How many times have I fantasized about touching her like this?
Too many to count.
With the back of her head resting against my chest, she tilts her face and meets my gaze through heavy-lidded eyes. My cock throbs even harder. I know a fuck-me gaze when I see one. If this were any other girl, I’d drag her up the stairs to a bedroom before screwing her brains out. I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about doing it at a random frat house.
That’s how turned on I am.
“Carson?” she whispers, breaking into the thick haze clouding my better judgment.
When her tongue peeks out from between red-slicked lips, my gaze falls to her mouth, and I feel myself leaning—
I jerk back as if scalded.
Fuck!
I can’t believe that almost happened. What I need to do is step away and get some air. I’m too wrapped up in this girl. Instead, my fingers lock around her wrist before dragging her from the dining room and down a long stretch of dark hallway where the crowd has thinned. With a gasp, she teeters on her boots, trying to keep pace with me.
Even though I know this won’t end well, I can’t stop myself from hurtling headfirst toward this disastrous decision.
Chapter Five
Elle
I blink, attempting to regain my bearings as Carson drags me through the thick press of bodies. His fingers are still shackled around my wrist as we wind our way through the crowded rooms. I’m not sure what happened. It’s like a switch flipped inside him. One minute we’re dancing and the next, we’re on the move without any explanation. For a sliver of a moment, it almost felt as if he might want me the same way I’ve always desired him. I’m sure it’s wishful thinking on my end. More like my mind conjuring up what it wants to see and believe.
Nerves scuttle down my spine as I try to get his attention. “Carson?”
His movement never falters. If he heard my voice, he doesn’t acknowledge it.
Before I can force myself to repeat his name, louder this time, his fingers grab hold of a handle, and he throws the door open. The couple making out on the bed gasps before jumping apart.
“Get out,” Carson says, sounding as if he’s barely holding onto his temper, which doesn’t make sense.
What’s he so angry about?
“Hey,” the guy sputters, irritated by our untimely interruption. “We were here first. Get your own room. There are more than enough of them.”
A thunderous expression crosses his face as he growls, “Get the hell out of here right now or I’ll throw your ass out myself.”
My eyes widen as they bounce from the couple, whose clothing is in various stages of disarray, to the guy at my side.
“Fine,” the dude grumbles as the girl buttons up her shirt and rises unsteadily to her feet. “We’re going. Chill out, man. It’s a party.”
Carson waits, muscles tensed as if prepared for a fight, until they slink past. As soon as they step over the threshold, he slams the door shut, locking us inside the room. Silvery light pours in through the unadorned windows, giving me just enough illumination to see his face. My mouth turns cottony at the strained tension that hums in the air between us. I don’t understand what’s happening here. He’s always been so easy going and quick to laughter. It’s one of the qualities that has drawn me to him over the years.
This Carson...the one who seems so pissed off and quick tempered...is little more than a stranger.
Now that we’re alone, he releases the grip on my wrist. Needing distance, I scramble backward until my spine hits the wall. Air clogs my throat as his narrowed gaze stays pinned to mine. The oxygen in the room gets sucked out, making it impossible to breathe.
My tongue darts from between my lips to moisten them. “Carson,” I whisper, needing to right whatever is careening out of control between us.
When he gives his head an abrupt shake, my voice stalls.
Every nerve ending inside me goes on high alert as he closes the distance and I’m able to feel his warm breath feather across my parted lips. My heartbeat increases, pounding painfully as it slams against my ribcage. Any moment it’ll explode from my chest. I flatten against the wall as his thick forearms settle on either side of my head, caging me in until I’m surrounded by his brute strength and he’s all I’m cognizant of.
His lips are flattened into a tight slash across his face as he silently searches my gaze.
Before I can fully consider the ramifications, I stretch onto my tiptoes and press my lips against his. For a moment, he freezes, going impossibly still. When he remains impassive, I pull away to search his gaze. Just as I break contact, a low growl rumbles up from deep in his chest and he wraps his arms around my body, yanking me to him until all of my curves are pressed against his hard lines. My arms slip around his neck. We’re so close that I can feel the heat radiating off him. It’s exactly like when we were dancing a few minutes ago except so much better. It feels like I’ve been waiting half my life for him to open his eyes and see me as something more than Brayden’s little sister.