Untangle Me

Chapter 9

Giada

"Don't make me explain. I'm not in the mood. I just need you right now," he says, running a hand through his messy hair. It's not the first time he's doing that tonight, from the looks of it.

At a closer look, I can see the desperation beneath the heat. I try not to get irritated, to stay cold and distant even as I feel my resolve crumbling.

I really wish he were wearing a shirt.

Shit!

I sigh, roll my eyes, and level him with a look that hopefully tells him how annoyed I am right now. "If you start crying, I'm out," I say. Then I reach behind my back and pull on the thread holding my dress together, letting it pool around my feet on the floor. That leaves me standing completely naked and only a few feet away from him.

I wait as his eyes take in my body, awareness heating my skin wherever he spends more time staring. I see him taking in the curve of my hips, the fine line in the middle of my stomach. When he lingers on my breasts, I fight the urge to cover myself. They feel too heavy with his attention. I'm barely able to stand still.

Finally, he closes the distance between us in a few long steps. He cups my face, eyes moving over every little crease and crevice as if he had to memorize it. Then he meets my gaze and everything goes still.

I try to remember why I hate him but come up empty-handed. The way he looks at me is too all-consuming. Those eyes of his seem bottomless, hiding an endless amount of secrets I suddenly feel entitled to uncover.

"Did you do what we did with anyone else in the last eight months?" he asks, voice nothing above a whisper.

It takes my brain a second to catch up. When it does, my irritation spikes. He's asking me if I've slept with anyone since my accident? Why, so he can make fun of me over it? So he has more leverage on me while I remain without any information at all? He doesn't own me.

I clamp my mouth shut and steel my spine.

"Tell me. Did you let anyone touch you?" he asks again.

"No," I reply, voice cold. Is he going to keep talking while I stand naked in front of him? Is that what we're doing? Because I am not having it.

Before I can work myself up over it too much, his lips crash down on mine. Vince kisses me with a new desperation that has me melting into his touch embarrassingly easily. His hands stay on my face but it doesn't keep mine from moving down his shoulders. I pull him close, using his hot skin to keep myself warm.

Vince is quick to deepen the kiss, biting down on my lip roughly so his tongue has entry to my mouth. I don't fight him, losing myself in the undeniable attraction to him once more until I'm putty in his hands.

When he pulls back, his demeanor has changed again. He seems collected and cool. In control. I can't keep up with this man's goddamned mood swings.

"Bend over the desk," he tells me, taking a step away. I do it without hesitation, shivering when the cool, hard material makes contact with my bare chest. Vince is behind me somewhere. I can't see him but I know he's there, can feel his presence nearby.

Despite having expected it, I still suck in a breath when one of his hands settles on the back of my knees. He drags his fingers up the inside of my thigh at a torturous pace and then pulls it away right before reaching the place I need him. He repeats the motion on my other leg, slowly moving his hand up my inner thigh before pulling his hand away.