“I thought you might want to take a shower before we head out.”

An excited flutter shot from between her legs to her chest like a butterfly. His deep voice coupled with the dark atmosphere in the room reminded her that she was on a bed and Brayden was sitting right next to her. What if he kissed her now or she kissed him? Would he come down with her on the bed and show her what other pleasure he was capable of evoking inside her?

“Head out where?” she asked, her voice a croak.

His gaze met hers, and damn if she couldn’t read the look in his eyes. “Don’t worry about that. I packed your things. Take a shower, then we’ll leave.”

He stood and her hand reached out to catch his wrist. His gaze came back to her, something darker in his eyes...or maybe that was just how the light played with his eyes now that he didn’t sit with the lamp near him.

She could have asked so many things. She could have asked about the time or insist he explain where they were going, but none of that mattered to her. All that mattered to her right then was the incredible energy wavering between them, that felt so taut and hard it’d take a chainsaw to break the tether.

So instead of asking any of those things, she tilted her chin up and asked what she really wanted to. “Will you come with me?”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, then he shook his head. “I better not. Meet me downstairs when you’re done.”

He left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Vanessa tore the comfort off her and stormed to the shower. “What an asshole.” She flung her clothes off her with agitated movements. How could he be hot one second then distant the next? He was the one who said what they’d done before had changed everything. As she stepped under the spray and did her business, her mind scoured through their previous altercations. Had he changed his mind? Did he just not what her anymore?

Hell, what did it matter? What about what she wanted. She wanted a lot, and all of it involved her and Brayden naked with him buried so deep inside of her she couldn’t remember her own name. She wanted to feel that same white-hot, intense explosion of pleasure he’d given her before while he was pumping his fingers inside her.

“Whoa, get a hold of yourself, honey,” she muttered.

Too late; she couldn’t undo the mental reliving of what they’d shared in his kitchen. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to push the images away, but instead, her breasts grew heavy and her sex wet and empty feeling.

“Damn you, Brayden.”

She shut off the shower with her elbow, then grabbed a towel hanging from the rack. Even while mad at him, she couldn’t help but feel a wisp of pleasure that she was probably using his towel. She entered the bedroom, found it empty, and her shoulders sagged. So maybe she’d hoped he’d be naked and lying on the bed waiting for her. But, nope. No way was she going to put her dirty clothes back on, so she walked barefoot with a towel wrapped around at the tops of her breasts to her room. Inside the drawers, she found he hadn’t packed everything. In fact, the only clothes he’d left were skirts, dresses, and a few of her more sexy tops she’d bought. A smile curled her lips at the thought of her flustering the big, bad Brayden. That had to be it, had to be why he’d purposely not packed these clothes.

With a soft laugh, she pulled on a blue-jean mini-skirt and a brown top that bared her shoulders and much of her breasts. This kind of shirt actually made her glad she had small breasts because it meant she didn’t have to wear a bra. The vee of the shirt fell way low to the bottom of her breasts and two strings tied in the middle to sort of ‘hold it all together’. She ran her fingers through her wet hair then checked herself out in the bathroom mirror.

The skirt showed off her legs and the shirt her arms and tits. Good, she hoped he’d drool, because she was wearing this on their little trip tonight. It’s the least he deserved for being a cock tease. A grin split her lips at the thought. Still barefoot, she treaded downstairs and peered into the kitchen and dining room. Empty. Heading right, she found him sitting on the leather couch. His gaze moved to her and she stopped at the doorframe to lean against it, hooking her ankle over the other and resting a hand at her hip.

“All ready,” she announced.

She wished he didn’t sit in the dark. She could barely make out his eyes. She found it difficult enough to read his expression when she could see his eyes, much less when she couldn’t. Goosebumps popped up over her arms then traveled down her legs making her shiver. Had his gaze just traveled over her?

“You shouldn’t wear that.” His deep voice was made for wooing women over the radio or speaking naughty things into a woman’s ears, things that’d make her drop her panties in a second. Vanessa knew she would.

So her clothes did bother him. She couldn’t help but smile. “Why not? It’s all I had left up there. I wasn’t about to shiver my way down here and go through the bag you packed me for a pair of jeans, ya know.”

“Come here.”

Her smile faltered as nerves jumped in her stomach. “What?” Maybe it was the way he’d said it, like an order she must obey, but she suddenly felt naked in front of him.

“Don't make me say it again, Vanessa.” It couldn’t just be her ears, because his voice had lowered like a threat...or a growl.

Even as her mind reeled to understand what was happening or about to happen, her feet slapped softly against the bare wood floor as she crossed to him. His figure became clearer, and once she made it a few feet away from him, she could make out his eyes. The look in them stopped her dead in her tracks, made her heart pound and she wasn’t even sure why. She felt the urge to run hard and fast even knowing he’d catch her—or especially knowing he’d catch her.

His eyes smoldered penetrating heat. Her barely-there clothing suddenly was very fitting as a bead of sweat formed at the base of her neck.

“Come closer.” His deep voice rolled over her like a crushing wave, forcing her to move with the wave and closer to him. He sat with his knees bent, legs slightly apart, arms loose on his thighs, but as she stepped that little bit closer, his hand moved wicked fast. He snatched her by the wrist then tugged her forward.

Breathless, she stumbled until she stood between his legs. Then she wasn’t breathless anymore. Her breaths came soft and fast from her parted lips as his gaze traveled down to the valley of her breasts. He saw the tie there and she could almost see the calculating look in them figuring out how best to open it and bare a tit. Then his gaze traveled lower, over her stomach muscles sucked in at his gaze, then down to her bare legs and all the way to her toes. Even those curled under his gaze.

“What?” she asked on an airy breath.

His eyes trained on hers and she had to lock her arms straight to keep from fidgeting. There was so much passion in his eyes, so much heat, and all of it was trained on her. “You shouldn’t have worn that, Vanessa.”

“Why?” she whispered. A tremble started in her knees and she could only hope he didn’t notice. She didn’t want to look like she didn’t know what she was doing, that she wasn’t experienced, even if it was true.

“Come here.”

Sure, he’d completely ignored her question, but she really didn’t care. Not when he looked at her like that. Like it took every ounce of control inside him not to reach for her, not to slam their bodies together and rush to ecstasy. Like she was something special, the only woman who could make him feel like this.

At that look, she didn’t feel like the inexperienced, never-experienced-an-orgasm-during-sex girl that she was. No, she felt powerful, in charge, like Aphrodite or Helen of Troy. With a flick of her finger, she could make any man bow to her.