If I want to survive the next five days with him, Ishouldn’tbe nice to him like I had originally planned. I should make him so flustered it hurts. Turn the tables on him. Give him a taste of his own medicine. Have him more bricked up than a chimney.
“You’re right,” I coo in the most obnoxiously breathy voice I can muster. Before I can try to seductively bite my lip or bat my eyelashes, my dumbass tacks on, “I’m sure it’s the first time you’ve ever heard those words.”
God, I’m so rusty with flirting. And interacting with other human beings in person, apparently.
“From you, maybe,” he says. “The first of many, I’m assuming.”
“You’re so right,” I say, my words so whispery and husky that my throat starts to hurt, and he immediately frowns.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m just agreeing with you.” I bite my tongue before I blurt out:another first. Fluttering my eyelashes, I place my hand squarely on his chest. “I was feeling you up.”
“I know. I was there,” he says dryly, and my lips twitch as I fight my laughter. “That doesn’t explain the weird-ass voice.”
“I can’t help it.” With a seductive smile, I’m mentally scrambling to come up with an excuse. “I just… admire… your form… so much.” Wow.
“Can you admire my form without sounding like a dying cat?” he deadpans. “If you’re going to try to mess with me, at least use your morning voice. The one where you can hear the venom behind all that sweetness.”
My head jerks back as I stare up into his eyes, and I drop the ridiculous baby voice. “I’m not messing with you. I’m trying to flirt with you.”
“Really?” His brow quirks. “Emphasis on trying, I guess.”
It takes every ounce of my willpower not to glare at him. “You’re right,” I say finally. “I don’t have to try so hard. Not when you wanted me so badly.”
He slants his head toward me, and my smile sweetens. “Yeah, I wanted some hand-on-hand action with you so badly.” The sarcasm in his voice is heavily outmatched by the ever-so-dry expression on his face.
“What’s stopping you?” I whisper with just a hint of breathiness this time. “Make your year, Carter, and hold my hand.”
“In my intro to psych class, this is what we called projecting,” he says, then leans in so close that I can feel the heat of his body seeping through his cotton shirt. “If you wanted me to give you what you’re desperately craving for? You can always ask.”
“You think this is what I’m desperately craving for?” My voice is as flat as Vincent’s souffle. “Maybe I want more than what you’re offering.”
“Yeah?” There he goes again with that rough voice. “You want me to put my arms around you? Is that it?”
“In public?” I gasp. “I never realized you had such a voyeuristic streak to you. What if somebody walks in and sees us?”
“My bad,” he says, then lifts his hand to show off the key tag wedged between his fingers. “Let’s wait until we’re inside our suite to pick up where we left off.”
“Yup.” My gaze smolders for emphasis. “Can’t wait to get off?—”
“Yeah? You want to get off so badly?” he cuts in before I can finish my sentence. Dammit.
“—this elevator,” I continue. My cheeks are blazing hot. As are my shoulders. My entire body, really. It’s as if I’ve been dipped in a vat of molten lava and I can feel it everywhere.
“Of course,” he says. “Do you need my help getting off?” I nearly pull a muscle in my neck when I tilt my head back to gawp at him. “The elevator,” he tacks on with a dimpled half-smile.
“Why not? I’m sure you could help get me off the elevator,” I whisper. “You could get me off so good.”
“Oh, yeah?” He doesn’t blink as his gaze bores through mine. “You think so?”
Resisting the urge to bite my bottom lip is proving to be quite a challenge. Even more so when my thoughts keep entertaining the idea of him pushing me up against the elevator—I force myself to think ofliterallyanything else.
“Definitely,” I murmur, not even blinking as I stare him down. “I’m sure you and that…bigego of yours can get me off so quickly.”
“I don’t have a big ego,” he says. “I have a perfectly normal-sized ego.”
“I’ve worked with you for two years now,” I say baldly before I can help myself. “You are so egotistical.”
