The Desire Variable - Vol. I

【39】All Me, Then

And to think I had believed myself to be out of the woods, mere seconds ago.

"I wanted to apologize for the way I behaved last week," he declared, his arm back down. Oh, right, straight to the point. I liked his no chit-chat attitude, but it could be disconcerting. I met his eyes, and as usual, I drowned in their grayness.

He wanted to apologize. For the kiss. Our kiss. That hurt a little. Can I be any more of a hypocrite? I too had regrets. I too wished it had never happened. Why wouldn't he?

Hiding my sourness, I nodded. "Me too. I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me," I lied. His eyes darkened, turning predatory. Fuck, the last time he looked at me this way, I ended up grinding on his lap, about to fuck him raw.

"I thought you said it was alcohol," he replied, getting slightly closer to me. Instinctively, I moved backward.

"Yes, of course. It was the wine."

"I should have noticed you weren't yourself," he continued, getting closer slowly. I kept moving back, making sure we remained at a safe distance from each other. He clearly was onto something. And it seemed dangerous.

His dark gaze and the way he was hovering over me made it hard for me to think. He was slowly coaxing me into the state of arousal I usually found myself in around him. But this time, he seemed to be doing it on purpose. My breathing was slowly rising, as was my heartbeat. I jumped a little when the back of my thigh met the armchair behind me. It stopped my attempts to get away from him, and he took two more steps, halting very close to my confused body.

Needing to free myself from his hypnotizing irises, I dropped my gaze to eye level, staring at the collar of his shirt.

"Are you tired?" he asked, his voice abnormally low. Tired? Me? Hell no. Right now, I felt like I could run a marathon. I shook my head, still staring at his shirt. "Have you been drinking today, Andrea?"

It wasn't an accusation, just a question, but it was so odd, so out of the blue, that I was forced to look up, trying to understand where he was getting at. Confused, I shook my head again, letting out a faint 'no'.

"Perhaps you are cold?"

No, I really wasn't. I was actually burning up. It seemed I could never be cold when he was around. I shook my head one more time, my eyes locked on his. I didn't know what all those questions meant, but my brain was numbed by his proximity, and I couldn't process my thoughts correctly. When he got my last answer to his question, a satisfied half sneer pulled the corner of his mouth. Uneasy Lex was gone. He was all confidence again.

He moved his hand between us, and my whole body became taut when it grazed the front of my T-shirt. His knuckles barely brushed the modest swell of my breast. In its path, it caressed one of my nipples, which I could now feel was diamond-hard under my clothes.

"This is all me, then," he declared.

The touch had been very light, and I could have almost thought I imagined it, but the way he was looking at me, the way his eyes darkened even further, was all the proof I needed. Even though his touch was barely perceptible, it sent a shiver through my whole frame, my desire spiking up at once.

If I got like this with a simple graze, how would it be if he were to set his mouth on my bare skin? I would most certainly be overwhelmed by it. Could someone pass out from too much stimulation? I got weak in the knees when he looked at me, I would most surely faint if we ever got to the actual fucking.

Worth it...

Determined not to let him win so easily, I tried to remain strong, to not show the internal conflict raging inside of me, holding his gaze fiercely. His hand dropped to my waist, and he rested it on my side, affirming his power over me. I should have complained, but it felt as if his hand belonged there, on the curve of my hip.