Inarticulate (11 page)

Why?
His forehead crinkled in the cutest look of desperation.
You’ll be gone soon enough.

He reached out his free hand and she stepped back, fearful of her weakness. A smirk tilted his lips and the glint in his eye said he knew exactly why she was fleeing.

“The best thing for me is an early night.”

His smirk remained in place. Teasing. Taunting. He stared at her, unblinking, and began hypnotizing her into submission.

“Keenan…”

He raised a brow, feigning ignorance of his appeal.

“Stop using that smirk on me.”

“
What
?” he mouthed, innocent as sin.

His confidence was her Achilles heel. But he was right. She was only here for mere weeks. Not nearly long enough to get to know him like her body demanded.

“You’re manipulative.”

His focus didn’t waiver, the smirk didn’t falter.

“Fine,” she huffed. “I’ll go get changed. But you need to wait out here and cool off a little.”

He gave an almost indecipherable nod, sealing her fate, banging the gavel and resigning her to another ride on the emotional Keenan roller coaster.

S
avannah
,

Do you remember the night you made me stand in the shadows of your hotel while you went inside to change your clothes? Can you imagine the thoughts that went through my mind while you undressed in your room?

Five minutes is a long time for a man to wait in the cold. But I never felt the chill. Around you, I lacked normal sensation. I lacked control and foresight. And everything else that I’d grown to rely on.

The night our movie plans were ruined is evidence of that.

I don’t chase tail, Savannah. I don’t run after women or heel when lovers come running after me. But I’d happily go to the ends of the earth if it meant you’d come back to me.

Will you? Will you ever come back? Will you ever return my emails?

Keenan

K
eenan was leaning
against the lamp post when Savannah returned. He stood in the same GQ fashion as the other night, his casual sophistication making every erogenous zone on her body take notice.

He straightened on her approach, but she didn’t acknowledge him. She turned onto the sidewalk and continued toward the corner, her head low, her coat tight around her waist. It was time to start being careful, no matter how intensely her body tingled with the need to be near him.

His footsteps grew louder, the thump of his boots sending a constant shiver up her spine. When she reached the end of the block, she took a cautious look for oncoming traffic even though her mind was stuck in daydreams instead of the real world.

A deep, masculine throat cleared behind her,
right
behind her, and she sucked in an anxious breath. She could see him in her periphery, his muscled build a looming temptation. He brushed into her, his shoulder against hers, and trailed his hand into her already occupied pocket.

Her veins tingled as his palm glided over hers and he entwined their fingers in the sanctuary of the material. She didn’t look at him, and he was facing straight ahead, too. They were merely two strangers, walking side-by-side, with their hands inadvertently tangled.

No biggie.

They continued across the street, toward the sanctuary of upcoming businesses that would hide them from all possible view of the Rydel hotel. Each step increased the rampant beat in her chest and her lungs began to labor.

As soon as they reached the corner of the first building, her shoulders relaxed and she chanced a look in his direction. He was peering down at her, his focus trained on her eyes. All calm fled, her footsteps faltered, and the world faded to black.

“Keenan…” She knew that look. She knew what it would bring.

He grabbed her around the waist with his free arm, lifting her feet off the ground and backtracked her into the wall. The cold bricks infiltrated her clothing, but the warmth of his body had her melting. Liquefying.

She clung to his forearms through the thick material of his coat and glimpsed a flash of his fierce gaze as he leaned into her.

“Don’t,” she whispered against his mouth, making him pause. “Not here.”

Anywhere but here.

They needed privacy.

They promised to be careful.

He nudged closer, their noses brushing, his bottom lip sweeping hers ever so gently. If he kissed her, she’d be lost. He knew it. She knew it. And he did it anyway, his mouth manipulating hers in a dance so exquisitely soft and sweet that she whimpered from the pleasure of it.

She kissed the lethargy from her system. She tangled her tongue with his in a sparring match to alleviate the frustration of the day. All the earlier irritation from work poured into him and he took it. He grasped it all, strengthening her. Invigorating her.

When he pulled back, she kept her lids closed and bit into her lower lip to savor the throb. The man sure knew how to kiss. He knew how to do a lot of things unlike any other man she knew.

“That wasn’t unpleasant.” A smile broke free and she blinked her eyes open.

Intensity was no longer a viable word to describe what stared back at her. It was more than ferocity, deeper than pleasure. It was severe and harsh and feral. It was passion and seduction and lust. All the warring emotions rolled into one deliriously sexy shade of silver.

“We should go and do something productive.”

Luscious lips quirked before her eyes.

