His gaze dropped to her mouth and her lungs hitched for breath. Involuntarily, her tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip.
“God, Holly, I really want to kiss you.” He dropped his head back and stared at the sky.
There was nothing she wanted more and damn all the reasons she shouldn’t to hell. Temptation grew to full-blown desire and she clutched his shirt, yanking him down for a kiss.
The next thing she knew, she was pressed against him. His hands cupped her face and his mouth claimed hers. Knees buckling, she held on to his waist for support. His lips trailed wet, hot kisses along her jaw and skimmed the sensitive skin on her neck. While he was busy discovering her racing pulse, Holly’s hands couldn’t help but caress his broad chest. His hard muscles bunched under her palms. He let out a long breath as they trailed down to his stomach. His grip tightened against her waist, and he pushed her against the brick wall. She hitched her leg around his waist, his erection pressed against her. Sucking in a sharp breath at the contact, she shuffled closer.
His mouth trailed down her neck and nuzzled at the top of one breast, his hand covered the other and massaged in slow circles. Groaning, she tilted her head back against the wall. Their clothes separated them from all the good parts, and she wanted to feel every part of him.
“I’m taking you home. I want to fuck you in a bed not behind a pie shop,” Ethan’s voice broke through the euphoria she was falling into. The words burst Holly’s bubble of lust and brought her back to reality. She nudged Ethan away and gasped for air.
What happened to not getting involved with men? God, that mouth. Those hands. The whole package Ethan was wrapped in was enough to drop her to her knees. And if they hadn’t been interrupted, she would have done just that.Congratulations Holly, you made mistake number three for the night.
“I should go.” She blew out a shaky breath and scrubbed her hands over her face. “Turns out, I keep making bad decisions tonight.”
“The kiss was a bad decision?” He frowned.
The dim lights from the café cast them in a shadow, yet she could still see annoyance cross his features.
“Uh, yeah.” Why was he being such a dolt? “You’re with Victoria and you’re here hooking up with me.”
“I told you, it’s—”
“It’s not exclusive. I know. I still can’t get involved with you. Goodnight Ethan.” She took one last look at what she’d given up and left him in the dark.
Chapter 12
Ethan should let Holly walk away. After all, he wanted to put distance between them. So far that wasn’t working. He’d been fooling himself into believing he could keep their relationship strictly professional—he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. She may believe the kiss was a mistake, but going by her soft moans when their lips met and the way her body responded against his, she’d enjoyed every minute. Just like he had.
At the moment, his arrangement with Victoria had been working for him. They both knew where they stood—no commitments and free to see whomever they pleased. From the second he laid eyes on Holly, he knew he couldn’t take another woman to bed. The realisation had floored him. He didn’t want to delve too deep into what that meant.
Following her, Ethan noticed people giving him curious stares. All he needed was for someone to recognise him, and then he’d be swarmed by fans wanting photos and autographs. He didn’t have time for that. He needed to catch up to Holly before he lost her.
Further along the footpath, Ethan saw a cart that sold Australian souvenirs to tourists. He scanned the cheap selection of stuffed koalas, boomerangs and t-shirts until he found what he was looking for.
With the hat paid for, he shoved it on his head and pulled the bill low over his face. He’d contemplated buying plastic green glasses with ‘I heart Australia’ on the arm then quickly dismissed the idea. It was bad enough he wore a blue hat with ‘Australian Made’ embroidered on the panels of the cap.
Hurrying to catch up to Holly, he found her peering into a dirty window of a cream building with graffiti and filthy with grime. A broken old sign hovering on rusty poles above her head advertised cheap rooms.
“You said you were going to a good hostel?” The derelict accommodation didn’t look safe. The people scuttling around weren’t much better. A woman wearing baggy purple pants, a dirty yellow t-shirt and grey beanie over bright green hair stood on the corner of the street preaching that the aliens watched our every move and Jesus was coming to save us.
Two men aged in their twenties yelled abuse at each other while a small group of people, around the same age, encouraged them to get into a fistfight.
Holly turned to face him. Her eyes grew wide. “What are you wearing?”
“People were noticing me. I needed a disguise.” And as soon as possible, he’d rip off the ugly hat.
She giggled, “I like it.”
“Then when I’m finished with it, you can have it.” He glanced over his shoulder at the yelling duo. The commotion got louder and he needed to get Holly away from trouble. “You can’t stay in a place like this.”
Her chin rose. “You need to stop telling me what do.”
“When have I told you what to do?” He frowned.
She gave a mirthless chuckle, “With Shaun and now this.”
“I needed to warn you about Shaun and now I’m only trying to keep you safe. Is that telling you what to do?”
