Talking Dirty with the CEO - By Jackie Ashenden Page 0,45
gripped her under the chin, tilted her head back and kissed her hard. She smelled like lavender and pine, and clean sweat. And she tasted like honey. Like joy.
And when he raised his head the little bubble of warmth remained there, firmly lodged in his chest. It didn’t look like it was going to go away anytime soon.
“Let’s go home,” he said, his voice gone hoarse. “I don’t want to do anymore bike riding.”
“Really?” She sounded disappointed. “But I was just starting to get into it.”
Gently he slid an arm around her waist, pulling her closer, the heat of her body against his. “I have another kind of riding I want to do.”
Her mouth curved in a smile that was pure naughtiness. “Ooooh, that kind of riding. In that case, I’m all yours.”
The warmth expanded inside him, and he realized he’d made a mistake in bringing her along. No, not just a mistake, a catastrophic error. She made him want things he shouldn’t be wanting. Like her. For more than a night. For more than two.
Which was all kinds of wrong and all kinds of bad. Because no matter what she said, she wasn’t that type of woman. She was a forever type of woman, and he was a for-never type of man.
But that smile of hers was turning him inside out and the thought of saying good-bye tonight, tomorrow…hell, even the day after that, was just not an option.
Joseph pulled her helmet off, pushed his fingers into her hair and kissed her again. And by the time he released her, they were both panting.
Christie must have picked up on his unease, though, because she asked, “What’s up?”
“Nothing.” He cupped her face in his hands. “What are your plans for the weekend?”
“What? Just today or—”
“The whole weekend.”
She leaned into him, the delicate heat of her making it difficult to focus on anything else. “Well, I did have a huge game of Zombie Force planned this afternoon and then a Star Trek: The Next Generation marathon, so you know, pretty busy.”
“Can I play?”
“What?” She looked almost shocked. “You? Play Zombie Force?”
“Yes. And watch Star Trek with you.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No.” He kissed her. And then because once wasn’t enough, kissed her again. “You can teach me how to play, then tell me all the inside Star Trek jokes.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Well, okay.” She’d gone pink again. “But you’ll have to be prepared to be killed a lot. By ten-year-olds.”
“I’m not worried. I’ll have you to protect me.”
Christie slid her arms around his neck. “Of course. You’ll be safe with me.”
But he knew he wouldn’t be.
He had the odd feeling he’d never be safe again.
Chapter Nine
Joseph opened his eyes and realized that the light shining through the curtains was actually sunlight. Irritated, he threw an arm over his face to block it out. Didn’t he have blackout curtains on his bedroom windows?
Then he remembered. He wasn’t in his bedroom. He was in Christie’s.
Where he’d spent a good portion of the day.
After getting home from the bike trails, they’d showered together. Which had then turned into an afternoon in bed together. Which had then turned into an exhausted sleep.
Sleep had always been somewhat problematic for him, so to fall asleep, in the middle of the day, in the arms of a woman, was something out of the ordinary.
The thought made the unease he’d been feeling earlier in the day deepen.
Restlessly he moved, sitting on the edge of the bed.
That little bubble of warmth was still trapped inside him. That weird emotion he’d felt out on the trails, watching her. The one he didn’t know what to do with. The one that made his chest feel tight. Like he couldn’t breathe.
Perhaps being with her for the whole weekend was a mistake. Perhaps he should go. Like now.
A pair of slim arms slid around his waist, a warm body pressing against his back.
Too late.
“Trying to escape?” Christie murmured against the back of his neck. “Is the prospect of being beaten by ten-year-olds too frightening for you?”
Ten-year-olds he could handle. One gorgeous, passionate, intriguing woman? Not so much.
He closed his eyes for a second. How could he leave now? While she had her arms around him? He was trapped.
Nice excuse.
Her hands spread out on his abdomen, stroking gently, and he could feel himself getting hard.
Of course it was an excuse. The truth was that he didn’t want to leave. And hell, a weekend was a weekend, right? It didn’t mean love and babies, for Christ’s sake.
“I thought you said you’d