Was that sarcasm?
I was so twisted around and confused, I didn’t even understand why I was getting so flustered. It was just…well, the minute his eyes were on me, I was so embarrassed and so, God, I wanted a do-over. I wanted to go back to him kissing me that night and for me to not push him away.
Too late, right?
My heart dropped to my stomach, and I looked away. “I feel like a fool.” The words slipped out before I could think them through.
“I can’t get you out of my head, either, Brooke.”
Every inch of my skin tingled and buzzed with each word he’d said. I had to blink my eyes a few times to focus. “What?” I whispered.
“You are stunning, standing here in my brother’s shirt and my underwear. Absolutely, undeniably the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And I can’t, God knows I’ve wanted to, but I can’t stop thinking about how much I want you.”
“Want me?” I asked, curious about the words, thinking I was hearing him wrong.
He slipped in front of me, reached behind me, and shut off the burners to the stove. He stayed there, leaning over me, not quite touching me, but close enough that the heat of his body mixed with the heat of mine.
I couldn’t think straight. I knew there were a thousand questions I needed to ask. There should be a thousand questions, yet my tongue stayed silent.
His body shifted slightly, his hand brushing over the back of one of mine.
“Come back to bed,” his whispered words fell softly against my neck.
“Are you married?” my voice croaked, holding my ground, but gently swaying toward him.
“Nope,” he smiled, licking his lips. “Very single.”
“Dating someone?” my voice cracked, as my hands fisted at my sides.
“No.” His hands gradually reached up, his fingertips falling gently on my waist.
“Martinez?” That’s right! He was going to go on a date with Lydia. I wasn’t going to deal with someone who—
“I cancelled it,” he shrugged, pressing his fingers into my skin and pulling me up against him. “There’s only one woman I want, Brooke, and it’s you.”
I had somehow lost my knees.
I barely knew where my body was, then his arms were around me, like silk against my skin. Suddenly, he was carrying me through the hallway, back toward his bedroom.
He had left music playing inside his room, a slow song that I lost myself in—in the rhythm of the sounds, and him—in the way he looked at me. He set me down gradually; our eyes locked together, our breaths just falling over the edge of steady.
He tugged on the hem of the shirt I wore, lifting the fabric inch by inch, taking his time unwrapping me. Cool arms seemed to press against my skin, my breasts swollen and heavy, hardened into peaks. His gaze crawled over my flesh, as he sank to his knees in front of me and slid down the boxers until they pooled around my ankles.
I’d never been so intensely aware of my skin than when his eyes took me in completely bare for the first time. A slow smile spread across his lips as he placed his hands around the back of my calves and haltingly slipped them softly up to the back of my thighs. I could feel my own heartbeat, strong and fast in my throat, my legs tingling and numbing from wanting him to touch me more.
Then, his fingers splayed wide, pressing into my skin and his mouth was on me instantly. His lips latched on to me, his tongue flicked out over and over and my body gave in to his mouth and I came, and I came, and I was still throbbing when he pressed me back onto his mattress and sank inside me like he was always meant to be there.
Our hands were frantic, his trusts strong and hard, our lips aching and pulling, at each other’s. His mouth moved over my neck, his teeth raking into my skin, and I wrapped my legs around him tighter, my body, my mind, my entire heart falling off the ledge. Every muscle in my body trembled and convulsed as I exploded around him, pieces of me lost forever in his room. His body stiffened and his trusts became harder and faster, both of us moaning with the sudden build up until he whispered my name on a harsh moan and something in me, maybe my heart, burst open in my chest, and I cameagain.
Breathless, he rolled off me, both of us panting and swearing under our breaths.
For a moment, he lay silent, staring up at the ceiling. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see any regret cross his face. Ryan held the same expression as Harris did the first time he had me please him in his office. A heavy sigh from a downturned mouth. A pained expression as his eyebrows gathered in. I wondered if Harris had thought about his wife at that moment, the vows they’d took, and how ugly of a person he really was inside. I wondered what Ryan’s regrets were. Whatever they were, I wouldn’t allow him to have them long. I slipped from under the sheets, feigning the need to use the bathroom. I couldn’t let him think I was a clinger, but God,please don’t let him regret me. That was the single most intense experience I’ve ever felt in my life.
I closed myself in the bathroom and leaned heavily on the sink. My insides felt like molten hot lava and as if my outsides were made of electric fire.
I never wanted this feeling to go away.
Shit, this was my problem, wasn’t it?
One time with someone and I fell head over heels in love with him.
I was a stupid, living, breathing cliché.
Balling up the towel that hung on the rack in his bathroom, I pressed it against my lips and sobbed into it, hoping to mute the sounds. I just did exactly what I had done with Harris—jumped into bed with him, without thinking about any of the consequences.
