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“But I’ll be in your way.” Was that a hint of panic in her voice?
Why, yes, it is.
Rory told her, “Christian is moving full-steam ahead with the new design for the show. Granted, it’s going to take some time to develop and there are various negotiations to partake in, including with you and your agent, but we can get this concept off the ground before the end of the year. And that means you and I need to find a harmonious rhythm while we’re doing cooking exhibitions so that I don’t mow you down while I’m moving about and end up—”
“Yelling at me?” She eyed him with a crooked brow.
He smirked. “I was going to say so that I don’t end up hurting you again. But that, too.”
The yelling part.
She would have been amused that they could lightly tease each other—pleased, even—except that behind this new levity between them was an underlying current that gnawed at Bayli.
She could be totally off base, but it didn’t feel that way in her gut, so she ventured to guess, “You weren’t just annoyed with me for being at the wrong place at the wrong time when you came barreling through those kitchen doors, right? You were irritated because you’d knocked me over. Even though, admittedly, it was all my fault for being in your way.”
Rory expertly wove through traffic, not glancing at her. But Bayli could see from the way his jaw worked that her assumption was right on the money.
When they finally stopped at a light, he slid his gaze her way. “I’m used to being surrounded by people who are lightning quick on their feet and bend and flex with the fast-paced environment. It’s not always smooth sailing, of course, and we go through our fair share of broken glasses and dishes. But yes … I was mostly pissed off because I’d likely left a bruise on that amazingly beautiful body of yours. And will be even more furious if it’s still there.”
The light turned green. Rory eased the car forward. Bayli continued to stare at him, her mind blank, her voice vanishing completely.
But the rest of her … Holy hell. Bayli’s heart thumped mightily in her chest. Excitement rippled through her stomach and down to the apex of her legs, making her clit tingle and her pussy throb.
Once more, she was breathless and filled with exhilaration.
Not that Rory St. James had come right out and said he wanted to see her naked and inspect that spot on her hip himself—or that he wanted her the way Christian had wanted her last night. Still … Rory’s tone had lowered a notch and was tinged with a mixture of lust and torment. An extremely sexy combination. One that did a number on her insides, igniting every nerve ending.
She’d contend that it was crazy or greedy or selfish to be attracted to two men at the same time. To eagerly want to get to know them in every way possible—undisputedly in the carnal sense. But even if she was all of those aforementioned things, it didn’t matter. Because this was yet another part of life Bayli had never lived to the fullest.
She’d had one boyfriend, her senior year of high school. Other than that, there’d never been time, or she hadn’t had the energy to date while taking care of her mother, or she was just too afraid to get attached to someone while watching someone else she cared for so deeply wither away before her very eyes—and there’d been absolutely nothing Bayli could do to improve her mother’s health so that she could have had just one more surgery that might have added a few more years to her existence.
But now was not the time to dwell on Bayli’s painful past. Now was the time for her to wrap her arms around the future and see just how far she could go.…
Finally getting a grip on her racing pulse—to an extent, anyway, because there was something powerful and alluring about the man sitting next to her that crawled under her skin and kept her body charged—she managed to say to Rory, “I haven’t checked of late, but I’m pretty sure that all evidence of our little run-in is long gone.”
“And Christian would have asked you about it if he’d noticed a mark.”
She gaped. Okay, way for Rory to get right to the point.
“Christian didn’t exactly do an inch-by-inch visual assessment,” she boldly said. Praying like hell her voice wouldn’t crack as she added, “He was a bit more singularly focused.”
“I know Christian well. Trust me. He didn’t miss a thing. Nor would I.” Rory flashed her a wicked grin.
Bayli all but incinerated in her seat.
Oh, boy.
She was playing with some serious fire here. Burning both ends of the wick. Or fuse. Take your pick. Either would be equally explosive in the end, she was sure.
Her fingers curled around the stack in her lap. Her inner muscles clenched and released in an attempt to stave off the thrumming deep in her core … or the craving still clawing at her, centered wholly around that incredible fulfillment she’d experienced the previous evening.
Yes, Christian had fucked her hard and she’d loved every second of it. Had been sated by how passionately he’d taken her. But in the light of day, and sitting in such close proximity to Rory, with his innuendoes clouding her judgement and the intoxicating scent of his expensive cologne and male heat infiltrating her mind and senses, she was right back to wanting—needing—another highly intense, fantastically arousing fuck.
Plain and simple.
She wouldn’t even be apologetic for the naughty thought. Or blush.
Maybe.
