And then the thrust of her warm tongue into his mouth. How she slowly rubbed hers over his and then lifted her hands to his face to hold him right above the jaw. She kept his head steady as she tasted him and he let her.
Hell, there was no stopping this woman. She had turned his own game back on him and left him standing still. He drew his own hands up to her tiny waist and pulled her off balance into his body.
He sucked on her tongue when she would have pulled it back. Her hands slid down his neck to his shoulders and she moved her head again and a tiny moan escaped her.
His erection nudged the top of her thighs and he shifted his hips against hers and heard her moan again. This was more like it, he thought. This was the kind of negotiation he wanted. Both of them alone together.
Just man versus woman and let the winner take all.
Four
Selena had forgotten what it was like to turn the tables on a man sexually. She did it all the time at work but this was personal and she liked it. A heady mix of passion and power consumed her and she knew that it was well past time she got back in touch with this side of herself.
She’d given in to Justin not just because of the lust that was flowing between them but also because she needed to reclaim her femininity.
She took Justin’s hand and led him back to the hotel. “Why are we wasting our time out here when we could be up in my room?”
“Your room? I thought you weren’t sure about my proposition.”
“I guess you think too much.” Turning the tables on Justin had knocked him off balance and she knew he would be easier to deal with now. “I like the idea of a vacation fling. It’s been too long for me and being with you … well let’s just say you are the perfect distraction.”
He frowned at her, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t stupid. She knew that even though Justin wanted her—she knew he wasn’t faking his attraction to her—a part of him was focused on how to use the lust they both felt to his own advantage.
And she wasn’t going to let him do that. She wanted him. She needed a distraction from being back here in Miami. She was thinking too much about the girl she had been and Justin was the distraction she needed.
“Come back to my room,” she said, leaning closer and kissing his neck right under his ear. “That’s what we’d do if we were on vacation.”
Justin nodded. “But we aren’t on vacation.”
“Have you changed your mind?” she asked.
“No. But I don’t like the way you changed yours. What’s going on behind those beautiful brown eyes?” he asked.
She pulled back. She couldn’t do this. It wasn’t like her to just impulsively invite a man back to her room. He was right, what was she thinking?
“Nothing. Nothing is going on,” she said. “I think I had a momentary fever but it is passing now.”
She felt small and a bit rejected. She’d actually never been that bold with a man before. The dress and the way that Justin treated her had made her feel like she was sexy, an enchantress, and now she was realizing she was still just Selena.
“I think we should head back to the hotel. I need to freshen up before heading to dinner. I will meet you there.”
She turned to walk away needing to get back to her room. She needed to find someplace private to sit down and regroup. “No.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“No?”
“That’s what I said. I am not letting you run away,” he said, taking her hand in his. “What’s going on with
you?”
She shook her head and swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. You are making me a little … crazy.”
“That’s good. That’s what I was going for … trying to distract you,” he admitted.
“Well, you did a good job tonight. But that won’t affect me in the boardroom when we are meeting with your group and the community leaders.”
“I didn’t think it would. To be honest I’m trying to even the scales. You have me thinking about your curvy body and kissing you instead of business and I wanted you to think of me.”
“Does that mean you don’t really want a vacation fling with me?”
“Hell, no. I want you more than I want my next breath. But I want you to want it for the right reasons—not because you think it will help you in the boardroom. I do believe we can keep this attraction between us private and explore it.”
She thought about what he was saying. She wanted him and she wasn’t going to deny it. “I’m not—Miami is more than just my home. It’s the place that shaped me into the woman I am today and coming back here is stirring up all kinds of things in me I didn’t expect.”
“Like what?” he asked.
Justin was dangerous, she thought. He made her feel so comfortable and safe that she would tell him almost anything. “This dress for one thing. I bought this for
you.”
“I like it.”
“That was my intention, but at home … in Manhattan I’d never wear this.”
“Good,” he said, leading them back toward the hotel. “Be yourself with me, Selena. I want to see that woman you keep tucked away from the rest of the world. I don’t want to be like every other guy to you.”
“There is no way you could be. My family told me you’re the devil.”
He laughed. It was a strong masculine sound and it made her smile. “I haven’t been called the devil before.”
“To your face,” she said.
“Touché,” he said as they reached the hotel and stepped into the air-conditioned lobby.
Chills spread down her arms and she shivered just a bit. “Are we okay now?” he asked.
“I think so,” she said. “I will meet you—”
“Get whatever you need. I want to take you to Luna
Azul.”
“Why?”
“I want to show you my family,” he said.
“After,” she said. “I need some time to myself before we go to dinner at my grandparents.”
“Really? I was hoping you’d go with me. I don’t want to walk in there by myself.”
“Since when does the devil show fear?” she asked.
“I have no idea, since I’m not the devil,” he said.
“What are you?” she asked.
“Just a man who likes a pretty girl and doesn’t want to screw up again.”
Selena watched him walk away, wondering if she’d underestimated him and if that would be at her own peril.
Justin sat quietly in his car parked on the street in front of the Gonzalez home. Selena had withdrawn into herself and there had been no drawing her out. He had a feeling that Selena’s attitude was the least of his problems as he got out and walked up the driveway to the house.
There was music coming from the backyard and the delicious smells of charcoal and roasting meat wafted around him. This was a cozy neighborhood, the kind of place where he could buy two or three houses and not feel the sting in his checkbook, but a place where he’d never fit in.
Was this what Selena had been talking about when she