“Not reproductive,” she clarified and nudged at his chest. “Come on.”

They strolled along the sidewalk amongst the foot traffic of passing people, hand in hand, fingers entwined. The darkness of night placated her, making her feel like they were hiding comfortably in plain sight.

“How about here?” She stopped and peered up at the cinema display board. “Do you feel like watching a movie?”

He shrugged, then gave her an approving nod.

“What do you—” Pressure shoved into her back, a cement-like shoulder propelling her forward. She gasped and Keenan’s strong hands caught her waist, stabilizing her.

“Jesus.” She turned in his arms and caught the disdain from a man looking over his shoulder as he trudged amongst the foot traffic. “He could’ve walked around me.”

Keenan’s hold dropped from her waist and he lunged, gripping the crook of the man’s arm to spin him around.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” the guy spat.

“Keenan,” she warned. “Let it go.”

The muscles in his neck tensed and his focus narrowed to pinpoints.

The man yanked his arm from Keenan’s grip. “Well? What are you looking at?” His expression turned smug, the caustic grin taunting. “Next time tell your bitch to stay out of the way.”

“Let’s keep walking.” She inched forward and Keenan did, too, raising his chin in the man’s face. He was ready to fight. For her.

“What?” The man laughed. “Cat got your tongue?”

“Oh, shit,” she whispered.

Keenan clenched his fist and pushed the man’s chest with his free hand.

“Stop it.” Savannah slid in front of him and placed her palm on his sternum. “Ignore him.” He didn’t quit glaring over her shoulder. “Please, Keenan. You don’t need to prove yourself to him.”

“Yeah, Keenan,” the man mocked. “You don’t need to prove yourself.”

The asshole had no idea what he was up against. Couldn’t he see the threat of violence in Keenan’s eyes? God knew she couldn’t ignore it.

“Keenan?” She nudged his chest again. “Look at me.”

His jaw ticked, the vein in his neck pulsed, and long seconds flittered by before his focus met hers, steely and determined. The man scoffed from behind her, his presence leaving moments later.

“That wasn’t necessary,” she murmured and cupped his cheek. “You’re better than him.” It was the truth. If anything, it was an understatement. But he grunted anyway and glared into the distance.

She could see the damage to his pride. The destruction was like a flare in the night, a brutal wound on otherwise unmarred skin. He couldn’t handle assaults aimed toward his lack of speech. He may have mastered the skill to silently communicate, but his ability to reject insults was non-existent.

“Let’s get out of here.” Her tone held delicious meaning, only he didn’t reciprocate the desire. “Please, Keenan.”

His lower jaw flexed under her palm and his harsh inhalations pained her. She reached on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his, feeling nothing but the sterile rigidity of his mouth. It was useless. She couldn’t soothe him.

She fell back on her heels. “We should call it a night.”

Wrath was drowning the beauty of his irises. He gripped her chin, making her gasp as he held her in place.

She knew what he wanted. She could see it in his eyes. He needed to be in control of something. Anything. He needed to feel like he mattered. And he did. He already mattered so much to her.

He plastered his mouth against hers, painfully hard, and swept his tongue into her mouth. There was no sweetness shared, only anger, and she liked it. She enjoyed being the one to take his ire.

She could take a whole lot more, too.

He yanked his head back, panting, his chest rising and falling in quick succession.

“I love when you do that.”

He frowned in question.

“You hold me, controlling me like you think I’m going to flee.” She shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere. Not unless that’s what you want.” She’d made up her mind. There were still weeks until she left Seattle, and she wanted to spend them with him.

“I’m yours to do with what you will until I fly home.”

She couldn’t read the message in his eyes. Right now she couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all. He released her chin, his hand falling down between them to grip her wrist. He strode away, leading her along the sidewalk, not once stopping to glance over his shoulder.

“Where are we going?”

From his profile, she could see a sinister grin. That was her only answer—devilish focus.

He tugged her around corners, down an alley, and onto another street. She was glad she wore her flats, otherwise her feet wouldn’t have made the distance.

He pulled her to the left, down a wide pathway before a menacing tower. Her attention raked over the mass of gleaming windows toward the twinkling sign above the front doors.

Grandiosity.

“Oh, no.” She shuddered at the egotistical phallus symbol. An elaborate chandelier glistened in the foyer, the bright twinkle almost blinding. Everything was shiny, refined, and pretentious.

“Are they overcompensating for much?” she drawled.

Keenan’s gaze landed on her, and she met his raised brow.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend your employer.”

His brow raised higher.

