9
Stay away from her,” Cohen growled between gritted teeth at the man Dee called Marshall. Then, without waiting for a response, he turned and quickly moved toward the direction Dee had gone.
He could see her up ahead and tried not to react to the graceful sway of her hips when she walked. And that ass was what erotic dreams were made of.
Fire licked along his nerve endings with every step she took on those stilettoed heels. And the back of that way-too-sexy red dress left too much skin showing. Skin he remembered touching and tasting.
Slowing his pace, he rubbed his hand down his face. Damn. Why couldn’t he control himself where she was concerned? This wasn’t just any woman he was checking out. This was Dee, who he’d known forever. Then again, this was also the Dee he’d had in his bed. He knew first-hand how it felt to be between those gorgeous legs, to grip those curvy hips and to find heaven in the depth of her delicious mouth.
When she opened a set of French doors and disappeared, he sighed with relief. But out of sight wasn’t out of mind. The moment he stepped out on the terrace that led to the botanical gardens, she was waiting, ready to give him hell. “What do you think you’re doing here, Cohen?”
He refused to answer until she’d answered a question for him. “You were going to his hotel room, weren’t you?”
She glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. He wished she hadn’t done that. It made her breasts push up and he could clearly see a very nice, tempting cleavage. “And what is it to you if I was?”
A muscle in the back of his neck felt tight, like it was about to pop. “It would have been a mistake.”
“Then it would have been my mistake to make. What I do is none of your business. You have no right to be here.”
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. “Last I looked, this was a free country.”
She rolled her eyes. “Think about what you’re doing, Cohen. You followed a woman you don’t want, to a place where people are hooking up all over, just to keep her from having some fun with someone else. Why?”
He could definitely answer that. But first he needed to straighten out a few things. “I do want you, Dee. Don’t ever think I don’t. But it would not be fair of me to have you.”
She narrowed her gaze at him. “But you did have me.”
“I know. I wish you wouldn’t keep reminding me.”
He saw anger flare in her eyes. “Why? I know I was inexperienced. Are you insinuating I was that bad?”
There was no way he could allow her to think that. “No, you were that good.” He hadn’t meant to say that. Too late.
“Then why Cohen? And please don’t tell me it’s because I’m Stacey’s best friend or that there’s an age thing between us.”
He shook his head. It was time for the truth. He couldn’t use those excuses any longer. “No, none of those.”
“Then why?”
He drew in a deep breath. Maybe he ought to come right out and tell her the reason. Tell her about Amanda, about the heartache she’d caused him…about his fear of falling into the abyss of depression again. But what would that accomplish? Knowing Dee like he did, she would take it upon herself to prove he could love again. But he knew he couldn’t. His heart was no longer broken. It was hardened. There was a difference. He was incapable of loving anyone and he knew it.
When he didn’t say anything, she poked his chest. “This doesn’t make sense. You don’t want to sleep with me, but you don’t want anyone else to, either. You can’t have it both ways. You have no idea what I’m going through, Cohen. How it’s been since you first touched me.”
Cohen knew he shouldn’t ask, but he couldn’t help himself. “And what are you going through, Dee?”
“Where should I start? With my need to have a man’s hands on me, a man’s body moving inside me. Or those erotic dreams I have of you tasting every inch of me?”
Jeez. Why did she have to go there and remind him of how it had been? He could feel his erection get hard, just remembering. “I think that’s too much information.”
“Then you shouldn’t have asked. I don’t appreciate you trying to throw a monkey wrench into my sex life, when yours is probably just fine and dandy.”
If only she knew, he thought. Still, there was no need to tell her that he hadn’t been with another woman since their last night together. At first, he’d convinced himself it was because he’d felt guilty about what they’d done. About the fact that he couldn’t give her what she needed.
“I’m not here because of me, Dee.”
She took a step closer. “And you shouldn’t be here because of me. I’m twenty-seven. An adult. Living on my own. And I’m in my right mind.”
“Your actions tonight tell me otherwise, Dee. You were about to sleep with a stranger.”
She rolled his eyes. “Trust me. I wasn’t seriously interested in Marshall, not for anything long term. But for tonight, I knew all I needed to know about him…that he could get hard and he wanted me.”
There was no way Cohen could hide his shock. Then she twisted the blade a little deeper. “He’s going to need a pretty stiff erection to satisfy me, not to mention stamina. I was looking forward to tonight, Cohen. And you ruined it for me.”
He could only stare at her while standing there doing the very thing she’d assured herself good old Marshall could do. Get hard. Because she was standing so close, not to mention glaring at him, she probably hadn’t noticed his predicament. But if she got any closer, his erection would poke her. “Dammit Dee, you shouldn’t say things like that.”
She waved off his words. “Whatever. If you weren’t here, you wouldn’t have to concern yourself about me. What I do is my business.”
