The Price of Inertia (The Seven Sins #4) - Lily Zante Page 0,77
Jamie last night?” he asks.
“Why? Did you wait up?” The few inches between us bristle with sexual energy. I feel it in my core. The pounding in my heart is nothing compared to the throbbing between my legs. My gaze lands on his broad shoulders. I feel the urge to run my fingers over his biceps.
“Yeah.” He clears his throat. “I hated that you went with him.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I wanted you here with me.”
My mouth falls open. I forget to breathe.
“I saw you in that dress,” he says, leaning forwards, his voice is low and sexy, enticing and warm, like a lover’s kiss on a rainy day. His hooded eyes lock onto me, pulling me into him without him even touching me. “I couldn’t concentrate. I couldn’t write. I was good for nothing.”
This new revelation makes me gasp. In the space of a few minutes, Ward has revealed more about himself than ever before. I’m clutching at happy possibilities, wanting to believe all the good things, while pushing all the bad things out of sight. Everything he says makes my insides glow. His words intoxicate me. “So … so … you waited up for me, to do what?”
“To see you, to say I was sorry. To make amends.”
“Is this what you’re doing now, making amends?”
“I don’t want you to leave. I hate that you think that’s the only solution.”
“Then what do you want?”
“You’ve already told me you can’t concentrate with me being around. Seems like me quitting is the best solution for both of us.”
His jaw tightens, the tell-tale muscle flexing at the side. “Please don’t leave.”
I really don’t want to leave, not only because of the money I so badly need, but because there is something about this man which pulls me towards him. I hate him and want him with equal measure.
“I’m not good with people, Mari. I’m not a people person, but it matters to me what you think.”
“Why?”
“Because I like you. I care about what you think of me. I want ... I want to stay friends.”
The way he’s looking at me, all bedroom eyes, and sultry voice, the way I feel about him, my heart clattering, my insides on fire—we both know staying friends is a huge, huge lie.
“I’m your housekeeper. I work for you. I make your meals,” I point out.
“I’m aware of that.”
He doesn’t want me to leave. That’s a huge load off my shoulders. I ditch my plans to call Danny. I don’t need to look for work. I don’t need to get stressed out all over again.
“You said you can’t write when I’m around,” I counter. “Why are you so keen for me to stay when you know I get in the way of your writing?”
“I’m almost finished writing my first draft. Rob said I could return home once that was done.”
We stare at one another, my gaze dipping to his lips.
I want his kiss so much. We haven’t kissed yet. There are other things we have done, but not that, and now I want to kiss him all the more.
One of us is going to have to make the first move. He can hold back better than I can—this man who says he’s no good with people. I have less self control.
“Friends?” I say, holding out my hand.
His heavy hand clasps mine. “Friends.”
We’re still holding hands, and I’m still staring at his lips.
“There will be no more help and support during inclement weather,” I say.
He grunts and grips my hands a little tightly. “I can’t run my pen all over your body?”
He’s putting ideas in my head. I gulp. “Not if I can’t reciprocate.”
He steps towards me, crossing the line separating the hallway from my bedroom. Now he’s in my territory, and my skin tingles with anticipation.
“Just friends?” I remind him, as he inches closer.
“Your call.”
A warning pierces through the haze of my attraction: he’s blowing hot right now, but what happens tomorrow when he blows cold, and leaves me to suffer?
With a playful little tug he pulls me towards him. That’s all it takes. In the next second he hoists me up in his arms. My legs wrap around him as if they were already an extension of his body. Our lips smooth together, tongues meeting hungrily. He tastes fresh and minty, warm and sweet. I cling to him with my arms around his neck as his kiss deepens and I tumble headfirst into it.
My towel falls off, because my hands are elsewhere, around his neck, instead of guarding