Sin didn’t know why she stayed, but she did.
All through the movie, she was stiff, nervous and ridiculously aware of Worth. Though he didn’t do anything untoward, all her senses were on high alert, ready to run if he so much as breathed in her direction. By the time the movie’s closing credits ran, she had no idea what the movie they’d just watched was about.
“Did you enjoy the movie?” Worth asked as they exited the theater.
“Mm.” Sin nodded even as she frantically racked her brains for a good excuse to ditch him. She found one. “Uh… I have to pass by the supermarket. You go on ahead.”
“I’ll take you there,” he offered.
“No. No. No.” She vehemently shook her head. “I can go on my own.”
“But you don’t need to.” Worth suddenly narrowed his eyes. “Unless it’s just an excuse. Are you afraid to hang out with me?”
“Of course not! Why would I be afraid?” Sin protested but even to her own ears she sounded nervous. What was worse was that when they actually got into the supermarket, she couldn’t think of anything she needed to buy. In the end all she plucked from the shelves was a jar of olives.
Worth watched her with raised eyebrows as they stood at the checkout line. “That’s all you needed to buy?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“It’s my shopping list,” she retorted with more bite than necessary. “I know what I need to buy.”
“Okay… okay.” The amused twinkle in his eyes left no doubt that he knew that she’d just made up the excuse. Then he threw her another curve-ball. “Why don’t we have something to eat before we leave?”
“Huh… no!” She rubbed her throat in an attempt to quiet her suddenly racing pulse. “I’m… I’m not hungry.”
“Really? We’ve been in there for almost three hours and it’s-” He looked at his watch. “- a few minutes past seven. It’s dinner time. How can you not be hungry?” He canted his head to watch her then smiled. “You’re not afraid to have a meal with me, are you?”
“Of course not!” And that’s how Sin found herself seated across from him at one of the mall’s restaurants.
“Thank you,” Sin smiled gratefully at the server who’d just brought their meal.
Instead of getting straight into his meal, Worth looked around the small family-style restaurant then sighed. “I wanted to take you somewhere better than this.”
“Oh no! This place is just fine. And I’ve tasted their teriyaki chicken.” She pointed at his plate with her fork. “You’ll love it.”
“Really?” With his fork, he picked a piece of the chicken then pushed into his mouth. After a moment of chewing, he grinned. “You’re right.”
“It’s delicious, right?” She smiled in response. Then when she realized what she was doing, she gave herself a mental slap.
Get yourself together, Tamsin. You can’t fall for his smile. This guy is as cunning as a snake, and if you’re not careful, he’ll seduce you with his sly tong-
“By the way,” he cut into her thoughts. “I’m sorry.”
She blinked. “Sorry? For what?”
“I ruined your movie, didn’t I?” He offered her a sheepish smile. “You were expecting Ten there, and I just butted in.”
“No. No. No. It’s okay,” she reassured him. “I don’t like superhero movies anyway. But Ten kept insisting that she wanted to see it so…” Sin’s words drifted into a long pause as a sudden thought struck her. “Ten doesn’t like superhero movies either!”
“She doesn’t?”
“No, she doesn’t.” Sin suddenly gasped. “No, she didn’t! She couldn’t have. Tell me that that heifer didn’t just set me up.
“She did.” Worth laughed. “She even brought me the ticket herself.”
“Wow!” Sin kissed her teeth.
Ten didn’t seem like the matchmaker type but now that Sin thought of it, this made complete sense. Since neither A.J nor Kelly knew what had gone down in Portland, Ten was the only one Sin could mourn to. The little minx must’ve gotten tired of all the whining and decided to pawn her off to Worth.
Wow! Sin shook her head. “With friends like that, who needs enemies?”
“I actually like her,” Worth confessed with a grin. “How did you two meet?”
Without conscious thought, Sin said, “Her sister and I were in the same prison.”
The moment she said the words she realized that she had just revealed another part of her former criminal life. Her eyes flew to meet his. She expected to find shock there… maybe even disgust. But there was none; only interest. Ah! Her being an ex-con wasn’t new information. He already knew. But if he did, why was he still here with her, chasing her?
“Was it because of your father?” Worth suddenly cut into her thoughts.
“Huh?”
“Did you decide to be a con-artist because of your father?” he asked.
She stilled with her fork poised over her food as surprise shot through her. How did he know about her father? Ah! He’d investigated her. An unexpected bolt of embarrassment shot through her. One would think that she’d want him to know every mortifying, dirty detail about her past so that he’d be disgusted enough to leave her, but for some reason she didn’t want him to know. She didn’t want him to be disgusted with her.
“Yeah! It’s because of him.” Unable to meet his eyes, she stared at her plate. “He hurt my mom so I hurt men like him.” She forced a laugh. “Pitiful, right?”
“No, it’s not pitiful.” Worth reached over and closed his hand over hers. “It’s not pitiful at all.”
She should’ve pulled her hand away but she couldn’t. His touch was too soothing, too reassuring for her to pull away from it.
“Do you ever regret getting into that world?” he asked.
