That being a gentleman thing? The idea that she deserves better? Just flew straight out the window.
The Snow Creek Inn is a block around the corner.
If I can just disengage my mouth long enough to get there.
But this kiss… This amazing, soul-crushing kiss…
I love kissing. I do. But it’s never been more than a prelude to better things. This kiss, though?
I’m so hard I’m ready to burst. From a kiss.
Now that would make sense if I were sixteen. At thirty-two, it’s a different story.
Except right now it’s not.
The high school isn’t far from here. Man, I feel like a horny kid ready to take his girlfriend under the bleachers.
Can’t do it. Can’t…
But my thoughts are jumbled. I tell my mouth to stop kissing her, but it doesn’t want to listen.
Hell, I don’t want to listen. I could kiss Callie Pike all night and still want more of her full, sweet lips, her silky tongue, her perfect flavor.
I deepen the kiss, exploring every millimeter of her sweet mouth, and—
She pushes at my chest, breaking the kiss with a loud pop of suction.
“My God.” She gasps, her breath coming in rapid puffs.
“You said it,” I say, rearranging things inside my jeans.
Callie’s mouth hangs open, her breathing still rapid. Her nipples—oh, God, her nipples. They’re poking through that black T-shirt like hard little knobs. I itch to reach toward her, cup one of those perfect tits, give that nipple a pinch.
“I can’t…” She shakes her head, squirming.
I inhale. Yeah. The scent. The scent of a woman’s sex.
Fucking intoxicating.
She’s wet, and I want to slip my tongue between her legs and have a feast.
“You want to go somewhere?” I ask.
No response. She’s still panting. “That kiss…”
“Was pretty fucking spectacular,” I finish for her.
“I’ll say…”
“So…you didn’t answer my question.”
“What question?”
Good sign. She’s in a buzz of hormones, not thinking clearly.
“Do you want to go somewhere?”
She blinks a few times, clearly trying to regain her rational thought. That’s okay. It’s rational for her to want to go to bed with me. Right?
Her breathing slows, and she exhales a long breath. “Wow.”
“Yeah, wow. You’re beautiful, Callie.”
“So are you.”
I smile. She’s not the first woman to use that word to describe me, but she’s the first who made it sound desirable.
So are you. Those three words, in her sultry voice, mean everything to me in this moment.
I won’t press her on the going somewhere issue. I’ve asked twice, and I won’t ask again.
I buss her quickly on the cheek. “Where’s your car?”
“About a block over.” She pauses a moment. “By the hotel.”
Oh my God…
I grab her hand—it’s small and warm in mine—and we walk toward the hotel.
The hotel.
The Snow Creek Inn.
The neon sign looms in the distance, seeming to pulse with each rapid beat of my heart.
Va-cancy. Va-cancy. Va-cancy.
Dare I ask one more time?
But she heads straight to her Chevy sedan and clicks her fob, unlocking the doors. “Your chariot awaits, my lord.”
I chuckle. “Are we being British now?”
“It’s always a good time to be British,” she replies in a perfect royal accent.
I slide into the passenger seat, all smiles. So much I don’t know about Caroline Pike, but what I do know, I like.
I like it a lot.
Maybe getting her into bed right away isn’t the way to tackle the lovely Caroline.
Maybe I should take it slow with her.
And maybe I’m sounding nothing like myself by having these thoughts.
She starts the engine and pulls out of her spot.
I rearrange the bulge in my pants discreetly.
Fuck, this is going to be a long night.
Chapter Twelve
Callie
It isn’t lost on me that I was parked right by the hotel.
It also isn’t lost on me that Donny wanted to get a room.
So did I.
But then I figured maybe it wasn’t the best idea, when I’m heading back into town first thing tomorrow to ask his mother for a job.
Donny Steel will still be here after I meet with Jade. She’ll give me a position, or she’ll let me down easily. Either way, I have to get that over with before I start anything with her son. I have to be professional, and Donny’s about to be sworn in as her assistant city attorney.
Not cool to be sleeping with a potential boss.
At least not yet.
And yeah, I’m horny as hell. I’ve never had a kiss like that. Right now, my whole body is awash in flashing sparks.
I’m not sure what to say. I never did answer Donny’s question—the one where he asked if I wanted to go somewhere.
Yeah, I heard him both times. I just played the hormonal fool the first time to get out of answering. Said the amorphous “wow” the second time.
Because if I actually answered the question, it would have been a resounding yes.
But clearer minds prevailed, thank goodness.
First, talk to Jade Steel.
Second, sleep with her son.
In that order.
If he’s still interested tomorrow.