Page 22 of Airhead

When she did, it was all he could do not to sink to his knees and bury his face in her. That would get her what she wanted too quickly, though. Katie didn’t trust anything that came easily. She just wasn’t that kind of woman. She liked things the hard way.

He moved his right leg between hers, touching but not rubbing against that sweet spot, and watched her gorgeous face as she worked out how to get what she wanted. Yeah, she shot him a ‘you’ll-pay-for-that’ glare, but she did exactly what he knew she wanted to and moved her hips so she was riding his thigh. Her hands still cupped his face, but she didn’t pull him down for a kiss. Instead, she kept her eyes locked with his.

This was a game, a challenge, a dare to see who would be the first to snap and lose control.

He had no intention of giving in. Then she let her head fall back as she rode his thigh harder, and he knew he was fucking lost.

He’d gripped her hips again and was pulling up the sides of her skirt before he realized what he was doing. Silencing her soft, knowing chuckle with another kiss, he stepped back to reach between them.

She wasn’t just wet, she was soaking. And when he slipped first one finger, and then a second inside her, she was already so tight and needy that he nearly came right then, still fully clothed, in the mall parking lot.

This woman was going to wreck him and he was so very here for it.

He played with her, teased her, clocked her reactions to each variation in pressure and speed, cataloged the different sounds she made, repeated whatever he was doing when her breathing sped up and her grip on his shoulders tightened. He wanted to kiss her, to cup her tits, to taste her sweetness as she got off on his face. He wanted to bury himself inside her, make her scream his name, imprint himself on her so that whenever she came, for the rest of her life, she’d think of him. His whole body was locked in on Katie, hard and more than ready to fuck her until they were both senseless.

If she’d been any other woman, he would.

But Katie wasn’t any other woman.

Oh yeah, he wanted her. But he couldn’t have her. Not tonight.

He was so hard he hurt, but the keys to Katie were adventure, excitement, and wondering what was going to happen next. If he could, he’d spend the rest of his life making all of that happen for her. Tonight, the best he could do was walk away and leave her wondering what it would be like to fuck him, and wanting so very badly to satisfy that curiosity.

She may not realize it yet, but he was definitely playing for keeps.

He fucked her with his fingers, slow and steady as her breathing got faster—especially when he started tracing her clit with his thumb. So he did that again. And again. And again. Kissing his way up the side of her neck as he fingered her under her skirt, he took her closer and closer to release before pulling back once, twice, three times, making her groan with needy frustration.

“You’re going to come all over my fingers,” he said as he circled her clit with his thumb while she tightened around his fingers. “And later, when you’re touching yourself, you’re going to remember this moment, right now, when you were on the edge of coming, fighting to keep from moaning too loud and drawing attention to the fact that you are about to come so fucking hard.”

Then he stopped retreating, instead working her pussy as her fingers bit into his shoulders, acting on her every reaction, so that when he hit on that one speed, that one pressure, that one move that would make her forget the rest of the world ever existed, he repeated it until she was just panting his name over and over. She stiffened, her orgasm squeezing his fingers as she pressed her face into his chest using him to muffle her groan of satisfaction.

Watching her face as she came was the hottest thing he’d ever seen in his life.

As she caught her breath, he stepped back and smoothed her skirt into place. Then, he picked her keys and purse up off the ground. She watched, looking a little dazed and still breathing hard, as he unlocked the Pinto’s driver’s side door and opened it for her. She shot him a curious look as she sat down behind the wheel. He handed her the keys and purse.

“Drive safe,” Frank said, before shutting the door. “I’ll see you later.”

She sat there for a second, just watching him through the closed car window, obviously trying to figure out what he was up to. She would eventually, he didn’t doubt it. She was one of the smartest people he knew, and he was, well, he was Frank Hartigan. But in this case, that didn’t matter. Because, when it came to making Katie Madigan happy, there was no one more schooled than he was.

So he watched her drive off into the night, knowing that someday he was going to marry her.

Chapter Eleven

“Hi, you’ve reached Connie⁠—"

“And Katie. Leave us a message and we’ll call you back.”

“Hi, uh, this message is for Katie. It’s Frank. Frank Hartigan. We need to talk. I’m working tomorrow but am off today. Call me.”

“Hey it’s Frank. Leave a message at the beep.”

“Oh man. Did I get the message mixed up? I thought you said you were off tomorrow, which is now today. Silly me. Anyway, I’ve made the arrangements with Marino’s to have food delivered to Marinos for the party. See you Friday night.”

“Hi, you’ve reached Connie⁠—"

“And Katie. Leave us a message and we’ll call you back.”

“Nice try. We both know you didn’t get the days mixed up. Good on Marinos and Marino’s. I got the decorations and I’ll pick up the podium.”