Sin didn’t answer because, frankly, most days she didn’t regret making the choices she had. Except for the Claire fiasco, every job she’d completed had left her with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction as if she’d just righted one wrong in a mountain of wrongs. Fine, she was a therapist’s dream patient, but she didn’t care. Though her career choice hadn’t been the right way to deal with her disturbed past, it’d nonetheless helped her cope with her father’s betrayal.
Still, she knew that most normal people expected her to feel sorry. Heck, she’d been paroled just for saying that she deeply regretted her past. Worth was as normal as any man she’d ever met so she supposed that he was waiting for her to say she was remorseful. But she couldn’t lie. So she just kept quiet.
Imagine her surprise when he said, “I don’t regret it.”
“What?” Her gaze flew up to meet his.
“If you weren’t a con-artist, you and I would never have met it.” He squeezed her hand. “So I don’t regret your past.”
She’d been right. Worth was as sly as a snake and knew just the right words to melt her heart. Yet she still couldn’t help smiling at him. Even if he was lying to her, hearing him say that he didn’t mind her past sent an odd warmth through her. He smiled back but a moment later, he rose from his seat.
She was so startled by his sudden movement that she didn’t anticipate what he’d do next. He shuffled closer until he was right beside her then bent. It wasn’t an overly sensual kiss; his lips just nibbled at hers for a few seconds and his tongue lightly swept over the seam of her lips. Still, it left her heart thudding into overdrive, and when he straightened to his full height, her lips still tingled.
“Worth!” she breathed out, still shocked.
“I just missed your smile,” he said as he returned to his seat. “I wanted to taste it.”
What was she supposed to say to that? Unfortunately, that brief glance of a kiss left her more unsettled than she would’ve liked. She couldn’t help watching him as he ate. She stared at his lips and wondered how it would feel to be kissed again. To be kissed for real.
Worth wasn’t completely unaware of her stares either. His eyes kept meeting hers then lowering to her lips. He was thinking about kissing her too. With each second the sexual tension between them intensified. By the end of their meal, Sin felt like she was standing on a cliff. She could clearly see the sea below her and knew that if she fell, she’d drown. Yet she was unable to stop herself from taking that last step.
When he slipped his arm around her shoulder as they were leaving the restaurant, she let him. When he pulled her closer to his body as they were walking to his car, she cuddled closer to him and even wrapped her own arm around his waist. In the car, he leaned over to help her with her seatbelt. Whether deliberate or not, he somehow ended up with his face close to hers.
She could see how close his mouth was to hers, feel his warm breath whispering against her lips. She knew that she should arch backwards or at the very least tell him no. But she couldn’t bring herself to say the word or even move. When he closed the last inch of space between them she moved too… closer to him.
She couldn’t help her whimper when their mouths met. The kiss was as mutual as it was filled with need. When he parted her lips with his, she swept her tongue out to meet his. She caressed his full lips with her tongue and before she knew it, she was the one exploring his mouth.
Worth groaned into her mouth. His hand moved to tip up her chin so he could deepen the kiss. That light touch was enough to send the flames already consuming her jumping in excitement. She cupped his neck with both hands to keep him locked to hers.
Damn! She’d missed this.
She’d missed everything about him. From the way he could scorch her with his kisses to the way he could drive her crazy with just a touch. Even now, her pussy was already throbbing, pleading for something more than just one kiss. And she wanted to surrender to that plea.
Could she? She wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to surrender.
Sin ended the kiss, but she didn’t let go of his neck. For a moment, she just stared into his eyes while worrying her bottom lip. That she wanted him wasn’t in doubt. But the question was; could she do this and still keep her heart hardened against him?
Yes, she could, she decided. For his sake, she’d have to. She’d take this last chance to have him, this one last chance to create a lifetime of memories, something to remember him by. Then they’d part. Yes, just one more time before their real end.
She dragged in a long breath before murmuring, “Should we go?”
He immediately understood what she meant. The knowledge that she was asking him if he wanted to sleep with her widened his eyes. It was obvious that he was surprised that she was the one asking for this. For a moment, it even seemed like he might reject her and a shard of anxiety pierced through her. But then he smiled and nodded.
WORTH WAS UNCHARACTERISTICALLY nervous as he keyed in the code to unlock his front door. He hadn’t expected Sin to ask to sleep with him first. Still, it was a welcome surprise and one he’d been willing to jump at with both feet. This was his opportunity to show her that they were meant for each other, the perfect fit.
He smiled as he held open the door for her. “Ladies first.”
“Thanks.” Sin entered his apartment.
This place was a little smaller than his Portland home and he thought she might not like it. Her smile let him know that that wasn’t the case. That smile widened as she took a look around the place.
Her gaze lingered over the open-plan kitchen and living room. “This is nice.”
“Thanks.” Worth led the way to the living room. “It’s small but it’s home.”
“Small?” She snorted. “You’ve seen my place, right?”
Instant embarrassment flushed through him. He winced. “I sounded pompous with that comment, didn’t I?”
“A little.” She grinned then shrugged. “But it’s okay! Our definitions of small differ. We come from different worlds.”
Coming from any other woman, the comment would’ve been innocuous, but since this was Sin, he knew that there was more to her words. After all, this was the reason she was using to keep them from being together.
