RUSH (Montgomery Men #1) - C.A. Harms Page 0,29

“I won’t lie and say I’m not attracted to you. But I just. . . .” She lowered her head, hiding her mouth and taking away my ability to distract her.

After a moment she shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. She pressed her hand against my chest, causing me to step back.

I was losing her.

“I don’t have room in my life for a relationship,” she said as she stood tall and smoothed her shirt, erasing all signs that I’d had her pressed against the wall only seconds ago. “And I’m not the girl you want. I’m just a challenge, and once you’ve conquered it, you’ll move on. I can’t allow myself to be just another one of your many women.”

She moved past me so quickly I was unable to stop her.

And then she was gone.

I waited near the bathroom until I was calm enough to rejoin Nina. The last thing I wanted to do was go back to our table, but I had to settle our bill.

When I exited the hallway, I glanced toward Lex and Kiera’s table and found it was now empty. Panicked, I began scanning the room, and when I didn’t find them, I reached into my jacket to retrieve my phone. I typed a quick message, hit Send, and held my phone tightly in my hand.

Me: Where are you?

By the time Lex responded a few long moments later, I was barely hanging on to my cool.

Lex: In a cab on our way to Kiera’s. Not sure what you did to her in that hallway but she came out and insisted we leave that second. You know how demanding she can be.

As I was reading his first message, another came through.

Lex: Wanted to make sure she made it home safe.

Me: Where is home?

I must have looked like some crazy man, standing there at the end of the hallway staring down at my phone raptly. At the moment it was like my lifeline.

Lex:?

Me: You are not my only form of information. I can find out with one phone call, it would just be easier if you told me now.

All I had to do was call either of my brothers, Knox or Beckett. They both had the ability to search through their computers and tell me where she lived. That was one of the perks of having a PI and a detective for siblings.

Lex: Fine! Walton Ave.

He fired off her building and apartment number, followed by a stream of nasty comments about me abusing my authority and so on.

I didn’t give a shit. He’d get over it.

I needed Kiera to know I didn’t see her as just some quick fuck I’d forget by morning.

For the first time in my life, I wanted so much more.

After I saw a not-so-happy Nina to a cab and covered her fare home, I walked toward the awaiting Mercedes and gave Murray, my driver, the directions to Kiera’s place. My body hummed with the uncontrollable need to put this game of cat and mouse to an end.

I wanted Kiera, and I knew she wanted me too. It was time for her to let go of whatever the fuck was holding her back.

KINSLEY

“ARE YOU SURE YOU DON’T want me to walk you up?” Lex asked as I crawled from the cab.

“No,” I said, looking back over my shoulder at him. “I’m good. Just tired.”

I could tell he knew I was lying, but he didn’t push. Instead he offered a wave as I closed the car door and entered my building. It was quiet, which only gave my mind time to wander as I entered the elevator and hit the button for the sixth floor.

My lips still ached from Ashton’s whiskers brushing against them. That rough, two-day scruff felt even more amazing than I had imagined. And the heat of our kiss only left me wondering just how that roughness would feel on other areas of my body.

That man made my mind race with more dirty thoughts than I’d ever had before.

Why was that? Why could I so easily imagine giving control over to him?

As the elevator arrived at my floor, I mindlessly exited and turned in the direction of my apartment. My mind could not let go of the way Ash made me feel, and my body craved one more taste, one more touch. Each day I resisted him, I became more desperate, even though I knew giving in to my need for him would only leave me vulnerable.

I unlocked my apartment