Following Her (Page 18)

“We aren’t strangers,” she whispered, and felt a little better when she heard a sharp intake of breath from him.

“Are you sure?” Now that he asked, she was more than sure.

“I want you, Axel, and I don’t want to fight it anymore,” she said before he closed the distance between them and sealed the deal with a kiss so hot she didn’t know how they didn’t erupt into flames.

“We have to get out of here now before we get arrested,” he said, his voice strained. The urgency in his tone called to her in a way that gave her the exact same urgency she could tell he was feeling.

“Then I suggest we hurry.”

Axel said nothing else as he took her hand and made a beeline for their table, where he slapped money down and then rushed her out the door.

Not even the chilly night air was enough to temper her excitement. Ella wanted this man, and tonight she would have him.

Axel’s adrenaline pulsed as he pinned Ella to the side of his car and consumed her lips, his hands molding the back of her body in her barely there dress. He didn’t know where to kiss her first, where to move his hands.

“I need you alone, Axel, please,” Ella begged when their lips parted.

“I’m trying to hold it together,” he growled as he finally released her and opened the car door, letting his hands make a quick sweep of her toned thighs before shutting the door and rushing around to the driver’s side.

Damn, why had he picked a restaurant so far from her place? Her home was still closer than his hotel, so putting his foot to the gas he pulled out into traffic, ignoring the horns sounding off at his impatience.

“It doesn’t feel like you’re wearing anything underneath that dress,” he said, his teeth clamped together as they stopped at a light and she leaned over and ran her tongue down the side of his neck, causing a shudder to course through him.

“I’m not,” she whispered in his ear, sending his pulse rocketing.

“Why in the hell are there so many damn people on the road!” he practically shouted as the light finally changed.

“It is a Friday night,” she pointed out.

“Don’t they have anything better to do than clog the damn streets?” He knew he sounded ridiculous but he didn’t care. He needed to get her home to rip that enticing dress from her body.

“Maybe they’re rushing home to do the same thing we’re about to do,” she said, her hand reaching out and running up his thigh, coming close, but not close enough to his throbbing erection.

“I don’t think so. They’d be moving a hell of a lot faster,” he said.

“Not if they’re already playing in the car,” she said. He was shocked by her boldness when her finger traced the outside of the bulge throbbing against his way-too-tight pants.

“I’m not going to make it if you keep doing that,” he warned her.

“I have faith in your manliness,” she said, this time her entire palm cupping the outside of his pants. He growled in response.

At the next light, his arms snaked out and he hauled her to him, kissing her hard and fast, letting her know exactly what her games were doing to him. It didn’t lessen the throbbing in his pants in the least.

When the light changed and he released her again, she kept her hands to herself as she panted in the seat next to him. This was better. He needed to be in control. Not that he minded a woman taking over in the bedroom—that was hot actually—it was just that right now he was hanging on by a thread and they still had several miles to go. And if he came before they even arrived at her house he was going to have to shoot himself.

“This is the longest drive,” Ella panted, her legs shifting, making her dress rise indecently high.

“You’ll forget all about the drive as soon as I get you into bed. I’m going to peel that dress from your luscious body and then I’m going to taste every delectable inch of your skin, and make you come over and over again,” he said, wanting so badly to close his eyes and picture himself doing just that.

“Axel, get us there,” she commanded as she shifted again and her dress rose another inch.

“Screw this!” Axel shot around two cars on the right-hand side, ignored the horns blaring at him, then made a sharp right turn and sped down a two-lane road. He could practically drive this area with his eyes closed, he’d scouted it so much while looking at every which way someone could come or go from her house.

The next five minutes seemed like an hour, but finally he pulled to a screeching stop in her driveway and practically jumped from the SUV. Ella didn’t even have time to undo her seat belt before he was ripping open her door and unlatching it himself, then lifting her into his arms where he tasted her lips one more time before moving.

“Keys,” he demanded as he swiftly moved up her walkway.

Ella dug in her purse, fumbling for the keys as he reached the door. He had to force himself not to grab the purse and dump it out to find them faster. “Why in the world do women keep so many things they’ll never use inside a bag?” he asked, his frustration coming through loud and clear.

“We use everything in our purses. Some of the items may only be used once or twice a year, but I assure you it’s all used,” she said before leaning in and kissing his neck, making his temperature rise a few more degrees.

Finally, the magical keys were found and he unlocked the door, then turned long enough only to relock it and allow Ella to reengage the security pad before he was moving swiftly up the stairs.

“How do you know where my room is?” she asked as her lips nuzzled his jaw.