Page 80 of Wilder

Now, with his breath fanning against my cheek, his eyes wide and hazy with barely controlled lust, there wasn’t a damn thing in this world that could make me walk away from this.

I moved in closer, pressing my body flush against his, delighting in feeling the way he went rigid beneath my touch.

No matter how still he tried to hold himself or how much he fought not to give in to what was clear we both wanted, the telltale signs of his body reacting to me were a dead giveaway.

“What?” I murmured, my voice low and teasing.

Daring him; begging him to admit this wasn’t all in my head.

Wilder squeezed his eyes shut, his breath coming out in a slow, shaky exhale while whatever he was fighting was beginning to take over. A pained expression pinched his features.

“Goddamn it,” he muttered under his breath, so low it was almost a growl.

The second he snapped his eyes back open, he shoved me away from him. I stumbled backward, nearly knocking into one of the barrels before catching myself. Shock rocketed through me at the sudden, unflinching rejection.

I parted my lips, an apology already forming on my tongue as shame coursed through me now that I was no longer touching him. I was such a fool. I wasn’t supposed to get caught up in his musky scent or the warmth of his body pressed against mine.

I’d done what I was never supposed to do: cross that invisible boundary he’d set up between us an entire year ago.

Suddenly, though, I wasn’t standing anymore. Both of my feet had somehow left the goddamn ground before I realized what was happening, my body lifted like a sack of fucking potatoes and thrown over a broad shoulder like I weighed nothing at all.

A shocked noise ripped from my throat, something between an indignant squawk and a curse.

“You are really going to be the death of me, Torres,” he said, voice clearer this time.

A large hand pressed against the small of my back, firm and steady as it kept me pinned against him while he walked. His long strides were confident, sure of their destination, while I had no clue what the fuck was happening anymore.

Instead, all I could do was grip the back of his shirt, my fingers twisting around the fabric, when we disappeared around the corner and headed straight for the small, abandoned office.

My heart stuttered in my chest, a blooming realization dawning.

He wasn’t rejecting me.

No, he was getting us somewhere private. Away from potentially prying eyes and passing interruptions.

Oh my god.

The moment we reached the office, he nudged the door open with his foot and stepped inside. I was set down right inside the doorway with barely enough time to catch my breath before he kicked the door shut behind him.

The sharp click of the lock sliding into place echoed through the small room, louder than it should have been. There was no walking away from this now.

Moving with slow, deliberate intent, Wilder reached over the empty desk to wrap his fist around the pull cord of the blinds above it. Without a word, he drew them down, the soft rustling plastic sealing off the last slivers of light from the hallway outside.

Trapped in this small, enclosed space where the only thing left between us was this suffocating thick tension, whatever the hell this was about to turn into, I was ready for it.

When he finally turned back to me, there was no hesitation behind him reaching for me once again and finally pulling me in to press his lips to mine.

CHAPTER 20

Wilder

His lips were soft, sweet-tasting things I couldn’t get enough of; the remnants of some fruity flavored chapstick still lingering behind long after he’d swiped the stick over them.

I tilted my mouth until it fully sealed over his, drinking in the moan that spilled from him the second I got his lips parted with my tongue.

There was no caution or reservations about this kiss, not at this point. I was tired of beating around the bush, pretending like Asher hadn’t just pushed me over the edge and tumbled us both into something we were supposed to be staying far away from.

My patience had snapped. Gone with that one ounce of self-control I’d had right up until he’d backed me into that corner and pressed his body against me. Right before he’d let me see that lust-filled look in his eyes and feel how devilishly good his hips dragged against mine without him even meaning to.