He stiffened. “What are you doing?”
“Touching you.” She looked up at him through her lashes. “Why? You want me to stop?”
“Yes. No.” His eyes darkened, and his knuckles whitened on the glass stem. “Shit. You better think twice about what you’re doing. Once you start this, I’m not backing down.”
She bit down on her lower lip. “Who says I want you to stop? Now answer me.”
“Kiersten…” He stepped back from her, his entire body hard and unyielding. “Are you sure you’re not drunk?”
Please. She wished she was, it would make this easier. She should have waited longer. Gotten some more drinks in them both. But it was too late to back down now that she’d started the ball rolling. She took his glass out of his hand, setting it beside hers. “No. I just want you.”
His hands fell to her hips. She couldn’t tell if he wanted to push her away or pull her closer. Maybe a little of both? If he rejected her, she would never be able to show her face in front of him again. “Are you sure?”
“Very.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging him closer still. “Did you ever have a crush on me, or wonder what it might be like to spend a night together? To kiss me? Touch me?”
He groaned, and his fingers tightened their grip on her. “Yes. God, yes.”
“Good. Because I did, too. I still want to know what it would be like. Tonight.” She lifted her chin and looked into his eyes. “Kiss me.”
His gaze fell to her mouth. She was so close to victory she could taste it. “Why now?”
She played with the curls at the nape of his neck. “Why not?”
His jaw flexed. “I need a better answer than that.”
“I need to have fun tonight. Forget why I’m upset. Forget it all.”
“And what about Chris?”
“He’ll never know, will he? He’s not here.” She fought the desperation clawing its way up her throat. If he rejected her, she would die. Just. Die. “Please, I need you tonight, Garrett. So badly.”
“I never could say no to you.” He let out a tortured groan and lowered his head. He stopped just short of her lips. “But this will change everything because—”
“Just stop talking and do it already.”
She rose on tiptoe, closing the distance between them. When their lips touched, electric sparks had to have shot off of them. Once their lips met, she forgot every other supposedly amazing kiss she’d ever had with any other man in her life. All that existed was Garrett. Like there hadn’t been anyone else in her life but him. Always him.
It terrified her.
She started to pull back, to change her mind, but then his tongue slipped into her mouth and he tipped her backward over his arm. She clung to him, completely wrapped up in the way he held her. The way his lips moved over hers, tasting of Asti and pure Garrett. Digging her fingernails into his shoulders, she ripped her mouth away from his with considerable effort.
“Upstairs. Now.” She wasn’t risking him changing his mind.
He swept her into his arms and flung her over his shoulder. He smacked her ass hard enough to sting, but not so hard it actually hurt. “Right away, ma’am.”
He took the stairs two at a time and reached her bedroom door within seconds.
Thank God.
Chapter Three
Garrett located her bedroom in record time, his heart pounding in his ears the whole way. He didn’t know what had gotten into Kiersten, but he wasn’t about to question it too deeply. If she decided she was ready to start something with him, then so be it. He’d take it.
It’s only what he’d been secretly wishing for the last ten years or so. No big deal. She’d never once looked at him the way she was looking at him tonight. He’d known he was in the friend zone and never dared to hope he might get out of it.
But now he was. It was surreal.
Hopefully Mike wouldn’t find out—because he’d f**king kill him. But it just might be worth it.
He tightened his grip on her thigh. Her short skirt had ridden up a little bit, and he got a peek at the black satin panties covering her perfect ass. His mouth dried out at the sight. Fuck, he might not be able to last long at all. He needed her that bad. He set her down on her feet by the bed after locking the door behind them.
He briefly wondered if he was trying to keep her inside the room, or other people out of it. She wasn’t exactly the type to seduce a man like this. Especially him. He knew that—yet here she was. Seducing him. He half expected her to stutter an excuse to send him away. For her to come to her senses. Instead, she met his eyes and didn’t back off. Good.
Because he didn’t want to let her go.
He ran his hand through his hair. “Turn around for me.”
She raised her brows. “Why?”
“Because I said so.” He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around so that her back was against him. He slid his hands down her spine, over the curve of her hip, and then cupped her ass. Grasping the hem of her shirt, he gently lifted it over her head. He left the bra on…for now. Leaning down, he nibbled on her bare neck. She shuddered and leaned against his chest. “God, I love your ass.”
She chuckled. “Is that all?”
“No.” He trailed his fingers over her stomach, then up to the curve of her br**sts. By the time he reached her ni**les, she was breathing heavily and he was sure he’d died and gone to heaven. He ran his thumbs over her hard ni**les, cursing the thin fabric barring him from touching her completely, and she let out a breathy moan. He made quick work of her bra, and then rolled the hard buds between his finger and his thumb, pulling her ass back against his cock. “This, too.”
She dropped her head back on his shoulder, reaching behind her to grab his upper thighs and yank him closer. “I want you,” she murmured.
“Oh yeah?” He bit down on her shoulder hard, and she trembled in his arms. “Know what I really want?”
She ran her fingers over his ass. Her light caresses sent a fist of pure need to his gut. “No. What?”
He closed his hand over her mound. “This.”
Without another word, he spun her around and onto the bed. She landed on her elbows, her cheeks flushed and her skirt sitting high on her thighs. Her blond hair already looked like she’d been thoroughly f**ked and he’d barely begun. He dropped to his knees between her legs, his eyes on hers the whole time. He’d given her enough chances to change her mind about this. But even so, he took his time, slowly lifting her skirt higher. Baring her thighs to his touch.