I stared at him as I called the shift forward. It rippled through me, quicker now than my shift only two hours before. I saw the shock and the recognition in Riley’s face as I went from leopard to Anna in no more than a few seconds. Of course, I was now naked Anna and my own insecurities battled with my need to be confident.
I had to give him credit. He didn’t look lower than my chin. He maintained eye contact until finally I couldn’t stand it anymore. I knew he wanted to look, he knew I knew he wanted to look. I threw my arms wide and smiled.
“Look, I promise this conversation will be much easier after you’ve appeased your curiosity.” I didn’t know I had that much courage. And believe me, it takes courage to stand in front of a very attractive, very seductive, very male…male without any clothes on and allow him to look you over.
He raised his eyebrow, accepting my challenge. I watched as his gaze lowered over my chest, across my stomach, and still lower. I had to fight to turn away. I know he probably saw me shift earlier. He probably got a glimpse but that was fast and this was slow and kind of like torture. My skin heated under his gaze and the connection that had been building between us over the last twenty-four hours reared its head at me again; reminding me that it was there, that we were connected in ways neither one of us fully understood. I drew in a shaky breath, for some reason I seemed to be doing it a lot lately. His gaze shot back to mine and before I knew it he was standing directly in front of me. I was shaking; I felt the tremble in my own body. God, I wanted to be strong and brave. I wanted to be the woman who could stand there and deal it out as good as I got it. Damn, I really wanted to be that woman.
I couldn’t. I shook when I was near him. My heart skipped beats, my lungs drew in more air, and my body craved him. How was I ever going to be strong, be the woman I needed to be when he made me feel this way? I’d never felt more vulnerable in my life.
“Anna.” His voice was raw, like he was feeling something akin to what I was feeling. I fought to keep from closing my eyes. There was so much emotion in his voice and it touched me in places I didn’t know existed.
I waited for him to do something. I couldn’t make the move. It didn’t mean I didn’t want to; I couldn’t.
“God,” he said. “I want you so much I can’t think.” I knew exactly how he felt because I didn’t know right from left when I was near him half the time. There was always some kind of below the surface attraction that constantly pulled us together.
He stood in front of me, as close as two people could get without actually touching. I leaned in a little, my lips drawn to his. I closed my eyes as his lips brushed across the surface of mine. My breath hitched, I felt hot all over and that fluttery feeling in my stomach was back. It made my legs weak, my need for him increasing. It was as if my brain had shut down and my body was running on instinct, responding to him without my input.
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