Tempting Sydney (30 page)

My gaze moved over her features as I took in every beautiful angle, thinking about the woman in my arms who was slowly changing my life. It still shocked me that I could have feelings like that for someone. Letting someone in, letting them care for me, and me caring for them, was not something I thought I’d ever do. Up to this point, my family were the only people I’d let in like that—and even that had been a major concession. I’d vowed never to allow anyone else a spot in my heart. But Syd had changed me. Even Courtney had noticed it when she and Paige were in town visiting me. She hadn’t even met Syd and was already having Team Syd shirts made.

A sudden pain shot through my thigh, breaking my introspection. Syd had grabbed my leg instead of my arm this time when the demon showed up. Good hell! Her hands were like a vice. I’d look like a grade-A pansy if I asked her to release my thigh, but I didn’t know how long my leg could survive without blood. I finally decided I better say something. “Your hand makes an excellent tourniquet,” I whispered, trying to keep the mood light.

She released my leg immediately. Well, shit. That’s not what I wanted. I mean, yeah, I wanted blood flow back—to my leg, and other places—but I still wanted her hand there. Actually…I wanted her hands
everywhere
.

Her cheeks went a pretty shade of pink, almost the same color as her lips, as she ducked her head down. “Sorry.”

A slow smile spread across my face as I thought of the ways she could make it up to me. I reached over with my other hand and grabbed hers. “I didn’t say I wanted you to move your hand. I like it there.”

And I did, but it was damn distracting. I wasn’t paying attention to the movie in the first place, but now all I could think about was that I had my arm wrapped around the sexiest woman on the planet, and she had her hand about six inches south of third base. I lasted another five minutes before I glanced around, making sure we still weren’t in anyone’s line of sight. We weren’t, and I shifted, my leg next to her falling down, opening wider. I turned, my whole body angled toward her. I could feel the electric pulse humming between us. She looked up at me from under her long, sooty lashes, lips parted and her expression full of shy anticipation. My heart felt like it was determined to drum its way out of my chest. The strain against my jeans was becoming more noticeable, and I shifted, adjusting to the growth. I met her eyes, locking mine with hers as I reached down and started gently pulling her hand up.

Her breath caught and held as she watched my hand drag her fingers over the inner seam of my jeans. My own breath was shallow as I thought about where her hand was headed. I wanted her—more than anything—but her nervous excitement made me want to yank down my zipper, rip of her panties, lift her skirt, and sit her right on my lap. She glanced at me, and it was all I could do not to follow through on my thoughts as I kept moving her hand…slowly, right to the spot I wanted it.

When we reached the crease at the top of my thigh, I guided her fingers straight to my crotch. Syd’s hands were on my dick. I’d had fantasies about this moment, and couldn’t wait for us to act out some of the others. Still holding her eyes, I used her hands to stroke me, back and forth, up and down. Light at first, and then a little harder. God, that felt amazing! She broke her glance away, her long lashes fluttering down as she watched me move her hand over myself. Damn, if that wasn’t one of the hottest things I’d ever seen. Syd watching as she massaged me, learning how I wanted to be touched.

I spread her fingers out, splaying them over me. I’d been hard the minute I saw her in that little pink skirt, but with her hand and total attention focused right where I wanted it, I felt harder than I’d ever been in my life. I needed to feel her on me, skin on skin. I let go of her hand, and she kept rubbing, just like I’d taught her. I held her eyes as I popped the button on my jeans and the zipper teeth clinked as they unlatched.

Her face was flushed, breasts swollen with need, and that just made me want her even more. I took her hand and slowly slipped it under the waistband of my boxers. Our fingers slid down, down, down, until we both hit my cock. She gasped, her eyes blinking up to me. A jolt of pleasure ran through me at her touch, and her response. This was what I wanted—for both of us to stop thinking, and lose ourselves completely in each other. I inhaled a rattled breath as I took her soft hand and wrapped it around my length. And then, I started to stroke. Up and down, guiding her. And then I had to immediately start thinking of sports statistics, because after less than thirty seconds of a hand job, she’d made me so hot I was ready to explode. Syd’s breath was ragged as she touched me, her eyes flitting back and forth between my face and my pants. I’d never been this turned on, or wanted anyone so much. Against all manners and my own better judgment, I was ready to take her right there, in the middle of the theater. Judging by her flushed cheeks and shifting in her chair, she was ready to let me.

And just like that, I saw her face shutter. I took a deep breath, inwardly shaking my head. She was thinking too much. Shutting me out. Abruptly, Syd pulled her hand away. She got up, whispering a hasty excuse that she needed to use the bathroom. I watched her sexy little ass all the way down the stairs, and didn’t miss her eyes flit back up to me as she exited the theater.

Bathroom my ass. It was either that, or have sex on the theater floor. And Syd was way too controlled for that kind of spontaneity. I shifted in my seat, trying to readjust for the situation still going on in my pants. No help there. The only thing that would remedy this problem was currently hanging out with toilets. I knew Syd was freaking out. She kept her life carefully organized, and planned for all contingencies. But she hadn’t planned for me. I wasn’t going to let her run away from this—us—just because she wasn’t prepared for it. I stood up, and walked down the stairs.

The hallway was deserted thanks to the lack of attendance at the old theater. I opened the door to the women’s restroom and looked around. The space was empty except for one closed stall, and that’s where the person I wanted was. I leaned against the countertop, my palms resting behind me, and watched the stall, and Syd’s heels. I had no doubt she was leaning against that door, trying to calm down. As soon as she came out, though, I’d make sure calm was the last emotion she’d be feeling. I wanted her to feel as crazy as I did.

