I let out a squeal of surprise when he lifted me and set me down on the hood. He leaned forward and I unconsciously drew back until I had to use my elbows to support my body from falling to a fully prone position. Catching the distinct smirk curling his lips, I gulped. He had me at a disadvantage and he knew it.
“I can’t decide,” he said.
My frown lasted all of two seconds when he dropped a palm to my bare thigh. I could’ve sworn my stomach did a backflip if that were possible. Given the angle of my body, my dress rode up, exposing a lot more skin than I would’ve wanted it to.Pick your sin, girl. Public indecency or kissing the McYumminess standing between my thighs.
My breath turned shallow. “About?” I asked, cringing at my distinct squeak.
“Whether I’m intrigued by this beautifully fuckable mouth.” He rolled a thumb over my bottom lip. “Or these mouth-watering curves,” he breathed against my ear, trailing slow fingers further up my thigh. I felt the goosebumps before my body broke into a series of shudders. A moment’s notice was all I had before his mouth crashed over mine.
I’d been kissed once before—a stupid bet with one of the boys at a family function a year ago. I could safely say that it was child’s play compared to what this man was doing to my mouth. If I had to attempt a description—it hovered somewhere along the lines of the ultimate sin, if not death itself. He was sucking the life out of me with his deep manipulation of my senses or my hold on reality. The irony—I’d succumb to a sinful death if this man was hell all on his own. My body floated, lightweight and at the same time heavy with a need, I couldn’t explain.
When he drew back, I was breathing so hard, I had to force myself to slow down. Then he ran a slow finger over the shape of my jaw and my heartbeat sped up once more.
“Can I ask you a question?” he asked. Still trembling, I nodded. “Who’s Shara?”
“My cousin, Rex’s girlfriend.”
His hand dropped from my jaw to my thigh, drawing lazy circles over the gooseflesh skin, I found it hard to concentrate when he asked, “who’s Rex?”
My brow creased and for a moment I stared at him through widened eyes. “I don’t understand. You guys...um...your friend Rex, the guy that set us up tonight.”
His lips dipped at the corners in a panty-wetting smile. “I’m not Jake, baby girl.”
Baby girl?Did I look like a baby? Then his words registered. “Wait. What?” Instead of an answer, he trailed a finger up my thigh, across my stomach to circle a nipple. I tried hard to concentrate. “What do you mean, you’re not Jake? Who are you?”
“Gabriel.”
My heart plummeted. I pushed his hand away and was off the car in a flash, glaring at him. “You don’t look like a Gabriel,” I snapped.Really?The man planned to do God knew what with me and I was worried about his name choice.
“What do I look like then,” he asked.
His smirk so damn delicious I wanted to eat it. Oh, my God, I was seriously losing it around this stranger. “I don’t know. A Zayne maybe,” I muttered.
He chuckled and the throaty sound gave rise to goosebumps over my heated skin. What the hell kind of trickery was this? Ishara didn’t warn me about any of this.
“I’ll be Zayne just for you. Would you like that?” He took a step forward and I stepped back.
I ignored his question. “Why did you say your name was Jake?” I finally found my logic hidden beneath my layers of stupidity.
Hooded eyes studied me. “I didn’t, remember? You assumed I was Jake.”
I thought about our meeting for a second.Shit.I slapped a hand to my mouth. He was right. I’d assumed he was Jake and jumped into a conversation without giving him a chance to respond. Still, it didn’t give him the right to pretend. And I’d kissed him, almost had sex with him.Crap.“Why didn’t you correct me?” Flustered, I straightened my dress.
He grasped my hand. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He leaned forward, his words a husky whisper. “You ducked before I had a chance to correct you. In the time it took me to squeeze between an old couple and two women with itchy fingers, you were gone.” His hold on my hand was giving me serious heart palpitations and I swallowed repeatedly to steady it. “When I saw you coming out of the bar, I kept up the pretense because I didn’t want to scare you away. You piqued my curiosity and I wanted to get to know you better.”
I guess I piqued more than his curiosity. Without thinking, my gaze dropped to his crotch. Oh crap, I didn’t just do that. When I looked up, his smug grin was a dead giveaway he’d noticed. “Then you got to know me a lot better than you expected, right?” I didn’t hide my sarcasm, trying desperately to not palm my heated cheeks. Anger with my inability, coiled in my belly. “Is this your norm? Meet strange women at the bar, force yourself on them and then what. Rape them in your car?” I crossed my arms over my chest as my breathing sped up. “How many women have you scored with tonight?” I hated that I was more irritated with the notion of him being with another woman than his deception. God, I didn’t even know the man, I should be getting the hell out of there.
He laughed—a rich agonizingly sexy sound that reverberated through my body. “None. I never fuck woman I don’t—”
“Yeah right, and I’m the president’s misguided daughter. I’m out of here.” Turning away, I forced my legs to walk away, my pussy to not think of him being my first and my lips to stop remembering his kiss.
The sudden grip on my arm stopped me. He stood so close I felt his chest press up against my back. “At least tell me your name before you go.” His warm breath tickled my ear and my breath hitched.
“No. You got one kiss out of me, that’s all you’ll get.”
I moved to walk away but his arm banded around my stomach, keeping me in place. “That’s where you’re wrong, baby girl.I’ll take a whole lot more than a mere kiss. Only.” His lips trailed the shape of my ear before dropping to the curve of my neck. “You’ll be the one to give meeverything,” he emphasized the last word with a flick of his tongue over my earlobe.
“Dream on,” I whispered, a tremor racing through my body.
