Heated Rush - Leslie Kelly [48]
“Shutting.”
“And get out.”
“I must admit, I’m startin’ to feel a wee bit used.”
Her gasp told him she’d fallen for that, but her subsequent frown told him it hadn’t been for long. “Like any single man alive wouldn’t want to be used like that.”
“Well, now, I didn’t say I didn’t like it.”
She flipped a button to unlock all the doors in the van. Probably some protective device to make sure no little heathens tumbled out of the car in the middle of the street. “Go.”
Knowing there was no changing her mind, he reached for the door handle. “Fine, fine.” Then, certain he wouldn’t possibly last throughout the next forty-eight hours without tasting her again, he leaned over and slid his hand into her hair. Pressing a soft kiss on her mouth, he breathed her in, soaked her up, feeling her body relax as she parted her lips in welcome.
A beeping horn intruded, and Sean ended the kiss. “See you in the morning,” he said.
She smiled gently. “Early.”
“Right.”
“Sean?” she asked, her tone husky, her lips moist. “I wish I could stay.”
Hearing the genuine regret, he could only echo it. “So do I. Goodnight, Annie.” He opened the door and stepped out. “By the way, be prepared to park this charming vehicle here tomorrow morning. I’ll be driving.”
He would have offered to pick her up at her place, but honestly, Sean was thinking ahead. He liked the idea of her coming back here to the hotel with him late Sunday afternoon…all the better to tempt her to spend the entire night in it.
“I didn’t think you had a car!”
“I don’t,” he replied with a cocky grin. “But it’s covered, anyway.”
“I can’t show up at my folks’ place in a limo.”
“Not a chance,” he said. “You think I want them to immediately take me for either a spoiled rich punk, a pimp or a drug dealer?”
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “As if.”
“Seriously, don’t worry about it. The hotel has a car rental service. I’ve got it covered.”
That was true. The hotel had a luxury car rental service that was exorbitantly expensive, but would be well worth it. First, it would enable him to avoid another ride in a pram disguised as a full-fledged vehicle. And he could drive, letting Annie relax for the long ride to her folks, when he knew she’d already be feeling worked up and worried.
“Fine,” she said, accepting his explanation without further questions. Probably because she wanted to go—to get out of here, now, before he tried again to tempt her to stay.
He could. Part of him wanted to.
Another part—the part that saw the fatigue around her eyes and the way she kept shifting in the driver’s seat, as if she truly was a little uncomfortable—knew better.
She had a stressful couple of days ahead of her. Best that she go into it refreshed after a good, uninterrupted night of sleep. Not physically uncomfortable after a good, wild night of lovemaking.
But when they got back here on Sunday, after he helped her pull off her little charade in front of her family? Well, then, all bets were off.
He’d take what he wanted. Give her what she hadn’t asked for. Then he’d be able to say goodbye to her knowing they’d both gotten more than they’d ever dreamed of out of her single bid at the auction.
7
ANNIE HAD SEEN SLEEK, ridiculously expensive convertibles like the one Sean had rented, but she’d never actually ridden in one. So she’d never heard the way the engine’s powerful roar actually sounded more like a smooth rumble from the inside. Nor had she realized the engine’s power felt tangible, like the vehicle was a living creature harnessed and impatient to go.
“God, this car is sexy,” she said, amazed at how good it felt to just ride, watching the miles slip past as the car’s broad tires skimmed over the steaming blacktop below.
“Handles beautifully, too,” he said, talking loud enough to be heard over the wind and the music. “Maybe you can get behind the wheel for a while later.”
Not a chance. With her luck, she’d drive it into a ravine and end up having to sell a kidney to pay for the damage.
“That’s okay, I’m fine here,” she said, settling deeper into the buttery-soft leather seat.