“And no more kissing.” The words rush out of my mouth.
His lips curve into the sexiest smirk. “It’s a hard ask, but I can try.”
“You survived a long time without even attempting, so I think you can make it without another slipup.” My cheeks warm at the memory of last week.
“That was before.” His voice deepens.
“Before what?”
“I knew what you felt like beneath me.” He runs his knuckles across the side of my face. The air between us crackles, the goose bumps on my skin rising to the occasion.
It was stupid to ever think we could even attempt to be friends. There is no possible way of that ever happening—not when a simple brush of his hand makes my body react like that.
I hate it. I love it. I shouldn’t let it ever happen again.
I clear my head with a quick shake. “You know what? Never mind. I can’t be your friend.”
He pulls back, stealing his warmth and the tingling feeling running down the length of my spine away from me. “Why not?”
“You can’t even last five minutes without flirting with me.”
“Well, you’re setting me up for failure if you expect me to last five minutes around you.”
I give him a once-over. “Disappointed but not surprised.”
His face turns red in five seconds flat. “That’s not what I meant.”
“No need to be embarrassed. You’re older now, so I get it. I’m sure with the right pills that problem can get sorted out real quick.”
He takes a step closer. “I’m not embarrassed. I’menraged.”
I fake a sigh. “Male fragility at its finest.”
“Lana.”
One word. Four letters. A thousand sparks blasting off my skin as he clasps on to the back of my neck and drags me against his chest. Our lips hover inches apart, the heat of his minty breath hitting my face.
No vodka.
My fingers curl against his chest.
His fingers press into the side of my throat. “I need to defend my honor.”
“I’m amazed there is still something left to protect.”
His eyes sparkle like a thousand stars exploding at once.
I’m antagonizing him. I know that, yet I can’t find it in me to stop, no matter how loud the voice in the back of my head shouts that nothing good can come from this.
Cal shocks me as he wraps his hand around my hair and tugs on it like a rope until my head tilts to the side and my breasts press against his chest. He drags the tip of his nose up the side of my throat. It’s erotic, the way a single touch makes my entire body feel like it might be consumed by flames. I shift, wanting to escape the feeling, only to rub against the one part of him I offended.
Fuck.
Every hard inch of him presses into my belly. I suck in a breath, and he chuckles.
“Right. About that.” His voice, now rougher than before, causes me to tremble. Tremble with what, I’m not too sure. Arousal. Excitement.Desperation. The options are endless, each one more dangerous than the last.
“You’re hard.”