By the time Teagan and I weave through the crowd and make our way out of the Luxe, we’re five minutes post-kiss.
The problem with downtime and sex is that the more seconds that pass between contact, the more chance of someone backing out.
I don’t want to back out, and I hope to hell Teagan doesn’t.
But I know how intermissions work.
During the break from the ice, momentum can change.
It can slip and slide.
I don’t want to lose the momentum.
I want to speed up.
I want to drown myself in Teagan.
As soon as we leave the hotel, I hail a cab, and once we’re inside and I give the cabbie my address, I lean across Teagan, brush away a strand of red hair that fell from her twist, and dust my lips across her cheek.
She shivers, and I confess. There’s no point in pretending.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long,” I tell her as I sweep my lips along her jawline, up her neck to her ear.
She’s silent for a beat, then her soft words come. “You have?”
I breathe out hard, slide a hand across her face, and pull back to meet her gaze.
“Yeah. Sometimes when we’re out, I have to fight not to stare at your lips. I have to try to erase all these wild thoughts of kissing you senseless,” I say as the cab whips through a yellow light at rocket speed, jerking me away from her for a second.
I tip my forehead in the direction of the driver. “I think Captain Speedy is my new best friend.”
She smiles conspiratorially. “Me too. Maybe he can press turbo boost next.”
I dip my head, inching closer, my lips on her cheek again. “Now, where was I?”
“Kissing me senseless?”
I hum against her soft skin, drawing a deep inhale of her strawberry shampoo. “Yes. Fuck yes. I want to get my lips on you, my hands on you.”
“I’m good with both of those,” she says as the driver slams the brakes at the next light, jolting us.
Laughing, I reach for her hand and link my fingers through hers. “But maybe I should behave until we get to my place.”
She squeezes back, and I count off the seconds till the yellow car pulls up to my building on Park Avenue and Thirty-Sixth Street. I hand a twenty to the driver and get the hell out of the vehicle.
Inside, Oscar flashes me a grin. “How was your evening, Mr. North?”
“Fantastic, and I believe it’s about to be even more fantastic,” I say, racewalking past him.
Teagan waves to the guy. “Hope yours is too.”
We practically fly across the lobby, and I stab the elevator button.
“C’mon, c’mon,” I say.
She laughs. “Eager much?”
“Eager a lot,” I answer as the doors open. Then I step inside, crowd her in a corner, and take her lips for Oscar and all of Park Avenue to see as the silver doors slide shut.
“And now I will kiss you senseless.” I do, hard and desperate, and it’s as if the kiss unlocks something inside me.
Yes, I’ve been attracted to Teagan King.
Yes, I’ve fantasized about her.
And yes, I’ve craved her intensely.
But I had no idea that my desire ran this deep, this far. As I kiss her, I swear it’s as if I’m pouring years of longing into this kiss.
Maybe I’ve been waiting for this for some time now.
Perhaps it was inevitable, but I’m finally getting everything I’ve wanted with her.
Wanted but denied myself.
Seems she feels the same way.
She responds as if she does. Her hands slink up my chest, slide around my neck, and then she grabs me. Hard.
And holy fuck.
This is awesome.
My God, I love nothing better than a partner who wants it.
A woman who’s into it.
I want the give and the take, the back and the forth.
And I’m getting that with Teagan.
I am getting it good as she takes over, kissing me fiercely, sucking on my tongue and driving me out of my mind with pleasure.
I growl as the elevator slows. “I want you so much.”
Her eyes are wild. “Want you too.”
In seconds, we’re at my door. I unlock it, toss the keys on the entryway table, shed my jacket, and wrap my arms around her, jerking her against me.
I’m hungry for her, ravenous and needy.
But I also have so many things I want to say—things that are rising up inside me. “I kissed you tonight for you. Not for the money. You need to know that. It wasn’t for a grand. It was for me. I fucking want you.”
Her eyes sparkle with desire. “Good. Because I don’t want fake kisses.”
I push against her, letting her feel the full length of my arousal. “This feel fake?” I ask with a crooked grin.
She moans, then her lips curve into a coy smile. “No, but maybe do that again so I can be sure.”
