CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

C raig stood outside Brianna’s place and stared.

Then stared a bit more.

He gave pacing a go until he realized he didn’t have time to fuck around, so he needed to grow a pair and knock. Or go home.

Brianna opened the door as she wrapped a short white silky gown around her.

“Jesus, woman, you’re just asking to be attacked!”

“What are you doing here?” Brianna asked, startled, before she crossed her arms defiantly.

“Clearly protecting you from being molested.”

“I was in bed safe and sound before you woke me up with your loud banging,” she countered, hands on her hips.

His cock twitched. “God, don’t tell me that.”

“What are you doing here, Craig?” she repeated.

Good question.

He plunged his hands into his pockets and upped his shoulders, all tough guy, which he was not. Okay, he totally was when not around this redheaded beauty. As soon as he was in her presence, he felt like a young vampire tripping over his tongue before racing home to jerk off.

Last time he’d been here, it had been a disaster. He’d squeezed himself into the taxi, leaving Brayden and the others outside the bar after insisting he’d see Bri home safely.

The ride had been tense, with short glances at each other as their bodies touched and bumped with the movement of the vehicle.

He’d paid the driver and gotten out with her.

Truthfully, he’d had no expectations nor any plans of what was going to happen next. He’d simply not been able to walk away from her.

Brianna had turned and held out her hand to stop him from following her up to her house. There had been little honesty in her body language, in the scent of desire that was rolling off her, so he’d taken a step forward.

Her slow blink had been the beginning of him losing all control. He’d gripped her hand and pulled her up against him, kissing her harshly. The universe had responded by letting off a gazillion fireworks in their honor, and it was all going fucking fabulously until she had suddenly ripped herself out of his arms.

Okay, so he had let her. There was no way she had the strength to budge him even if she had wanted to, but he never forced a woman.

Standing there panting, they had stared at each other for a long moment. No words. Brianna had then turned and run up the stairs. One final glance, and she had closed the door. Stunned, Craig had stared at his big black Nikes for a long moment before he kicked the concrete step and ported back home.

Now he stood at the top of the steps. “I wanted to apologize.”

“You came all this way to apologize for a kiss which meant nothing?” Her eyes narrowed in disbelief at him while his chest tightened.

Ouch.

“It’s not too far. Anyway, you don’t know where I live, so how...” Craig frowned and shook his head. “That’s not what I’m apologizing for. In the bathroom, at the bar. That.”

“When you were going to fuck me and didn’t.”

He cringed. “Look, can I come in?”

She tugged her silk robe closer. “So you can reject me again? No, thanks.”

What?

He stepped closer, close enough to feel the warmth of her body and for his hands to twitch at the need to touch her. Her breathing sped up and she swallowed deeply. He took another step.

“Stop,” she said quietly with absolutely no truth in her voice.

“Are you angry with me?”

Her mouth slightly opened, breathing shallowly, but she did not answer.

“Why?”

“It doesn’t matter. You should leave.”

He couldn’t. Craig knew he should be elsewhere right now, focused on the shit storm happening with the royal family. Yet here he was, standing outside this female’s house, trying to understand her. Trying to understand why he hadn’t just unzipped and plunged into her a few nights ago in that disgusting bathroom.

“Tell me.” He leaned closer, breathing in her fruity scent.

Brianna let out a long, exasperated breath. “Fine. You rejected me. All right? It hurt. Now you can go.”

He blanched, pulling back at the thought of her feeling rejected by him. Hell no. He hadn’t. “Are you kidding me, woman? My cock has been hard since we met and won’t go down.”

She rolled her eyes. “Charming.”

He spun around and took a few steps away, throwing up his hands. “Fuck, what do you want?”

“Nothing! I want nothing from you. I want you to go away so I can forget you and everything that happened between us.”

Fury poured through his veins. He marched back to her and gripped her arm.

“Bullshit. You want me as much as I want you.”

“I most certainly—”

Craig smashed his lips down on hers, surprising them both. Then her body responded, melting against his.

Her mouth opened, giving him full access as her nipples hardened against his chest. A guttural groan escaped him as her nails dug into his arms. He wanted those nails in his back, in his hair, as he took her to paradise.

She tasted like strawberries—sweet and juicy—a contrast to his masculine sweat. He cupped her small bottom and pulled her into his hard erection, hoping to God she could feel how much he wanted her.

A quick look inside her house, and he calculated how long it would take to get into her bedroom and rip the white robe off. He’d have to use human speed, but if he flipped her over and lifted the silk, he figured it would be forty-five seconds at most. He could wait. His cock couldn’t.

All of a sudden, she released his mouth and began pushing against his chest. Craig relaxed his hold slightly and stared down at her, frowning. She wouldn’t look at him.

“I’m leaving in a couple of days,” he said with his arms on her hips. She nodded. “Brianna, look at me.”

She chewed her lip, then finally looked up.

“I want you, Bri. Invite me in.”

She gave a small shake of her head. “I can’t. I just can’t do this.”

“I never rejected you, beautiful. I simply didn’t want to fuck you in the shitty bathroom. You deserve better.”

She stepped away further. He let her. Reluctantly. She tugged the silk around her and redid the tie.

“And fucking me in my bedroom and then leaving is better, is it?”

What could he say? The answer was fundamentally yes, yet he suspected it wasn’t the answer she wanted.

“Better than never having you, yes.”

She began to shake her head. “You need to go. I get it. There’s some incredibly strong chemistry between us, but I’m not like the girls you normally hook up with. Yes, I know it nearly happened the other night, and I can’t explain why.” She shook her head. “I’m ashamed of myself. I’m angry with your rejection, but it was probably for the best.”

His head spun as he tried to figure out all that human emotion.

“The truth is I feel out of control when you’re around, Craig. It’s good you’re leaving.”

God yes, be out of control. Please.

“You really need to go,” she finished before he could get the words out, the look in her eye indicating she knew what he was going to say.

Craig ran a hand through his hair. He should leave. This all felt too heavy. He was used to sex being fun, easy, and playful. With her, it felt like fire and lightning. Like fireworks sparkling in the air between them. They both felt it.

“I’d really like to see you out of control under me, Bri.”

She swallowed loudly, her nipples turning to pebbles and her pulse increasing its pitter-patter. His cock incredibly got even harder. Bri peered down at it as he stepped closer, touching her hip, and then suddenly she slipped away.

She stepped back and closed the door.

In his fucking face.