“Good to know. If I need you for anything, you won’t be far.”
He arched a brow. That line had been cryptic. Had her cheeks flushed brighter? He cocked his hip and gave in to impulse. “Did you need something?” he drawled.
She ducked her head, then looked up. Her voice was tentative. “I thought maybe you could stay for one more drink. To . . . celebrate.”
Shock got him for a moment. She chewed her lip, looking like it was no big deal, but Aidan realized it was a hell of a big deal. She’d just asked him to stay. And damned if he wouldn’t let wild horses drag him away from this fragile opportunity to follow her lead.
Slowly, he smiled. “I’d love another drink.”
Chapter Sixteen
What was she doing?
The inner voice screamed a warning she was heading into the danger zone. Yes, he lived with her, but there was something different about tonight. The hotel room seemed extremely . . . intimate. The looming presence of the king-size bed behind them distracted her. At least in a suite, the bed would be safely hidden behind closed doors. Now she’d have to sip a cocktail alone with him with the monstrosity close by, mentally torturing herself with all the things he could do to her in that bed.
She shouldn’t have let Elmo leave. He was an excellent chaperone.
“You okay, love?”
She pinned on a false smile and nodded with way too much enthusiasm. “Yep, I’m great. If you refill the glasses with ice, I’ll grab the last two bottles.”
Did his gaze skew slightly to the left, past her shoulder, to stare at the bed?
Refusing to think about it, she grabbed the Jack Daniels and handed them over. He doctored the drinks. The ice clinked. The amber liquid spilled into the glasses, reminding her of the stinging heat of his eyes. He lifted the glass and handed it to her, raising his in the air. “Slainte.”
She savored the sound of his Irish on his tongue. “Slainte.”
The liquid burned, then warmed her throat. She licked her lips and let out a throaty purr. When she looked up, his gaze was hooded, and a dangerous spark hung thick in the air. Her body surged to life. A throbbing ache settled between her thighs. Her breasts grew heavy and ripe, as if anticipating his tongue and lips and teeth on her nipples. She spun around and dropped in the red chair, desperate for space.
Was she tempting fate? Or was she finally ready to admit having him for one night might be worth the risk?
The silence pulsed with unspoken emotion and unfulfilled lust. She fell back on the only topic she was comfortable with. “Wasn’t his performance amazing today? Between Captain Hoof able to calm him down and the blinkers, he’ll be unstoppable. I was thinking he’s more of a pacesetter than a stalker, though.”
She glanced over. His muscles were tight with tension, and his fingers shook the glass, making ice cubes move and clink together in a happy melody. His gaze probed hers. She waited for his assent. Waited for him to dive into the topic they were both obsessed with.
Phoenix.
When he didn’t answer, she continued. “Captain Hoof hasn’t worn the chicken costume as much—have you noticed? We may be able to wean it off of him in the next month. Or allow him to wear it strictly in the house when we leave him alone.”
Silence.
She gulped the rest of her drink and put it down on the table. The loud crash made her wince. Guess she’d used a bit more strength than she thought. But he was making her nervous. She shouldn’t have invited him to stay. She sucked at this stuff, and she didn’t even know what she wanted.
“I think you should go,” she finally said.
Nothing.
When she risked another glance, he was staring at her with a predatory hunger that smashed the breath out of her lungs. “You want me to leave?” he finally asked, his voice like rough gravel and sand.
A shiver shook through her. “I don’t know what I want,” she said truthfully. “Do you?”
“I want you.”
A gasp escaped her lips. The stark words fell between them like hard stones dropping into water. Confusion swamped her. “For a night?”
“No. That kiss proved to me I couldn’t give you up after one night.”
She began to pace furiously. His words swarmed her ears with sweet promise and crippling panic. Men weren’t this direct. Men liked to seduce and play pretty games, didn’t they? Why was he choosing to push her tonight after all this time of fighting their attraction?
“Is this because Phoenix finally won?” she challenged. “You want to complete your victory by having me fall into bed with you? Control both the horse and owner?” The stinging words peppered out of her mouth before she could swallow them back. “If he’d lost again, we’d never be having this conversation.”
He placed his glass carefully down on the table. Put his hands on his hips. And regarded her with a savage intensity that made everything stop. “Yes, we would. We’ve been building up to tonight since the moment we met. I’m just deciding to call you out on it now.” His voice came out rough. “Do you want me?”
She blinked. “I—I—”
“Simple question. I need a yes-or-no answer.”
“Yes.” Her cheeks burned and fear bubbled in her veins, but she wasn’t going to lie. Not about this.
His face softened. “Good. Time for a few truths. I’ve been hard since I laid eyes on you. Been dreaming about you every night. So I’ll tell you what I want, and you can decide if you want me to stay.”
Eyes wide, she stared at him, helpless under the primitive male energy swirling around him. She’d never craved a man this badly before. Her whole body turned to high alert, waiting for the signal to cross the room and step into his arms.
“I want to take off your clothes, lay you out on that bed, and make you scream with pleasure. I want to claim you tonight and every night after this, until there are no barriers between us. I want to be your man, Harper, for however long this journey lasts.” His eyes dimmed with a flare of frustration. “I can’t offer you marriage or promise I’ll stay. After the road to the Derby, I plan on returning to Ireland. You need to know that in order to make your decision. And if you say no, I swear to God, nothing will change between us. You mean too much to me at this point to screw around with our relationship or what we have with Phoenix. I can handle the rejection like an adult.” He let out a breath. “That’s all of it. I can go back to my room, right now, if you want.”
His intent was plain and stark. He wasn’t sticking around. There’d be no false promises or words of love between them. But maybe there would be something bigger. The opportunity to experience everything this man had to offer, a chance to dig deep and push herself to really make a connection with a man, past the physical surface of a temporary attraction. Maybe this was what she’d been waiting for, and Aidan O’Connor was her gift. She was so tired of being alone. Wasn’t she entitled to a great love affair, even with the end clearly known?
“I don’t want to get married,” she admitted. “Or have children. And I understand you want to go home to the land you love.”
He took a step closer, then stopped. Sizzling energy pulsed between them. The silence screamed with unspoken, raging lust. Fascinated, she watched his jaw clench and every muscle in his body tighten. The rough command ripped from his throat. “For God’s sake, Harper. Help me out here. I fucking promised not to touch you, and I won’t, but if you want to do this, I need you to say so.”