What Lola Wants (Leave Your Shoes On 1)

Which was so bizarre, because so much about him was new and intriguing that she’d just discovered.

He stared at her for several moments, then said, “Whoa. Back up. You think you’re, what? Passé?”

She took a deep drink from her glass. Gave herself a few moments to gather her thoughts. They were edging in on a very touchy subject for Lola. One that made her stomach twist with uncertainty and old insecurities.

“You’ve seen my mother, Alex. I never anticipated all of this.” She swiped her hand through the air, in the general direction of her breasts. “And it happened in high school. So I’ve had plenty of time to adjust and go with the flow when it comes to the sideways glances or outright stares. But last night… The way you looked at me? That was different—it felt different—because it was you. It totally caught me off guard. Excited the hell out of me, too.”

There. A little tit for tat confession, so to speak.

“Lo.” He rubbed the nape of his neck as though a knot of tension had settled in. “Neither of us has met the right companion. That doesn’t mean we’d be right for each other.”

“Doesn’t mean we wouldn’t be, either,” she challenged, with a daring stare.

Their eyes remained locked for several suspended seconds.

Then Lola stood and splashed more wine into her glass. She wandered into the living room as her brain cycled through the past twenty-four hours.

She heard Alex jump up. He trailed behind her.

“What do you have on your mind?” he demanded. He gently though possessively gripped her upper arm and carefully turned her to face him. “What’s going on, Lo?”

She inhaled deeply. This was risky business, yet she couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you tired of being alone?”

He released her. Crossed his arms over his expansive chest. “That’s no reason to randomly hook up.”

“True.” She set her wineglass on an end table, forgetting the coaster. Alex’s ar

ms dropped to his sides and he lurched forward to remedy the oversight, even though her stemmed glass of room-temperature red shouldn’t leave a ring. No condensation.

Lola resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she told him, “Here’s a thought. You’re not dating anyone. I’m not dating anyone. We get along fabulously, and apparently, we have the hots for each other. Wouldn’t it be great if there was actually something more between us? I mean, we’ve never even kissed. But—”

“No,” he said, lifting a hand to cut her off. “Not gonna happen.”

“We could be doing ourselves a real disservice by ignoring this,” she challenged, as was her nature.

“I’ll remain a saner person by ignoring this.”

“You were a mess last night. The guy who doesn’t like messes.”

“And now I’m collected again.”

“Oh, Alex.” She smiled, slightly devilishly. When would he ever learn?

She stretched on tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his.

Lola had no idea what to expect. His lips set in a hard, obstinate line? His body rigid? His entire being listless because he wasn’t willing to experiment?

None of those things happened. Rather, their lips parted on the same breath and his tongue swept inside her mouth, tangling with hers. One of his hands cupped the side of her face. The other gripped her waist and he yanked her to him. His arm encircled her. He crushed her against his body, soft curves conforming to powerful muscles.

An electric current arced between them, giving her one hell of a jolt.

Alex’s hot, wet, erotic kiss was so sizzling, Lola couldn’t catch her breath. She had to tear her mouth from his.

“Oh!” The word leapt from somewhere deep in her throat.

Alex pulled away, just as breathless. He shoved a hand through his hair. “This is such a bad idea.”

Still… his green irises blazed with a raw, intense yearning. One Lola suddenly realized she’d been desperate to see in a man’s eyes but had yet to—until this very moment.