with me—getting close to me—will put her career in danger.
Why don't I care about that?
Like a man hanging below the surface, inches from the air he needed not to drown, I lifted my head high. In the mirror, I saw my eyes; the green was the color of acid, but it was my mouth that was ready to dissolve.
All around me was Lola. The molecules in the air were crafted from her energy, her scent. I felt her on me even though we weren't touching. My lips ached to crash onto hers. In that elevator ride that never seemed to end, I made my choice.
I couldn't hold back any longer.
So I wouldn't try.
Lola wasn't looking at me, not at first. The sound of me dropping the bags changed that. For a second, I saw her wide blue eyes focus on me. I glimpsed her fear—I spotted the lust she kept trying to hide from me.
Then I was on her, my long fingers trapping her against the hard wall. Dizzy with the need that had haunted me since the night we'd rubbed together in the tub, I let myself go. My lips turned her mouth into a landing zone; she was ground zero for me.
Lola tasted like caramel and salt and nightshade. I'd let her poison me if it came to that. If she wouldn't let me into her life, death was on my horizon, anyway. She filled my lungs with her high pitched whimper—how could a man breathe when he was denied such sweet air?
My nostrils flared to claim her scent. In my ears, her moan was a mixture of surprise and delight. She wanted this. Wanted it. She'd called being with me a risk. I'm no more a risk than she is.
I lost my hands in her thick brunette locks. My ribs screamed, telling me I needed oxygen. Ignoring them, my mouth pressed on her even harder. Lola wrapped her perfect hands, her fucking perfectly magical hands, around my waist. It was an aphrodisiac.
The 'ding' of the elevator ended the moment.
Lola's seeking touch become rough; a shove, aiming to push me away. I gasped when our lip-lock shattered. Her creamy cheeks were hot as fire. So was her voice. “Get off of me, Drezden.”
It took everything I had to step backwards. My hands slid through her hair, the strands silken and buttery. We were both breathing hard. I saw the hint of her nipples straining through her shirt. Each heave of her lungs taunted me.
Lola's gaze darted down. I knew she'd spotted my raging hard-on. I'd never been so stiff, so thick. My cock desperately needed to be inside of her. She moved towards me; I inhaled sharply.
When she just grabbed her bag and guitar, fleeing out into the hall, I felt the first cold prickles of disappointment.
Lola was running away from me.
Giving into my burst of desire hadn't changed a fucking thing between us. She stumbled down the hall, stopping in front of a door, and I did nothing. When she fumbled for her keycard, dropping it then picking it up again, I still did nothing.
It wasn't until she vanished from my sight that I acted.
Lifting my bags, I stomped out of the elevator. That mirrored box was cloying with her scent. I wanted to laugh until my throat was ruined. Fuck, did I mess that up.
My erratic behavior had been something a teenager would have done. She's the nineteen-year-old. I should fucking know better. Lola had resisted me—she was stronger than I thought. But I had a bigger problem: I'd given up my cards and shown her my hand.
Lola now knew I'd put her career at risk just to be with her.
Digging into my pocket, I revealed my keycard. It said room 504. Looking up, I stared blankly at the door Lola had entered: 505.
We were right next to each other.
- Chapter Twelve -
Lola
I couldn't get my breathing under control.
Leaning on the inside of my hotel room door, I buried my palm on my chest and hyperventilated.
Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit.
Drezden had kissed me. Kissed me.
Holy fucking shit.
Reaching up, I dragged my fingers over my lips. His taste remained; cinnamon and tobacco. I should have hated it, but it was exotic and it made my head foggy.
He fucking kissed me. Now what was I supposed to do?
Every inch of my body was vibrating. Even the backs of my ears felt like someone had run a static roller over them. Waves of heat ricocheted from