She chuckled. “Okay. It was clearly meant in offense. But everything here is so…” Arrogant? Imperious? Narcissistic? “…over the top.”

He ignored her and tugged on her hand.

“No.” She planted her feet and pulled her arm back. “I can’t be seen in there.”

He pressed his lips together, shrugged, and then walked toward the entrance to the building. She remained in place, watching as a middle-aged doorman descended the steps to greet him with a strong clap to his upper arm.

“Keenan, my man. What can I do for you tonight?”

Keenan pointed a lone finger to the sky with a raised brow.

“What the hell are you doing?” she hissed and turned her back to him. So much for being careful. This was stupidity at its finest.

She raised her collar, lowered her chin like she was some sort of secret agent, and swiveled back to the men.

Keenan had pulled out his wallet and was handing over a stack of bills.

What the hell?
“No.” She raised her voice, unwilling to let him waste his money on her. “What are you doing?”

Keenan ignored her as she came forward. The door man couldn’t take his eyes off the cash, his tongue working his bottom lip in hunger as he eyed the money.

“Let me see what I can do.” The guy jogged back up the stairs and pushed into the building to head for the reception desk manned by a lone woman.

“What’s going on?” She couldn’t help the accusation in her tone. The money he’d handed over wasn’t pocket change. It was a substantial amount of bills. Something she couldn’t allow him to give away. Not on her account.

He waggled his brows and grasped her hand to raise it to his lips. He placed a long, lingering kiss on her knuckles, almost succeeding in making her forget where they were and what they were doing.

“We agreed we were going to be careful.” She waved an arm at the building. “
This
isn’t careful.”

The door swished open behind her and she stiffened at the approaching footfalls.

“You’ve got until nine.” The doorman handed Keenan a room card.

Nine?
She stared at Keenan, but he was ignoring her again, nodding at the other man.

“I’ve organized the usual.”

“The usual?” Savannah murmured.

“But remember, be out by nine or my ass is on the line.”

As the men shook hands in farewell, Savannah retrieved her cell from her pants pocket to check the time. It was almost eight. Whatever they had planned would only last an hour. Sixty minutes of potential exposure.

The doorman walked away and Keenan stepped into her, his fingers finding her chin, his grip tightening.

“That dreamy hold isn’t going to work on me.” She lifted her lashes and met his steely stare.

He leaned in, his gorgeous mouth approaching.

“Nope.” She snapped her fingers up to cover his lips. “That won’t work either.”

He quirked a brow of disbelief.

“What are we doing here?” she whispered.

He raised the room card, taunting her with the promise of seclusion and pleasure.

“Why am I even contemplating this?” It was only sex. Only a mingling of limbs and lips and private parts. Yet something so simple and entirely physical had a hold on her like a steel trap around her ankles.

“I can’t be seen in there.” She pleaded with her eyes, hoping he would be the lighthouse in the storm of rushing hormones.

Instead, he yanked at her jacket collar, pulling it higher to cover her jawline, then trailed his hand down her arm to link their fingers.

He stepped away, taking the first approach toward temptation. She kept her feet planted, their arms outstretching between them as her body filled with the freezing night air. This was one of those moments when she knew what she was doing was wrong. It was stupid. It was careless. And still her feet stumbled forward of their own accord.

She followed where he led—up the stairs, past the front doors, and through the lobby. She kept her head low, hiding under her collar while Keenan’s thumb stroked her hand, back and forth, back and forth.

She focused on the trail of tingles his touch ignited, not once looking up until they were in the sanctuary of the elevator hall. A relieved sigh left her lips and she leaned against the wall, waiting for one of the four doors to open to her rescue.

“What do we have until nine, Keenan?”

She chanced a glance to her side, but her vision bypassed the gorgeous man and became hooked on the security camera in the corner of the roof.
Shit.
She ducked her head and snuggled closer into him.

“I shouldn’t be here,” she muttered.

Keenan squeezed her hand and spun her to the far elevator behind them, its doors now open wide. She shuffled to keep at his side, hiding behind the wall of his shoulders as they entered the small space.

“Where to now?”

He ignored her and slid the room card into the security panel before pressing the button for the top floor.

“Keenan?”

The doors closed and he stared at the numbers that increased the higher they ascended. Three… Eight… Ten… Her heart rate climbed, too. Fifteen… Twenty… Twenty-five… Thirty.
Ding.

Inch by inch, a view of immaculate tiles and a crystal chandelier opened before her. She stepped out of the elevator and into the opulence, immersing herself in the overbearing beauty of highly priced wall art.