sp; He clamped his free hand over her thigh below the hem of her dress. His heat trailed up her body until fire licked between her legs. She felt shaky and vulnerable. She wanted him, needed him in far too many ways, yet had to push him away. The conflict exhausted her.
“I can’t do this. I’m so tired. And if we draw too much attention . . . I don’t want us being together here to get back to town. I need to go.”
She tried to stand. He held tightly to her hand and pulled her back to a seat. The hand on her thigh slid higher. “Tell me you don’t want me. Tell me you’re not shivering because you need to feel my mouth and hands all over your body.”
Heat splashed across her skin and stole her breath. “Holy shit . . .”
He leaned in until his head touched hers. “Tell me you aren’t wet right now because you need me inside you.”
“Stop, Ethan,” she rasped, her throat tight with desire. “This is crazy. We’re not kids. This isn’t a harmless fling. Us, together, it carries consequences.”
“And you still want it as much as I do.”
Her eyes darted past him, to a man in a uniform standing in the doorway, scanning the room.
An icicle stabbed her heart.
“Shit.” She forced her gaze back to Ethan. “I need you to listen to me. First, don’t move. Second, follow my lead.”
“What?”
“No time to explain.” In her peripheral vision she saw Austin saunter toward their table. “Your brother’s here. He saw us.” Ethan’s head started to turn. “Don’t. Look. Just follow my lead.”
She sat back, put on her bitch face, and raised her voice when she said, “I don’t care what you want. And I don’t care what your father wants. I’m doing the only thing I can do. So just back off already.”
She slid out of the booth and pushed her laptop and all her folders into her bag, then slung it over her shoulder and straightened, prepared to walk off as if she hadn’t seen Austin come in.
She stopped short. “Oh, perfect. This day just couldn’t get any better.”
“There a problem here, folks?” Austin asked.
She wrapped her fingers around the strap of her bag and mentally shored up for the confrontation. He still oozed arrogant confidence and looked just as dangerously formidable as he had the first time she’d seen him in navy and gold with a gun strapped to his hip.
Only she wasn’t shocked into silence this time and had the insane urge to blurt out something scathingly sarcastic. Looks like they’ll give anyone a badge and a gun these days came to mind. So it’s true—the only difference between criminals and cops is a badge followed on its heels.
“Your father and your brother have joined in the unanimous Hayes chorus. Consider me well versed on your opinions related to my presence in Wildwood.”
Ethan slid toward the edge of the booth. “Delaney—”
“Enough.” She cut a look at him, hoping he could see she was serious. “For God’s sake, I’ve had enough for one damn day. I heard you, okay? And I heard Jack. I’m not deaf.”
That seemed to confuse Ethan into silence.
She maintained her face-off with Austin. Not because she wanted to, but because he was standing in the middle of the path to her only exit. “I’m simply here to do what I’ve been told I need to do. Then I’ll be leaving. As soon as humanly possible. I promise.”
She started around him, toward the door. If she could reach fresh air, then the security of her car without another confrontation, she might just hold on to her sanity—
Austin slipped his hand around her arm, and fire ripped up the middle of Delaney’s body.
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
“Hold on there a minute, Ms. Hart.” His words may have sounded mild, but his expression was hot with suppressed anger as he pulled her around to fully face him in one smooth move. Not exactly hostile but definitely meant to send a message as he pushed her back against a column near the entrance. “I believe we need to straighten out a few things.”
Here we go again.
Unlike his father, Austin released her, but he was still creating a very clear block to the exit.