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“She didn’t teach me this,” he whispers, as he raises me and my arms rise sinuously to the back of his neck. His voice is like velvet in my ear, but it’s not like I’m going to get myself off on his leg. Until he adds, “You did.”
I pull back a touch, and our eyes meet. Caramel with the burnt-sugar ring, sliding over me like a lover’s hand.
“In your car. Breath-fogged windows and cramping legs. The way you moved over me . . . I’ve never seen anything so hot.”
His words feel like the stroke of a tongue between my legs. I should say nothing. I should look away. I absolutely should not press my lips to his.
Oops. Too late.
Chapter 28
Troy
I see her intention—feel it in the tightening of her hands. And if I were thinking at all, I’d tell myself that it’s nothing. That we’re playing up for the cameras, the witnesses. The narrative. But my brain is empty of thought as I pull her up onto her tiptoes and close the distance between us.
She inhales a tiny breath as she presses her mouth to mine. Her lips are soft and tender, our kiss deepening by slow degrees. Steady, the way a tide moves. And I catalog everything, from the flutter of her lashes to the lush press of her breasts. The way her hair smells like flowers and how the tip of her tongue tastes like champagne.
She makes to pull away—the tiniest of movements—when my arms tighten and I take control. I pour every ounce of my need into this kiss. Every confused thought, every notion that makes me want to consume her, body and soul.
“Aw, sweet.”
The murmured comment from a passing dancer shatters the moment. Clara gasps, and I drop my hands like we’ve just been caught naked. She blinks, those eyes of hers midnight now, fingers touching her lips as though she can still feel the sparks.
And then she turns, and I don’t see her for dust as she hightails it from the dance floor.
Fuck. My heart drops to the pit of my guts like a dead fish. I shove my hands in my pockets, mainly to disguise what’s going on down there, and saunter in the same direction like I’m the luckiest man in the world.
I don’t go after her, obviously. I need a drink, so I make for the bar.
It sucks that she pulled away when I wasn’t done. When I want to kiss her properly—to start at her mouth and work my way down, to taste her from her lips to the tips of her toes. Fuck, I want to confess every dirty thought she inspires in me. To tell her that I’ve thought of little else but fucking her since I woke between her legs the other morning.
I want her, even though I know she’ll only hurt me again. Turns out, I’m not as bright as I thought I was.
“How’s it going?” Max appears at the bar. I wonder how long he’s been waiting to get me alone.
“Good. Shit. I hate these things.”
“Yeah, they’re not exactly fun. But they are necessary. Especially while you’re at the helm.” He holds up two fingers to get the bartender’s attention. “Scotch on the rocks, chief.”
“You got it.”
“You make it sound like that’s temporary,” I grumble, keeping my volume low. These events are like a sponge for gossip and whispers.
“Nothing is forever.” He pushes one hand into his pocket and gives a shrug.
“Profound, my guy. Just . . . profound.”
He gives a sardonic twist to his lips as the barman puts his drink down on a paper coaster. Max murmurs a thanks and sticks a fifty in the tip jar. “What?”
“Nothing.” It’s just a pity Clara wasn’t here to see that. Max’s stock would’ve hit the roof. At the very least she might’ve put him on her list of people she thinks aren’t totally shit.
It won’t be a long list. Wonder if I’m on it. But fair-minded folks are few and far between when you’re on the bones of your ass and always playing catch-up. I know what that feels like. I also know it’s hard not to apportion blame rather than accept any of it is your fault. Can’t say I’ve noticed Clara blaming others for her experiences. Me, though . . .
I pull my head out from the past. I have enough shit going on in the now. “I know I won’t be CEO forever. As long as I get to go when I’m ready and not when the board tells me to go.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I think this loopy plan of yours is working. I’ve had to field calls today from board members wanting the scoop, and I was stopped twice on the way over here for the same.”
I take a swig of my beer. “Why haven’t they stopped to ask me?” To congratulate me.
