Sensual Games (Novak Springs #3) (9 page)

Colt wanted to kiss her…

Emma’s cinnamon hair blew in the cool breeze. Her blue eyes held a sadness he wanted to erase. Maybe he should do it. What’s the worst that could happen? The first time he kissed her she’d believed he was dating Alison, and she still did. If he kissed her now, Emma might quit talking to him again—but she might do the unthinkable and kiss him back. If she did, it would be worth the risk.

He should tell her the truth. Alison was his best friend, not his girlfriend. Colt remained silent as he stared at her. For reasons he couldn’t explain, the words wouldn’t come to him. This game they were playing didn’t make sense to him, but he didn’t know how to end it. Emma meant so much to him, and fear of losing her permanently ruled his decisions.

They stood outside of his car. He should open the door and help her inside. Do as she’d asked and drive her to Tori’s condo. Colt didn’t always do what he was supposed to. It’d gotten him into a lot of trouble over the years. He didn’t see any reason why he should deviate from his usual path. For once, in his road to get Emma back, he decided to give in to his deepest impulse. He closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms.

A shocked gasp filled the air around him. Colt leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Emma’s mouth opened willingly. She brought her hands up to his neck. Her fingers threaded into his hair and dug deep into his scalp. Colt’s body lit up, tiny prickles of energy fluttered through him. The joy of the moment surpassed every fantasy he’d conjured up. She hadn’t pulled away. He hadn’t realized how much he needed to feel her encased in his arms again. Her lips roamed over his again and again—seeking more.

Colt pushed her up against the car and deepened the kiss. Their tongues dueled for control. He couldn’t get enough of her. His blood warmed as desire filled him. Kissing wasn’t enough—he wanted more. He lifted his head so he could look into her eyes and gauge what might be going through her mind. Their noses touched as Emma’s eyelids flew open. Her passion-filled gaze sought his. Emma’s eyes were glazed over with a dreaminess he wanted to bottle up and keep close by.

“Take me home, Colt.”

So he’d misjudged. Emma still wanted to go back to Tori’s condo. His heart fell to the lowest depths of despair. He’d miscalculated and did the one thing guaranteed to push her out of his life again.

“Sure, I can take you to Tori’s. Let’s get in the car where it’s warmer.”

Emma reached out and grabbed his arms, stopping him from walking away. “No, I don’t want to go to Tori’s.”

Colt was confused. Did she move and no one had bothered to tell him? “Okay, where do you want me to take you then?”

Emma licked her lips. Her eyelashes fluttered as she closed her eyes. She bit her lip—her tongue darted out again and slid across her bottom lip. Her chin jutted out with determination, and she opened her eyes. She studied him searching—for what he had no idea. After several seconds flew by she seemed to find what she was looking for.

“Take me to your place.”

He had to have heard her wrong. Did she say to take her home with him? “What?”

“You heard me,” she whispered.

“I’m not sure I did. Could you repeat that?”

Instead of answering him with words, she twined her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers. They fell back against his car as heat traveled between them—a burning inferno of desire building all around them. The passion he’d bottled up so he wouldn’t scare her away unleashed in full force. Colt yanked her forward, pulling her as close as possible to him. He wanted to make an imprint of her on his body and vice versa. If he could, he’d mark her, so everyone knew she belonged to him. Colt would always be Emma’s. No one would ever be able to fill his heart the way she did. This was the first step in getting her to admit they belonged together. If she wanted to come home with him, it meant one thing. She wanted to spend the night with him. Colt wasn’t about to refuse. He never once thought she’d ask to come home with him. If he knew kissing her would get this reaction from her he’d have done it again, much sooner.

He forced himself to put some distance between them. Colt took several steps back and stared at her. Her lips were plump and moist from their little make-out session. Her eyes were heavy with desire. Her breathing was ragged as her chest moved with rapid little pants.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “Now unlock the car and take me home before I change my mind.”

“I don’t know. If there’s a chance you might do that—maybe we shouldn’t be doing this.”

Colt didn’t want Emma if she didn’t really want him. He wouldn’t take advantage of her. He loved her too much to ruin any real chance they might have together. It pained him to be rational and give her an out, but he had to.

Emma was determined to drive him insane. Instead of listening to him, she decided he needed to be worked up to a fever pitch. She tilted her head to one side and grinned. He knew that look. She was about to do something to bring him to his knees.

Her lips twitched as she sashayed closer to him. Her fingers skimmed his arms, a touch so light he almost didn’t feel them as they slid down the entire length. Colt watched them tap their way down to his hand. His attention completely diverted, enthralled, he waited. Emma would strike when he least expected her to. Colt never knew what she’d do, but it always drove him wild. This was a new trick, and like the sadistic bastard he was, he couldn’t wait to see what her next move was.

Her other hand snaked upward and floated above his face forcing him to turn into it. Colt craved her touch, and this was a buffet of sensations he couldn’t get enough of. She was both punishing and rewarding him. Her other hand moved upward, skimming his chest, and finally resting on his cheek. Both hands surrounded his face as she forced him to look at her.

“You never used to turn me down. Maybe you’re right and I should go to Tori’s.” Her eyes held desire and regret. Both gutted him. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to pleasure me. I’d much rather you wanted me as much as I want you.”

With each word she spoke her hands traveled to a different spot on his body. He hissed as one of them hovered at his waistline. Her fingers skimmed the edge of his jeans just enough so he could feel the tips of her fingers as they grazed his heated skin. Emma stopped when she reached the button. Colt’s eyes slid downward so he could watch her next move. Her thumb rubbed the metal circle almost like a caress meant to entice. It sure made his whole body tense even more with unrequited desire.

