Vicious Seduction

6

CHAPTER 5 LINA “You can let go now.” Why the hell did I sound like I’d just had the best orgasm of my life? Breathless and disbelieving. In awe, if you will. Not at all how I wanted to sound when stumbling into Oran Byrne’s arms. My body had a mind of its own where he was concerned. I was usually a pro at appearing unruffled, but I’d been thrown off my game by a damn coffee delivery truck. The blazer I’d been wearing wasn’t ideal in the rain, but I managed fine until the matchbox-sized mini truck raced through a puddle by the curb and shot up a rooster tail of water that completely drenched me. I’d been scrambling to mentally catch up ever since. “Trust me,” Oran said in a dark murmur. “I know exactly what I can and can’t do.” His hands stayed put for several eternal seconds before lowering. It was as if to ensure I knew he was releasing me because he was ready, not because I’d asked. I hadn’t realized how warm his hands were until they were gone, the loss making me shiver. Or was that my body responding to his overbearing proximity? Oran had let go, but he hadn’t backed away. If anything, he felt even closer—something about the heat radiating off him, just out of reach. My already hard n*****s felt like they were straining for him. That’s when I remembered that my damn blouse was so wet, I was practically naked. “Touch.” I announced, hands going to my hips as I owned all sixty-nine inches of my full height. “Excuse me?” His molten silver eyes lifted from my chest to my cutting gaze. “That’s what you can’t do. You might be able to look, but you can’t … touch.” I didn’t back away. I refused to let this man or any other think he could intimidate me. “And Lawrence? Does he get to touch?” “What I do with Lawrence is none of your business.” A guttural rumble of amusement resonated from deep in his chest. “And if I make it my business?” I got the sense he’d meant to tease me, but his words had a predatorial edge to them, the deep timbre reminding me of a hungry jungle cat. Why did his voice have to be so damn seductive? My heart did a stutter step that made my head spin. I wanted to believe it was the menace in his tone that affected me, but that would have been a lie. Every shallow breath was owed to the graphic image that burst into my mind of Oran f*****g me against a wall while my legs were wrapped around his middle. It was so hyper-realistic that it could have come from a memory, but I’d never once been with a man like Oran. I would have remembered. “Then you’d be an unwelcome intrusion.” I tried to keep pace with him, but my thoughts were all over the place. He raised his hand so slowly, I had an eternity to wonder what exactly he planned to do before his knuckles finally made contact with my neck. He swept his hand upward, coming away with a drop of water transferred to his skin. I watched raptly as he lapped up the tiny droplet with a slow swipe of his tongue. “Liar.” His exhaled word feathered across my skin. “Who are you?” I breathed, my voice abandoning me. “I’m whoever you want me to be, so long as you want me.” I didn’t have time to process his offer before footsteps sounded in the foyer. Reality came crashing back to me like an icy bucket of water all over my already freezing body. I lurched backward and hurriedly retrieved the hand towel I’d dropped at my feet. “Lina? What on earth happened to you?” Lawrence stood across the room, gaping at me. “Poor city drainage and a reckless delivery driver, that’s what happened. I was just toweling off when Oran arrived.” I abandoned the man beside me and crossed the large sitting room to Lawrence. His brow furrowed disapprovingly. “I thought you’d be joining us, but not like that. It’s too cold to run around soaking wet. You should probably get home and change.” I smiled reassuringly. “I came all this way to see you. I’ll be fine now that I’m drying off.” I tried so hard to ward off the chatter in my teeth, but I couldn’t hold back a shiver that started in my shoulders and shook me down to my toes. Lawrence shook his head, pursing his lips. “Why do women always have to be so damn stubborn? Find Hannah. Maybe she’ll have something you can change into.” He looked over my shoulder to Oran. “My office is back here.” “One second.” Oran walked past me into the foyer. When he returned, he had his coat in his hands. “Before you freeze to death,” he mumbled gruffly as he draped the heavy wool over my shoulders. “Thank you.” He grunted, then returned to Lawrence. I sensed he was irritated, but I wasn’t sure why. Wasn’t he the one offering himself to me minutes earlier? And he didn’t have to give me his coat. I would have been fine without it. As if lashing out in argument, my body shook with another shiver. “Yeah, yeah. I get it. I needed the damn coat.” Good grief, the man was so confounding he had me talking to myself out loud. Leaning into my already ridiculous behavior, I breathed deeply when the sandalwood scent lingering on his coat enveloped me. God, it smelled good. He smelled good. My conscience rained down a shower of acidic guilt, searing my insides. Why the hell was I wasting time acting like a hormonal teen? I needed to stop screwing around. This was the first time Lawrence had invited me to his home, and I’d been left to my own devices for who knew how long. I had to make the most of it—look around and see what I could learn, but quickly. I needed Lawrence to trust me. To let me in past that outer barrier he kept up. Anything I could find to help speed along his opening up would be a huge win. I was running out of time. Each day, the desperation I’d been consumed with for months withered a little more into a desolate sense of hopelessness.