Page 9 of Irresistible

Pete cleared his throat and spoke. “So, what do need my help with for this book?”

Lilly sat back and carefully wiped her mouth. “I want to choke the antagonist to death. It has to be personal, and I thought choking would be a good choice. I was thinking of linking it back to the killer’s sexual appetites. It’s much darker than anything I’ve ever written, and I’m not sure if I can pull it off.”

“If you don’t try it, then you won’t know. Got to stretch if you want to grow,” Brock said. He returned to eating and listened to Pete and Lilly throw ideas back and forth. It was interesting to see the process she went through when she was building a story. He added a couple of ideas and noticed that she wrote them down. Take that, Pete! She needed ideas, and he had a ton of them.

Just as they were finishing the meal, Pete’s phone rang, and he excused himself. When he stepped into the hall, Brock lifted Lilly’s hand and kissed it. “Thanks for letting me crash your date with Pete.”

“It wasn’t a date.” She then lifted her glass of wine. “We’re friends, and he’s helping me out.” Glancing over her shoulder, she sighed. “I wish I was attracted to him because he’s a good man. Unfortunately, you can’t fake chemistry. It’s either there or it isn’t.”

“I think he has a little crush on you, so you may want to let him down easy,” Brock responded.

Before she could reply, Pete walked in, shaking his head. “My mama’s bathroom is flooded. I’ve got to go over and take care of it.”

Lilly took his hand. “You want me to come with you? I’m pretty good with a mop.”

“Thanks, sugar, but you’re on a deadline, and you need to get your next chapter written.” He lifted his plate. “I think we came up with some good ideas.” Pressing his mouth to her cheek, he grinned. “I’ll see myself out.”

“Call me if you need help,” Brock said as Pete took his dishes into the kitchen.

“Thanks, man.” Pete waved to them and then walked down the hall.

“I guess I’d better help clean up and leave you to your writing,” Brock said.

“Sit and relax. I’m not ready to start working.”

“I’d love to.” Seemed that showing up at Lilly’s on a Sunday afternoon without an invitation was going to turn out after all.

***

The story Brock told himself as he lifted Lilly’s cuffed hands above her head was that this was all material for the book. His body was on fire and he was having a hard time catching his breath, but it seemed like a fair price to pay in the name of art. “What do you think, Lilly?”

“About?” she replied on a shuddering breath.

Her chest was rising and falling in a way that told him she liked being held down. At least, she did when he was the one doing the holding. He’d never really been interested in bondage, but if that was what Lilly wanted, then he was game. As long as he was the one in control. “Is this something that would work for the scene between the characters?”

“Definitely.”

“All I’m getting is one-word answers. Are you okay?” She nodded as he pressed himself into her soft, welcoming body. Her back was against the wall, and he made sure that all she could see and feel was him. Their breath mingled as they locked gazes, and he prayed she wasn’t going to object to what he was about to do. “When you told me the characters had once been intimate, it made me think the man would want that again. And if she was restrained against the wall, he would have no choice but to kiss her…to see if the heat was still there.”

“Sure…could happen.”

Holding her cuffed hands tighter, he leaned down slowly and ran his nose along her cheek. The scent of her shampoo enveloped him as the satin feel of her skin drew him nearer. “Maybe we should try it and see if it works.”

“Brock,” Lilly murmured.

“Yeah?”

“Kiss me already.” Tilting her head, she waited.

“Thank God,” he whispered as he lowered his mouth and held her jaw steady with his thumb. When he deepened the kiss, he released her hands and felt them slip over his head. The metal cuffs bit into his neck as her body melted. Surrender. Something he thought she would never do.

Sliding his hand down to her waist, he pulled her closer. They were hip to hip, breast to chest as he took her mouth in a series of savage kisses. As close as they were, it wasn’t close enough. Her soft breasts were crushed against him as her hips cradled his painful erection perfectly. Holding himself in check by the thinnest of threads, he kissed her until he had no breath left in his body. The only thing that saved them was Lilly pulling away and gasping for air. Tightening his hold, he tipped his head and laughed. “Definitely think the kissing would work for the book.” When she shuddered, he figured he was right. “But to be sure, we should keep doing it.”

“I thought we were doing research, but that kiss was something else altogether,” she said against his chest. “Are we pretending that kiss wasn’t about ten or fifteen years past due?”

“I’m not pretending. I just needed an excuse to put my mouth on yours. Seems I finally found one that worked.”

“There will be no undoing us until we’re undone. I can see that now,” Lilly said quietly.

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