“I don’t care about the rules,” Blade said and leaned in to close the distance. He kissed me long and slow, his tongue tangling with mine.
I moaned softly against his mouth.
“I love it when you make that noise,” he whispered against my mouth.
I pulled back. Blade took my glass and set it down on the coffee table. Then he pulled me back to him, kissing me. His hand roamed slowly over my back and down to my thigh. My fingers tugged at his hair, which was soft at the nape of his neck. Blade pushed me back against the couch, one hand sliding up under the dress and drawing lazy circles against my inner thigh, going closer and closer.
I moaned loudly against his mouth as his hand pressed against my soaking panties. The jolt of pleasure broke through enough of the fog in my brain that I sat up quickly and pushed Blade off.
“No sex!” I said loudly.
“I never mentioned sex,” he said, reaching for me. “But now that you’ve said it...”
I lightly slapped his hand away. “We are not doing this. We should go to bed. Not that way!” I said to the lust on his face. “Tomorrow is a work day. We have rules.”
The look on Blade’s face was pure desire. “What good are rules if you can’t break them once in a while?”
32
Blade
Kissing Avery when it had been just us, no audience, had been intoxicating. It stoked anticipation that the kiss could lead to much more. I wondered how Avery had felt about it. Was she mad? She didn’t seem angry. She kept sneaking glances toward me. I didn’t bother going into the bathroom or walk-in closet before removing my jacket then unbuttoning my dress shirt.
With the way she had bucked against me, I was pretty sure I could convince her to throw all her rules out the window, but I wanted her to want me. I wanted her to not be able to keep her hands off of me. Even now, as I removed my shirt, I could feel her eyes on me.
“You can have the bathroom first,” I said, turning and catching her pretending to look at the ceiling.
“You go ahead. I have a lot of makeup to take off.”
“Or we could share.”
“Or you could trust me when I say that my fake-relationship rules are in place for a reason,” she said tartly.
I stepped up to her, resting my hands lightly on her waist, pleased at the way her eyes widened.
“You can’t tell me you don’t want this,” I murmured.
“It’s a chemical reaction,” she said, swallowing, her eyes going glassy.
I pulled her closer. We were inches away. I leaned down over her. Her breath was slightly cool against my mouth.
“We drank alcohol, and we aren’t thinking clearly,” she said.
“Don’t pretend you don’t want me to kiss you.”
“I don’t want you to.”
I stepped back, but the lie was visible all over her face. I was half hard when I took my pants off in the bathroom. Taking an ice-cold shower dulled it somewhat, but I still wanted her. Avery was standing a safe distance from the door when I opened it, coming out with only a towel draped around my waist.
“You’re doing that on purpose,” she complained. Drawing the robe she was wearing,my robe, more snugly around her, she hurried into the bathroom and slammed the door.
Her dress was draped over a chair in the sitting area. I picked it up then without thinking pressed it to my face.
Why was I so obsessed with Avery? Maybe because she was the only woman who had treated me like an actual person instead of a prop or a meal ticket. She was also funny, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was starting to see the allure of having a woman regularly in one’s space. Besides, she was sexy and soft, and kissing her was decadent.
Her tangles of wet curls were wrapped in a towel when Avery came out of the bathroom. I regarded her from my spot on the bed, certain I could make out the curves of her breasts under the T-shirt she was wearing.
She patted the fat rabbit on the head then slid into bed and pulled the covers up. On the rare occasions when I had dated a woman, I had never invited her over, preferring to keep my personal space to myself. At first, I had been annoyed at having Avery in my home and my bed, but now…Maybe she was right and it was the alcohol. All I wanted to do was pull her toward me, run my hands under the T-shirt, stroke her, tease her nipples.