Worth hid his sigh and instead asked, “Do you want something to drink? Wine? Beer? Juice?”
“Wine is okay,” she said.
He headed to the kitchen to pour her a glass. While he was there, Sin took a better look around the house. Somehow, she ended up in the kitchen with him.
“Why do you have an armoire in your kitchen?” she asked.
“It’s not an armoire.” Worth grabbed a wineglass from the top shelf. “It’s a fridge.”
“This is a fridge?” She opened one of the green doors of the armoire-like contraption to reveal its cold depths. The shelves were lined with fruits, vegetables, drinks and condiments. Her eyes widened until it seemed like they’d pop out of their sockets. “Wow! I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“It was made by some Italian company.” Amused, he glanced towards her. If he’d known that his fridge would get her this excited, he would’ve brought her here sooner. Pouring out red wine into the glass, he added, “I think they call it La Cambusa or something.”
“La Cambusa? Somehow it seems fitting.” She chuckled as she moved on. “What about this? It’s a blender, right?”
Worth was so focused on the filled wineglass he was now carrying that he didn’t realize how close she was to him. When he turned, she was right there beside him peering keenly at his blender. He bumped into her. The movement was so sudden that he didn’t have time to pull the glass away. Its contents immediately sloshed into the side of her powder-blue, shirt dress.
“No!” She let out a low scream as the red liquid spread down her upper waist.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry.” Panicked, he set the glass on the counter then reached for a handful of paper towels. “Here. Let’s clean it with this.”
“Ugh! That won’t work.” She swatted his hand away. “Do you have any cotton cloths?”
“I have some in my bathroom.” He immediately raced towards said room. He was just searching his towel cabinet for an appropriate cloth when Sin walked into the spacious room.
“Have you found anything I can use?” she asked.
“Will this work?” He held up a small, rectangular cloth.
“Yeah, it should.” She grabbed it then edged towards the sink.
After turning on the hot water, she wetted the cloth then dabbed at the stain on the side of her body. Meanwhile, Worth just watched helplessly. It was bad enough that he’d destroyed her pretty dress, but now the romantic mood had been completely eviscerated. He’d be lucky to get a kiss.
“Could you get me something to change into?” Sin asked without looking up at him. “I don’t think it will work if the dress is still on my body.”
“Okay.” He rushed out of the room to look for something she could wear.
Most of his t-shirts seemed like they’d end up being a little too short or tight around her hips so he settled on a dress-shirt. When he came back into the bathroom, he expected to find her still in her dress. That wasn’t what he found.
Blood immediately rushed from his brain and straight to his groin at the sight that met him. She was standing by the counter wearing a matched polka-dot bra and bikini-panties set. Meanwhile, her dress was spread out on the counter, and she was vigorously blotting at the stain.
She looked up at his entrance. “Did you get something for me to wear?”
Her expression was neutral as if she didn’t care about her state of undress, as if standing there in his bathroom in just her underwear was no big deal. Well, it was a big deal to him! And his rapidly thickening cock agreed. His heart was thudding so excitedly, he was surprised it didn’t just jump out of his ribcage and rush towards her.
“Y-” He tried to speak but the words seemed stuck to his throat. Worse, he couldn’t even meet her eyes, not when there were so many more enticing parts of her that he could stare at. He lingered over her voluptuous breasts and took in her sculpted tummy. When his gaze found her perfect ass, he couldn’t help it. He licked his lips.
“Worth!” Sin shook him out of his stupor. She was staring at him innocently, like she wasn’t even aware what she was doing to him. She repeated, “Did you get something for me to wear?”
He didn’t say anything (mostly because he still couldn’t speak). He just handed her the shirt.
His cock was so hard and already jutting out that he knew that if he stayed in this bathroom for even a minute longer, he’d end up pouncing on her. So he started towards the door. But even before he got there his senses were already screaming, begging him for even just a kiss, something that could hold him while he waited for her outside. He spun around and strode right back up to her.
“Worth?” She stared up at him with wide eyes.
“Sorry,” he murmured, right before he cupped the back of her head then swooped down and slanted his lips over hers.
She wasn’t expecting the kiss, and she stood stiff in his arms. But that didn’t last long. Her lips started to move, and it was game over. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t have stopped himself from deepening the kiss.
Sin was just as delicious as he expected, just as intoxicating. He forced his tongue deeper into her mouth even as he played with her lips. Sin responded with just as much passion. Her tongue danced with his just as fervently. When he wrapped one arm around her waist, she brought her whole body closer to his, pressing into him desperately.
The shirt fell to the floor between them but neither of them noticed. They were too wrapped up in each other. Sin’s arms came up to circle his shoulders as she met him kiss for kiss, seducing him with her lips and rendering him senseless with her taste. When he eventually came up for air, her breathing was just as ragged and as frantic as his.
Still panting, he held her gaze and she held his.
He should’ve left then, but he couldn’t. Not when she was staring at him with those eyes shadowed with unrestrained desire. Not when her lips were swollen and wet as if begging for more. It was just too much. Without conscious thought, he bent his head to get another taste of her.