Page 24 of All Wrong
He got off and pulled out her bags. He should go.He should ensure she got safely into her building, then turn his bike around and get the fuck out of there as fast as possible.
Instead, he said, “So … are you planning to eat all that by yourself, or are you willing to share?”
CHAPTER NINE
CORINNE
It took a moment for Nick’s words to register. Corinne was still surfing the incredible high of riding pillion on his Harley. It had been beyond exhilarating. The cool night air whipping through her hair. The rumble of the powerful machine beneath her. The feel and scent of the skilled man driving it.
Corinne blinked. “You want to share my snacks?”
His grin was almost shy. On a man like him, the look was utterly devastating. “Maybe.”
Inviting him into her apartment was a bad idea on so many levels, the most important being that it would blur the line between fantasy and reality.She’d been successfully harboring a hidden attraction for the man for more than a decade. She’d imagined a lot of scenarios that began similarly—a nighttime ride on his Harley, an invitation to come up for a drink, followed by dirty, hot sex …
Clearly, this wasn’t that. But still.
Nick misinterpreted her hesitation. His grin didn’t diminish, but that rare, playful light in his eyes did. She wanted to demand its return. “Hey, it’s cool.”
“No,” she said, knowing that if he left now, it might snap this new, fragile thread between them. If that meant stuffing her attraction in a mental lockbox, so be it. “I mean, yes. I’m willing to share.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. You’d be doing me a favor.”
“How do you figure?”
“Otherwise, I’d end up eating it all myself. I’m not known for my impulse control.”
He laughed softly, the sound almost wicked. It sent delicious shivers through her body. “Is that so? Good to know.”
She said nothing, turning away so he wouldn’t see the heat burning her cheeks. With any luck, the impromptu hot flash would pass by the time they got up to her apartment.
Thankfully, the elevator was working and on the ground level. The doors opened within seconds of her pressing the Up button. He followed her into the car, making the space seem smaller than usual. And warmer. And better-smelling. Leather and subtle dark spices overpowered the lingering scents of the stick-on freshener near the air vent and a recently delivered sausage pizza.
She tapped the number seven, then said unnecessarily, “I’m on the seventh floor.”
As if the glowing white circle with the big number seven wouldn’t have clued him in.
The doors opened, and she stepped out, moving down to the end of the corridor to her door. He followed a step behind, waiting patiently while she got out her key and inserted it into the lock. She was acutely aware of his presence. It was as if he had this force field around him, crackling with dark energy, teasing her senses.
Corinne was glad she’d cleaned earlier. The light scent of lemons lingered in the air, along with the aromas from her earlier meal prep.
He stood just inside the door, holding her bags and taking in the place. She tried to see it through his eyes. It wasn’t fancy. Just simple and functional and perhaps a bit dated. She wondered how itcompared to his place. She wasn’t even sure where he lived, but she thought he might be in one of the older houses in town that had been converted to apartments a long time ago.
“You can put those over there,” she told him, lifting her chin toward the living area, where her comfy couch, coffee table, and flat screen awaited. Assuming he was serious about sticking around, that was. “I’ve got bottled water, tea, and beer in the fridge. Some ginger ale too.”
His lips curled up into a smirk. “What if I wanted a Coke?”
“Then, you’d be shit out of luck.”
He snorted softly. “Water is fine.”
She reached into the fridge to grab two waters. She didn’t have to turn around to know that he’d returned to the kitchen and was standing behind her. His force field told her that. And if the momentary tingle in her backside was any indication, he’d checked out her ass while she was bent over.
The heat of his gaze had soaked into her skin and warmed a few other parts too. Parts that were already revved up from that ride on his Harley.
“Holy shit. There’s enough food in there to last a month.”
