A few minutes passed, and the two women said their goodbyes to Bishop and me before heading off to the back room to grab their stuff. I heard their voices trail off before silencing as they left out the rear door.
Then it was just Bishop and me, and I looked up at him, seeing his focus still on me.
“What?” I asked softly, curious about what he was thinking right now.
He cleared his throat and went back to cleaning off the counter. “Nothing.” His voice was husky, deep. It turned me on.
He looked up at me again. “Your voice is beautiful, Korrie. I’d never heard anything quite as lovely as Adele’s before.” He looked me right in the eye. “That was until I heard you just now. Your voice is the loveliest thing I’ve ever experienced.”
Oh. Wow. Talk about a compliment. I didn’t know quite what to say, how to respond to something like that. So before I said something that made me look like an idiot, I gave him a grateful smile and turned back to my paperwork, finishing up so I could leave as well. Although I didn’t want to go. I liked being in his company, especially when it was just the two of us. It was so… comfortable with Bishop.
“I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”
I shrugged and then shook my head before looking at him again. “You didn’t. It’s just, no one’s really ever heard me sing aside from my father. I guess I’m not great at accepting compliments.”
He chuckled softly. “Well, you and I are the same in that regard. I’m pretty damn awkward when someone says something nice to me, which doesn’t happen very often, so there you go.”
We looked at each other then, and I felt something shift in the air, something that was very familiar, pulling me tighter, making every part of my body tense.
“Do you want a drink?” He walked fully behind the bar and gestured to all the liquor bottles behind the counter. “Or something non-alcoholic?”
“Actually, I’d like a drink. Preferably with alcohol.” I smiled, and I felt like it was a sexy one. The truth was, I felt beautiful around Bishop. Every time I caught him staring at me—which was all the time—I felt this fresh wave of hardcore desire.
He made me feel like a sexual being.
“Any preference?”
I shook my head and said, “Something strong.”
And there was that dimple again, and he even gave me a wink, one that had my damn toes curling once more.
I watched in female appreciation as he went to work making us drinks. Two glasses. Coke. Rum. A red swizzle straw. Then it was right in front of me.
He walked around the bar and took the seat beside me, and it was hard not to feel the heat from his body spread into me or inhale deeply and take his scent into my lungs.
He tipped his rum and Coke toward me, and I did the same, giving him a thankful smile. I brought the glass to my mouth and took a long drink, the alcohol burning, but I welcomed it. It helped me push my arousal for Bishop away.
Ha! Away, my ass. My desire for him is so front and center I can’t think of anything else.
Long moments passed where we sat in silence as we drank, and the sexual tension in me wrung so tightly I couldn’t breathe.
“Korrie?” He said my name deeply—sex-laced?
“Hmm?” I swallowed the mouthful of booze and looked at him, but my breath caught at the expression on his face, at the way he stared at me.
“I want to tell you something, because I can’t keep it in any longer.”
He sounded so torn, so passionate about what was on his mind.
“Okay,” I whispered, but I knew what he’d say. I knew what words were about to spill from those full lips.
And I held my breath as I waited to listen to them and tell him it was exactly what I wanted too.
8
Bishop
Just say it. Tell her all the things tearing you up inside, all the things that make up who she is. Tell Korrie she has so much power over you, that falling to your knees and worshipping her is something you crave to do.
And as I stared into Korrie’s eyes, there was nothing more I wanted in this world than to make her mine… to make her happy.
It was this need in me that was so powerful it was like an unbreakable vow.
“Tell me,” she said softly, and I wondered if she meant to say those words out loud. They were breathy, as if she knew what I was going to say and anticipated it.
“I can't stop looking at you.” First part—maybe the simplest one—down. “I can’t stop thinking about you, wanting to know everything about you.” God, my throat is so fucking tight. “I…” She was holding her breath. Have mercy, she was leaning in, looking at my lips for me to say more.
Sweet Jesus… look at the way the backdrop of the lighting in the bar accents her features, showcasing them and making her even more gorgeous.
My breathing became more erratic.
Her lashes, long and thick, framing her big, beautiful eyes. Her dark skin so smooth and flawless, having my fingers curling into my palms of their own accord, aching to touch her.
I couldn’t hear anything but the pounding of my heart.
Her lips looked plumper, her teeth gently nibbling, drawing blood right under the surface, making the flesh slightly swollen and kissable.
My lips tingled as I imagined doing just that, slamming my mouth down on hers, taking her in the way that kept me up at night—figuratively and literally.
“What is it, Bishop?” Her voice was soft, needy. Sexual.
“I have this obsession, Korrie. For you. No,” I said and shook my head. “It’s more than an obsession, more than a fool’s infatuation. I want you. God help me… I want you.” Maybe I should have filtered my words, chosen a better way to phrase things, but I wasn’t going to hide behind anything where Korrie was concerned. I wasn’t going to hide the truth of how I felt.
I think I love you. No, can’t say that, can’t push her away or frighten her.
She stared at me, her eyes a little wide, her lips parted. I took in the delicate, feminine features that made up Korrie. So pretty.
Tell me you feel this too, Korrie. Tell me you want me like I want you.
But she stayed silent, and I worried I’d ruined everything by telling her this, baring my soul. It was too soon. I’d fucked things up.
I’d never wanted someone more in my life than I wanted Korrie, and there was nothing more important, more monumental than claiming her and making sure she knew that no other man would have her but me.
“I can’t take my eyes off you.” The truth of those words would have brought me to my knees if I hadn’t been sitting already. And even if I’d said as much to her already, I didn’t think she knew how deep I meant them. “It’s not just because you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, Korrie.” I heard her sharp inhale, my words shocking her… turning her on even more.
I felt myself lean in closer, as if we were two magnets being pulled together. The air stilled, thickened. It was like this scorching heat surrounding us. Beads of sweat formed along my temples, my blood rushing through my veins, arousal making me feel drunk.
“Bishop.”
Fuck. She burned me alive.
The way she said my name, how it rolled off her tongue had my cock jerking.