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“We have to make this quick.”
He raised a brow. Was that how she wanted to play it? He toed off his shoes. “Strip.”
She shouldered off her jacket and draped it neatly over the back of the chair. He was right. Her blouse was completely see-through underneath and he could see the lace of her undergarments through the thin fabric.
Her fingers trembled as she opened the top button of her blouse, then the next, quickly working down the line. He paused just to savor the show.
“You’re not stripping. We only have twenty minutes.”
He doubted her lunch break was that brief.
She slipped out of her skirt and shoes and added her garments to the tidy pile on the chair. When she turned, time stood still and the earth staggered in its orbit. Fuck, she was stunning.
The ivory silk of her camisole matched her panties. Tapered thighs, so lush and tempting. She was a goddess. Such a class act. A vision of heaven on earth. And he was going to fuck that delicate composure right out of her and make her scream until his lips, dick, and tongue all tasted like her come.
He crossed the room in two strides and pulled her into his arms. Her fingers were in his hair, trailing down his shoulders, and scraping along his back. He tumbled her to the bed, urgently needing to get inside of her.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Her hand smacked into his chest. “Condom.”
“Don’t move.”
He raced to the bathroom and rummaged through his toiletry bag, knocking personal items into the sink and onto the floor until he finally found what he was looking for. He bolted back to the bed and staggered to a stop.
Mariella lay in a twist of long limbs and ebony waves, now wearing nothing but the pearl necklace, her body open and waiting for him. She was a goddess.
“Jesus, you’re beautiful.”
Her blush traveled to her breasts and she smiled. “Beautiful but weak. So much for not having sex.”
Her words hurt. “We don’t have to.” He didn’t want to force her into anything she’d regret. “If you want to stop—”
“That’s the thing, I don’t.” Her smile turned rueful. “I want to be with you.”
“Then what’s wrong?” He tossed the condom aside and sat by her on the bed.
“Nothing. I’m just being stupid.”
He frowned and covered her hand with his. “Why would you say that?”
When she looked up at him, her eyes shimmered and his concern doubled. He lowered his body to lay beside her, cradling her close and forcing her to look into his eyes.
“Hey, hey, hey. What’s wrong?”
She sniffed and blinked back any sign of tears, but it was too late. He saw the truth in her eyes and knew she was struggling. “Nothing.”
“Stop telling me nothing. We don’t lie to each other, Mariella.” Desire took an instant backseat to understanding why she was suddenly upset. “Talk to me.”
“That’s the thing. We don’t lie, but we leave a lot unsaid, don’t we?”
He sighed and pressed his forehead to her shoulder. She was afraid he’d disappear again. He had to stop doing that. At least give her the respect of a goodbye. But saying goodbye to Mariella would be…
He’d never been able to do it. It was easier just to leave and try to forget what he was leaving behind—eyes on the future. “What can I do so you’re not hurt in the end?”
She cupped the back of his head and pressed a kiss to his hair. “You can’t. But I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”
Could she? “What do you want me to do?” He didn’t want to stop, but he also didn’t want to see her upset.
“You could stay.”
The air stilled in his lungs. Staying wasn’t an option. “Mariella—”
“I’m kidding.” She laughed, and he nervously matched the sound.
When she pressed her lips to his, he kissed her, but their heat had cooled under the threat of her tears, and he wondered if they would have been better keeping sex out of it this time around. Unfortunately, they both lacked the necessary self-control to test such a theory.
CHAPTER 16
Mariella casually lifted a strand of hair to her nose, breathing in traces of Harrison’s scent trapped in the tiny follicles. So much for willpower.
Their afternoon interlude had been incredible, and her body ached with the lingering heat of his possession. So did her heart.
There was seriously something wrong with her. She was an addict who wanted to recover but leapt off the wagon at every opportunity.
She wished she could say she was stronger, but the truth was, he’d always had this effect on her. Even before he knew her name, there was something about him that lured her like a moth to a flame. And that scenario never ended well for the moth.
Her mind drifted back, past this afternoon’s interlude, far beyond the last time he’d been in town, before he left home, before all the countless moments they shared, to that first time…
