Laura
Damn him.Damn him to hell with his big strong hands and uber soft lips. One kiss that’s all it had taken, and I had been ready to throw my panties at him and beg him to let me take him for a ride. How long had it been since I had been that attracted to a man I didn’t know? Hell, to any man. But it was obviously too long.
No one else had ever made me feel as desirable as he did. He didn’t even have to say the right things. Just the way he looked at me was enough to set me alight.
My fingers curled around the sink and my knuckles popped white. Oz was dangerous. Not because he made me want to do things I shouldn’t want to do with a man I had only just met, but because he and his people threatened my very way of life. They didn’t belong on our mountain. The last thing I needed was Oz to keep coming back unnecessarily.
One night, my subconscious rumbled grumpily. One night of letting a man make me feel like a beautiful woman. He would be good; I already knew that. A man that looked like him would have had plenty of practice. Oz would have skills I had only dreamt about.
I groaned at the mental image. Lifting my eyes to stare at my reflection, I glowered at myself. “Don’t even think about it, Laura, use your brain and not…”
“Everything ok in there?” Oz’s voice sounded from the other side of the closed door.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be right out.” What the hell was I doing talking to myself out loud when the walls in this place were paper thin? Idiot.
“Ok, I just thought I heard you talking to someone?”
Of course he had heard. Next door probably heard me as well.
“No, just me.” Pulling my hair back from my face, I secured it in some kind of messy heap on the top of my head. I didn’t glance at myself again in the mirror. I didn’t need to. It wasn’t like I wanted to look cute or anything for him. Swinging open the door, I found him on the other side so close that I could take a step forward and rub my nose against the broad expanse of his chest.
“Jesus.” The heat in his voice made my lips part in a sigh. He wanted me and I wanted him. We were both adults. Would it be so bad to let myself enjoy a night with a man for a change? Just one night and then I never had to see him again.
Without thinking I took a step forward, brushing both hands up his rock hard chest to rest on his shoulders. I leant in, rising up on my tiptoes, my lips searched for his mouth. “Oz.”
He moved his face away before I could kiss him, and shame filled me. Had I read him wrong? Had I assumed wrongly that he wanted to bed me just because we had shared one tiny little kiss? Maybe this was all a big joke to him. A ‘seduce the fat girl and get her begging’ kind of thing.
“Sorry.” Embarrassed, I tried to step away. “I’m going to grab a jumper and…”
“Stop it.”
The command in his voice made me pause. “Stop what?” I crossed my arms over my chest. My tank top was too low. It showed too much. I suddenly felt half naked. And I hated it. I hated how vulnerable I felt.
“Look at me, Laura.” Oz commanded. Shakily, I lifted my eyes to him. “You don’t ever have to cover yourself in front of me or feel unwanted, because believe me, I want nothing more than to kiss you right now.” Softness crept into his eyes.
“Why?” I whispered,
“Why?” It sounded like my question confused him. “Because you’re beautiful, because I want to look after you.” He ran a hand through his dark hair, making it stand up on end. “God, I wish you could feel how I do. If you weren’t…” He broke off.
“If I weren’t what?”
“Forget it, just know that I want you. I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you on the mountain.” His eyes crinkled at the corners as he grinned. “But for now, let me feed you, Laura, let me look after you.” With a flourish, he stepped backwards.
My eyes darted towards the table and then to the bed. A single candle was burning brightly next to my TV at the foot of it. A tray rested on the bedside table. Arching an eyebrow, I turned back to him. “You want to eat in bed?”
“Your place is freezing. Otherwise, I would have set the table. So, yeah, we are going to eat in bed. When you have eaten though…” Oz dipped his lips to brush them against my hair. “When you have eaten, if you still want to kiss and make out then I’m game.”
“If…” I spluttered. “You’re game?”
“Ok that came out wrong. When you have eaten, I’m going to kiss you until you’re begging for more.” His dark eyes darkened even more. “And then, well then you will just have to wait and see.” Easily, he pulled me forward, and I let myself be led towards the bed. A bed I had never shared with anyone before.
“Damn, that’s small.”
Peering around him, I stared at my bed. It wasn’t that small, but I could see why he would think so. “It’s not small, you’re just huge. I’m not even sure we will both fit.”
“Oh, we are going to fit, Laura.” With a gentle push, he pushed me down onto the lumpy mattress. “We just might have to get really, really close.”
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