Shifting his stance, he closed the distance between them and leaned an arm against the wall above her head, his inquisitive gaze taking in every part of her all at once. “What are you thinking about?”
It was difficult to put into words her strange fascination of his nasty habit, and did she really want to reveal what she was feeling? Hell no. She had already given away too much in the past week. The less he knew about what was going on in her head, the better. Not wanting to reveal anything, she shrugged, only to have the hand that was resting above her head come down and his fingers grip her chin.
“Are you thinking about how good you looked when I fucked you? Tell me,” his eyes dilated and darkened.
Yes, she was still thinking about that. But there were other things on her mind, as well. His growled command and husky voice sent sparks of heat licking up her spine and her response came unbidden. “I wish you weren’t so beautiful.”
His features softened but the anguish and doubt in his eyes seared through her. “I’m not.”
“You’re wrong,” she reached between them to drag her fingertip across his bottom lip. “And it’s a fact that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
A casual look of arrogance flitted across his rugged, unshaven face. “It’s also a fact that love is blind.”
God damn, this man. So sure of himself. So sure of her. What the hell did he know? Her ill-fated love began the moment she saw him at the pub and ended the day she was forced to read about Chapter One. Never again would she allow herself to love him. Not ever, fucking, again. Sure he was playing by her rules, but what difference did that make? This was still nothing but a game to him and she was still just another chapter for him to conquer and destroy. If he hadn’t made that damned promise, she wouldn’t even be there.
Although he towered over her small frame, she narrowed her eyes at him and spoke defiantly as she poked a finger into his chest. “I already told you, I’m not in love.”
An overhead street lamp shone down on his amused face and his massive shoulders shook as he laughed. “You keep telling yourself that, Peach. Maybe someday you’ll convince yourself.”
His self-confidence, her inability to suppress her attraction for him, and the smell of smoke that permeated the air suddenly made her feel lightheaded. Before she could retreat, he dipped his head down and brushed his lips against hers. The bittersweet, minty taste of cigarette enticed her back to her semi-lucid and aroused state, and she gave into the unavoidable. Opening her mouth, she accepted his tongue. He swirled it around inside her mouth as she greedily sucked at it.
Backing away, he took a long, slow drag off of the cigarette. Her eyes opened and zoomed in on his mouth once again as the wisps of smoke framed his face like a ghostly mask. With her lips parted, she breathed in what he exhaled, making Victor’s eyes sparkle in a way she had never seen. He wrapped his lips around the half-smoked butt and sharply inhaled, holding the smoke in his mouth for only a brief moment before leaning his head back and blowing it out little by little, all around her face. The warm smoke, the smell of his cologne and her perfume mingling with nicotine, drugged her senses.
Without warning, his mouth pressed against her lips and forced a mouthful of smoke into hers. Their smoky tongues touched for only a second. She held the smoke in her mouth until he withdrew, inhaled, and blew it out unhurriedly. When she did, his expression turned from curiosity to desire. The skin around the corners of his eyes tightened as he brought the cigarette up and inhaled, the crackling cherry lighting up the perfect shape of his mouth.
God, his mouth. The taste of it. The ecstasy of it and this moment. The intimacy of sharing this thing with him.
With eyes closed, she took in a deep breath, savoring the oddly erotic moment and released one of her hands from beneath her to slide it up the inside of her thigh to the crest of her sex. Prying her eyes open, she saw Victor’s eyes grow wild as he watched her hand hidden beneath her skirt working her pussy. Again, he took a drag and blew it out leisurely into her half-open mouth. Playfully, she snapped her mouth shut, the clicking sound of her teeth bringing one of his rare, genuine smiles to the corners of his mouth. And what a smile it was. Radiant. Alluring. Captivating. Yes… that smile. The sensuous one that hung on his lips was such an extraordinary and precious thing, the sight of it nearly sent her into orgasmic overload. She circled her middle finger around her wet clit, honored that he had graced her with it.
His hand dropped to his side, the unfinished cigarette falling to the ground, and his mouth crashed down onto hers. He wrenched the top of her dress down underneath a breast and palmed it possessively. His tongue invaded her mouth and caressed the roof of her mouth as she dug her fingernails into the nape of his neck, making him groan out. He guided her hand, dipping his fingers into her wet folds alongside hers.
“Come for me,” he breathed into her mouth before trailing kisses down the slender column of her neck and sucking at the tender flesh.
“Not here,” she thrashed her head, her eyes darting around frantically, seeking out onlookers.
One of his legs worked its way in between hers, widening her step and his hips pinning her against the wall. “Yes, here,” he commanded and nipped at her collar bone.
His kiss and demanding touch destroyed her will to resist and for a change, she did as she was told without second guessing his intentions.
20: Killer Instincts
Before heading home, Elsa needed to make a pit stop in the restaurant to use the ladies room. She had just stepped out and slipped her arm into Victor’s when they rounded the corner and ran straight into Nate.
When he saw her intimacy with Victor, his face turned a deep scarlet. Dark and hot, his eyes narrowed, and his gaze locked onto her face. She had never seen his temper rise so quickly or seen him work so hard to keep it in check. Her eyes darted between Nate’s and Victor’s as dread and shame swirled all around her. While Nate appeared livid, Victor appeared smug. When Nate took a step toward her, Victor’s stance widened and he pushed her behind him in a protective manner, silently challenging Nate to take action.
Before that happened, she pressed past Victor and grabbed Nate by the wrist.
He swiftly yanked out of her grip and pointed at Victor. “Is he the reason you broke off the engagement?”
Her stomach dropped when she saw Victor’s body jerk as if he had been slapped. Her winning hand had just been exposed.
She stared up at Nate, speechless. She wanted to walk out, run out, but she couldn’t bring herself to turn away from him again. If she had just been honest with him the night she found out about his connection to Victor, she could have spared him all those long weeks of suffering and not knowing why she had abruptly broken things off.
Facing him, she still didn’t know how to explain her and Victor’s bizarre relationship. There wouldn’t even be any point in trying. He would never understand. No one would. Things had been over for weeks with Nate. He was already seeing other women. What did it matter what the reason was?
It mattered. She knew it did. And Nate deserved answers.
Gently taking his hand, she pulled him to a corner of the restaurant so they could speak privately.
Guilt rolled through her like hot lava as the silence stretched between them. It hurt too much to look at him, but she forced her eyes to remain on him and to face what she had done.