That pissed him off just enough to make him want to return the favor. “Over your little crush, Brit?”
Her cheeks flamed. He thought he heard a “bastard” under her breath before she gave him a tight smile. “Since the moment I left that beach house. But truth be told, it didn’t take long. There wasn’t much to get over.”
She’d gotten even more provoking in her old age.
He took a step toward her. As there wasn’t much space between them to start with, that basically brought him right up against her. “You sure?” He reached down lazily to stroke her warm cheek with his thumb, sliding it down over gently parted lips. “You seemed pretty into that kiss.”
Her sharp intake of breath only served to stoke that fire a little hotter. But he’d miscalculated. Overestimating his control and underestimating her skill at retaliation.
Hearing her quickening breath and sensing the arousal buzzing through her was playing havoc with his rationality.
She leaned in to him, pressing her body fully against his. Letting him feel the soft crush of her breasts and the gentle friction of her hips against his.
This time it was he who had the sharp intake of breath.
“I wasn’t the only one into it. Or is this”—she nudged her hips against the hard column of his erection—“not for me?”
The husky taunt... the subtle press... John felt a roar rush through his veins. He didn’t stand a goddamned chance of letting that go unanswered.
It was for her, all right.
With a groan that was half curse, half relief, he pulled her into his arms and covered her mouth with his.
•••
Brittany didn’t tease, she didn’t seduce, she was no femme fatale, and she had never pressed herself against a man suggestively like that before in her life.
Had she wanted this reaction? Had she wanted to see whether she had what it took to make a guy like him lose control? Get a taste of the good times he was so famous for?
She didn’t know, but the moment his mouth touched hers, it was too late to do anything about it.
She was lost. Consumed. Drowning in the sensations aroused by his lips and tongue. In the heat. In the feel of his arms around her. In the hard body pressed against hers.
God, he could kiss. The long, purposeful strokes seemed to reach deep inside and sent shudders of desire racing through her.
She wasn’t usually into facial hair, but the Viking thing was definitely working for her. It made her feel a little naughty. A little ravished and plundered with the gentle scrape against her skin as his mouth moved over hers.
And moving it was. Devouring. Inhaling. As if he couldn’t get enough fast enough.
She knew the feeling.
The kiss in the bar had been restrained compared to this one. This one was pure carnal sensuality. Pure eroticism. Pure “I can’t wait to get your pants off and fuck you senseless.”
Sounded good to her. Soundedreallygood to her.
For someone who was so easygoing and laid-backall the time, she’d expected him to be more slow and easy. More teasing and relaxed. More detached and controlled.
But the way he was kissing her wasn’t any of those things. It was aggressive. Possessive. Determined. And wild. Most of all, wild. It was as if they’d both been caught up in a fierce storm and couldn’t break free.
His hands were in her hair, on her breasts, sliding down her back, and lifting her bottom to bring her more firmly against him. Notching them together right in that perfect place.
The perfect fit.
She’d imagined it would be like this. But it was even better. Hotter. Crazier.
He started to move, small, gentle circles of hips to give her a taste of what was to come.
She almost did. The rush of heat between her legs was so intense, she felt her body shudder. It felt like she’d waited forever for this, and now that it was here, she couldn’t hold back another second.
