Silence.

And then some more silence.

Seth was staring at her like she’d grown horns and a tail, as if the fact that she hadn’t been making out with men left and right was truly astounding. The longer he stayed quiet, the more uncomfortable she became, and the discomfort only skyrocketed when understanding dawned on his face and she saw him grasp what she hadn’t said.

“Shit, you haven’t had sex in six years?” he blurted out, each word dripping with incredulity.

She managed a quick nod. Her cheeks were so hot she knew she must look like a tomato.

“Six years.”

She finally found her voice. “Seven, if we’re going for accuracy here.”

“Seven years?”

“Yes, and stop looking at me like that.”

“Seven years!”

She heaved a sigh, wishing he would quit acting like her admission was so damn unfathomable. Lots of people went without sex.

Right?

“Wow. Just…wow.” Seth shook his head in amazement. “I guess parenthood does equal celibacy.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” He took the beer from her hand and promptly dropped it back on the coffee table, his movements quick and decisive. “You just blew my mind, you know that?”

She clenched her jaw, a little tempted to clock him one. An impulse that deepened when he opened that smart mouth of his and said, “Oh, baby, you need this just as much as I do, don’t you?”

“Need what?” she grumbled.

“Me. You. Naked.” His smile was beyond cocky. “You need to be f**ked. And badly, from the sound of it.”

Even while her skin prickled with offense, her lower body tingled and pulsated in response to his lewd assessment of her situation. “I don’t need anything from you.”

“You haven’t been with a man in seven years.” He still sounded downright flabbergasted. “How have you not gone insane yet? What happens when you’re struck with that basic carnal urge to come?”

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of my own urges,” she said stiffly.

“So you get yourself off?”

A fresh dose of humiliation heated her face. “Yes, Seth, I get myself off. Happy?”

“Not in the slightest.” His silvery gaze burned molten hot. “I won’t be happy until I’m the one getting you off.”

Cue the most powerful jolt of desire that had ever seized her body.

As her thighs quivered and her clit throbbed like she’d just placed a vibrator on it, Miranda averted her eyes and tried to compose herself. She suddenly wished she’d gone somewhere else for refuge, anywhere else. Why had she thought coming to Seth’s house could possibly be a good idea? Why had she willingly placed herself in the path of temptation?

“Miranda.”

His husky voice wrapped around her like a lover’s embrace. Why did he have such a sexy voice? Hell, why did he have such a sexy everything? She kept her gaze on anything but Seth, but that didn’t deter him from sliding closer.

She squeaked out a protest when he lifted her legs into his lap. “What are…”

Her voice died. So did her common sense, because when she shifted her head and saw that Seth’s lips were closing in on hers, she made no effort to stop him.

The kiss was as hot and explosive as the one in his bedroom. Flames licked at her skin, spreading to every erogenous zone in her body. Her br**sts. Her ni**les. The hollow of her throat. Behind her ear. Between her legs. When he nipped her bottom lip with his teeth, her sex clenched, the pressure becoming unbearable.

God, he knew how to kiss. She would have expected him to be rougher, greedier, but he took his time, stoking the fire building inside her with the fleeting brushes of his mouth and teasing exploration of his tongue.

She was helpless to resist. She sank into him, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders and clinging to him as if she were hanging off the edge of a cliff and he was her lifeline. Except a lifeline was supposed to make you feel safe, and Seth…he made her feel anything but.

As he thrust his tongue inside her mouth and deepened the kiss to an even hotter, even more terrifying level, Miranda experienced something akin to free-falling. Her sense of equilibrium was gone, her heart pounding, her breath lodging in her lungs.

And that was before he touched her chest. Once his large, warm hand covered one aching breast, all bets were off. Her body went haywire on her—nerve endings crackled, head fogged, pulse raced. Not even the hint of smoke on his tongue could spoil the mood. If anything, the evidence of his bad habit only reminded her of how dangerous he was, and though she wasn’t proud of it, a thrill shot through her. Why did bad boys excite her so damn much, for Pete’s sake?

“You’re not wearing anything beneath that shirt,” he muttered against her lips.

“No.” Her voice was a shaky whisper.

Seth cupped both her br**sts possessively, growling as he gave them a not-so-gentle squeeze. When he lightly pinched her ni**les through the shirt, she felt it between her legs and whimpered. With no bra acting as a barrier, the flannel abraded her ni**les, which puckered and tingled and pleaded for more attention.

Dipping his head, Seth nuzzled the crook of her neck. “You smell like heaven, baby.” He nibbled on her feverish flesh. “Taste like heaven too.”

His facial hair scratched her in the most delicious way, but there was nothing more delicious than the way he continued to fondle her br**sts. Squeezing, pushing them together, teasing her ni**les into two hard peaks.