Tempts Me Read online

  “Oh, honey, that feels real nice,” said a low male voice from outside the stall. “Yeah, a little harder. Sure, use your teeth a little.”

  Against him, Simone shuddered with laughter, eyes bright. She clapped a hand over her own mouth to keep the noise muffled, and Elliott relaxed. Just a little. She wasn’t going to give them away.

  He became uncomfortably aware, however, of how she felt pressed to him. Somehow, his thigh had ended up between hers. With that black skirt she’d magically made shorter in preparation for the party, her thighs were bared to him, and he felt the heat even through the fabric of his trousers. Muscles low in his belly clenched as she rocked herself against him with a motion so slight and small he couldn’t be sure if it were on purpose or merely an attempt to get a little more comfortable in the cramped space. Neither of them could move very far without either making a lot of noise or putting a foot in the open toilet.

  Elliott, moving with careful, deliberate silence, reached to lower the toilet lid. This meant he had to push against Simone even more, moving lower over the rounded beauty of her tits and then the firmness of her belly, the curve of her hip, until he could let the lid fall without noise from his fingertips.

  She didn’t move, not an inch. Not a breath. Not a blink.

  He wanted to stay this way forever, or at least long enough to slide her skirt up the rest of the way and bury his face in that heat. Was her pussy bare? The women he dated invariably plucked and waxed and shaved themselves to fashion-doll baldness; Elliott had lost his taste for that a long time ago. No, he thought, straightening with that same careful silence, the hair between Simone’s legs would be the same glossy black as that on her head. Without thinking, he let one finger stroke the feathery fringes she’d swept forward on her cheek.

  That brought his fingertip dangerously close to her mouth. Unable to stop himself, wondering what the hell had gotten into him tonight, Elliott let his finger drift over her lower lip. Her mouth opened obediently, the wet cave of it beckoning him. He let his finger slip in to test the slickness of her tongue.

  She bit him.

  With a muffled shout, Elliott jerked his finger from her sharp teeth. His elbow jammed the side of the stall. His ass rammed against the door, which opened, and he stopped himself from falling ass-over-teakettle at the last moment only by grabbing on to the door frame.

  She was laughing, not bothering to cover her mouth this time, and pushing past him to get out of the stall.

  “Oops,” Simone said to the half-naked couple sprawling on the small bench in the alcove next to the sink. “Carry on!”

  With that, she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him behind her, out of the bathroom. Her laughter would’ve turned heads if anyone had been in the hall outside, but thankfully it was empty. Elliott yanked himself free of her grip, one hand on her wrist. Holding tight. Grinding. He was sure she’d pull away with a yelp and a scowl.

  Simone didn’t pull away. She sighed, laughter disappearing, but again her eyes went heavy lidded and that lush mouth parted on a sigh. “Elliott,” she breathed.

  He let her go. Stepping backward, smoothing his tie and his wrinkled shirt, Elliott shook off the feeling of her slim wrist in his hand. “I think it’s time we leave. Come on. Let’s go.”

  Blinking, Simone didn’t move until he did. Then she stepped quickly after him, catching up to his elbow to snag it and turn him at the end of the hall. “Hey. Wait a minute.”

  He didn’t want to wait a minute. He hadn’t really wanted to come to this party in the first place, hadn’t wanted to play Barry’s pseudopolitical games. He definitely hadn’t wanted to end up in a bathroom stall with Simone Kahan. Elliott kept walking.

  “Hey,” she said after him, loud enough to draw attention. “Don’t walk away from me, that’s rude!”

  Her accusation, along with the knowledge that she was right, stopped him. Stiff-backed, Elliott half turned. “Keep your voice down.”

  “Why?” Smartly, Simone moved up beside him to look him in the eye. “You afraid someone might stare?”

  “Yes.” Elliott frowned, fists clenching until she glanced at them. Then he forced them to loosen. He’d have shoved them in his pockets, but that would ruin the line of his trousers.

  Something softened in her face as she watched him. Incredibly, she moved forward with a hand flat on his chest. The movement made Elliott step back until he hit the wall. “Your heart is beating very fast.”

  He put a hand over hers, curling his fingers beneath her palm to break the contact. “I shouldn’t have invited you. I knew this wasn’t going to work.”

  Her lip curled briefly, and she let him go. “What the hell is your problem, really? ‘Cuz I can’t quite figure you out, you know? A couple minutes ago, you’re all up on me like butter on a cob of corn, and now you’re acting like I just tracked dirt on your favorite rug.”

  Behind them, the bathroom door opened. A smug-looking blonde stumbled out, a man behind her with an equally satisfied grin. They both gave Elliott a nod as they passed.

  “You have a license to sell hot dogs?” Simone said to the man, who, surprised, looked down at the open fly of his crotch.

  Laughing, he zipped up and patted Simone’s shoulder. “Thanks, darlin’.”

  “No prob.” She winked at him, then gave the blonde a set of devil horns with her fingers. “Get out of here, you crazy kids. Next time, check under the stall for feet.”

  “Good advice,” the man said with a nod, then gave Elliott a grin. “She’s a keeper, son. Hang on to this one.”

  The indignity of being called son by a man at least a decade younger than Elliott rankled, but he gave the other man a tight smile and waited until the pair of them had turned the corner before he faced Simone again.

  “Let’s go. This entire evening has been a debacle.” He held out his hand to take her by the elbow, intending to move her forward, but Simone crossed her arms over her chest and didn’t move.

  “Look. I don’t know what seed you planted in your ass, but it’s turned from a stick into an entire tree. If this party is a dud, it’s because you’re not even trying to enjoy it.”

  “I don’t want to enjoy it.”

  Simone’s brows rose. “That’s obvious. So why’d you come?”

  Again, a discussion and situation he didn’t want to pursue, yet something about Simone had apparently stolen Elliott’s good sense, because he replied, “Because I keep my word.”

  “Good to know,” she said, then leaned a little closer. “I like a trustworthy man.”

  The scent of her filtered to him again, that fresh smell of lilies and water. It made him think of a sun-dappled lake, hot sun overhead. A rowboat. A picnic … Damn it. Elliott shook himself.

  Simone Kahan was trouble.

  “I promised Barry I’d come. So I did. But I don’t really want to be here—”

  “So it’s not me.”

  This gave him pause. A lot of it was her, as a matter of fact. “Bringing you was a mistake that for some reason I couldn’t help making.”

  “You can be a real asshole, Elliott. You know that?” With that, she turned on her heel and stalked off.

  He watched her go, intending to let her leave without so much as another word. He didn’t owe her anything. If anything, she was the one who should be grateful to him, bringing her to Barry’s place. He’d seen her work the crowd earlier. She’d never have been invited to anything this nice, if not for him.

  Ah, shit. I am an asshole.

  “Simone.”

  She didn’t turn, didn’t give him more than the barest glance over her shoulder as she kept walking. Mesmerized by the sway of her hips, Elliott could only stare like a gobsmacked schoolboy for so long that when he reached for her again, she was too far out of reach. He caught up to her in two long strides, and snagged her elbow. Without so much as a blink, Simone easily pulled from his grasp, never hesitating.

  “You wanted to leave. I’m leaving.”

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