Page 48 of All Wrong
He took another half step forward. Only inches separated them now. “What is it like then?”
“We’re just friends.”
“Friends with benefits?” he prodded, his voice low and silky. Dangerous. The image of Corinne with another man made him mental, drove him to the edge.
“I don’t think that’s any of your?—”
He lowered his head until their noses almost touched. “Business?” he finished.
“Yes,” she whispered, licking her lips. “It’s none of your business.”
So close. Another inch, and he’d … what? Kiss her? Dip his tongue into her mouth and finally know what she tasted like?
And then what? Would he lift her curvy dancer’s body onto the counter and?—
A bolt of lust speared through him as images flashed across his mind. Corinne, with her ass on the counter and his head between her thighs. Corinne, bent over the island while he buried his cock into her body from behind. Corinne, pressed against the wall with her legs wrapped around his hips.
His cock hardened further, totally on board with that plan, and she seemed to be right there with him.
Fuck.
He couldn’t do any of those things. This was Corinne, not some random one-night bang to take the edge off. And she was way too good for the likes of him, no matter how much pleasure he could make her feel.
The thought was like a bucket of cold water dumped over his head. He forced himself back from the brink. Blinked and straightened and stepped back. “You’re right,” he said, his voice gravelly with arousal. “It’s none of my business.”
Putting on the brakes was one of the hardestthings he’d ever done. If this was being noble and what doing the right thing felt like, it sucked.
Corinne apparently didn’t like it any more than he did because the distance he’d just put between them was suddenly gone. She was right there, up on her toes, determination in her expression. Her hands came up and grabbed his T-shirt, yanking him back down with a surprisingly strong grip. Caught off guard, he went with the motion, vaguely registering her lids lowering and her head tilting to press her lips to his.
Her kiss was at once tentative yet determined. Her lips, every bit as soft as he’d imagined. She tasted like sweet ginger and crisp alcohol andhis.
Go ahead. Take her. She obviously wants it. Stop fighting it. You’ve never been the good guy, the little devil on Nick’s shoulder said.
Her fists curled tighter; her pull became more insistent as she stretched to meet him.
Her breasts pushed into his chest. She felt good.Toogood. Her mouth was made for kissing. For doing wicked, wicked things. He wanted to feel her lips all over his body and return the favor with equal fervor. His dick pressed firmly against his zipper, wanting in on some of that lip action too.
Nick groaned and gave himself over to Corinne’ssilent command, letting her play and explore. Her tongue swept against his, demanding more. He wanted to give it to her. He wanted to give her everything.
She made a sound, a half groan, half moan that sent a bolt of lust right into his balls. Fireworks exploded down the length of his body at the contact, his cock growing harder and thicker as her hot, lithe body pressed against his. He dug his nails into his palms and kept his hands fisted at his sides to keep from gripping her waist and pulling her closer.
It would be so easy to take her. He wanted to. God, did he want to. But he couldn’t go there. Not with her. Because if he did, there would be no coming back.
After a while, she seemed to realize that he wasn’t actively participating beyond allowing the kiss and letting her lick and taste and do whatever else she felt compelled to do. Her lids lifted, the soft haze of desire evaporating, replaced with the sharp, cold edge of rejection.
A blade sliced through his chest.
Her gaze shuttered and dropped. She released the tight grip she’d had on his shirt, and she took a step back. The urge to pull her back wasoverwhelming, but he had to be strong. He had to end this. Had to stop it in its tracks before it went any further.
She was going to hate him for what he was about to do, but not as much as he hated himself.
“How long have you been wanting to do that?” he asked, his mouth curving into a smirk.
Her face flushed with embarrassment. Her expression ran through a gamut of emotions in the span of a few heartbeats. Ire. Shame. Lust. Regret. Then, nothing. Her face went blank, and her heated blue eyes went frosty.
“A while,” she said, giving him a tiny, cold smile. “Just one more thing I can cross off the bucket list before I go.”
His smirk faded.
