Page 20 of Breaking Free

He cracked one eyelid. The other popped open upon seeing her scrubbed clean, with no makeup, in a white V-neck tee and baggy gym shorts, which shouldn’t have looked sexy but did on her. A voluminous muumuu, a burlap sack, or a shroud would, too; everything looked good on Piper.

“That felt glorious,” she said, letting out a satisfied sigh.

“Ready to go?” He stood up and approached her, reminding himself that he was a grown-ass man capable of taking her home without touching her or kissing her like he wanted.

Then he smelled her body wash—vanilla with a hint of roses—and wasn’t so sure.

Looking up at him with big blue eyes, she laid her hand on his arm. “I can’t thank you enough for this, Tristan.”

That was all it took for his good intentions to evaporate. His arm wound around her waist, pulling her close as his hand slid under her damp hair and curled around the back of her neck. Hedipped his head, hesitating with his lips just inches away from hers, allowing her an out. She didn’t take it, however, rising on her tiptoes, meeting him halfway.

Although he knew he shouldn’t, he had to have a taste of her. His mouth covered hers, and her sweetness—just as he knew she would be—exploded on his tongue as it swept inside.

He wanted more and deepened the kiss, searching and claiming, as he walked her backward, trapping her soft body between him and the wall. Her hands glided up his back, one moving up to cup his head as she kissed him back, pressing her tits and her hips against him.

“Tristan,” she breathed.

The seductive quality of her voice broke the spell. He pulled his mouth away but couldn’t bring himself to release her. Not yet. She felt too damn good.

“You don’t want to get mixed up with me, Piper.”

“What if I do?” she asked, breathing hard from their kiss.

“You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“Then perhaps you could explain.”

“You’re sweet, and I’m...not.”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover. I’m not as sweet as I look. Just as I believe that under your gruff exterior is a nice guy.”

She did not know the man he was inside. If let out and given free rein, she’d learn all the filthy things he wanted to do to her and run screaming for the hills.

His eyes dipped to her lips, plump and glistening from their kiss. She didn’t look sweet as much as sexy as fuck at the moment. Before he acted on his impulses and took her against the wall, he released her and stepped back.

“I’ll take you home.”

“But... What if the power is still off? Won’t we get hot and sticky all over again?”

His mind leaped to several ways they could get hot and sticky together, none of which had anything to do with the heat wave. Instead of acting on his desires, he cleared his throat and explained. “I checked the live feed on my security camera. It wasn’t on backup battery power.”

“Which means the power is on,” she concluded, looking disappointed, which was like a kick in the balls for him. He wanted viscerally to satisfy, not disappoint. But she turned and walked out the door. “I can still get a few hours of sleep before my first appointment in the morning. I suppose we should go.”

He followed her down the hall, deliberately keeping his gaze on the back of her head rather than the seductive sway of her hips. Damn. Why couldn’t he be the nice guy she needed and deserved?