She had a light dinner, then took a shower and dried off. She felt a tingly awareness all over her body, as if every cell awaited Barrett’s touch.
Kind of crazy. She’d never felt this sense of anticipation before. Barrett had been all she thought about as she’d gone through the remainder of her day today.
She lotioned her body, fixed her hair and makeup, and decided on an easy-to-remove silk sundress. She considered lighting candles in the bedroom, then decided that was a little too cheesy.
She went downstairs and thought about opening the red wine to let it breathe.
No. All he wanted was sex.
She lifted her head and stared out the doors to her balcony. Was she upset by that? She thought about it for a few seconds, then decided she wasn’t.
She’d just gone through a breakup and she’d been honest with him when she’d told him she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend or a relationship.
She was attracted to Barrett. All she wanted was sex, to feel desirable.
He most definitely desired her, and, for right now, that was all she needed.
When the doorbell rang her heart began to race—like teenage-girl, first-date race. Which was ridiculous. But also made her feel giddy, and what was wrong with that?
A man should make a woman feel like that, shouldn’t he?
She went to the door and opened it. Barrett was leaning against the doorway, and when he gave her a smoldering half smile, parts of her quivered.
All the good parts, of course.
“Evening, Harmony.”
“Barrett.”
She held the door open for him and he stepped in. She shut and locked the door behind her, and for good measure, turned the dead bolt.
Barrett looked delicious in dark jeans and gray T-shirt. She wanted to lean into him, to run her arms over all that delicious muscle. But she resisted.
Soon.
She walked into the living room, unsure how soon he planned to throw her to the ground, lift up her skirt and shove his cock inside of her. The thought of it made her tingle.
Okay, maybe not soon enough. She turned to face him. “Would you like some wine or a beer?”
“No, I’m good. But if you need a glass of wine to relax you, go ahead.”
She felt his energy. It fueled her own. “Honestly, Barrett, I’m so pent up right now I don’t think it would help.”
He stepped toward her and smoothed his hands up and down her arms. “Pent up?”
“Yes.”
“Do I make you nervous, Harmony?”
“No. I’m never nervous around you. Not anymore. More like . . . aware of you.” She laid her hands on his chest. “The way you stand, the way you cock your head to the side when you’re thinking about something, your crooked smile—”
“You notice a lot.”
“About you? Hard not to, you being all imposing and hot.”
He laughed. “Thanks for the compliment. Now let’s talk about you.”
“Me? What about me?”
He tipped his finger under her chin and tilted her head back. “You have the prettiest eyes, Harmony. And the way you smile makes me catch my breath. And your mouth—damn you have a sexy mouth. Your laugh makes me turn my head whenever we’re in the same room. It’s like you put your entire soul into your laugh. It’s genuine, and if there’s one thing that makes a woman attractive to me, it’s when she’s real. And everything about you is real. There’s no bullshit about you. I know when you say something, you mean it.”
“Well, that’s true.” She loved that he told her what he liked about her. It made her toes curl.
And when he leaned in, his breath sailed across her cheek. He cupped the back of her neck. “Did I mention how much I like your mouth?”
Her breath caught when he kissed her and she grasped his arms, digging her nails in.
He groaned, then wrapped his arm around her back, tugging her closer, fitting his mouth firmly with hers and sliding his tongue inside to lick against hers.
She was swamped with sensation. She breathed in his crisp, clean scent, taking in how hard his body felt as he pushed her against the counter. Her nipples tingled and she pulsed with damp desire as he cupped her butt to draw her in closer to his erection.
And when he arched against her, rubbing his cock against her pussy, she wanted to lift her dress, draw down her panties and get off against him. She needed release, the kind only Barrett could give her.
She’d fantasized about this moment for years, of what it would be like to have him touch her and make her come. It was almost surreal to believe it was about to become reality.
When he pulled his mouth from hers to rain kisses along her jaw and her throat, he whispered in her ear.
“I’ve thought about fucking you, Harmony. I’ve thought about it for a long time.”
She leaned back, searching his face to see if she could read that as some kind of bullshit line men laid on women.
All she saw on his face was earnest desire. “Did you?”
“Yeah. Last year at New Year’s Eve at your mom’s. You leaned over to get something out of the oven and your dress rode up. I wanted to come up behind you and lift your dress and touch you. Hell, if I’m being honest, I wanted to do a lot more than just touch you.”
She shuddered at the visual. “Why didn’t you ever say anything to me?”
He ran his hands down her rib cage and over her hips. “You know why.”
She most definitely did not want the topic of Barrett’s friendship with Drake to interfere in what was happening with them tonight. “Touch me now. Do whatever you want to me now. I’m here and I’m all yours.”