She reached deep into his front pocket. Her hand skimmed his growing erection. The only thing better would be to actually feel her hand stroking him skin to skin. Her fingers fluttered over the contents and pulled them out of his pocket. He stared at her confused as she dangled his keys in front of him.

“Since you don’t want to have sex, how about you let me drive your sexy beast instead.” Emma clicked the button on the remote and unlocked his car. She skipped over to the driver’s side and hopped in. The engine roared to life as she started it and hit the gas a couple of times. “What’re you waiting for, get in.”

Colt stood there stunned, watching her get comfortable in his car—a small part of him absorbing the sight of her. She looked so damned pleased with herself. He adored her. Colt rocked back on his heels and laughed at her audacity. She’d got him all hot and bothered just to steal his damn keys.

He shook his head and opened the passenger door. If driving his car put a smile on her face, she could drive the damn thing whenever she wanted. “Okay, where do you want to drive it to?”

“You’re really going to let me?” she asked, surprised.

“You can take it anywhere you want.” Colt leaned back in his seat. “Consider it your car for the night.”

“Sweet!”

Emma pushed the stick shift into drive and peeled out of the parking spot. Colt jerked back as she accelerated. She drove along in first gear until she found the expressway. She quickly had it all the way into fifth gear as she let the car loose. Pure pleasure shown across her features as she tested the speed limits—of the car and the freeway. Emma eased back to a reasonable speed after a few moments at the top velocity.

“This is freaking awesome,” Emma declared. “Thanks for letting me run free.”

Colt laughed. “As if I could ever control you.”

“True enough,” Emma agreed. “I don’t like being locked down unless it’s my choice.”

“Were you messing with me back there so you could drive my car?”

“Maybe,” Emma said, then shook her head. “No, I wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, this car is awesome. But it wasn’t my end game.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Emma nodded, her gaze facing forward so she could concentrate on the road.

“So what did you expect to gain?”

Emma snorted. “I thought that was pretty obvious.”

Colt was missing something if Emma thought it was so crystal clear. “Maybe you could explain it to the idiot in the car.”

Emma laughed. It was melodic as it echoed through the small space separating them. He loved hearing it ringing through his ears.

“I wanted you to take me home and make love to me all night long.”

“You were serious?”

“You doubted me?” Emma asked, baffled. “When have I ever led you to believe I don’t mean what I say?”

“We can still go back to my place,” Colt piped in. God he was an idiot, truly a freaking class A moron. “I can turn on the GPS for you to follow.”

“Nah, the moment’s passed. It would have been a mistake.”

Yup, he’d messed up again. At least this gave him a little hope. If she’d been willing to give him a chance earlier, he could talk her into it again. “You sure? I’m ready and more than willing.” Colt wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

“It shouldn’t have happened to begin with, Colt.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“You have a girlfriend remember?”

Fuck, he’d forgotten she still believed him and Alison was dating. Wait, if she believed he was deep into another relationship, why’d she been so willing to jump into bed with him? Colt was missing something.

“Didn’t seem to bother you earlier.”

“I had a momentary lapse of judgment.” Emma’s lips formed a grim line. “It won’t happen again.”

Damn. He’d have to tell her the truth. If he wanted Emma to give in and be with him, she’d need to believe he was free. It was time he owned up to his blunder. She’d believed he and Alison were a couple for months now. If he’d guessed correctly, Alison was actually very much interested in Paxton Kerry. He’d hate to mess that up for her. Alison deserved to be happy—even if it was with the likes of Paxton.

Colt sighed. “You’re wrong you know.”

“About what?”

“Alison and me.”

“Really?” She frowned. “Seems like I had it straight from the horse’s mouth.” Emma poked him in the shoulder. “That would be you, jackass.”

“Yeah, I know—”Colt ran his hands through his hair and pulled it lose from the rubber band holding the long strands in place. “I may have misspoken.”

Emma’s head snapped to the side, her glare piercing through him before her attention returned to the road. “Which part?”

Time for him to suck it up and tell her everything—he really was a complete ass. She’d be pissed. He needed to brace himself for her wrath. As soon as the words left his mouth she’d be on the attack. Emma eased the car onto the off ramp to the residential area of Capitol Hill—the swank area where Tori’s condo was located. Emma indeed planned on going home.

“All of it.”

Emma slammed on the brakes and her eyes flew to his, anger shooting in his direction, her mouth a hard line. Thank goodness there were no other vehicles on the road. Her hands clenched around the steering wheel. “Can you say that again?”

“Do you think you could pull the car into an actual parking space?”

“No.” She gritted her teeth.

“Please, Emma. It’s not safe to be stopped in the middle of the road.”

Emma turned away from him and began driving again. They sat in dead silence for several minutes as she drove, jerking the steering wheel with each turn she made. Where was she going? Colt had thought she’d pull into the closest parking space available. He’d been wrong. Emma never did anything the easy way. She pulled into a parking lot and slammed the car into park and threw the keys at him. Without saying a word, she got out of the car and slammed the door shut. Colt scrambled out to go after her when he realized where she’d gone. They were in the outside parking lot near Tori’s condo.

“Emma wait—”

She stopped and held out her hand, cautioning him. “I’m a little pissed off right now. I don’t want to talk to you until I can guarantee I won’t regret what I say.”

Emma spun on her heels and stomped into the entrance. He stood there stunned as he watched her leave him cold in the parking lot. Colt couldn’t follow her unless she let him in. He didn’t have a key to the entrance of the building. No doubt Wes was visiting Tori too. If he pushed, it would give him a reason to start a fight. Wes had been itching to beat the piss out of him since he broke Emma’s heart over a year ago. Colt would rather make peace with the man later—once he convinced Emma to take him back.