He bristles at my side. I don’t show a reaction, but I snicker internally.Ha. Look at me not being sweet. Might be able to check that one off the list.
The road transitions into the driveway, and we park beneath a basketball goal affixed above the garage doors. There’s a front porch with a swing on one end, and behind the home stretches an impressively large lake.
“This is beautiful,” I say, taking it all in. “Where did you find this place?”
“Online. When I can’t sleep, I go through rental apps and just save shit to different folders. It was finally useful.”
I smile at him. “I think that’s an adorable hobby.”
“I’m going to pause that hobby for a few days to pick up another one.” His eyes shimmer with a roguishness that has meshuddering in my seat. “I think there’s one more thing on that list.”
“Wrong.”
He lifts a brow, curious.
“There are two,” I say, licking my lips. I have him right where I want him—a place I never expected to have a man—he’s eating out of the palm of my hand. Gianna would be so proud. “Orgasm with a man.”
He growls.
“And learn how to give a blow job.”
Every part of me braces for him to close the distance and finally kiss me. There’s no denying he’s about a second away from losing control, which is only half a second behind me. His body draws toward mine as if he can’t control it, elevating my heartbeat.
My lips part, and I pant, my body buzzing with anticipation. Finally.It’s finally happening.
I suck in a breath and hold it, imagining his lips against mine, but just before my eyelashes close so I can absorb the heat of his mouth, I hear the door open.
My eyes pop open just in time to see him climbing out of the truck.The rat!
You’ve got to be kidding me.
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
Audrey
Brooks sets our bags down in the entryway and shuts the door behind us.
“Oh, wow,” I say, slipping off my slides and then moseying through the bright lake house. “This is incredible. Look at how cute this place is.”
The living room is filled with light from an impressive bay window on one wall, giant skylights in the ceiling, and an open floor plan leading into a kitchen with an unobstructed view of the sparkling water below.
“Have you been here before?” I ask, passing a soft, overstuffed sofa that could easily hold five people.
“Nope. I’ve had this saved in my favorites for a while. Just waiting on a good time to use it.”
I glance at him over my shoulder. “I think you picked a great time to use it.”
We exchange a smile, one laced with heat and loaded with promise. It’s a dare—an electric and slightly dangerous guarantee that something is about to happen. That we’re at the tipping point and there’s no going back.
My pulse races as I absorb the message. And as much as I want to just hop on the wooden table and spread my legs for him, I enjoy the tension. Brooks’s eyes follow me through the room, his lip clasped between his forefinger and thumb. He adjusts himself, and part of me hopes he pounces. But the other part of me loves seeing his desire for me painted so plainly. He wants me as badly as I want him, and that makes me crazy. I don’t know if that’ll remain once we’ve satisfied ourselves, and the thought of looking at him and not seeing him ready to devour me makes me want to extend this … for a few minutes, anyway.
I pull my gaze from his, feeling the sparks fly as if I’m disconnecting an electrical connection. My body hums as I slide open a door and step onto the back deck. I sense him a few steps behind me, but I don’t check to see if I’m right.
I’ve never really understood Gianna’s obsession with the chase, as she calls it. Before she met Drake, she’d go to parties where the whole objective wasthis—the pursuit. I think she got off on that more than the actual sex. Now, I can see why.
The sun is warm as it hovers over the trees in the distance, but the breeze has a bit of a bite to it, so I wrap my arms around my middle as I step to the railing. The lake must be a football field or more from the back of the house and down a decent slope. A hammock sways lazily between two trees by the water, and I can see myself stretched out with a book and a glass of lemonade.
