What the fuck is happening here?
“How was I supposed to know you’d be on the prowl that night?”
Intrigued by her choice of words, I lean over the center console to her. She looks startled by my closeness but doesn’t move away.
I smile.
“Is that how you see me? As someone on the prowl?”
“Let’s see,” she murmurs in return, tilting her head in contemplation. “You sought me out in a crowded bar. Then you licked icing from my fingers and marked me with your tongue like a wild animal. So you tell me.”
Her words bring another smile to my lips.
Damn right I marked her. Every man in that goddamn bar was straining to get their eyes on her and I wanted to let it be known that she was completely off-limits.
She’s mine. At least I wanted her to be in that moment. Which brings me back to my dilemma.
Am I really willing to let her go so easily because of my stupid hang-up? I can’t wrap my mind around the thought of not seeing her again.
“Let’s get you upstairs.” I’m out of the car and on her side before she can fully open the door.
We take the four flights of stairs leading up to her floor after Lilah warns me about the temperamental elevator.
Jesus, is everything in this building falling apart?
Lilah turns to me as she sticks her key in the lock, her smile soft.
“Good night, Andrew. Tonight was most interesting.”
The teasing lilt in her voice is not lost on me.
Against my earlier vow not to touch her, I lean down, leaving a chaste kiss on her forehead. When I hear her secure the lock, I turn to leave with my mind made up.
That damn twisting feeling is invading my gut again. And I think I finally know why. My body physically needs Lilah.
For whatever reason I can’t leave this woman alone. And if she wants love, then that’s exactly what she’ll get. However, giving her what she wants doesn’t mean I’m wavering in my stance against the L-word. It’s just something I’ll have to work around.
But one thing’s been decided and it’s that I am going to make Lilah Tucker fall in love with me.
Nine
LILAH
The aching between my legs wakes me well before my alarm sounds the next morning. With Andrew dominating my dreams, it’s a wonder I got any sleep at all.
Last night was a fucking rollercoaster ride. I tap-danced all over the emotional spectrum, jumping from unbelievably turned on to undeniably jealous when we ran into his former classmate.
Natalia.
My jealousy was completely misplaced since I have zero claims on Andrew but the familiar way she touched him made red spots appear in front of my eyes.
Not cute, Lilah.
I need to get a fucking grip and remember my place. He is a potential client who I desperately need to land in order to make my dreams a reality. Everything else is just background noise.
Reaching for my phone on the pillow beside me, I poke the screen and see that it’s only six. I don’t have to be at the office until nine-thirty. What am I supposed to do with three hours of free time?
Far too wired to go back to sleep, I pull the thin sheet up to cover my naked body with a frustrated sigh. Naked is the only way I can sleep when the stupid air conditioning is on the fritz.
That damn superintendent is definitely going to get an earful from me today. My plan is to send a scathing text and follow it up with a phone call a little later in the morning. But those plans are derailed when I see the email notification resting at the top of my screen.
Despite the early hour, it’s my boss Edward checking in.
Surprise, surprise.
This guy doesn’t believe in downtime. Each time he has an idea, he doesn’t hesitate to email me no matter the hour. Today is no different.
When I open the email app, I notice the title of the email is “Andrew Knight.” I roll my eyes and purse my lips.
What’s with him and landing this guy? He hasn’t stopped talking about him all week. He’s always talking tirelessly about what an important asset Andrew Knight will be to Castle.
Meanwhile, I still haven’t worked up enough courage to ask him if they’re related. Edward doesn’t seem to be the type to talk about his personal life at work and I don’t want to risk getting on his bad side.
I skim over the novel-length text.
God, this man can talk for days.
By the end of it, all I can think about is the man I’m supposed to be forgetting.
Andrew had looked so damn mouthwatering last night. He’d been wearing all black again, just like the first time I met him. But last night his attire wasn’t so casual.
The black button-up hugged his chest and torso snugly, leaving me to fantasize about what wonders lay beneath it. The sleeves had been rolled up his bronzed forearms, only giving a teasing glance of the tattoos that snaked up to his broad shoulders.
Expensive black slacks had only enhanced those long powerful legs and that high, firm ass. Suede Italian loafers rounded out the look that had me swooning from the second I opened the door.
As I sink lower into my pillows, memories swirl inside my mind until I’ve conjured up an image of him. I can almost feel his dominating presence hovering over me, his masculine scent tickling my nose as his deep voice rumbles in my ear.
Just picturing those piercing eyes on me as his large hands skim the naked apex between my thighs does things to my libido that I can’t put into words.
The already persistent pulse skyrockets to an even greater level. It’s dizzying and so damn tempting. I crave him more than anything and after a two-year drought, my need is impossible to ignore.
In a moment of weakness, my knees fall open and my right hand drops down to find
