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My hands slid up his chest, fingers splaying over the crisp fabric of his tux, pulling him closer. Needing to feel every hard plane of his body against mine. He growled low in his throat, the vibration resonating through me and making me shudder.
One large hand tangled in my hair, angling my head for better access. The other found my waist, his fingers digging into the soft flesh there with scorching pressure. I arched helplessly into him with a breathy whimper.
He swallowed the sound, his kiss growing more intense, more demanding. Possessive. I was drowning in the potent combination of his scent, his taste, the firm insistence of his mouth on mine. There was nothing in that moment but blinding, searing need.
Until he pulled away, leaving me gasping and so fucking desperate. “It’s such a shame you said no. We could have been great together.”
Before I could form a shred of rational thought, he walked off. Just left me there. I lifted a shaking hand to my forehead, dragging in some deep, steadying breaths. God, my heart was pounding, and my legs were shaking. There was no way I could go back into that room. I’d text Stef and tell her I had a headache. Yep, that was the perfect plan. I could go back to the hotel and curl under the covers andnotthink about Rhett fucking Rivers. Or fucking Rhett Rivers. Whichever way you wanted to put it.
CHAPTER 8
Rhett
Isauntered down the dimly lit hotel corridor, my tuxedo jacket slung carelessly over my shoulder. The faint smell of Scarlett’s perfume still filled my head, teasing me with the memory of that kiss. Jesus fuck, that kiss... Electric doesn’t even begin to describe it. The feel of her lips on mine, the way her body melted against me, had me aching to do it all over again.
A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as I replayed the moment in my mind. The look of surprise on her face when I’d pulled her close, those gorgeous blue eyes widening before fluttering shut in surrender. And the way she’d gripped my lapels, like she was drowning, and I was the only thing holding her up. I savored the memory of her ragged breaths mingling with mine as our tongues tangled. The confusion on her face when I’d stepped away was solid gold. Yeah, she wanted me. No doubt about it.
It was such a shame she’d left the party early. Chickened out, more like. The game had really only just begun, and she’d fled. Now I had to think of a way to get her alone again, to see just how far I could unravel her meticulously maintained control. Ahungry grin spread across my face as I imagined backing her up against the wall, my hands roaming over the lush curves she tried so hard to hide beneath those severe pencil skirts...
My dick twitched at the thought of it, and I knew what I was going to do the minute I got to my room. Have a long hot shower, jerking off while imagining Scarlett was there with me.
As I approached my door, the sound of muffled muttering caught my ear. Glancing down the angled corridor, I froze.
There, kneeling in front of a room door, was a woman in a slinky sapphire nightgown. Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders in luscious waves and her feet were bare. On the floor next to her was a metal bucket. The sight was enough to make me think of Scarlett, but when she turned her head slightly, revealing that delicate profile, my pulse leaped.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Scarlett’s head whipped around, those blue eyes widening in a mixture of surprise and embarrassment as she realized it was me. For a moment, she looked like a deer caught in the headlights, frozen in place. Then she jumped to her feet and crossed her arms over her breasts. Pushing them up. Being a simple human male, my gaze dropped to the movement and my dick stirred some more. Christ, the woman was sex on legs. “What the fuck areyoudoing here? Stalking me?”
“Get over yourself. I’m staying here.”
“You have a giant mansion ten minutes down the road. Why can’t you stay there?”
“Because I’d rather remove my eyeballs with a spoon than spend any more time than absolutely necessary with my parents.”
We had a stare off for a few moments, each waiting for the other to back down. Not on your fucking life. Standing in a low-lit corridor with Scarlett Wright wearing nothing more than a slinky nightgown was not an experience I was going to cut short. “Care to explain why you’re loitering around, barely dressed?”
“Fuck you. It’s not like that.”
“Really? Because from where I’m standing, it looks an awful lot like you’re breaking and entering.” I took a few lazy steps closer, unable to resist the urge to close the distance between us. She was so incredibly annoyed, which was, of course, unbelievably hot. “How about you enlighten me?” I was close enough now that I could see the ring of dark blue around her eyes and hear the breath catch in her throat.
“If you must know, I stepped out to get some ice?—”
“Overheated, were you?”
She made a strangled sound in her throat that had me holding back a shit-eating grin. “You want to know, or not?”
“Sorry. Go ahead.”
“It was only meant to take thirty seconds and I don’t have a robe or anything. Or slippers. I didn’t think to bring any because it’s not that cold at this time of year, so now I’m walking around barefoot, and it is actually a bit cold.”
Babbling. How fascinating. I leaned against the wall, folding my arms and watching her as she got more and more tangled up.
“When I came back, my door had closed.” She gestured to the door. “And this stupid antique key won’t turn in the lock, so I can’t get in. Of course, I can’t go down to the lobby like this, so I don’t know what to do.”
The breath she took to try to calm herself down pushed her perfect tits up, and there was no mistaking the fact that her nipples were hard.
One of two things was about to happen. I was going to be the gentleman and let her off the hook by going back to my room. Or I was going to fuck her right here in the hallway in the next five seconds. “Let me see.” I stepped in front of the door, and she took a hasty step back, her eyes widening in fear. I couldn’t tell if it was for me, or herself, but it was enough to make me hesitate. I dragged my gaze from her to the key, sitting stiffly in the lock. Jiggling it did nothing, so I used all my strength to pull the door as tight as I could and jiggled it again. I could feel it give way, so I turned harder and over it went. The lock snapping open was freakily loud in the quiet of the hallway. “There you go.”