Page 15

“Sorry, Carmichael. I’ve got someone Scarlett has to meet.” My heart stuttered as Rhett stepped up beside me and laid his hand on the small of my back. The warmth of his touch seared through the thin fabric of my dress, raising goosebumps along my skin. I fought the urge to shiver, keenly aware of his solid frame so close to me.
Nate blinked in confusion. “Sure. No problem.”
He gave a small, awkward nod before wandering off, leaving me alone with Rhett. Exactly the situation I’d been trying my fucking hardest to avoid.
I turned to face him, my pulse kicking up a notch at his proximity. Up close, I could make out the faint lines around his eyes when he smiled, could smell his crisp, woodsy cologne. My gaze drifted to his lips as he spoke. “You can say thank you. It won’t kill you.”
“Get fucked.”
He chuckled. The sound skittered over my skin, making me bite my lip. His eyes dropped to the action, and I definitely wasn’t imagining the way they darkened. “You’re fucking torture, you know that?”
“Yeah, well, you’re an asshole.”
“That’s not new information.” Completely ignoring the fact that we were in a crowded room and that all his family were nearby, he leaned in, his breath warm against my ear. “You know what we should do?”
“Wh-what?” I hated the way my voice shook.
His smile was devilish. “We should fuck. Just one night together. I’ll make you come so many times you’ll be ruined for any other man.”
Molten fire poured into my system, and I couldn’t catch my breath. Couldn’t speak.
“Say yes, Scarlett.”
My name on his lips was like a physical caress, sending desire uncurling low in my belly. I curled my hands into fists, struggling against the unexpected rush of want. Fighting the urge to give in. To drag him from the room and let him take me hard against a wall.
The desire swirling in his eyes was spellbinding, making me sway toward him.
This was ridiculous. I couldn’t let Rhett get under my skin like this. He was arrogant, entitled, reckless. I loathed everything he stood for, remember? “Absolutely fucking not. Never. Not even if you were the last person on earth.”
The way he looked at me, the heat in his eyes...it was such a fucking turn on. I had to get out of there before I did something stupid.
I turned on my heel and hurried away, my heart pounding as I wove through the crowd.
I needed air. Space to catch my breath and get myself together. Rhett had an unnerving ability to get under my skin and make me question everything. The way my body reacted to him went against all logic and reason.
I found myself in a quiet hallway, leaning back against the wall and closing my eyes. Deep breaths. In and out.Get it together, Scarlett.
The sound of approaching footsteps made my eyes snap open. Please don’t be him, please don’t be him. But of course, because the universe loved torturing me, it was Rhett striding toward me with that self-assured fucking smirk on his face. And he wasstillthe sexiest man I’d ever set eyes on. What a raging asshole.
“I never took you for a coward. Or someone who runs away from a challenge.” His voice was low, that delicious rumble doing nothing to calm the storm of desire swirling inside me.
“I’m not running,” I lied, pushing off the wall to face him head on. “Just needed a break from all the... socializing.”
He came to a stop in front of me, so close I could feel the heat radiating from his body. Could smell that intoxicating cologne surrounding him like a sensual cloud. “Is that what you call it?”
“Yep.” I tried to sound nonchalant, unaffected, but my voice came out breathier than intended.
The corner of his mouth quirked up, and he took another step closer, eliminating what little space remained between us. My back hit the wall as he crowded me, caging me in with his arms on either side.
“I don’t believe you.” His voice was a gravelly murmur against my ear, sending delicious shivers cascading down my spine. “I think you’re running because you want me just as badly as I want you. But you’re too afraid to admit it.”
Denying it was pointless. The rapid staccato of my pulse, the way my breaths came in shallow pants...my body’s reaction gave me away. He knew the effect he had on me, and he relished it.
“Maybe I am afraid,” I admitted, tilting my head back to meet his smoldering gaze. “Afraid of how much of a disappointment you’d be in the unlikely event that I’deverlet you fuck me senseless.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw and his eyes darkened to burnished whiskey. “Then let me take that fear away.”
His mouth claimed mine in a searing kiss, swallowing my gasp of surprise. It was rough, demanding, his tongue sweeping past my lips to deepen the contact. I melted against him, all thoughts of resistance forgotten as desire blazed bright and hot between us.