Having Her: Lies We Tell, Book 2 (6 page)

The hen party clapped but Vin didn’t look at them. He lifted his gaze from the table and looked at her instead.

Electricity whispered over her skin as she met his dark, stormy blue eyes, and she had to take a deep breath, trying to slow her racing heartbeat.

God, this was insane. Where had all this sudden sexual tension come from?

Telling herself to move, she approached the table, her coat still pulled tight around her. He straightened, holding his cue by his side, looking her up and down.

“I’m still wearing the costume,” she murmured, wanting to push him in some way. Get him back for the way he made her feel so off-balance. “Wanna see it?”

His gaze didn’t move from hers. “Show me.”

Kara caught her breath. She hadn’t expected him to want to. She’d thought to flash him and catch him off guard. Shock him and maybe embarrass him a little. Part of her had even been looking forward to it. But now, perversely, she wanted to refuse. Deny him just to taunt him.

She lifted a brow. “My, Vincent. So demanding. Say please and I might.”

“No please.” His voice held a note of command she’d never thought she’d ever want to obey. “Show me. Now.”

But she did want to obey. Because another, secret part of her wanted him to see her.

So she let the two halves of her coat open, giving him a glimpse of the slave collar and chain, the metal bikini top and exposed length of her torso and thighs.

Vin didn’t move but the way his gaze swept from her head to her feet made her whole body prickle with heat. She felt like she’d been licked with fire, scorched. A voice inside her head screeched at her to cover herself, that she’d made herself vulnerable, but she resisted the urge. She wanted a reaction from him first. Some evidence that she hadn’t shown herself to him for nothing.

Because somehow it felt important.

Slowly Vin lifted his gaze from her body to meet her eyes. The look on his face was hungry, skin drawn tight over the classical bone structure beneath it. His eyes glittered. The intensity of him held her motionless, made it difficult to breathe.

He liked what he saw, that much was obvious. And the fact that he did made her ache. Made her want.

“Stop, Kara,” he said after what felt like an age, that edge of command still in his husky voice. “Stop sending me texts. Stop sending me pictures. And stop pushing me. Because you may not like the consequences.”

Slowly she leaned her hip against the side of the pool table and folded the coat around herself again. Breath, long denied, filled her lungs. “Why? You don’t like?”

“I don’t like you messing with me, no.”

“Sure you do. In fact, I think you love it.” She eased away from the table and came closer to him. He watched her approach, unmoving. “I think you want me to mess with you more.”

She didn’t know quite why she felt the urge to keep pushing at him. Or what reaction she wanted from him.

Sure you don’t.

Kara inhaled. Yeah, she knew. And perhaps it was time to stop denying her own feelings. Her own needs. Perhaps it was time to admit to herself what she wanted and why she could not leave him alone.

She hadn’t wanted any of those guys at the Con. The guy she really wanted was Vin.

For a long moment neither of them said anything, the space between them full of tension and unspoken desires.

Then he said, “What do you want, Kara?”

“You said you were going to offer me an alternative to all the guys I’ve been sending you.” She turned, leaned back against the pool table, her hands gripping the sides. “So here I am. What’s your alternative?” Somehow telling him exactly what she wanted felt too hard. Made her too vulnerable. She’d been rejected too many times before to leave herself open to the possibility of it happening again.

His gaze had dropped to where the coat had opened a little, giving him a glimpse of her bare leg. Good. Let him look. Let him see what he could have if he wanted. He just had to say it. Just had to tell her.

“An alternative?” he murmured. “You really want to know?”

“Yeah.” Her voice wasn’t as steady as she would have liked it to be.

Vin didn’t move, but his gaze lifted from the gap in her coat back to her face again. “Me.”

The word gripped her. Held her fast. He’d said it. He really had.

Losing her virginity to Vincent Fox. God. The thought made her mouth go dry with a strange combination of intense desire and absolute terror.

Kara looked down at the floor, suddenly unable to meet his eyes. “You? Well, that’s something I didn’t see coming.”

“Bullshit. Isn’t that why you’ve been playing games with me for the past couple of days?”

She tried to force a sarcastic laugh but it came out sounding strange. “Don’t be stupid. I’m not some silly teenage girl.”

There was a silence and she knew he’d moved, could feel that he’d closed the gap between them. He was right next to her, the heat from his body near her arm, making a shiver creep across her skin. He smelled good. Like a forest in summer, spicy and warm, with the faintest edge of musk. It made her want to turn her head into his neck and inhale him.

But she didn’t. She kept her eyes on the floor because she knew if he looked into her face he’d see her desire. See it written there as obvious as spilled red wine on white velvet. And the thought of being so obvious was too much for her.

But a finger caught her beneath the chin, tipping her head back so her eyes met his whether she wanted it or not. And although she tried to school her expression she knew he’d seen through her. Knew he’d seen everything.

“Ah,” he said softly, his intense gaze burning into hers. “I was right. You do want me.”

Kara’s jaw went tight with the urge to jerk away from him. His finger underneath her chin made her tremble for some reason, but she tried to hide it, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing he affected her.

“Okay, so you’re right.” She lifted an eyebrow, going for bold and uncaring. “Did you mean it?”

His gaze flicked to her mouth then back again. “What? Offering myself as alternative? Yeah, I meant it.”

“Why?” She felt suddenly angry with him for the way he’d made her so vulnerable. And the way he’d forced her to reveal it. “Would it be like a pity screw? Show the poor virgin what she’s missing?”

Vin didn’t release her, just stared down at her. “No. I don’t pity screw anyone.”

