Pursuit

by Lynda Chance

As she looked up into his face, she took a sustaining breath, but it didn't help her nerves settle. Jesus, they made 'em tall here in Texas. Tall and freakin' gorgeous.

"You can't kiss me!" "I can't?" he asked, far too dramatically. "No!" His brows came together and he tipped his head to the side a bit, as if they were sharing a joke. "Too soon?" Her heart continued to crash against her breastbone. "Yes!" His thumb swirled over her chin in a caress as he peered at her intently. "So when? You want to come to my house tonight?"

Duuude, chill...lol

She opened her mouth to speak, and was proud of herself when her words came out smooth and crisp. "Nah. You're too good-looking. In my experience, good-looking men have no clue what to do in bed. And sorry, honey. I've got no interest in teaching you." With that, she pulled her arm from his fingers and walked away.

Daymn!!! Lol XD

His look became thoughtful. "You need to learn something about me right off the bat. You always have a choice." His eyes ran over her. "There's something about you," he said, as if to himself. He studied her intently with a hooded gaze. "If I push too hard, I want you to promise me right now that you'll let me know, okay?"

He pressed his torso fully into hers and she was immediately, intimately introduced to his erection, hot and hard, pushing against her stomach. His eyes clashed and held hers. "Friday, Saturday, Sunday," he repeated. "One, two, three," he continued, counting slowly and evenly.

"One date, two dates, three dates, mine." His voice was guttural, and as his mouth closed over hers, Lauren shut her eyes and gave in to what they both wanted.

He wanted to see what she looked like naked, when she was standing. He wanted to span her waist with his hands and see his thumbs pressing against her abdomen. He wanted to see exactly how wide or how narrow her hips were in proportion to her breasts. He wanted to see the line of her naked collarbone and he wanted to see the hollow of her throat. Most of all, he wanted the right to stand there and watch her, he wanted an invisible chain that bound her to him so she couldn't get away from him as easily as she'd just done, and he wanted the satisfaction of knowing that she wanted that just as much as he did.

He'd play her game for awhile, let her think she was in control of this thing between them, because it wouldn't help his case a damn bit for her to know how goddamn obsessed he was already.

And there wasn't a fucking thing he could do about it. It had only been two weeks since he'd seen her for the first time. Two weeks. She wasn't his. He didn't own her or her time. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't impose his will over her. He had to fucking remember that. If he tried, she'd kick him out of her life faster than he could say, 'tag, you're mine.'

Another six weeks slid by and Lauren was getting in a little over her head.

wow that's an unexpected fast-forward

He took a stabilizing breath. He could never let her find out how fucking jealous he was.

He had to have the words. He tightened his hold on her cheekbones. "Baby, it's going to be okay. I've got you. You can trust me." He kept his words calm and steady so she wouldn't know how messed up he was on the inside. "I'll never let anything or anyone hurt you. I need this. I need you. You've got to give me the words again before I go crazy."