Sacha
"Why not?"
Damn him. No, damn me for letting Gib get to me, with his logical arguments and soft kisses.
I walked into the cabin without a word. I didn't mean to be rude but was trying to formulate a logical answer, and logic on my part was difficult when he was only inches away. I could sense he was right behind me, so I turned to face him, hoping the right words would come.
Gib stood looming over me. Was the hurt I saw in his eyes simply unrequited lust, or something else?
I hadn't meant to let it get this far. Probably why I reacted so strongly to his words, when he really was being reasonable. But we shouldn't be kissing, let alone groping each other like this. Sex might lead to feelings, and feelings would get in the way of my plans. Plus, having feelings eventually got you hurt.
No way was I going down that road again.
"Gib, you're great guy for stepping up like you have been. But us having sex again is a very slippery slope." From his grin, "slippery" probably wasn't the best choice of words. He took a step then another, walking toward me. I kept backing up, not sure where I was headed but hoping it was near the front door. "What I mean is, I don't want to be friends with benefits. Especially with the father of my child."
His lips twitched, barely noticeable under the moustache and beard. His eyes had a feral look, and his husky tone reflected the hunger I saw there.
"Maybe we could be more. Maybe we can't. But can you deny this attraction between us? It's not going away."
I couldn't deny it, when every inch of me was at war with my brain. The smart thing to do was to leave, and only see this man when I absolutely had to. But what my traitorous body wanted right now was to wrap itself around him and never go home.
It would pass, but I had to get out of here before he touched me again.
Too late.
My back was against the wall. My purse slid from my shoulder to land on the floor near my feet. Gib was inches away, so close I could feel the heat radiating from his skin. One of his hands had settled on my hip, the other was brushing my jaw. His deep blue eyes, the color of a stormy sea, bore into mine. I had to look away. He was waiting for an answer. When I found my voice, it was thick, foreign-sounding.
"I don't want you. It was just a one-time thing."
"I don't believe you, Sacha. You're trembling with desire for me. Aren't you?"
His hand was caressing my collarbone and moving lower. Why was I still standing here?
I laughed, but it wasn't the confident, sarcastic sound I had been going for. It was more of a shaky, nervous warble. I had to push him away, to stop this madness. But his hands were leaving a trail of heat across my skin, and his now-obvious arousal was pressing against my thigh. My mental defenses were weakening as hormones raged out of control, stoked by the primal male now holding me in place. I moved my hands to his chest again, intending to push him away, but instead I gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him closer.
"Frenzied" is too tame a word for the feverish way we clung to each other. Months of pent-up desire and longing surfaced, and I smashed my mouth against his so hard I felt his teeth. It stung a bit, but I didn't care. Overcome with the desire to devour him, I used my tongue to explore his mouth, as though I'd never tasted him before.
I hadn't, really, since I was drunk the first time and nervous as hell the second. But now I couldn't get enough of him, and he was generously plundering my mouth as well. When he finally pulled away, I was gasping for breath. Reason returned and in a flash was gone.
"Damn you, Gib. This is so wrong."
His frantic movements stopped, and he leaned his forehead against mine. "Then tell me to stop. If you really don't want me to make love to you, I won't."
Damn him again for leaving it entirely up to me. I stood there, panting, my back against the wall, his cheek resting on mine. Once again, he was being the gentleman, which made him even harder to resist. The thought occurred to me that maybe, once we satisfied this crazy itch, we could go back to being simply partners. He was right, the desire had not gone away, and it seemed the harder we tried to fight it, the stronger the pull became. I closed my eyes while the urge to leave sparred with the heady intoxication of having him so near.
I opened my eyes and looked at him, all beard and hair and muscle and male. There was only one thing I could say.
"Take me to your bed. Right now."
In one swift movement, he picked me up. I clung to his neck as he took a few steps and kicked open his bedroom door.