“Yes. N-no. That’s not what I meant.”
Her grin widened.
He hurriedly clarified, “You’re not a rebound. You could never be a rebound—”
“Oh, I could be a rebound.” She snorted. “I’m pretty sure I have been before.”
“Hayden,” he whispered. “You—”
“Oh hush.” She turned to face him more fully on the couch, crisscrossing her legs as she dusted the salt off her fingertips, all business. “Okay, before we do this, let’s get a few things straight. This is only a rebound, nothing serious—”
“Hayden—”
“No,” she said sharply, holding a finger aloft. “A fling. Don’t go developing feelings for me or anything. Got that, Martin?”
He understood her, but he didn’t like it.
He wasn’t sure he wanted a fling anymore. This thing with Hayden was so new, and he wanted to explore it. He didn’t want to put them in a box and label it anything this soon. It might be easier calling this a fling, but he wasn’t looking for easy. He was looking for what felt right.
She reached between them and plucked the half-eaten burger out of his hand. She peered at it. “No onions, I hope?”
“No,” he quickly answered, watching her in fascination, forgetting about arguing with her over the definition of what they were. She was so close, so near. He didn’t want to say anything that made her pull away from him.
“Good.” She tossed his food on the coffee table and resettled her weight on the couch in front of him, her knees overlapping his. “Well? What are you waiting for?”
His heart started pounding in his ears, the blood rushing to his head as he looked at her. “I have never met anyone like you in my entire life.” He shook his head and exhaled a ragged breath.
“I know. And you never will. But just remember what I said. No feelings. This is purely physical.” She shook a finger at him. “Say it. Say you understand or we’re not doing this, Martin.”
“I understand.”
She studied him questioningly, almost doubtfully.
He nodded once, firmly, hoping to convey that he did understand and that he was okay with her terms . . . even if they gave him pause. They were her requirements, and he would accept them for now, because he wanted any piece of herself she was willing to share with him. He stared at her wordlessly, his gaze roaming her face.
She moistened her lips. “All right then. Very good. So I made the first move last time. It’s your turn now. Let’s see what you got, Martin.”
Nodding, he took a breath and then leaned in to kiss her softly, tenderly. Several times. Light kisses to her eyelids, her chin, her jaw, the corner of her lips. His thumb brushed the line of her jaw and up to her mouth.
Holding her face in his hands, he settled his mouth on hers more firmly and kissed her slowly. He took his time. He wanted to remember it. He wanted to remember and savor every moment with her.
Her hands came up on either side of his head, threading through his hair and holding him as he held her. Her fingers drifted, brushing his cheeks.
He pulled back slightly so that he could look down at her.
“What?” she whispered in a voice that trembled. It was that tremble that got to him, hinting that there was potentially more between them despite what she said. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Like how?” he asked, even though he knew.
Her face, her voice, the softness he thought he saw in her eyes, tore something loose inside him and left him feeling raw and vulnerable. It was good and scary. Scary good.
Her mouth worked, but speech eluded her. She dropped her gaze, as though what she saw in his face was too much.
“I’m just memorizing your face, Hayden Vargas.”
A breath shuddered out of her, fanning his lips, and he smiled. He’d respect her terms, but he had the feeling there was more than just physical attraction between them, and maybe she was realizing that.
She shook her head and blinked, the softness disappearing from her eyes. “You talk too much. Just kiss me, okay?”
He reached forward and hauled her onto his lap. She came willingly, straddling him, and they kissed like that, long and deep.
He brought a hand into the heavy mass of her bun, tumbling it loose. “Man, I love your hair,” he muttered against her mouth, running his hands through it and holding it back to keep kissing her without impediment.
She was breathless and panting when she suddenly broke away, her eyes heavy-lidded and dazed.
He stared back at her, one hand buried in her hair, the other still holding her face as though she were some fragile piece of crystal. His thumb trailed down her cheek. It seemed impossible that he was here with her, feeling the things he was feeling. He’d never felt anything like this . . . never anything this strong.
He heard her voice in his head. No feelings. Purely physical.
Yeah, too late for that.
Lesson #27
Don’t be afraid to take charge and ask for what you want.
x Hayden x
The way Nolan’s eyes slid over her warmed Hayden from the inside out. It wasn’t the kind of look she usually got. This was different. It wasn’t purely lust-filled, although there was some of that mixed in there, too. He looked at her like he . . . liked her. As though he saw more than her looks or her reputation. Damn that hand of his holding her face and damn these pesky feelings.
She’d ordered him not to develop any feelings for her, but here she was, all melty inside when he looked at her. It wasn’t smart. Clearly she should have been warning herself. Some expert in seduction she was. Maybe she was the one who needed the lessons.
“Why’d you stop?” she asked raggedly.
“I like looking at you.” His gaze roamed her face as his gravelly voice rubbed like velvet on her skin. Skin that suddenly felt overly sensitive everywhere he touched her.
He was staring at her mouth now and her face went from warm to hot. How could he do that with a look? She didn’t get it. Butterflies took off in her belly. And that’s how she knew she was in trouble. Everything that set him apart from every other boy she had ever known was what drew her to him.
Maybe it was this giddy realization. It emboldened her. She sat up a little higher on her knees so that her chest was level with his face.
He froze.
Holding his gaze, she pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it to the floor, reveling in the way his eyes darkened, traveling over her in admiration. Pleasure rushed through her.
She ran a hand over her black bra, lightly caressing one lacy cup, finally feeling like she had the upper hand. She knew she had invited him to make the first move, but she liked being in control.
“You’re so beautiful, Hayden,” he whispered.
“I’m just a girl in a bra. I’m sure you’ve seen plenty.” This was just physical. This was just physical. She couldn’t lose perspective of that, no matter how much he unraveled her and made her feel things she had never felt. “I think you’ve seen me in less than this, like my bikini the other night. The girls practically pop out of that thing.”
She slowly lowered back down onto his lap.
He chuckled. “Yeah, I noticed, but that was different.” His gaze ate her up. “A lot different than this.”