“I will have to take a rain check.”
“Oh.”
He heard her surprise. He watched Anne bid goodbye to Paul and leave, and the beast in him clawed.
“Excuse me, Bethany. I will see you around.”
He left before she could ask questions. Nico felt like he was involved in a strange, addictive dance when he found Anne minutes later, but they both remained where they were: walking the same path with a row of bushes, plants, and trees between them.
“Hey,” he called out.
“Hey.” Silence. “She seems to be into you.”
“He seems to be into you.”
“He was being friendly.”
“There’s that.” He nodded. “But he’s crazy if he doesn’t even so much as think about hitting on you.”
Green eyes flared. Her breath hitched, but her gait didn’t change as she already had a direction in mind. So did he, and it didn’t take them long to reach the tent, once more set up, more isolated than ever as everyone close by was at the party. When she reached the entrance, she spun to face him, visibly jolted at how close he stood.
Her throat worked its way into a frenzy before settling down. “I should get some rest.”
“You should,” he agreed.
“Not sleep. Just unwind from all that celebration.”
“It must have been overwhelming.”
“Not really.”
He examined her. “It didn’t remind you of…?”
“No,” she said, sounding just as flabbergasted. “It was more toned down. It felt…freeing. And it was fun.”
Joy leaped out and he fought a smile. “Good. That’s good.”
“Well…goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
“Would you like to come in?”
The smile faded. Desire strictly locked turned frenzied, setting him on edge as he let her see just how affected he was.
“If I come in now, Anne, we won’t be sleeping. Not with all this tension between us.”
Her mouth parted once more, that innocent move that turned him half-wild.
“Tension?” she echoed.
“Sexual tension. You crave my touch and I crave yours. You want me inside you and I want to taste every bit of your body. You ache for my hands and mouth, and I want to screw your brains out until you are spent.” She gasped. He growled. “Don’t you dare deny it.”
“Fine. I won’t deny it. What do you want?”
“Whatever you can offer.”
“One night. That’s all I can offer.”