“Sorry, I know I’m all over the place—”
“Don’t be sorry.” I squeezed his hands. “Be honest. You can talk to me.”
Panther bit the inside of his cheek and nodded. “I know I can. I…” When he trailed off and looked down, I brought our joined hands up to lift his chin.
“You what?”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do—”
“Fuck what you’re supposed to do. Do what you want to do.”
“You gonna let me finish?”
“There was more?” When he nodded, I pretended to zip my lips.
“I may not know what I’m supposed to do,” he said, “but I know how these past few weeks being here with you have made me feel.”
I swallowed, stunned at the vulnerability in his voice. And, because I didn’t know where he was going with this, I said, “Frustrated? Murderous? Ready to snuff me out by smothering me with a pillow in my sleep?”
“Yes. All of those things. Daily.”
“Well, I guess I appreciate you keeping me alive, then.”
Panther gave me a small smile and looked down at our entwined hands. “You’re a nightmare sometimes. You really are. And I know that’s what you want everyone to think of you because it makes it easier to not get hurt. I get that. But just so you know, I really like the guy behind the mask. And sometimes, I think he likes me too.”
My heart began to race at the quiet emotion rising between us, but maybe it had always been there. After all, I’d been drawn to Panther the first time I saw him, and even after finding out who he was, I’d still pursued him. In my mind, it had always been for a good fuck, but somewhere over the course of our time together it had changed. God, when had it changed? When I watched him bail out of his jet and thought I’d lost him? Or had it been some time before that?
Fuck, why couldn’t I breathe all of a sudden? Was it because it was becoming more obvious with every second together that we’d moved over the line of friendship and casual sex into something more? Only…we couldn’t have more. Not when our time at NAFTA was drawing closer to an end.
With my heart still hammering, I tried to push down my feelings and resorted to what I always did when it all felt like too much. “He thinks you’re okay.”
“Okay?” Panther stepped in even closer, his front flush against mine, and then he wrapped our arms behind my back. “I think it’s a little more than just okay, but it’s fine if you want to show me instead of tell me. I’ll believe you.”
Show him? Yeah…I could do that. Hell, that’s what I was good at. I moved up to my toes and placed my lips to his jaw. “If you want me to show you, I’m gonna need my hands back.”
Panther angled his head so our lips brushed, then I felt the hands around my wrists release, and he took a step back. Before he got too far, however, I reached for Panther’s forearm and halted him.
“Where do you think you’re going?” As I drew him to me, I walked us backward, my mission clear. I was going to put into action the words I couldn’t yet say.
Panther looked down at the fingers I had wrapped around his wrist, then those beautiful blue eyes came back up to lock with mine. “Wherever you want to take me.”
The words were so simple, so honest, and the vulnerability I’d seen in his eyes earlier had been replaced with a certainty that made my breath catch in the back of my throat. Things were shifting between us; it was as clear as the desire etched into the lines of Panther’s handsome face. And as the mood shifted from the usual fun banter we shared to something much heavier, I took in a deep breath and let the wave wash over me.
I trailed my fingers back down to his, then interlaced them and tugged him forward. Panther came without hesitation.
“There are no rules here tonight,” I said as I placed my other hand on his chest, where I could feel the steady thumping of his heart. “No judgment, no expectations. There’s just you and me, and I want you to be whatever version of you thatyouwant to be.”
Panther took a shaky breath, and then he reached out to cradle my face and ghost his lips over the top of mine.
“I want to be yours,” he whispered, and the possessiveness that flooded my body made my dick throb and my stomach flip.
“You sure about that?”
Panther nodded as I drew circles over his warm skin. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
Jesus.The intensity rolling off him was insane, and while I was seemingly in control, every word out of Panther’s mouth guided my next move.
“Don’t move,” I whispered, and nipped at his lower lip, then I kissed my way down to his chin and neck, until I reached his collarbone. Letting go of his arm, I trailed my fingers over the ridges and muscles of his abs, as I made my way down his body to kneel at his feet.
