Page 99 of Spicy Ever After
I shake my head hard and do what I do best: blurt it out. “I’ve got nothing to offer you.”
Beck screws up his face. “What?”
“You—” I hold out my hands like I’m about to demonstrate a karate chop. “Are wasting your time with me. I—can’t—do anything for you.”
Beck ticks his head back and then narrows his eyes. “You can’t do anything for me?” He repeats, but there’s an edge to his voice. An edge I’ve heard just one other time.
When he was talking to Alicia Milton.
I nod, squirming a little. Because Beck doesn’t look very happy. Not very happy at all. And even though I know I’d waste less of his time if he ended this date sooner rather than later, I still don’t want him to.
His hands tighten around my arms. “Do you know how long it’s been since my dad laughed like that?” He tilts his head to the right as if gesturing toward the house. Toward our lunch.
Then his nostrils flare and he leans in close until his face is all I can see. And his jaw is tight. His teeth flash as he speaks.
“Do you know when I last gave myself and my guys an extra hour for lunch?” His voice is low, but it still manages to echo through the shed.
I gulp and shake my head.
“Do you know the last time someone brought me lunch?”
Biting my lip, I shake my head again.
He shakes his head too, still looking mighty pissed.
“Me neither. That’s how long.” And then his chest is pressing into mine. It’s all power and heat. So much, I suddenly feel my pulse in my underwear.
“You did that. You did all of that. For me.” He shakes his head again, so close it almost makes me dizzy. “Don’t you think for a second you’ve got nothing to offer me.”
My mouth is so dry that when I swallow hard, it’s a workout. “Okay,” I squeak.
The amber in Beck’s eyes has caught fire. And while I watch, his pupils burn up everything.
“Everything I want right now is yours to give,” he says, and then he swallows hard. Like he’s not sure I’ll give it.
Fuck me. He can have a lung if he wants one. I’ve got two. They hardly work right now anyway.
“Kiss me, Hattie.” His voice is a rough plea, and my knees nearly give right there.
My hands find their way into his hair and I tug him down. But he must have already been on his way because we collide. Hard.
It only hurts a little, but then I’m back there. Back in the best place I’ve ever been.
Beck’s kiss.
“Oh, yes…” I mutter against his lips when his arms lock around me. I slant my mouth over his and open for him. When his tongue sweeps into me, I feel claimed.
Beck Olivier could be kissing literally anyone, and he’s kissing me.
A shiver of pleasure glides from my scalp to my tailbone.
He groans, and it buzzes against my lips, my tongue. “So fucking sweet…” His words are a rough purr that gives me chills. He sucks my bottom lip into his mouth and bites gently. When he releases it, he soothes my flesh with the tip of his tongue. “I can’t get enough.”
My legs are beeswax candles on a tanning bed. Beck’s hold is the only thing keeping me upright.
God, I want to lie down so badly.
The cold cement floor sounds pretty good right now. As long as Beck’s body covers mine. I let myself sink, but instead of sliding with me to the ground, Beck steers us to the wall. I sag against it when Beck’s mouth moves along my jaw and then deliciously to my neck.
