Excerpt:
“Good morning,” I heard Alex before I saw him, but my body instantly reacted. I sat up taller, my body tensing just at the sound of his voice.
I swallowed and answered, “Morning.” I was still actively trying to avoid him, but I knew I couldn’t for long. He seemed to find ways to interrupt any quiet and alone time I had. “You’re up early,” I said just before seeing that he was in running shorts and sweat was dripping from his bare chest. His hair was slicked back and his body looked tight as if he had just worked out. “You run?” I asked, a bit shocked I didn’t know this before now.
“Yes.” He walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water out.
“Since when?” I asked but then shoved a bite of bagel in my mouth. I should be ignoring him. Avoiding him. Anything but talking to him while he stood looking like that in front of me.
“Keeping tabs on me now?” I could tell he was smirking by the flirty tone in his voice.
“No. Was just asking.”
“Good looks and tight muscles don’t just happen overnight.”
“You’re so arrogant,” I spat out, finishing my juice and bagel so I could get the hell out of there.
“I’d say confident, which most chicks dig, by the way.” He winked, and I wanted to slap that stupid grin right off his face. He knew what he was doing, and I wasn’t going to let him.
“Well, good thing I’m not most chicks. I, for one, have a brain.”
“Well, then it’s a good thing I know what your favorite bagel is. Brain food is important, you know,” he said, amusement lay heavily in his tone, and I suddenly felt the urge to throw something at him.
“The bagels are from you?” I asked shocked and a bit pissed off at myself for not considering it.
“That’s right, sweetheart. Glad to know you’re enjoying them.”
“How’d you know my favorite flavor?” I asked a bit self-conscious.
He walked toward me, eyes focused on me and intense. “I know a lot about you.”
I swallowed and let his eyes captivate me for a moment. I shook my head, needing to break the tension. I quickly stood up and walked to the sink. “Oh, yeah…I hear it’s real hard to navigate Google.”
“Everything I know about you is from experience and observation, Mac. I don’t need Google,” he said seriously, his voice almost pained from the accusation.
“You’ve known me for like five minutes, Alex.”
“Actually, I’ve known you for almost three weeks, Mac. I know it’s not a hell of a lot of time, but every second has counted in some way.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. Eventually, you’ll move out, and I’ll only have to put up with you on holidays and birthdays,” I said smugly, hoping to piss him off.
I turned around to grab my things to leave, but he was standing directly behind me and caged me in with his solid arms. “I’ll guaran-fucking-tee you, holidays and birthdays would never be enough with you. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure of it.”
“You’re crazy, you know that? Stop chasing after something you’ll never catch,” I threatened and meaning every word.
“Oh, sweetheart,” he says, amusement thick in his tone as he looked down at me and smirked. “You’re ignorant if you think all you are is a chase for me. If that were the case, I’d push that skin-tight skirt over your hips and fuck you up against this counter.” I swallowed as he leaned in even closer, grazing his lips against mine as he continued just above a whisper, “I’ve already had a taste of you…on my tongue, on my cock. I’ve already been buried deep inside of you as your tits bounced in my face. I didn’t need to chase that hard in the first place, so if that were the case, I’d stop wanting you.”
“You can’t talk to me like that.”
“Says who, princess?”
Anger boiled in my blood as he challenged me. The way he was looking at me, reminding every cell in my body how close we were. My chest rose and fell as my heart pounded hard against his body. I wanted him in a way that didn’t make sense. I wanted to hate him. But the flashes of our night together haunted me. I wanted to remember, I wanted to feel what he felt like, even just for a moment. And that feeling scared the hell out of me.
I didn’t know how to respond, so I did the only thing I could to relieve the ache.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pushed our faces together, molding our lips as one. His body jerked in response, cupping my face in both of his hands. I released a moan as he pressed himself into me, rubbing the length of his erection against my stomach. His hands moved down to my waist and thighs, cupping my ass and lifting me up on the counter. His hands roamed up my legs, pushing my skirt up with them. I spread my legs wider for him, leaving no space between us as he stood in front of me.
His mouth was greedy and hot, kissing me fiercely and with no apologies. His hands continued exploring my body as our tongues tangled in a messy battle. One hand pressed against my face as the other slid up and down my body from my breast down to my waist.
I became lost in him, in us. My body remembered everything about how he made me feel, but my mind was still catching up. It was obvious—the tension between us palpable—heavy, hot breathing, the only sounds in the room. It was wrong, but I didn’t know how to stop it. My body craved it, my mind took it, and my mouth devoured it.
He was my kryptonite. I was his addiction.
I squeezed my hands around his biceps, keeping him close to me. One hand wandered down further and squeezed my thigh. I moaned in response, his fingers tangling in the fabric of my panties.
My back arched as his mouth moved to my throat. I put both hands behind me as his lips continued devouring the flesh of my bare neck and chest. His fingers moved my panties to one side as he slipped a finger inside of me, sending a harsh shiver down my body. “You like this?” he taunted, pulling his hand back slightly. I groaned in response. “Or something more like this?” he whispered as he trailed up to my ear. He twisted his wrist and sunk it in deeper, making my hips jerk in response.
“Oh, god…” The moans I tried to hold in were uncaged. My hips moved on their own accord as my body heated from the arousal he was building up inside me. His lips covered my mouth again, soaking up the moans and screams I could barely contain. He worked another finger in, twisting and stroking deeper and harder. “Yes…yes…” I panted—an orgasm just within reach. I couldn’t think, only feel and he was making me feel something I had never felt before.
Just as I felt my body tighten, Alex released his hold on me and jerked away. I quickly opened my eyes in response, shocked and embarrassed that he had stopped just before letting me release on his fingers.
I could feel the flush across my face as my chest rose and fell again, my heartbeat vibrating loudly against my ribs. He looked dangerous…his eyes tense and his hands balled into fists.
“Alex…” I panted, gripping my hands against the edge of the counter.
He stepped toward me, pressing his forehead to mine. His heavy breathing matched mine as we struggled to catch our breaths. Realization finally washed over me and I felt worse than ever.
“Not like this…” he began, guilt rising up in my core at how pained his voice sounded. “Not here.”
I closed my eyes to keep the tears from coming, but my body was so worked up, and my mind was spinning out of control between what my body wanted and what my mind knew.
I wanted to say something, to beg him to forget this ever happened, but I couldn’t get the words to come out. He leaned back on his heels and turned away, storming out of the kitchen and leaving me behind.
I jumped off the counter and sunk to the ground. I buried my head in my knees as tears leaked down my cheeks. How could I let that happen?