caressed the back of his neck, and she held his eyes without hiding her emotions.
He stayed silent but didn’t put her down. They stared at each other.
When he spoke, she sensed reluctance—and something else.
“You know damn well I feel it, but as you pointed out, this could lead to a shitshow.”
She didn’t care for his reasonable answer and made a face. “Is that really the reason, or are you worried about robbing the cradle?”
“Honey, men like me eat little girls like you for breakfast.”
If he thought the caveman grunt and suggestive taunt were going to scare her off, he had another thing coming. Whatever was happening felt bigger than the two of them. She had no idea if being thrown together like this was the hand of fate or the start of a very bad mistake, and right this second, she couldn’t care less.
“Ooh, that sounds yummy. Being eaten,” she cooed, “for breakfast.”
They were the most brazen words to ever come out of her mouth, and she couldn’t be more delighted by his shocked reaction.
Incredibly, his grip on her body got even fiercer. “Be smart, Summer. Slap my face and tell me to fuck off. Run away from here, from me, and save yourself before—”
“Before what?”
His jaw tensed, and the crystal blue in his eyes darkened. Her breaths came in shallow pants as she hung on the edge of a desire so strong she trembled from its power.
He growled. “I’m only asking this one more time. Do you know what you’re doing?”
Shifting in his arms, she pressed into his chest and circled his neck with her arms. “And I’ll answer one more time that I absolutely do not know what I’m doing.”
“I don’t know how to take your response.”
“I know, I’m sorry. There’s just no cool, nonchalant way to tell you I’m not at all experienced.”
“Uh, what you mean? Not at all experienced?”
“Are you gonna make me say it?”
He scowled. “I think so.”
Well, shit. This wasn’t how she imagined he’d react. Annoyed, she snatched her arms from his neck and harrumphed in his embrace as she disengaged and sulked. “Put me down.”
“No.”
She gasped and met his gaze with a sneer. “Put. Me. Down.”
“Say it, Summer. Say it, and if you really want me to put you down, I will.”
“Fine. Here it is. It was senior week. Evan Murray was my date and designated cherry popper. We’d been going out for five months—five months of him endlessly trying to get into my pants. Senior prom and going all the way was the plan. I’ll spare the details except to say a flower shop delivery van might smell nice, but it wasn’t romantic or comfortable.”
“Fucking shithead.”
“Yep,” she agreed. “Anyway, here’s how it ended. Never got naked, not even close, because the first time his fingers made it to the promised land, he lost it and ended up coming in his pants. I’m serious,” she pouted when Arnie started to laugh.
“It wasn’t funny,” she pointed out. “I never even got to see his thing.”
“His thing?” The man holding her was laughing so hard she had to clutch his shoulders for fear of falling.
“Arnie,” she pouted. “Come on.”
“What? It’s funny.” He squeezed her and chuckled despite the serious expression he put on his face. “So is that it? Denied entry?” He laughed harder, and she punched his shoulder.
“No!” she shrieked. “I gave it another shot a couple of years later. After my dad died. Another bonehead move on my part. Never try to use sex to blunt grief.”
“Oh.” Her laughing captor sobered right quick. “I’m sorry about your dad.”
“Yeah, well, so was I.” She shrugged and let the embarrassing memory sweep into her thoughts. “Met a guy who wasn’t immediately gross. I knew he was just being nice so he could get laid.” She groaned. “God, I was so dumb.”
Without hesitation, he placed her on her feet and searched her face. “You weren’t dumb, honey.”
“Sure, I was,” she replied defiantly. “Where does it say letting some random nobody use you to get off is the cure for sadness? Was I going to magically feel better after opening my legs?”
“Don’t say that.”
“Why not? It’s the truth. For a woman, it’s always the truth. Hey, I feel like shit, so how about you grab a condom and hop on? I’ll pretend to be cool while you grunt your way to coming. Then afterward, you can feel good about yourself while I feel like a trash can.”
Her words were brutal, raw, and honest. She hadn’t meant to