Honey Pie (Cupcake Club) - By Donna Kauffman Page 0,38
pure crazy. And I don’t need it.”
After his earlier understanding, his insouciance even, regarding her abilities, the sudden callousness stung badly, surprising her with how much power he had to hurt her and proving she’d already let him get too far into her head. She’d even begun to foolishly think of him as an ally. “Lucky for you then, you don’t have it,” she snapped.
It only made him grin, annoying her further. Why is he so damn confounding?
“See, that right there? That’s what you do, sugar. You don’t give a damn.”
“About what you think of me? No,” she lied, hating that it was one. “I don’t.”
“Which is why I find myself wishing you didn’t have the crazy. Because the rest of you . . .”
She shook her head, the hurt rapidly fading, quickly replaced by a spurt of panic. She might not have seen that particular look in his eyes before, but she understood what it meant. Desire.
“No, you’re wrong. The rest of me is just boring. Beyond boring. Nobody wants that.” Even with her limited experience, that much she knew for fact. “Guys say they don’t want the crazy, but they secretly find it all kinds of compelling. Maybe it’s the element of danger, the mystery. It didn’t take me long to figure out I’m infinitely more fascinating because of the curse. I just don’t care too much to suffer through it to give someone his kicks. Especially since once you’ve tasted the crazy, you realize that it’s not as exciting and cool as it’s cracked up to be. It’s just cracked. And what’s left after cracked doesn’t add up to much. Certainly not up to the look I see in your eyes right now. Trust me.”
There. That had shocked him. Good.
When he could lower his eyebrows again, he laughed. Laughed! “You’re not kidding, are you?”
“No, sir.”
“Aw, sugar. Dammit.”
She raised her own brows in question, and his smile faded slowly, though a residual twinkle remained in his eyes, even as he went back into intent study mode. His gaze left her eyes and drifted down toward her mouth.
Her body reacted so swiftly, she had to shut her eyes—as if that would block out the memory. What it did, instead, was forever imprint it in her mind’s eye.
“You can close those intriguing, spooky eyes of yours, but you can’t hide. Your pupils just went big as dark moons. Makes it even more of a damn shame. About the crazy, I mean. I sure as hell don’t have a thing for danger or mystery. I’d much rather do without than take any woman who comes with a side of drama. But you make it really damn hard to walk away, Honey Pie. Damn hard. The crazy I could do without, but the rest . . . just reaches out and grabs me by the throat. And maybe a few other places. It’s a hell of a thing.”
Honey trembled again, only it had absolutely nothing to do with her gift or his aura, and had everything to do with her hormones and how he’d just triggered every last damn one of them and a whole bunch more she hadn’t even known she’d had. Holy . . . shit.
“As much as I’d really like for that fascination to let go, it doesn’t. Won’t.” He moved closer.
She could feel the heat emanating from his body, his skin, and her eyes flew open. “Dylan, whatever you’re thinking, stop. Don’t. You—I can’t go through—I . . . I can’t.”
He didn’t even pause. “When you decided you didn’t want to be a virgin anymore, you didn’t have feelings for the guy, did you?”
“No, but, I—”
“Did you want him? Did he make your pupils shoot wide like that?” Dylan’s gaze drifted to her mouth. “Did he make your lips part, make you sigh like that?”
He tilted his head, let his gaze drift along the slim column of her neck. “Did he make your pulse leap?”
Then, before she could even swallow, his eyes leaped back to hers. “Did you want him, sugar? So badly your teeth ached?”
Her throat had gone so dry she couldn’t form a single word. She also couldn’t look away from those eyes of his . . . so all-seeing, so all-knowing.
“Did you try more than one? Just to make sure?”
Her throat might be dry but her cheeks bloomed with heat.
His grin was a slow, sexy slide, and it shivered straight down her spine, then pooled, all hot and heavy right where he made her ache.