“One more thing for the show. Forgive me.” She slinked her free hand up his chest and, with speed and determination, dragged him into a kiss. His lips were a firm line against her mouth as he took it like a dose of castor oil. She’d known he’d fight it, and she tamped down the disappointment threatening to well within her regardless. She eased back, and he relaxed a little bit. The master of restraint. Too bad. She wasn’t done with him yet.
Her fingers found the soft curls at the nape of his neck and sifted through them as the tip of her tongue touched the corner of his mouth and traced over the hard seam of his lips.
Nothing.
Time seemed to stall. Regret nudged past the hope surging inside of her.
Her eyes opened, and she met his warning glare. She’d gone too far, crossed the line, and for nothing. He didn’t want her.
“Matt,” she whispered on a breath against his mouth.
A tic fluttered at the corner of his eye, a falter in his stone-solid resistance, and his control snapped. He jerked her roughly against his chest and crushed his lips onto hers, plundering her mouth in the most demanding, invasive, and spectacularly punishing kiss she’d ever experienced.
Her legs went weak as his tongue delved deeply into her mouth, stroking and teasing with each thrust and then retreating, until she opened wider to him. Pressing closer to him, she gave herself over completely, moaning into his mouth—and then gasped in confusion when he pushed her away.
The crowd erupted in cheers, whoops, and whistles.
Nothing existed but them. Nothing else mattered. “Let’s get out of here,” she whispered, ready to throw her career away if he’d leave with her and continue that kiss for a few more minutes, or forever.
The corner of Matt’s mouth curved up, and he growled, “Give me my bow and arrow.”
Chapter Three
Off stage, Nichole fumbled through her binder, turning the pages in mock concentration as if her focus were on something other than the devastating kiss Matt had just laid on her.
He’d kissed her.
Well, to be honest, she’d kissed him, but he’d kissed her back. Completely.
Heat swirled through her belly, and she ran the tip of her tongue over her lips, which were still tender from the brutal assault of his mouth.
She’d pushed him, and his restraint had broken. Now she had a few hours to wait and wonder before she found out if he’d let her push past his limit again. He’d have to. She couldn’t go on like this.
A light hand on her elbow broke her from her reverie and she jerked her attention to the slight woman standing in front of her.
“Lindy, you made it!” Nichole hauled her friend into a fierce hug. Lindy Dorn was one of Nichole’s closest friends and the owner of the Whips and Licks Sex Shop, which had supplied VIP goodie bags for the event. “I wasn’t sure if you would.”
“Hell, yes. I did. I wouldn’t miss out on all this free promo for my store, or the opportunity to see Matt strut his tight little ass up there. Dibs on Eros when you’re done with him.”
Nichole bristled with jealousy, even though she knew Matt wasn’t anywhere close to being Lindy’s type.
“That was some kiss between you guys. Was it planned?”
“Sort of…but not really,” she admitted, feeling like a fool. “Matt didn’t know.”
“It’s about time. You two would be so damn good together, if you’d ever stop pussyfooting around.”
“We’re friends, Lindy. That’s all. I don’t think we could ever be more.”
“Yeah, I totally got that from the part where his tongue was in your mouth, and you were practically dry-humping his chariot.”
Nichole shook her head and flushed from the memory of his taste on her tongue. “I mean aside from the physical, Matt doesn’t feel that way about me. He isn’t in love with me. But maybe there’s room for just one night…with no strings.”
“You think Matt doesn’t love you, but might give you no strings? What about you? You think no strings is even possible from your end?”
She pinched her mouth shut and shrugged. Of course it was. She had her eyes open and knew what to expect—and what not to.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Which tells me you’re in deeper denial than I thought. I strongly recommend you stick to a vibrator and skip the part where you lure Matt into bed for no-strings sex. It’s a bad idea, honey. Come on, you know that.”