Elec was nothing like Pete Briggs. So no doubt he was not Mrs. Tamara Briggs’s type at all.
Pete had given Tamara marriage, children, fame in racing, money.
Elec had none of that to give.
Yet he was more attracted to her than any woman in a good long while. Maybe ever.
Which was why he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “Tamara.”
She turned around, standing in the doorway of the coach, her head tilted, chin tucked toward her chest, her restless hand playing with the ends of her hair. “Thanks for seeing me back, Elec. I know Ryder foisted me off on you and you’ve been very patient.”
Patience had nothing to do with anything. What he was, was damn frustrated, and wishing he’d been gifted with a silver tongue instead of one that tripped over words, and a brain that had no clue how to articulate to her what he was thinking. Which was that he wanted to get to know her better. Much better. So he just stuck his hands in his front pockets and hoped for the best, knowing he wasn’t going to be able to dredge up any pretty or slick words. “I told you it’s the best thing to happen to me all day.”
He was standing only a foot or two in front of her and he wished he wasn’t wearing a stained dress shirt and shoes that pinched the hell out of his feet. He’d kill to be in jeans, a T-shirt, and a ball cap. Maybe then he’d feel like less of a jackass. “I’d like to go to dinner with you next week,” he said before he turned into a total chickenshit and hauled ass out of there without asking her out. “Are you free?”
Her eyes widened, like she’d honestly had no idea he was going to say that.
“Oh,” she said and blinked.
Well, that was quite the ego stroke. Not. Elec figured he could say something smooth and flirtatious and coaxing, or he could just wait and see if she expanded on her nothing of a response. He knew anything he tried to say would sound desperate so he just shut his mouth, watched, and waited.
“I . . .” Her hand fluttered up to her chest. “I don’t know what to say.”
Hell, she was going to turn him down. Elec really didn’t want to hear that, so he stepped closer to her, stared into her blue eyes, and said, “Say yes.”
Then he raised his hand and cupped her cheek. He leaned toward her, still watching her, gauging her reaction, giving her time to pull back. She didn’t. Her eyes went even wider, but she didn’t stop him. So he kissed her.
Oh, man, he was dead. The minute his mouth connected with hers in a smooth, soft, full-contact kiss that started a burn low in his gut, Elec knew he was in for some serious trouble, and it was going to take all of his willpower to step away. Which he had to do. Yet his mouth still hovered over hers, his body tense, fists clenched, eyes closed as he inhaled her scent, listened to the rush of her breathing, felt the brush of her thighs against his arm. In a second he would move away. After another kiss. Just one more, then he’d back up and go home. For real.
But he had to have another one—bigger, fuller, deeper—to take away with him.
Elec eliminated all the space between them and gripped her cheek, sliding his hand all up into her thick, silky hair. Then he took her mouth, harder this time, enjoying the feel of her body close to his, the sweet taste of her soft, moist lips. For a good long while, they both just explored the feel of each other, the hot press of his mouth to hers, until he couldn’t resist. He slipped his tongue into her, and Tamara’s hands snaked around his neck and met his tongue with her own in a seductive little thrust. Just like that, heat exploded between them. He heard her breath suck in as they broke contact, felt her br**sts press against his chest, was aware of her fingers digging into the back of his hair. They paused, staring at each other, poised between stopping and starting what he knew they couldn’t stop.
Their heavy breathing filled the warm night air and he stared into her soft, blue eyes, then down at her plump, kiss-swollen lips. Her cheeks were flushed from arousal, her hair mussed and hanging in her eyes, and Elec wanted her in a way that made all logic disappear, and his body tense in places he hadn’t even known existed.
Elec went with it, because, well, he couldn’t stop himself. She tasted like wine and woman, and she had opened her mouth for him eagerly. She had willingly wedged her leg inside his, pressed her br**sts against his chest. She wanted him, too, and when he reached for her, arms, hands, and lips, she met him halfway with enough force that their teeth knocked together. He wasn’t even sure who was kissing who anymore, they were just colliding into each other, taking and tasting, nipping and gripping each other, his common sense gone, his erection bumping right into her inner thighs. She was a step up from him in the doorway of the coach and it made for damn good positioning, which he took advantage of by grinding himself against her.
When they broke apart to pull in air before they both suffocated, Elec tried to think of what to say, not an apology, but some kind of reassurance, a promise that he’d knock it off and get control of himself, no matter how hard that might be. He was pushing it, he was losing it, he was being downright offensive and aggressive and he would really, really try to cool it and be a gentleman. But before he could form any words, Tamara glanced left and right.
“Oh, Lord, get inside before someone sees us.”
Green flag. Elec had one foot on the step when his conscience got the best of him. “Are you sure? I can leave if you want.”
“Do you want to leave?” she asked him, wiping her damp bottom lip.
He couldn’t help it. He stared at that lip, thinking just how badly he wanted to suck that plumpness into his mouth, while his erection throbbed painfully in his stupid dress pants.
“Hell, no, I don’t want to leave.”
MOMMA had always warned her to watch out for the quiet ones, and have mercy, had she been right. Tamara stared at Elec staring at her, and she forgot how to think. Did he have any idea what he did to her when he looked at her like that? The way his deep, sensual eyes just bore into her, making her feel like he could strip away all her reservations right along with her clothes and take whatever he wanted from her.
Pete had been a lot of fun, and an enthusiastic lover, but ultimately at the end of the day, she’d often felt like the moon sucked into his gravitational pull. It was always a good time, but it was always about him.
When this man in front of her looked at her, she felt like she had his full and total attention, that right at this very moment, his focus was one hundred percent on her. And that was the hottest thing she’d ever experienced in her life.