She was right. If she wanted to sleep with that guy, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. “Can we talk about this?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Honestly, Cohen, what is there to talk about?”
There had to be a way for him to make her see reason. Women didn’t just randomly pick guys up to get laid. Well, most of them didn’t, he thought, remembering the barracuda who’d gone after him earlier that evening. But he wanted to believe that Dee was different. Still, hadn’t she been about to hook up with Marshall? He didn’t want to think about what she and the dude would be doing now if he hadn’t shown up.
“It’s late and you need to think about this some more. Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.” When she glared at him, he quickly corrected himself. “I mean irrational, not stupid. Not until we talk.”
She began tapping her feet and his gaze was drawn to those killer red stilettos. When he glanced back up to her face, she was tapping a finger against those red luscious lips. Damn, red dress, red shoes, red lips. He’d bet her bra and panties were red too.
“Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll sleep alone tonight and we’ll talk in the morning. But I can’t imagine what you think you can say to make me feel better.”
He didn’t know either, but he intended to come up with something. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your room.”
She lifted her chin. “Why? So you can find out where it is and spy on me, keeping watch over who’s coming and going?”
He didn’t like the thought of her hotel room having a damn revolving door. “No. I want to walk you to your room because it’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”
“Umm, that’s sounds like something Marshall would say.”
He frowned, not liking the comparison. “Don’t you trust me?”
“I think the question you should be asking yourself, Cohen, is…do you trust me?”
Not waiting for a response, she walked off.
**
Dee continued toward the bank of elevators. She didn’t have to look behind her to know Cohen was following close behind. The heat she felt on her backside made her aware of just what part of her anatomy was holding his attention. Currently, it was a toss-up between her backside and her legs.
She intended to make his eyeballing worth his while, so she deliberately walked with a sensuous strut. Not only was Cohen noticing, but several men loitering in the halls had turned to stare as well. Let them look. The more the merrier. Hopefully Cohen would see that others desired her, even if he was fighting against it, himself.
She smiled. Things were working out rather nicely. All she had to do was continue this ruse, to see how far she could push him before he…
What?
Volunteered to take care of her needs himself? Her smile widened at the thought. When she came to the elevators, she stopped. He came to stand beside her. “Did I tell you how nice you look?” he asked.
She wished he hadn’t. She glanced over at him to see him staring intently at her face, her lips. Feeling a little naughty, she deliberately licked them as if they were dry. She saw the effect of her actions when he forced air from his nostrils.
“Thanks, Cohen. You look nice yourself. But like I said, you don’t have to see me up to my room.”
“I know I don’t have to. I want to.”
“Suit yourself.”
The elevator opened and they both stepped inside. A part of her was a little disappointed when a few other people got on. Instead of telling him her floor, she pushed the button on the panel wall, then moved to the other side of the elevator so it looked like she was alone.
When one of the single men in the elevator eased up beside her and asked her name, Cohen moved to stand beside her. “She’s with me,” he told the guy.
The stranger had the decency to apologize as he backed up. “Sorry, I didn’t know.”
“Now you do.”
The guy quickly moved away. Dee narrowed her gaze at Cohen. She wondered if he realized he was acting more territorial than protective. When the elevator door opened on her floor, she stepped off and Cohen followed right behind her. When the door shut behind them, she frowned at him. “I am not with you, Cohen.”
“Yes, you are.”
She rolled her eyes. “Not the way you meant.”
“He didn’t have to know that.”
“Why not let him know? I’m here and I’m available. It’s not like I’m hiding anything.”
“Maybe you should be,” he said, deliberately looking at her cleavage.
“The girls are disappointed,” she said, as she began moving toward her room.
He walked beside her. “What girls?”
“My breasts. You know, the girls.”
“Oh. And why are they disappointed?”
“I had planned for a man’s mouth to be doing all sorts of wicked things to them tonight.”
He stopped walking and she was certain he’d nearly tripped. “Will you stop saying stuff like that?”
“Why? It’s only you. I wouldn’t talk like that around another guy. But with you I can be myself, you know, let my hair down, though I don’t have much now,” she said, shaking her short curls. “Still, you get the picture.”
“Yes, I get it. But I’d rather you not talk like that around me, either.”
“Why? Can’t you handle a little naughty talk?”
“What you’re saying is not naughty. It’s provocative.”
She came to a stop in front of the door to her room. “Oh, I get it. Men can talk dirty but women can’t. Sounds pretty sexist to me.”
He didn’t say anything while she pulled the passkey out from her purse. No doubt he was still trying to figure her out. Good.
“Okay then, call me for breakfast. But not too early. Goodnight.”
Then she then slid the passkey into the lock, opened the door and stepped inside…then closed it shut in his face.