No, of course he wouldn’t. Vin wasn’t that type of guy and she knew it. But still, part of her wanted more than just “I meant it”.

“Then why? You’ve never shown any interest in me before. Or perhaps it’s because you just haven’t had it in a while?” Great. And now she sounded overly defensive.

“You want me to want you, Kara?”

She didn’t know how he managed to see through her all the time. See what she barely understood herself. “Yes.” She forced the words out because they were so damn difficult to say. “Yes, that’s what I want.”

His thumb brushed along her jaw and she froze, the touch making everything inside her go quiet and still. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want you.”

She let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. “And what exactly are you offering?”

“You know what I’m offering, baby girl. You want to lose your virginity? Then it needs to be with someone who’ll keep you safe. With someone who knows what they’re doing and who’ll make it good for you. Who won’t take advantage of you.”

Her mouth was dry, the movement of his thumb on her skin sending little shockwaves through her. “Well that sounds kind of boring,” she said, the bravado undermined by the way her voice shook.

Vin didn’t smile and she knew he could see beneath all her defensive sarcasm, the snarky comebacks she used to protect herself. And she’d never felt so exposed in all her life.

“Don’t be scared,” he said. “I won’t hurt you.”

“I’m not scared,” Kara lied and pulled away from him. “Come on then. If you’re going to fuck me then let’s get it over with.”

But Vin’s fingers were holding her chin in a grip she couldn’t break, turning her head back to face him. And then his mouth covered hers.

For a minute, Kara was too shocked to do anything but stand there. Then, like the sun slowly melting a fall of snow, the shock began to seep away, becoming a deep, liquid heat that crept through her body. Making her tremble. Burn.

His mouth was so hot, coaxing her lips apart, deepening the kiss into something gentle and yet so demanding she could do nothing else but respond to it, leaning into him, her hands reaching for him.

Until he pulled away, blue eyes glittering. “I’m not going to fuck you, Kara,” he said distinctly. “I’m going to do something else entirely.”

Then he took her hand and led her wordlessly through the pool bar and into the night.

Chapter Four

“Where are we going?” Kara asked, breaking the unbearable silence as she got into the Corvette, jamming her hands into her armpits so he wouldn’t see them shake.

“Your place.” Vin pulled the car out into the stream of traffic, his attention firmly on the road.

Shit. She closed her eyes a second. Thought of her tiny apartment full of mismatched furniture and an eclectic mix of brightly colored throws and cushions that kind of clashed if she was honest. Then thought of Vin, standing tall and dark and stern in the middle of all the clutter and mess. About to have sex with her.

Double shit.

She hunched her shoulders. “Can’t we go to yours?”

“I’m living at the office at the moment so no.”

“The office? Why?”

“I started work on my house out at Piha and I need to save cash. The office has a kitchen and bathroom.” He lifted one shoulder. “And a couch I can crash on.”

“Oh but—”

“I’m not having you on my office couch, Kara,” he interrupted with some finality. “It’s not going to happen.”

Having her. A shiver crept over her skin. She could still feel his kiss burning her mouth, an ache deep down inside her. Tension began to grip her. No, she didn’t want that feeling, that awful feeling of pressure, of exposure, of vulnerability. Not now. Not with Vin.

“Okay,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t sound as shaky as she suspected it did. “But you’re going to have to deal with unwashed coffee mugs and clothes, and—”

“Stop talking now, baby.”

Kara closed her mouth with a snap, the words of protest about the
baby
dying unsaid. Arrogant son of a bitch. But quite honestly it felt good not to have put up the snarky front. To obey the command in his voice and do as she was told. She had too many other things to worry about right now, Vin’s high-handedness being the least of it.

The silence in the car grew, along with the tension.

Her breathing had become faster the closer they got to her apartment, and she tried so hard to keep it contained, to not let him hear how that tension was getting to her.

She didn’t want to be scared. Or nervous. Or any of the things she’d been with all those other guys. Because she’d never wanted any of them the way she wanted Vin and, Jesus, she didn’t want to ruin this.

It didn’t take them long to get to her apartment, but by the end she was desperate to get out of the car and away from the silence and her own conflicted feelings.

On the walk to her front door she was achingly conscious of Vin following behind her, not saying anything. He moved so silently for such a tall guy it was kind of unnerving.

Her fingers trembled as she tried fitting the key into the lock, cursing when it wouldn’t go.

Then Vin put his hand on the back of her neck, his palm warm against the top her spine, long fingers brushing the bottom of the slave collar. And the breath froze in her chest.

The warmth of his touch washed over her, rooting her to the spot.

“You’re nervous,” he said quietly. “If you don’t want to do this all you have to say is no and I’ll stop. At any time.”

Beneath the fear and desire, a small spark of anger glowed. Yeah, she was nervous but she wasn’t a bloody coward. She
wanted
this. She really, truly did.

“I’m not going to say no,” she said thickly and jammed her key into the lock.

His hand slipped away as the door opened and as soon as it had gone, she wanted it back. But she didn’t know how to ask, didn’t know how to get the words out without her voice shaking, without revealing herself even more, so she said nothing, stepping inside and heading automatically down the hallway toward the lounge.

Except that when she got there, she didn’t know what to do. Crap, why had she come here? If they were going to have sex then maybe going into her bedroom would have been better? And man, look at this stupid place. Empty coffee cups, books and comics scattered everywhere. Her art stuff on the dining table because she didn’t have a proper desk to draw on. Some cushions on the floor that she hadn’t picked up.

Kara went to the coffee table and collected the coffee cups, turning toward the kitchen area. Only to come to a halt when she almost crashed into Vin standing right in front of her.

“Where are you going?” he asked.