“I don’t know.”
Her tentative answer and confused frown were all he needed. He wasn’t an asshole; if Hayden had expressed deep love for the other man in her life, Brody would’ve backed off. But the fact that she hadn’t answered a definite yes to his question told him this was fair game.
And nothing got him going more than a healthy bout of competition.
He lifted his gin and tonic to his lips and took a sip, eyeing her over the rim of his glass. Fuck, despite the modest outfit, she looked unbelievably hot. He could see the outline of her bra beneath the white silk of her shirt, and the memory of what lay beneath it sent a jolt of electricity to his groin.
“We’re not doing it again,” she said between gritted teeth, obviously sensing the train of thought his mind had taken.
He laughed. “Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself of that.”
Frustration creased her features. “We had sex, Brody. That’s all.” She took a sip of wine. “It was amazing, sure, but it was only sex. It’s not like the damn earth moved.”
“Are you sure about that?”
He pushed his chair closer, so that they were no longer across from each other, but side by side. He saw her hands shake at his nearness. Her cheeks flushed again, her lips parting. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see she was aroused. And, damn, but he liked knowing his mere proximity could get this woman going.
“It was more than sex.” He dipped his head and brushed his lips over her ear. She shivered. “It was a sexual hurricane. Intense. Consuming.” He flicked his tongue against her earlobe. “I’ve never been that hard in my life. And you’ve never been wetter.”
“Brody...” She visibly swallowed.
He traced the shell of her ear with his tongue, then moved his head back and lowered his hand to her thigh. He felt her leg shaking under his touch. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Fine,” she grumbled. “You’re right. Happy?”
“Not quite.” With a faint smile, he slid his hand under the soft material of her skirt. Running his knuckles against the damp spot on her panties, he gave a brisk nod and murmured, “Now I’m happy.”
Hayden’s focus darted around like a Ping-Pong ball, as if she expected their waiter to pop up in front of them any second. But the table was well secluded, and nobody could approach it without entering Brody’s line of sight. He took advantage of the privacy, cupping Hayden’s ass and gently shifting her so that her body was more accessible. He dragged his hand between her legs again, pushing aside the crotch of her panties and stroking her damp flesh.
The soft sounds of people chatting at neighboring tables excited the hell out of him. He was no stranger to sex in public, but he couldn’t say he’d ever pleasured a woman in an upscale bar where any minute he could get caught.
A sharp breath hissed out of her mouth as he rubbed her clit in a circular motion. “What are you doing?” she whispered.
“I think you know exactly what I’m doing.”
He continued to boldly rub her clit, then danced his fingertips down her slick folds and prodded her opening with the tip of his index finger. The wetness already pooling there made his cock twitch. He wanted nothing more than to shuck his suit pants and thrust into that wet paradise. Right here. Right now. But he wasn’t that bold.
“We should stop,” she murmured, but her body said otherwise.
Her thighs clenched together, her inner muscles squeezed his finger and a soft moan slipped out of her throat.
“You’ll come if I keep doing this, won’t you, Hayden?”
He looked from her flushed face to the neighboring table, several feet away and barely visible through the palm fronds separating the two tables. He hoped to hell the couple seated at that table hadn’t heard Hayden’s moan. He didn’t want this to end just yet.
“Brody, anyone can walk by.”
“Then you’d better be quick.”
He pushed his finger into her core, smiling when she bit her lip. The look on her face drove him wild. Flushed, tortured, excited. He was feeling pretty excited himself, but he managed to get a handle on his own rising desire. He’d pressured her to spend the evening with him because he had something to prove, and what he wanted to prove wasn’t that he was dying for a second go, but that she was dying for it.
Applying pressure to her clit with his thumb, he worked another finger inside her, pushing in and out of her in a deliberate lazy rhythm. His mouth ached with the need to suck on one of her small pink nipples, but he tightened his lips before he gave in to the urge and tore her shirt open. Instead, he focused on the heat between her thighs, the nub that swelled each time he brushed his thumb over it and the inner walls that clamped over his fingers with each gentle thrust.
Keeping one eye on Hayden’s blissful face and the other on his surroundings, he continued to slide his fingers in and out, until finally she let out a barely audible groan and squeezed her legs together. He felt her pulsing against his fingers and resisted a groan of his own as a soundless orgasm consumed her eyes as well as her body.
She came silently, trembling, biting her lip. And then she released a sigh. Her hands, which at some point she’d curled into fists, shook on the tabletop, making her wineglass topple and spill over the side of the table.
He quickly withdrew his hand as Hayden jumped at the startling sound of the glass rolling and shattering on the marble floor. Her sudden movement caused her knee to hit one of the table legs, making the table shake and the ice cubes in his drink collide into the side of the glass with a jingling sound.
From the corner of his eye Brody saw the waiter hurrying over, and yet he couldn’t fight a tiny chuckle. Turning to meet Hayden’s dazed eyes, he laughed again, swiftly fixed her skirt and said, “Still want to tell me the earth didn’t move?”
TEN
About twelve hours after experiencing her very first public orgasm, Hayden strode into Dreams, the downtown lingerie boutique owned by her best friend.
She was in desperate need of Darcy right now. Darcy and her one-night-stand mentality would definitely help her get her thoughts back on the right track and off the track that sent her hurtling straight into Brody Croft’s arms.
Funny thing was, he hadn’t pushed her after their interlude at the lounge last night. He simply paid for their drinks and then succeeded in finally getting his number in her phone. She still hadn’t offered hers, but “BRODY CROFT” was officially part of her contacts list, which was definite progress on his end. Afterward, he’d walked her out to her rental car and left her with a parting speech she couldn’t stop thinking about.
The next move’s yours, Hayden. You want me, come and get me.
And then he left. Just hopped into his shiny SUV and left her sitting in her car, more turned on than she’d ever been in her entire life. She’d been ready to go home with him, even hinted at that, but he’d made it clear it wouldn’t happen that night, not when he’d had to twist her arm to get her there.
Nope, he wanted her to initiate their next encounter. Something she was seriously tempted to do.
Which was why she needed Darcy to talk her out of it.
The bell over the door chimed as she walked into the boutique. She sidestepped a mannequin wearing a black lace teddy and a table piled high with thongs and approached the counter.
