Page 28 of Want You

“Reluctantly,” she admitted. “Were you distracted during those games too?”

“Yes.” He finally looked at her, really looked. “But in a different way. That was a beneficial distraction. A play well get a reward kind of thing.”

“So I’m a distraction and a reward?” Her eyebrow raised quizzically.

Yes, he thought.

He felt like she was testing him. Seeing how long he’d be willing to wait for her to realize there was something more between them than just physical. He felt it, he couldn’t imagine that she didn’t. He’d had a couple of just sex arrangements in the past. They’d always been in-season ways to blow off some steam. Always with someone who was just as disinterested in more at the time as he was. Nathan had assumed that’s what this would be. He and Octavia would meet up once in a while, fuck, and forget about one another until the next time.

The thing was, he hadn’t stopped thinking about her since the elevator that first night. She was one of those drugs that got you high and addicted after the first hit. He wanted her all the fucking time and not just in bed. He wanted to be near her just as badly.

“You’re everything,” he finally said.

“Don’t…” Octavia stuttered.

“Don’t what?”

“Say things like that, Nathan.”

“You’d rather I lie?” he asked, closing his eyes again because he couldn’t bear her looking away from him while she denied what they both knew.

“Yes.”

“Lying really isn’t my style, Autumn girl.”

The water moved violently as she stood. Don’t move, he willed himself. Let her leave. You aren’t in the mood for any of this right now.

He heard her wet feet smack against the tile, the towel across her body, the rushed redressing, fabric silent on her damp skin.

Nathan’s mind went into panic mode. What if she never came back? What if tonight could have changed everything for the better and you’re sulking? What if? What if? What if?

He was out of the tub before he even realized it.

CHAPTER 14

OCTAVIA

Octavia cursed herself as she struggled to get her dress back on. Why had she come here and then gotten into the bath with him? That’s not something a sane person did.

Neither was showing up at his house when he wasn’t home, she reminded herself.

She heard the water as it sloshed over the side of the tub and hit the floor and then the sound of his wet feet pounding the hardwood as he came after her. Prey instinct rippled through her, run, it hissed. But something else sparked to life as his footsteps got closer, need. A need to be caught. A desire to let him catch and devour her.

A wet hand slipped around her wrist and jerked her to a stop, spinning her around and slamming her into the wall, his hand cushioning her head from the impact. Nathan stared down at her, breathing heavily, the gold flecks that she’d reluctantly noticed in his eyes burning like embers. She should be terrified right now or spitting mad that he’d manhandled her like this. She was anything but.

“Why did you come here tonight?”

She glared up at him, her legs spreading involuntarily as he moved closer, his thigh pressing against where she had been desperate for him to touch her since that first call. “I don’t know.” She felt the water seep through her dress. Jesus, he was soaked and very naked.

“You came all the way to my home to wait for me in the dark without knowing why?” He pressed his leg in harder and her hips rocked up, her head falling forward when that first spark of relief snapped inside her. His hand wrapped around her neck, forcing her head back up. He didn’t say anything, just leaned into her more, his cock pressing into her abdomen.

She wanted to drop to her knees and take him in her mouth. Wanted him to pick her up and slide into her. Wanted to be closer.

“What do you want, Octavia?” He growled low, right next to her ear, making her breath falter as she ground down harder on his thigh. He released a humourless laugh. “Ah, because it’s not what you want is it? It’s what you fucking need.” He slid his hand between his thigh and her. “Fuck, baby, you didn’t even put your panties back on. Unless…” His fingers curled into her, making her gasp. “You weren’t wearing any to begin with. Did you walk into my home without wearing any, Octavia? Did you want me to walk in and fuck you immediately?”

He loosened his grip and she nodded.

“I want to hear you say it. Say you wanted me to fuck you.”