His laughter grew, which frustrated her all the more. Was she a complete failure at this seduction thing? Had she made an absolute fool of herself for nothing? If he rejected her, she didn’t know if her heart could take it.
“I don’t see anything funny about this,” she muttered when he still hadn’t said a word.
“I’m sorry.” He sobered, though there was still a hint of a grin curling the corners of his mouth. “I’m not laughing at you, I swear. It’s just…I don’t do this.”
She rested her hands on her hips, her fingers pressing the side ties of her bikini bottoms into her skin. “If that isn’t the biggest lie I’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is.”
His brows lowered, his mouth curved into a frown. “You’re calling me a liar?”
“You’re always with women. Always. And now you’re trying to tell me you never do this?”
“Righ
t. I never turn women away.” He threw his hands up into the air. “Yet here I am, pushing you right out of my arms.”
“You must find me repulsive then, if you never do this sort of thing.” Turning on her heel, she stalked out of the room and toward her bedroom, ready to slam the door good and hard, maybe even turn the lock for extra measure.
The absolute gall of the man, she felt like such an idiot. To kiss her, tease her, make her think something major was about to happen between them only to end up laughing and telling her blatant lies?
It was beyond rude—and cruel, if she was being honest.
“Gabriella,” he called as he chased after her.
She increased her pace, breaking out into a run as she headed down the hall. He caught up to her easily, curling his hand around the crook of her elbow and dragging her to a halt. “Let me go,” she protested.
“I’m sorry.” He firmed his grip when she struggled. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“Well, you did.” She jerked out of his hold, glaring at him. “And I don’t accept your apology.”
He cursed, ran a hand through his hair. Messing it up completely which only made her want to reach out and straighten it. Run her fingers through the silky dark strands, testing its softness…
No. Her overactive imagination was going to be the absolute death of her.
“I’m a fuckup.” He let loose a long, weary sigh. “I can never say or do the right thing in front of a woman. How many times have I offended you since we met?” He didn’t allow her to answer. “Too many times to count, I’m sure.” He seemed to struggle, to have some sort of internal argument warring within him. He parted his lips, as if he were about to blurt out something but then he clamped them shut, frustration written all over his too-handsome face.
“What are you trying to say?” she asked softly.
A strangled sound escaped him. “When I said I haven’t done this before, I meant I’ve never told a woman to slow down. I’ve just gone with it, you know?”
“I really don’t want to stand around and listen to you describe your past sexual conquests.” She reached for the door handle of her room, but he beat her, his big hand curling around the knob, preventing her from turning it and making her escape.
“I’m not trying to brag about any sexual conquests. I’m trying to tell you that you’re different,” he said softly. His eyes glowed with a warmth she’d never seen before. “That I actually care about what this, this—encounter means to you versus me trying to get my freak on.”
Her heart melted. It didn’t matter that he used silly terms like “get my freak on” or that he had a difficult time expressing himself. Her feelings meant something to him. He wanted to make it good for her, and his admission touched her more than she cared to admit.
“I can’t believe I said that to you.” He sounded disgusted with himself.
Unable to contain her happiness, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as if she never wanted to let go. “I’m so glad you did,” she murmured just before she kissed him.
And this time, he didn’t try to push her away. He took the kiss deeper, his hands roaming all over her bare skin, the murmurs of approval that sounded in the back of his throat ratcheting the fever in her blood higher.
She never wanted him to let her go.
He’d very nearly screwed it up. All because he tried to do the right thing, tried to be a respectable guy. Well, there was no trying involved this time. He wanted to be the respectable guy when it came to Gabriella. The more time he spent with her, the more he actually liked her. And not because she had a smokin’ hot body and the softest skin he’d ever had the honor to touch…
She was a deliciously soft bundle in his arms at this very moment. Her swollen lips locked with his, their tongues dancing, his hands wandering. She was practically naked—the swimsuit covered only the most important assets. It would be so easy to tug the strings undone on her bikini top, slip the bottoms off with a push of his hands. Have her naked and writhing against him in mere minutes…
Rhett reached for the handle and opened the door to her room, guiding her inside, all the while their mouths were still fused together. She nearly tripped and he tightened his hold around her waist, gripping her soft backside with his hands and hauling her up so he could carry her the rest of the way.