The lock on the door clicked. Syd looked up as she exited the stall, then froze when she saw me. Various emotions crossed her face, but the flush across her chest and darkened eyes let me know she was interested in more than going back to watch the movie. Good, because movies were the very
last
thing on my mind. She attempted to move, but stumbled. I knew how much I unnerved her, and I liked it. I flashed a wolf-smile as I caught her. “Slippery, eh?”

I wasn’t talking about the floor.

She blew out a breath, and seemed to be doing some serious contemplation as she stood there, trying to decide what to do next, no doubt. She had that problem with me frequently. “If we’re both in here, neither one of us will know what’s happening in the movie,” she finally said.

I tilted my head to the side and cocked a brow. If she thought a movie plot was more interesting than her, she needed an education. “I’m sure neither one of us cares.”

I could tell she was still anxious, and she tried to take some of the edge off with a joke. “Did you make a wrong turn and not see the girl wearing a dress on the door?”

I held her eyes as I answered, “The girl I want to see out of her dress is in here.”

I held her gaze as I took two long steps toward her, and she sucked in a breath as I pushed her up against the wall. I wanted to take her, claim her, in every way. My lips pressed into hers, the kiss hard and deep. My dick felt like granite against her thigh, and I wanted nothing more than for her to unzip my pants and pull it out again. I wanted her to look at me,
see
me, and find out what she’d been missing. Her hands raked down my stomach, and stayed there as my tongue slipped into her mouth, licking and caressing.

I’d managed to undo several of the buttons on her black shirt. Her lacy black and white bra peeked out beneath her top, threatening to drive me insane. I wanted to watch her strip it off, and leave it with the rest of her clothes on the bathroom floor. I cupped one hand over her breast, stroking the hard tips of her nipples through the lace with my thumb, while the other hand pushed up her skirt, running light strokes over her thigh. I was so close to being able to slip inside her. I wanted to touch her, feel her silky warmth. She sighed as I broke away, moving my lips down her body to take her nipple in my mouth. The rough fabric and soft skin was an intense combination on my tongue. Her hands went to my jeans and I moaned as she popped the button, slowly sliding the zipper down.

Yes.

This.

Syd.

She was exactly what I wanted. What I needed. In every way. Her hand was poised over the waistband of my boxers when the door creaked open and a teenage girl walked in the bathroom, surprise written on her face when she noticed my presence. Well, fuuuuck. Of all the damn times to be interrupted! I looked down, taking a deep breath to try to calm down, and contain my annoyance. Syd scrambled away from me faster than I thought anyone could even move. I almost laughed. Running away wasn’t going to improve the situation. The girl was a teenager, not an imbecile. I knew what she’d seen when she walked in. The next step was about damage control.

I looked up, raking a hand through my hair as I flashed the girl a winning smile, trying to put her at ease. “My date was sick. I came in to check on her.”

The girl gave me a once over, taking in my disheveled clothes and kiss swollen lips. Then she did the same to Syd, stopping on her unbuttoned shirt, flushed face, smeared lipstick, and messy hair. She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right,” she said, snorting. “You know, they have stalls for that.” Then she stepped into a stall of her own and locked the door.

I bit my lip and held back a laugh. Syd put her hand over her mouth to try to hold in her own giggle—which surprised me. I thought she’d be embarrassed and probably pissed. Apparently a little action was beneficial to her mood. Noted. We both quickly rearranged our clothes and hair before I took her hand, holding the door for her as we walked out of the bathroom together.

Neither of us had any interest in the movie. I was mostly interested in getting her in my truck, and then somewhere a little more private to continue improving her mood—and mine. We started toward my truck. “Thanks for making out with me in the light this time,” Syd said, her tone teasing.

My lips curved up, remembering the kiss in the dark corridor of the haunted mine. Damn, that was a great kiss. If I hadn’t been falling for her already, that kiss would have sealed the deal. “I thought about killing your date that night, but decided I’d much rather kiss you.”

She lifted a brow. “It was an incredible kiss. You should have claimed it. Drew got credit as the ninja kisser for a while.”

I snorted, completely annoyed. No one could kiss her like I could. I was offended she’d ever thought otherwise. “He wouldn’t have been able to find the broad side of a barn in that dark hallway, let alone your mouth.” I wrapped my arm around her waist and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “And Syd, if we hadn’t been interrupted in the bathroom just now, I would have found a lot more than your lips.”

Once again, there are so many people I couldn’t have done this without!

My incredible production team! Ali Cross at Novel Ninjutsu; Rachel Morgan at Morgan Media; Ashley Argyle, Ph.D, at Inktip Editing; Laura Hidalgo at Bookfabulous Designs; Brad Olson Photography; and my super hot cover models, Sarah Singleton and Kevin Fulgham. Also, a massive thank you to my marketing/PR company, Bernard Books. And to Jean at Book Nerd Tours, I can’t even thank you enough! You're always so supportive of me, and such a wonderful friend!

Jennifer Miller and Gypsy Rae Choszer, who heard my crazy idea and wanted to go nuts with me. I love having inappropriate discussions with you! And thanks to Gypsy, who provided very important jewelry-making info. Huge thanks to M. Clarke, LP Dover, Rebecca Ethington, and RaShelle Workman.

Dr. Ashley Argyle, my fantastic editor who pretended to be disappointed after first reading this book, and almost got a cookie thrown at her. Now I’m not allowed to have cookies at editing sessions. I absolutely couldn’t do my job without her.

And of course, Dan, who makes me happy, and always makes me laugh…especially when he’s turning my books into his own version of Mystery Science 3000 Theater. Yes, Jax actually can make dinner with nothing but the heat coming off of his abs. :p

And my most important thank you goes to you, my readers! Without your support, I couldn’t do what I do. Thank you for taking the time to leave reviews, and tell people about my books. Thank you for all of the kind words, notes, and posts on my social media pages. I treasure every single one of them! <3