He outstretched his arms and took hold of the counter’s edge. ‘I promise I won’t let go, so you can be assured there’ll be no wandering hands. Then you can get it out of your system.’
She was sure he was joking. Yet he was still and serious and she had to dig her heels in to stop the temptation slithering through her. Somehow time blipped, somehow she stepped nearer. A hard blaze lit his eyes and she couldn’t tear her gaze from him.
‘A kiss for the key code? Is that the deal?’ she asked.
‘If that’s the deal you want to make.’
‘And dinner?’
‘Is happening regardless and it will be a much more leisurely, sumptuous affair than instant noodles followed by a bite of pudding.’ His eyes gleamed as he waited, alert, for her response.
His confidence was extreme. He was certain in his arrogant assumption that she wouldn’t dream of turning him down. Truth was, she didn’t want to refuse him. In any of these things. But she would.
‘Just a little closer, Merle,’ he whispered with full arrogance on display. ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’
There were so many worsts that she could think of. He could laugh. Humiliate her. Tell her he hadn’t meant it. Hadn’t she had that experience before—to be led along a path by a handsome man, only to have him humiliate her publicly? Proving her grandmother’s ridiculously dire warnings that men were to be avoided.
Only, there was an intensity in Ash’s expression that she couldn’t turn away from, and he was so very still that she couldn’t resist stepping that breath closer.
She would whisper ‘never’ to him. She would refuse to give him any kind of satisfaction. ‘I ought to...’
‘To what?’ He breathed heavily.
She couldn’t remember what she’d been going to do any more. Her brain had shut down.
‘Run,’ he finished for her in a raw, low growl of bitter honesty. ‘That’s what you should do, Merle. You should turn around and run, right now.’
Maybe she should. But a flare of need had unfurled. Because she knew he’d meant it, but she also knew it was the last thing he wanted. It was the last thing she wanted too.
He wasn’t smiling any more. All that laughing arrogance, all the careless flirting, had vanished and all that remained was that almost angry look in his eyes as he fiercely stared, as if trying to compel her with his thoughts. Even with his arms stretched wide, his biceps were flexed as he gripped the bench tightly. But that stance made him vulnerable. She could get close to his body.
‘Why did you dare me, then?’ Her own anger bloomed. ‘To make me run? To prove my cowardice? To put this all on me so you don’t have to answer for it?’
Was he trying to prove that her inexperience was something to be embarrassed about? And that it was her own fault? That there was something wrong with her?
‘Merle.’ His mutter was almost an apology.
It changed everything again. The intensity between them shifted to something more than sensual. Something devastatingly intimate. And emotional. Anger—and another emotion too powerful to ignore—overwhelmed her into action. She rose on tiptoe and held his gaze. Feeling fire scurrying along her veins, she was about to tell him exactly what she thought of him. Except she was frozen. Less than an inch away from him, she suddenly couldn’t move.
Yet his heat emanated, burning her, inexorably pulling her closer. And then he tucked in his chin, lowering his head just enough for their lips to brush. It was little more than a swift press but a shock of pleasure struck her insides. She felt taut as a bowstring, ready to fire. But she didn’t. She pulled away, immediately hoping he’d take it as a mockery of the real thing—that she’d offered only a pretence, given his request was so outrageous.
‘No,’ he muttered hoarsely. ‘Come back.’
Not a line. Not an arrogant command. A raw plea that escaped gritted teeth.
She hadn’t exactly gone anywhere. Only a breath away, she could see the warmth of his eyes, more mesmerising than ever. Whoever wanted to step into a crucible? To willingly fling themselves into flames? But these were searing licks of pleasure. These were irresistible.
‘My turn.’ He bent his head closer.
Still, she didn’t step away. Even when she’d told herself that was exactly what she was going to do—veer close, only to swerve at the last minute. Like some game of chicken. Only she’d discovered that a collision was the far more preferable option.
‘Just stay there,’ he growled. ‘Just for a minute.’
They were close enough for their mouths to brush as he spoke. For her to feel his warmth, his breath on her skin. She could feel him watching her, feel the light nuzzle of his nose against hers. Gentle, careful. Searingly sensual. It only took the tiniest lift of her chin to catch his lips again and hers clung to his without conscious intent. But then—without releasing that counter—he somehow moved, somehow took control.
His mouth roved over hers, gentle, then with a subtly increasing strength. She closed her eyes, lost in the kiss instantly. She leaned closer and inadvertently grazed her fists against his bare skin. The sizzle was intoxicating and she unfurled her fingers, shivering at his scorching heat. And then she simply melted. Her belly pressed against his, her palms spread on his solid chest and her head fell back as she let him kiss her to life. It was pure electric vitality now crackling through her veins. She heard the low groan from the back of his throat and an answering echo, a moan from deep within, escaped her.
Both sounds impinged on her mind, dragging her back to reality. Stunned at the intensity and speed with which she’d lost herself, she tore away, snapping the contact.
This time he didn’t try to stop her. He just watched,
