“A little pain can be fun.” I took her chin in my hands. “I’m going to kiss you now, Tara Delaine.”
What are you doing?I didn’t kiss women, outside the bedroom. Kissing gave them the wrong idea. Kissing was too personal.
I was compelled, unable to rein myself in. The closer my mouth was to hers, the less control I had over my body.
She didn’t protest as my lips brushed hers. Her mouth tasted like all the sweetness of summer, contrasting with the bitter wind coming off the bay. My head swam, that drunk feeling from the other night settling over me and making my body heavy.
I needed to stop. To dump her wherever she was staying and get the hell out of here. This wasn’t the routine, and veering away from it felt like utter chaos.
My heart pounded. Sweat cooled on my neck.
Deep inside me, the beast was unnervingly silent.
Itwaslateafternoonby the time Tara climbed behind me and gave me directions back to her rental. Our lips were swollen and the smell of her was all over me, making my head swim.
I told myself it was just the newness of this, my painful boredom driving me to step outside the boundaries of my regular life.
I stifled a laugh when I pulled my motorcycle under the legs of Tara’s rental house. What were the odds that she was staying at one of my properties?
Tara was trembling behind me, her breathing uneven. I dislodged her fisted hands from my leather jacket, twisting to smile at her.
“Remind me never to wear a skirt on a motorcycle again.”
I caught her as she dismounted, hauling her into my lap and caressing her exposed calf. “I don’t know, it seems like you enjoyed it.”
Unlike the last time, she didn’t melt into my arms. Tara went rigid, readjusting her skirt as she climbed calmly and gracefully from my reach.
“Thank you for the ride.” She dipped her chin, not meeting my gaze. “And everything else.”
“But?”
“But you’re a ‘hit it and quit it’ kind of guy and I’m a recovering commitment addict, so this is goodbye.”
I stood to my full height. Tara was backpedaling, her body already pulling away from me.
I closed the space between us. “Is that why you ran from me?”
An artist could make something beautiful with the many shades of pink that colored her cheeks. Under the light of the stars she was so confident and forward. Here under the sun, she withered.
Moonflower.
Or maybe not. Tara squared her shoulders, gaze challenging as she told me, “I ran because you wanted to own me. I don’t belong to anyone but myself.”
I traced her jaw with my fingers, admiring the perfect diamond shape. “I don’t need to own you,” I whispered, edging even closer. “I just want to borrow you for one more night.”
“I don’t think I should say yes.”
“You didn’t have any objections when I rescued you earlier.” My words were smooth, but internally I felt shaken.
I never pursued a woman like this. If she said no, it meant no. I was fine with that. There was the thrill of the hunt and then there was degrading yourself. No self-respecting man should beg a woman for anything.
Tara laughed, somehow reading the tension below the surface. “Not used to a woman who doesn’t prostrate herself for you?”
I clenched my fists, sucking in a harsh breath at the mental image ofherprostrate for me.
“Fine. I see you have a lot on your plate and the last thing you need is something totally uncomplicated to take your mind off your troubles.”
She was closer too, feeding off my agitated energy. Her chest rose faster, pupils dilated. “I can’t just let you into my house. What if you’re a murderer?”