to exotic fruits she’d only ever glimpsed at the market. For all she knew, he might have tucked a Lamborghini under the bed.
She touched the soft duvet cover, checked out the label and gasped at the astronomical thread count. “This is too much.”
He walked over and pried the duvet edge out of her fingers. “You’ve had a shitty time. Just relax for a few days. Is it such a sin?”
“Ha. That could be the new slogan for Vice.”
“You’re right. Want a job on my marketing team?” His confident bad boy grin was back and put a wobble in her belly.
“Look, I know you’re doing this to bribe me.” She caught the look on his face and rephrased. “I don’t mean bribe… I mean by getting me into your casino, you’ll convince me it’s not such a bad place after all, and I’ll give up my protest.”
“You already gave it up.”
“I can always start it again, any time I want. I can bring you to your knees, big boy.” She’d meant it as a joke, but as they stared at each other, the air grew heavy between them.
“Woman, I know you can.”
His words made her want to tumble into that fluffy, red bed with him and not tumble out again for a few days. She didn’t know what to say to lift the sexual tension, so she voiced the other thought plaguing her. “Do you always rescue damsels in distress?”
“Just redheaded singers who hate my guts.”
“I don’t hate you, Liam. In fact…”
He moved closer, making her all too aware of his size and shape and smell, all the things that made him attractive to her. Her pulse leaped and her breaths grew shallow.
“In fact, what?” His voice, so deep and quiet, coaxed a flutter of strange delight inside her.
“Just this.” She put her hands on his shoulders and stood on her toes. Leaning into him, she dropped a chaste kiss onto his cheek. His stubble tickled her lips and she couldn’t help the resulting fantasies that raced through her brain. She couldn’t help wanting to experience the tender abrasion of his stubble on her pussy lips again.
Shocked at her thoughts and actions, she pulled away. But Liam put a hand to her back and held her firm. He wound his arms around her and cradled her head with his other hand and lowered his head. Her heart beat out of her chest, and before she knew it, she’d closed her eyes in anticipation.
A crush of sensation hit her as their mouths met. His kiss was gentle as he brushed his lips against hers. Sweet, sliding simplicity, as natural as embracing an old friend. But then his fingers curled against her body and his lips parted. His tongue darted out, and she took it in.
His hunger drove him deeper and he flicked at the inside of her mouth. Sucking her tongue, he made low, growling noises and his every touch screamed of want and fire and impatience. The kiss became one to annihilate all others from her memory.
“Dammit,” he finally whispered as he snatched a breath.
Any coherent thoughts she’d had turned into a silly muddle of sex-saturated imagery. Her body, entwined with his. Pounding, driving motion that carried her to the highest heights. Finishing what they’d started earlier.
In that moment, she remembered where she was. In his casino. A place she wanted to destroy. And yet she’d agreed to stay, because she was weak and hadn’t been laid in so long.
This was wrong. All of it. She had to forget it, and keep her distance from him.
He stared at her, blinked a few times, and seemed to glean her reticence. She wanted him, she knew it like she knew her own voice, but each interaction only succeeded in making her feel more guilty. And she’d lived with guilt her whole life. Could they do this? Could someone like her actually take someone like him to bed and not wake up ashamed?
Damn, she sure as hell wanted to try.
But with everything that had happened that evening, neither of them seemed ready to take the plunge again. As if to confirm her suspicions, he removed his hands from her body and smiled at her. No longer a happy-go-lucky sort of smile. His expression had darkened with confident sensuality.
“Get some sleep. It’s been a long night.” He reached into his pocket and pressed a business card into her hand, taking time to stroke her palm. “This is my direct contact information. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
“Thank you.”
