After glancing through the peephole, her stomach muscles tightened in ridiculous anticipation. What on earth was Lyosha doing here?
“Mila, I know you’re there. Open up.” His commanding voice did all sorts of things to her insides.
Without pause, she tugged the door open, then blushed when his gaze swept over her.
In loose jogging pants and a sports bra, she was sure she looked awesome. She’d been going for pure comfort tonight.
Though…his gaze did linger on her breasts and bared stomach for a long moment. “I brought you chicken soup.”
Ugh, why had she said she was sick? “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Well it’s two cans from my cupboard, so I didn’t really go all out. I also didn’t believe you when you said you were sick. What’s going on?” He braced a hand on the doorframe as he looked down at her.
She resisted the urge to stare at his flexed forearm. Good God, his muscles were too much. She stepped back and let him in, feeling beyond stupid. “Nothing’s going on.”
“Really? You’re going to lie to me?” He watched her carefully and she knew she owed him the truth.
She was just embarrassed. “Fine.” Heading for the kitchen, she motioned for him to follow her. They both sat on one side of the center island.
“I just felt kind of insecure,” she said, wrapping her arms around her middle. She hated that she just had a sports bra on. It made her feel more exposed, vulnerable somehow. Opening up like this made her feel raw enough as it was. “I knew we were in fairly different…ah, like, tax brackets, I mean,” she mumbled. Ugh, she hated talking about this. “Then Dominique said you had a house in that neighborhood.”
Her throat tightened for a moment.
“I don’t know, I just felt out of place and I wanted to leave. And I didn’t want to drag you away from your friends because I was having a rabidly insecure moment. I know I’m being ridiculous.”
He rubbed a hand against the back of his neck as he watched her. “You’re not being ridiculous. I get it.”
“You do?”
“Growing up, I didn’t have money. As in, I was poor. Not middle class or broke between paychecks, but poor,” he muttered. “As in, I had to scrounge through dumpsters for food more than I want to think about. My dad was a junkie who overdosed when I was two and my mom wasn’t much better. We lived out of her car until she…” He cleared his throat. “Until I got tossed into the system. Sometimes I still feel uncomfortable in certain situations too.”
Oh God. Her throat tightened at his confession. She hadn’t known he’d grown up that way, wouldn’t have guessed it. “It’s hard to imagine you feeling uncomfortable in any situation. You always seem so together, like you have everything figured out. I feel like I’m so far behind my peers, like I’m playing catch-up now.” And now her insecurities sounded so stupid after everything he’d told her.
“So? You have the degrees you wanted and you worked hard to get there. You’re just on a different path, that’s all. It’s not a race against other people.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I’m not looking for compliments or anything. I just… Sometimes I have moments of insecurity and they flared up today. Sorry I acted like such a weirdo.”
He reached out, his big hand sweeping a stray strand of hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail behind her ear.
His gaze fell to her lips and she felt that look all the way to her core. Maybe she was imagining any sort of desire in that look, but she sure wasn’t imagining the heat that surged through her, making her nipples tighten. Her sports bra wasn’t that thick either. He’d notice if he looked down.
“For the record, you should never be insecure about anything. You are the most perfect woman I know.”
His words were all gravelly and hot and… Wait, did he just say she was the most perfect woman he knew? What was happening right now?
She swallowed hard, unsure how to respond as she stared at his lips. Because they were full and beautiful and she desperately wanted to kiss him.
Like always.
Right now she wasn’t doing a very good job of masking her need for him, could barely keep it locked down. It was kind of hard when he was cupping her cheek. And wait, was he stroking her cheek with his thumb? Why yes, he was. Her nipples were beaded points now, aching for a desire she always tried to keep buried. There was no way to do that now.
He growled something low in his throat before tugging her off her seat so that she was standing between his spread legs.
Anticipation surged through her as he pulled her close. This…was totally happening!
Then he slanted his mouth over hers in what she could only describe as a rough claiming.
Heat flared inside her as his tongue tangled with hers, sliding, taking, teasing.
It took a moment for her brain to catch up to reality. Holy shit, they were kissing. Everything else fell away even as her brain went on red alert to let her know that this was reality. Unless she was having some vivid dream—and if she was, she didn’t want to wake up.
She forgot to breathe, to think, as he slid one hand around the back of her neck and pulled her ponytail free before threading his fingers through her hair. His hold was possessive and tight.
All she could do was clutch onto his shoulders for dear life as they kissed and learned each other in a whole new way. This was the last thing she’d expected to happen tonight, but everything she’d wanted since she’d met him.
He slid his free hand up her bare stomach, cupping her breast over her sports bra. Her nipples were so hard it would be impossible to miss even with the fabric in the way. He flicked his thumb over the hard point, dragging a groan from her.
She moaned into his mouth, her nipples going even harder at the contact. At this point, she might as well not have any clothing on. And she wanted more skin to skin. Way more than this.
It was as if he read her mind when he slid one callus-roughened hand underneath her bra to cup her breast. Giving her the skin to skin she’d been craving. She moaned again, digging her fingers into his shoulder, holding on for dear life.
She was slick between her legs, unable to believe how turned on she’d gotten so quickly. But she shouldn’t be surprised at all.
She’d wanted him from the moment they’d met, so no, no surprise that his kisses and touches were getting her hot.
Suddenly he pulled back, stared at her as he sucked in a sharp, jagged breath. His jaw was taut, his green eyes blazing.
She started to say they could move to her bedroom. Or hell, any flat surface in her condo would be fine. How about the wall? The rug? The island countertop. Right on the floor. Whatever.
But he abruptly stood, nearly sending the barstool toppling over.
His expression shut off just like that, shoving her out in the cold. “This was a mistake,” he blurted before taking two huge steps away from her. “I’m… Sorry. Mila, I’m… I’ve gotta go.”
Before she could utter a single word, he turned and practically sprinted out of her condo, leaving her cold, lonely and confused.
And so very hurt.
Chapter 10
Mila froze at the sound of someone knocking on her front door. It wasn’t late but she wasn’t expecting anyone. The stupidly hopeful part of her thought maybe it was Lyosha coming back to tell her he’d been a fool, and apologize for being such a dick on Sunday night.