“Dani-girl.” His voice, that
rich rumble of masculine excellence, washes over me and I shiver
again before cursing under my breath. The rumble of his low
laughter tells me that he definitely didn’t miss that little move.
Kill me now.
“Hey, Coh,” I say with a smile.
“What brings you in? Last minute, I might add.” I
pat the chair before walking around and holding the back while he
sits down.
When his scent hits my nose, I almost
come on the spot. Lord, he smells good. I wonder what he
would smell like while his body covered mine, all sweaty from hours
of good lovemaking. I run my fingers through the longer lengths
on the top and feel my cheeks heat slightly, thinking about doing the
same when his face is buried between my legs.
“…needed a trim.”
Shit. I missed what he said
because, naturally, I was thinking about him naked. Naked and
thrusting into my body. Naked and feasting between my spread
thighs.
“You feeling okay? I thought
Nate said you were better?”
“Uh, I’m fine. Just—is it
hot in here?” I fan my face and avoid his eyes.
He’s silent, so I take that as a sign
that it’s safe to bring my attention back to him.
Big mistake there. His knowing
eyes are boring right into mine. The chocolate depths sparkling
in a way that makes it clear he has a good idea about where my mind
was going.
“Did you hear what I said,
Dani-girl?”
“Of course I did, Cohen. What,
did you think I was standing here daydreaming?” I joke.
“Well, yeah, that’s exactly what I
think.” His eyes darken and he smirks a devilish grin. “Did
you know you talk in your sleep, Dani?” he asks, and I drop my
comb.
Oh, God. Shut up, shut up, shut
up. This is not happening. No way.
“No, I don’t,” I childishly snap.
“Dani, you do. So, yeah, I do
think you were standing there daydreaming. Want to know why?”
He uses his booted foot to move his chair so that he’s facing
me, and then he leans in so that his face is dangerously close to
mine. Even when he’s seated, his head is almost level with my
own. Curse my horizontally challenged self. “While you
were zoning off into space with your fingers running through my hair,
you had this smile on your lips. The same smile you had the
other day when you were dreaming. About me, Dani. And
don’t deny it, because you don’t moan my name if you’re
dreaming about another man. Yes, Dani, you very much do talk in
your sleep.” He smiles again before leaning back and looking
down to his phone. “Clean up my neck please, cut the length
off the top, and give me a buzz on the sides. Other than that,
you’re clear to continue with your thoughts.”
I must have been standing there like an
idiot because he looks up from his phone, laughs to himself, and,
with one tan hand, reaches out and pushes my mouth closed.
“You’re going to catch flies that
way, Dani-girl. One day, maybe you can clue me in on what those
dreams are about.”
Drives me insane, the control he has
over me. There isn’t a single person in the world, other than
Cohen, who can turn me into a ridiculously stupid, sputtering fool.
My normal confidence disappears. And clearly, he isn’t
as oblivious to my feelings as I originally thought.
How in the hell am I supposed to handle
this?
Wait a minute. Cohen or not, I’m
not going to let him pull my strings when I know he is just doing
this to make me feel uncomfortable.
So, time to call his bluff.
“Why? You planning on doing
something about it?”
He looks up sharply, clearly not having
expected me to actually say something in return since he was going
for shock value.
“Try me,” he demands, his voice
thick and even deeper than normal.
I throw my head back and reach out to
run my fingers thought his hair again, just barely suppressing the
shivers. Curling my fingers slightly so that I can grab a good
hold, I lean in and pull his head back at the same time. With
my nose just a hair away from his and our breaths mingling together,
I say, “Cohen, you couldn’t handle the truth of my thoughts when
it comes to you and we both know it. So how about you let me
know when you’re ready for me to clue you in.” I give his
hair a light tug and smile when he swallows loudly and shifts in his
seat. “Ready for that trim?” I ask with a wink, and I’m
rewarded with his groan.
I have no idea how I do it, but I
manage to get through his cut without coming unglued. I can see
Lyn trying to get my attention from across the room. Stella had
to leave after she overheard my words to Cohen because her giggles
were getting the best of her. Cohen has remained silent the
whole time. His eyes though… They’re speaking louder
than his words ever could.
They haven’t left my reflection in
the mirror since I started. I can feel them every time I shift.
When I stopped to go grab another comb after I dropped my
fourth one, I felt his gaze follow me across the room to Stella’s
station. The few times I stopped cutting to meet his eyes, the
heated promise written all over his face almost did me in. I
almost just said ‘fuck it’ and climbed on his lap to have a go
regardless of the people watching our every move.
I finish the last buzz of my clippers
around his right ear and move to brush all the stray hair off. “All
done,” I say softly and unclip his cape.
He stands, shoving his phone in the
back pocket of his jeans, and walks over to stand in front of me. I
continue to pretend I’m busy with the cape I just removed, brushing
stray hairs off here and there, when his hand comes up, his finger
and thumb hitting my chin, and my face is lifted until I have no
choice but to look in his eyes.
“Do not tease me, Dani. It’s
not a game you want to play if you don’t intend to follow through.”
“I-I wasn’t… I wouldn’t,” I
stammer.
“You did, and I have no doubt you’ll
have the brilliant idea to do it again. The next time you
allude to those dirty thoughts I know you have about me, don’t
think for a second that I won’t drag you to the closest bed to show
you just how fucking dirty they’ll get.” He leans close,
his scent hitting my nostrils, and I involuntarily inhale deeply,
earning me a rumbled chuckle. “What you don’t know,
Dani—because contrary to what you think, you don’t know me well
enough to assume what having me would really be like. But I
promise you this: every little thought that you have had that causes
you to moan my name while scissoring those perfect legs back and
forth, praying for completion—it would be so much hotter than you
could ever imagine.” He gives me a soft, sweet kiss against
my temple that has fire racing from that spot all over my body until
it ends in the awareness that I’m pretty sure I just came in my
pants.
