Dead Pretty - Samantha Towle Page 0,43

just then?

Did I get that moment wrong?

Maybe he didn’t want to kiss me at all, and it was all in my head.

Or maybe I did actually manage to put him off me throughout the course of this date.

Well, talking about death over dinner would do it.

The pang of disappointment that hits my gut is hard, and it tells me everything I need to know about how I feel about this fact.

Well, I have no one to blame but myself, and it’s probably for the best.

And I’ll be sure to convey that message to my libido when I’m lying in bed later tonight. Horny and alone.

For a girl who doesn’t want to feel anything anymore, especially not for a man, I’m doing a shit-as-hell job of keeping my hormones and emotions in check.

Jack holds open the door to our building, allowing me through first. We walk up the stairs in silence.

The quiet between us is beginning to put me on edge. Not knowing what he’s thinking. Not knowing what he’s going to say.

Is he just going to walk me to my door, thank me for a nice evening, and then walk away?

Ugh. Getting given the good-night handshake is going to be the worst.

But in the end, it’d be the right thing.

This thing with Jack would be a disaster.

I’m a disaster. Hence the reason that I’ve spent the last six months distancing myself from everyone around me. Having a person in my life would not be a good idea. Especially not a man like Jack.

I’m pretty much resigned by the time we reach my apartment door.

I tug off my gloves, get my keys from my pocket, and unlock the door.

Facing him, my fingers curled around the handle, I say, “So … thanks for today. I had fun.”

“Me too,” he says, holding my stare.

I press down on the handle, opening the door. “Well, good night then.”

“Audrey.” The low baritone in his voice sends a shiver hurtling through my body.

I turn back to him.

“That’s not how this date ends.”

My heart starts to pitter-patter in my chest. “No?”

“No.”

He steps into my space, and I suck in a breath.

“So … how does it end?”

Jack takes my head in his hands, tilting my face up to his. “It doesn’t. It starts with a kiss.”

He covers my lips with his.

It’s like a bomb detonates around us, the force shoving us together.

There is something electric between Jack and me. Something confusing and scary and exhilarating.

Something I don’t know how to control. How to stop. Or if I even want to.

I have never wanted anyone the way I want him.

My fingers thread into his hair. He groans against my mouth.

I press my body to his in response.

His tongue slides between my lips, into my mouth, and all of my synapses fry.

Distantly, I hear the click of a door opening. Then, I’m moving backward.

Jack picks me up. I wrap my legs around his waist.

The door shuts, and my back is pressed up against it.

The kiss is raw, electric. It has the sweetness of anticipation and the sharpness of desperation.

We’re tongues and teeth. Nipping, biting, sucking.

We’re on a whole other level from our first kiss yesterday.

Because I know, this time, Jack and I are going to have sex.

His hands flex restlessly against my ass. Fingers gripping, grasping.

I’m panting into his mouth, needing more of him. Wanting to feel him.

There are too many clothes between us.

I reach for the zipper on his jacket, yanking it down. I shove his jacket off his shoulders.

Jack stops kissing me, putting me to my feet. I push his jacket the rest of the way off, hearing it drop to the floor.

It’s only then that I register my apartment is dark. Only the moonlight coming from my living room windows gives a muted glow.

It is surprising to me that I haven’t turned the light on yet. Being in the dark is not something I can usually cope with.

But still, I don’t reach for the switch.

Maybe having Jack here is comforting to me. Maybe he makes me feel safe.

Or maybe I’m just so damn horny that all my other senses, fears, and worries have taken a backseat.

Jack unwinds the scarf from around my neck. Then, he unzips my coat, taking his time. The sound is erotically loud in the silence of my apartment.

Then, my coat is gone from my body.

Jack stares down at me in the dark. Not touching me.

My body is thrumming with anticipation. My breaths uneven.

He lifts a hand. Fingertips gently skim the bare skin on my