“Then let me pamper you. When’s the last time someone did that?” She brushed the pad of her thumb over his lower lip.
He shrugged.
“Never, I bet. I want to show you how good it can be to let go.”
“I don’t know, Holly. That…freaks me out.” He groaned. “It probably wouldn’t be any good for you. I don’t think I can—”
“Exactly why you should do it. With me.” She kissed him then, reaching between them to stroke him through his pants. “Trust me like you say you do.”
His head fell back on the couch, then he relaxed, maybe for the first time ever around her. “Okay, fine. Do your worst.”
A rush of excitement and sensual responsibility flooded her. Power and pride. He gave her that.
And she couldn’t wait to see what she could do with it.
11
“Come on.” Holly couldn’t say where she found the guts to do it, but she stood and held out her hand to Owen. When he took it, she led him from the living room they all shared and intohisbedroom. It seemed important that he know she was doing this because of him and not because he was lumped in as part of a package deal.
When he hesitated at the threshold, a tendril of doubt rose within her. “Is this okay? Or am I invading your space?”
She glanced around at his room, which could have been featured in a commercial for an anti-hoarder show. She’d previously assumed he was a neat freak, or a minimalist, but now she recognized his sparse décor for what it was: the ability to pick up and go at a moment’s notice. A form of armor, protecting him from getting too attached. Maybe it was him Lorenzo should be voting most-likely-to-run.
“You didn’t want to make your mark here in case you had to move on, huh?” She looked at him over her shoulder. “It hurts less to disconnect if you don’t make it a real home.”
“How the hell do you get me when no one else ever has?” That set him in motion again. He strode forward a step and then another, walking her backward until her thighs bumped into his mattress. “You’re welcome here anytime. I didn’t know you were interested in visiting before.”
“Now you do.” She spun them, shoving his shoulders so he crashed backward onto the bed and bounced a few times as he stared up at her in shock.
His pupils dilated as she stalked him, crawling onto the mattress so that she could straddle him again. Holly planted her hands on his shoulders. His hands came up, cupping her elbows. If that made him feel like he still had some sort of control over her, she’d allow the illusion, if only for a moment or two longer.
“Since words aren’t your thing, I’m going to communicate your way. Hopefully, you get what I’m trying to tell you.” Holly sank lower so that she was folded, her knees and hips bent as much as possible so her legs zigzagged and her torso aligned parallel to his. She kissed Owen’s jaw, then his chin.
When he shifted, trying to capture her lips with his own, she detoured and sucked on a spot on his neck, just below his ear. Despite his hissed curse, she kept teasing him until he went slack, allowing himself to be completely at her mercy.
Only then did she reward him with a long, slow glide of her mouth on his, consuming the sharp exhalation he made when they finally connected. His body was so hard and lean beneath her, like the street fighter he’d probably been, every ripple of his muscles made it clear that he could overpower her if he chose.
Instead, he let her take the lead. Given what he’d disclosed about his past and the world that had shaped him, that was more valuable than anything he could have said. His confidence in her was priceless. And addictive.
So she did it again and again, until they had gone beyond simple kisses into a full make-out session, their bodies amplifying the contact of their lips and teeth and tongues. And still he lay there, refusing to make a move. It wasn’t easy for her either, to take the initiative and put herself out there for him to reject.
Except that every moment he didn’t shove her away, she grew bolder. She loved the parts of her he brought out when they were alone like this. It was unexpected and arousing.
Holly had no idea what got into her, but she discovered she liked being in command of both of their desires. She was desperate to prove to him that she could be entrusted with more than just his physical needs. This at least was a start.
She pulled away, staring down at him in wonder. Now that she knew this facet of her existed, somewhere deep down, she wanted to take it for a test drive. With him, she felt comfortable enough to do it. So she leveled her best stern stare at him, then commanded, “Wait here.”
“Where are you going?” he asked with a worried expression that was half-amusement and half-pain. “Not far I hope?”
She lunged for the basket of clean clothes tucked neatly into the corner. He was a hell of a lot tidier than Lorenzo. Still, she could see two of the black ties he wore to work at the valet stand poking through the open weave.
Oh yeah, that would do.
Holly might have been sporting an evil grin when she snagged them and twirled around, letting them dangle from one of her fingers.
“Holly…”
“Owen.” She took the satiny fabric and draped one length over her neck, letting the ends trail between her breasts.