he had. “You know I’ll give you a ride, Cupcake. It doesn’t have to be anything more than that. I don’t want you to feel pressured into—”
He stopped as her fingers pressed against his lips. “Let me rephrase. Take me home because I want to see if this dress comes off as quickly and easily as I think it can.”
He would be very happy to help the little professor with this experiment.
“Let’s go. I walked here since I only live a couple blocks away in the apartment over the garage. We’ll grab my truck.”
“Your place is closer? Then let’s stay there.”
She’d worked at Harvard for a reason.
Baby tugged at her hand to get her to walk faster as they rushed down the sidewalk toward his apartment. He’d been right. There’d been a lot of knowing grins as they’d left together. She’d avoided her brother’s eyes altogether, although Girl Riley had given her a huge wink.
The fact that Baby wasn’t saying much and was all but running them down the sidewalk actually made her feel better. His sole focus was on getting her to his place.
To his bed.
She liked the thought that someone like Baby, someone so outgoing and friendly and...sexy could be so captivated by her.
He kept them moving at a rapid pace, his fingers entwined with hers, until they reached the stairs at the side of the garage that led up to his apartment. She was breathing a little heavy but couldn’t be sure if it was because of the pace or because she was so excited. She’d never done anything like this before, and damned if it didn’t feel perfectly right.
He glanced over at her then ran his hand through his thick brown hair. “Jesus. You must think I’m a lunatic. I swear I usually have more couth than this—I don’t drag women through the street to my lair. I need to slow down, be more classy.”
She stepped onto the first step so they were eye to eye. “Actually, I’m completely turned on by the fact that you are in such a hurry to get me here.”
Something in his eyes flared, and she realized she might be poking a wild beast. Baby seemed like a man on the edge of losing control.
Because of her. That was making her hot...giddy.
“You deserve considerate and tender,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers. “I’m willing to bet you haven’t been with a lot of men since your divorce. It’s not in your nature.”
She hadn’t been with anyone since her divorce, and she and Peter had barely had sex at all the last year of their marriage.
“You deserve hours of slow, sexy foreplay,” he whispered.
He was battling with himself. And she appreciated that he wanted to give her all of that.
But not tonight.
She reached up and cupped his face, running her nails against his trimmed beard. She smiled when he shuddered.
“Quinn...”
“Rain check on that. I do want all the slow and gentle and classy. But right now, I want the passion. You make me feel things I’ve never felt before, Baby. You make my body come alive in ways I didn’t think I was capable of. The man who had us rushing over here, almost running because he couldn’t wait to get me into his bed? That’s what I want. That’s who I want—”
His lips slammed over hers, his tongue thrusting deep into her mouth.
She gasped as he bent his knees slightly so he could reach his hands under the hem of her dress where it fell at her knees and slide them all the way up the back of her thighs, until he had his hands full of her ass. A second later, he was lifting her up. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and her legs twined around his hips.
He didn’t stop kissing her as he made his way up the stairs, not even breathing hard despite carrying her weight.
She gasped and then laughed when he slammed her back against the door frame so he could use one hand to open the door.
She sucked on his tongue as it thrust into her mouth once again, moaning.
God, yes. This. How had she made it this far into her life without feeling this? Without feeling like she was about to lose every shred of control and not caring a bit. She moaned, gripped his hair in her fist, and pulled him closer, grinding against him.
“Cupcake, that’s going to get you fucked right against this door if you’re not careful.”