“Then let me up.”
“Only if you promise not to do that again.”
“I told you I wasn’t?—”
“Promise me.”
The desperate edge beneath the command gives me pause. Like it matters to him. Like I might matter.
“I promise,” I whisper. “Now will you let me go?”
“Not yet.”
“What the hell?” I squirm, trying to remove his arms. “You said?—”
“Dakota.” It’s the first time he’s said my name without sounding like he wants to spit it out. Progress, I guess. “Stop moving.”
I huff in frustration and try to wriggle free. That’s when I feel it—something hard against my lower back. I freeze, heat flooding my face.
Oh.
Julien’s laugh is low and rough in my ear. “Now do you understand why I asked you to stop moving?”
I can’t believe this is happening. “I?—”
“You’re an attractive woman, rubbing your ass against my cock.” His voice drops to a whisper. “What did you think would happen?”
I open my mouth, but words desert me.
His hand splays across my stomach, holding me still against him. “The more you move, the worse it gets,” he says, and I can hear the smirk in his voice. “So unless you want to feel exactly how much worse…”
“You’re an asshole,” I say, but there’s no heat in it.
“I’m honest.” He shifts slightly, adjusting our position. “And human. I need to rest a bit, and this way I can make sure you won’t do anything stupid. But I can let you go if it bothers you that much.”
But he doesn’t move to release me, and I don’t try to escape again. We sit in charged silence, my back to his chest, his arms still wrapped around me, his arousal an impossible-to-ignore presence against my ass.
“If it helps.” He rests his head back against the railing, “I’m not planning to act on it.”
“Good to know,” I murmur.
“You’re tense.”
“Just wondering how many women are out there missing you right now.”
“Not one as far as I know. What about you?”
“I was engaged to your brother.”
“Didn’t stop him.”
“Wow.” I cross my arms. “You sure you don’t hate me?”
“Too early?”
“What do you think?”
“Sorry.” His arm snakes tighter, drawing a traitorous flutter from somewhere deep in my belly.
