As though my voice triggered an alarm, she pushed against my chest, stepping back and gawked at me, her eyes wide. “Y-you’re not Zayne.” She spluttered, her response nowhere near to the woman I’d kissed in her kitchen. “How are you always popping up everywhere?”
Not sure what Zayne had told her, I offered a lopsided grin which did nothing to reshape her suspicious expression. “I was passing by and saw the lights on. I thought something had happened—”
“Passing by? At two in the morning.” Her incredulity wasn’t lost on me. “Where exactly would that be?” She arched a brow. I understood her skepticism. The location of the restaurant couldn’t be seen from the main road.
“Can we discuss this inside?” I pointed to our drenched bodies, using the smile I reserved to charm someone.
She was having none of that. “Zayne will be here any minute, you should leave.” Her gaze darted to the parking lot again as if expecting him to appear out of thin air.
“He’s not coming.”
“What do you mean?” She squinted at me as the rain lashed down, soaking her.
“When I saw the lights on, I called him. He mentioned your fear of the storm and I offered to check in on you.”
“Offered to check in on me?” She lifted a hand and wiped away the rain that was running down her face. “What do you want?” Her distrust was unmistakable.
I tried not to laugh. “I thought we were friends,” I shouted trying to be heard over the pummeling rain.
“Friends, no, you seem like a stalker, you are always—” A sudden bolt of lightning pierced the ground a couple of feet away, its resonance bone-jarring and followed by a clap of thunder. I flinched. Ash jumped, crying out as she fell backward and hit her elbows and head against the wall. Trying to right herself, she tripped, falling into a large flower bed.
“Fuck!” I yelled, reaching for her wrist to pull her up. She jerked her muddied hand from my grasp, but I didn’t miss the wince. I was done playing nice. “Fuck it, woman, I’m not dying out here.” Before she could respond, I leaned down, gripped her around the thighs and flung her over my shoulder.
“Put me down.” She squealed then groaned in pain. “Shit, my head hurts.”
Ignoring her squirming, I mounted the narrow stairway, pushed through another door at the top into the apartment. “Bathroom, Ash.”
She cursed under her breath. “First door on your right.”
I gave the black and white space a cursory glance as my senses filled with her sweet scent. Setting her down, I dropped my duffel and stood back. By the way she took turns rubbing her head and elbows, I figured she’d hit them hard. “Are you okay? Can I take a look?”
“I’m fine,” she muttered, massaging the back of her head and then groaned when she realized she’d just rubbed mud into her hair.
“Not dizzy?” She shook her head. “Well, I’m not taking any chances and leaving you alone. Strip.” I shrugged out of my jacket.
“What?” Her eyes widened, anxious and wary. She backed away from me, yelping when her elbow connected with the wall, halting any further movement.
“You’re wet, I’m wet...so,” I hid my teasing with a smirk, lowering my gaze to her heaving chest beneath the mud-stained t-shirt before dropping to shapely also legs slick with dirt. I moved nearer and gripped the edges of her mid-thigh t-shirt.
She stiffened, tried to slap my hands away from her thighs to prevent me from lifting the garment but cried out and quickly moved to massage her arms instead. “I am not having sex with you.” Her flustered words did little to hide her pink cheeks.
“I don’t remember asking you to.”
“You just said...” She bit her lip.
“That we’re both wet?”
“You’re such an asshole,” she seethed. Yet the unmasked desire in her eyes that she attempted to hide, hit me like a fist to my chest.
I cleared my throat before responding, “Guilty as charged, sweetheart, but it doesn’t change the fact that in two days, my cock is going to be so deep inside your sweet pussy, you’re going to be screaming to come.”
She stared at me, unblinking, her brain struggling to process my words. Her mouth opened and snapped shut twice. She exhaled on a sharp laugh of disbelief, either contemplating her next words or trying to figure out if I was serious or not. “Who the hell do you think you are?” she finally spat.
“Your next fuck.” I licked my lips in blatant anticipation. She opened her mouth to say something before her lips compressed into a thin line, eyes the color of the storm clouds outside. “Call me an arrogant prick if you want, but I always keep my word.” I grinned at the scowl tightening her face then leaned in until my lips hovered just above hers, our gazes engaged. “If I want to fuck you, I will...” Her jaw dropped on a gasp. “Just not yet. So relax. I’m here to take care of you.”
“One kiss doesn’t give you permission to think—”
“One?” I tilted my head studying her flushed features. Her brow wrinkled and I got the feeling she referred to her kitchen not remembering the night at the club.
