departing automobile. “Where the hell is he going?”
Lenna covered her mouth with her hand to hide one of the giggles she thought she’d drained from her system at the club, but it blurted out between her fingers.
Braxton turned toward her. He pointed after the departing cab. “That was my ride.”
She nodded. “I know.” She kept in a smile as she said it, but a moment later, she laughed outright.
Finally, Braxton shook his head and joined her with his own chuckle.
“Come on up,” she offered, holding her hand toward him. “You can call another cab from my room.”
He paused, looking uncertain. Then he sighed and took her fingers. “I did leave my cell phone charging in my car.”
Lenna nearly whimpered with want as the warmth of his touch spread up her arm.
Mr. Perfect was proving to be a lot more damn wonderful than she’d originally figured. He wasn’t so debonair and pretentious that he intimidated her with his wealth and status, but he had these slight little flaws bringing him down to earth and making him practical. He could tell the corniest jokes and was clumsier than one would think. He’d tripped at least twice on the dance floor tonight, only to laugh at himself and say he’d meant to do that.
Then, when Lenna discovered a chip in the corner of one of his top teeth, confirming he wasn’t faultless, he’d touched the dental flaw with the tip of his tongue, making her stomach quiver in response. Chuckling, he had explained its origin.
His sister had punched him in the face when he was thirteen because he’d murdered one of her dolls, hanging it by the neck from the stairwell of their house. His parents had decided not to repair the chip so he’d always remember not to underestimate the roundhouse of a ticked off sibling. And he’d never gotten around to fixing it since he’d moved out onto his own.
Smiling over that story, Lenna tried to block out how warm his body was behind hers as he followed her to her room. When she stumbled on a step, he caught her waist to steady her. “You okay?”
If he wanted her, he could have her, right then and right there on the stairs of her apartment building.
She managed a quick nod. “Yeah. Thanks.”
A distant voice in the back of her brain told her to stop this insanity. She should send him back down to the entrance and tell him she’d call the cab for him. But she didn’t want to.
She wanted one last moment alone with him. So, she paused at her door and tugged her room key from her front pocket without shooing him off.
The back of her neck tingled with awareness.
Knowing he was right behind her, watching her, she fumbled with the lock. She couldn’t get past the fact he was about to enter her apartment.
“Did I tell you how incredible you look tonight?”
His voice spiked through her, making bumps lift along the back of her neck. Her nipples perked to attention. The insides of her thighs tingled and her skin turned so sensitive, even the shift of her panties against her genitals made her shiver. She lifted her face.
His glazed eyes looked soulful as he curled his hand and pressed the fist against his chest. “I think I die a little every time I look at you.”
Lenna’s key slid from her hand and dropped to the floor at their feet.
Braxton looked down at it for a second and then lifted his eyes. “The first time,” he went on, “at the Christmas party, when I looked up and saw you in the doorway...” He paused and sucked in a breath as if he were reliving that very moment all over again. “I couldn’t breathe. I haven’t been able to breathe right since then.”
Lips parting, Lenna shook her head to deny his words. “You shouldn’t be telling me this.”
Braxton let out a lopsided smile. “I know. God, how I know.” Cupping his head in his hands, he stared at her, fighting some kind of inner battle. “Your dad would freak if he could hear me right now. He’d probably kill me.” He gave her a pleading look. “I
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