Will set down the tiger mug and held her gaze. “First of all, when Jeremy wrote to me, his enthusiasm came through loud and clear on the page. His attitude is refreshing and like I said, I like him.” He moved in on her, one step, then two. “So where Jeremy is concerned, I don’t have any intentions except to build a car I believe he’d enjoy helping me with.” One more step, and he had her backed up against the breakfast bar.
“But with you?” He gently cupped her jaw, stroking it with his thumb, which left a trail of sparks in its wake. “I have a hell of a lot of intentions for you, Harper. So many you wouldn’t believe it. So many I’ve been going crazy giving you that time you said you needed after our first date.”
Her heart stuttered and stopped, then beat as wildly as it had speeding along in his car with the top down. As crazily as it had the moment she’d grabbed his shirt and dragged his mouth down to hers.
“I intend to touch you.” He slid his hand lower to bracket her throat loosely, his fingers a light caress that turned her skin hot. “I intend to make you moan with pleasure.”
She leaned back, gripping the counter behind her. Her legs seemed so weak that she was barely able to stay upright as he bent his head until his lips were only a breath away.
“I intend to kiss you so slowly, so thoroughly, that you’ll be begging me to never, ever stop.”
Didn’t he know every inch of her already burned for him, inside and out? He was a master of the slow, agonizing caress, and everything inside seemed to be melting, every part of her burning up.
She felt the moistness of his breath along the shell of her ear. He inhaled slowly, scenting her, his chest rising, but he didn’t press against her, didn’t let her feel the rest of his body, which somehow made it all the more sensual and erotic.
“And I intend for you to have your taste of me, too.” Those wicked hands of his skimmed down her sides, barely touching but laying down fiery tracks of heat nonetheless. “As much of me as you want, Harper. As much of me as you need.”
She almost whimpered, almost said yes.
Yes, please.
She had to hold onto the breakfast bar behind her for dear life...otherwise she was in danger of leaping on him and begging for everything he promised.
She wanted him now. Needed him now. Was crazy for him now. And all she had to do was take—put her hands on him and take.
But right then, he stepped back, giving her room to breathe again.
Barely.
“Now you know my intentions for both of you.” His voice was low, intense. He backed up two more steps, then added, “As for Jeremy, I’m guessing he might learn some new skills. It could be good for him to have a man around. I should have the first shipment of parts a week from Saturday.”
When he put it that way, she felt churlish for saying no. Especially when she knew he was right, that working on the kit car together could be good for Jeremy. Her brother had blossomed around Will, even if it was only chatting on Skype in the evenings. Did she have the right to deny him this opportunity? She wanted to watch out for him, but she didn’t mean to stifle him, too.
Harper took a deep breath, one that didn’t give her nearly enough oxygen to make up for all that Will’s hot words had just stolen from her. “Okay, I’ll let you work with Jeremy on the car. I know he’ll be ecstatic when you tell him. But as for you and me...” She licked her lips and, despite the desperate need racing through her, forced herself to tell him, “I know I might have given you some mixed signals the other night—” And again today when I all but dared you to kiss me. “—and I regret doing that, but I still can’t date you.”
“Can’t?” He raised an eyebrow, the dark heat still in his eyes. “Or won’t?”
She raised an eyebrow right back at him, even though she wasn’t doing a good job tamping down the heat glowing inside her. “Is there a difference?”
“Can’t means you’re already with another guy and aren’t available to date me. Won’t means you still don’t trust me enough to let me take you out again.”
“We had a nice dinner, and you’ve been very sweet to my brother, but I don’t know you, Will. All I know are your intentions.” Very wicked ones, at that. Deliciously wicked, some might say.
“I’m not asking you to decide about us today, but I am asking you to give me another chance before you make up your mind about whether to shut me down or not.”
He held her gaze for another long moment, letting her see his desire—and something more. Something she couldn’t quite define, but that touched her all the same. Maybe because it mirrored the longing for him she couldn’t figure out how to stop feeling.
“I like you, Harper. I like how straightforward you are. I like how smart you are. I like how you care so deeply for your brother.”
She was nearly speechless from all the wonderful things he’d just said about her. Had any other man ever noticed—or appreciated—so much about her? Or thrown her quite so far off her game all at the same time?
“And I sure as hell like kissing you and holding you in my arms.” With that, he pushed away from the kitchen counter and said, “I’d like to tell Jeremy about the Maserati kit when he calls tonight, if that’s all right with you.”
Even if she knew that she needed to say no on her own account, she couldn’t say no for her brother. “That’s fine with me.”