Page 5 of Tempt

He ran the tip of his nose up the side of my throat, to my ear, and stopped. The sensation of his skin running along mine hit me like a wave. A very pleasurable wave. As if that motion were mimicked inside me and instead of my throat, Theo was touching me exactly where his cock should be.

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t see straight.

And holy crap, I was so wet.

And then he whispered in my ear, “You should have said no.”

I had to squeeze my thighs together to give my bodysomethingto pulse against. His breath against my ear…Whoa.

I turned to look straight into those dark eyes. I wanted to get lost inside them. He was right at eye-level and our noses just barely touched. “I’m not that kind of girl.”

This time it was Theo who lost his breath. “What kind of girl are you?”

Oh, how I wanted to kiss him. Just pull him those last few inches and press my lips against his. Meld my body into him and let all thisattractiondetonate.

Because that’s what was happening. My lust was mixing with curiosity. Who was this man? He wasn’t anything like Luis and Ava described. Quiet, yes. But not cold or pretentious.

If anything, Theo was warm and inviting. All these things I was feeling were growing more powerful by the moment and I could feel the same energy coming off of him, but with a void in the space between us.

All it would take is a spark.

Boom.

One kiss and I’m pretty sure I’d never be the same.

But I couldn’t do it. Not with that look on his face. Theo wanted me—there was no mistaking that—but he was confused. By me, by this energy coursing between us, hell, maybe he was even confused by himself.

Either way, I knew kissing him right now would be a mistake.

“I don’t scare easily,” I whispered instead.

He shook his head and blinked. I think, for a split second, he wanted to run, and then in the next second he wanted to kiss me. I could tell by the way his eyes widened and his arms tightened.

“Fear is an excellent preservation instinct.” Then he spun me down into a deep dip that had my hair brushing the floor. I had no choice but to stare into his eyes. They were so dark. So deep. I willed him to drink me in and take me home with him. I wanted to get hot and sweaty, tangled in soft white sheets, with this man. I didn’t know him and I didn’t care.

And let’s be real. Any man with dance moves like Theo’shadto be good in bed.

His gaze sharpened and then dropped to my lips like he was seriously contemplating kissing me. My skin heated as a flush spread across my chest at the idea of Theo wanting me the way I wanted him.

Yes. Kiss me.

“It was very nice to meet you, Allison Riley,” he said. Then he righted me, very much like he’d done when he caught me, and took a step back, separating us for the first time in nearly four minutes. “And yes, you may call me Theo.” He dipped low over my hand and planted a soft kiss over my knuckles that sent an electric current across my skin, taking my breath away.

He disappeared back into the crowd before I could say anything else.

It felt like a piece of me went with him. There was something about him… It wasn’t just how he looked or the sound of his voice—even though both of those were quite amazing—it was something else entirely. It was the way he spoke with his eyes, the capable way he handled me while dancing. It was all the things he was holding back. I could feel it. Like there was an entire lake dammed up behind a massive wall. I got glimpses of it in his reactions, even though he wasn’t saying a word.

He was so guarded and careful—clearly making a conscious decision to restrain himself. He hesitated before each sentence as if holding himself back from saying everything in his head.

So instead, he didn’t say much at all.

And yet none of that restraint could disguise the way his hands held me just a little bit tighter each time I moved away. Or the way his eyes locked and held with mine in the silence that stretched between us.

Part of me wondered if I’d dreamt Theo up. He came and went so quietly. Disappearing like a ghost before my very eyes. Maybe he was as reclusive as Luis said he was.

But somehow I doubted that.

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