Don’t panic, I remind myself. He’s just a guy.
Yeah, right. A guy who looks like Adonis with the body to match. Corey is cute, but no one would ever say he’s hot. No one would stop to check him out. At least not in the way they would Tucker.
I hit a dead end, where I find a door that leads to the outside and a set of stairs to the upper floors. When I spin around, Tucker is in front of me, a wicked smirk on his lips. He clutches my wrist, and a bolt of electricity shoots up my arm. He stares down for a second, as if he feels it, too. Then, his eyes are on mine, his wide smile producing the same reaction from me.
“Jemma with a J,” he says in his smooth, deep voice that pulses through me. “You running away from me, girl?”
Freaked out, I suck in a deep breath.
Shit, what do I say?
Tucker closes the distance between us and runs his fingers down my arm. His touch causes tiny bumps to dot on my skin. “You look hot.” He stares at my bra, his eyes centered on my breasts and licks his lips. “I almost didn’t recognize you so… made up.” Now, his gaze is fixed on my face, and heat burns my cheeks. “I like it. You look different, but it suits you.”
I smile so wide my jaw hurts. Compliments from Tucker sound so much better than from any other man. I’m all giddy on the inside, feeling like a stupid teenage girl with a crush on the popular boy in school.
Speechless, I stare, allowing his hand to move to my hip, lingering there. He gives me a look that says he’s asking for my permission, and when I nod, he slides his hand up my bare stomach. In this outfit, there’s not much clothing between us. He could undress me in seconds. And the crazy thing is I want him to. I’ve wanted this since the day we met.
He explores my body, his fingers wandering dangerously close to the edge of my bra, as he leans forward to plant soft kisses along my jaw. Tucker always smells good, but tonight, it’s as if he’s bottled up his delicious scent. I close my eyes and focus on how he smells, how his body feels pressed against mine.
He’s hard, his growing erection digging into my stomach. A few more kisses on my jaw and neck cause my toes to curl, and then Tucker finally makes his way to my mouth. Staring into my eyes, a carnal look in his blue irises, he gives me a look as if he’s asking me for more. I provide him with the answer he needs as my lips crash into his.
He consumes me, parting my lips with his tongue, taking what he wants from me. Lifting me up by my ass, he hooks my legs around his middle, and my back hits the wooden banister hard enough to hurt but not enough to care. Our last kiss was nothing like this one. This time, Tucker twists my hair between his fingers, pinning my mouth to his with a purpose, his kisses so hungry and forceful.
There’s so much greed and passion behind each kiss that I’m lost to him, drowning in a sea of ecstasy, sinking so deep I’m crashing and falling. By the time our lips separate, my head spins from the lack of oxygen. He leans his forehead against mine, somewhat out of breath.
“Damn, Jem, that was some kiss.” The costume makeup on his face is smeared, giving him a dirty but sexy look.
“You’re telling me,” I whisper against his lips.
“Want to get out of here?”
“Yes,” I breathe, and then he takes my hand, leading me out the back door of the house.
Tucker lives the next block over, in one of the on-campus houses reserved for athletes. No one is home, the only sounds I can hear coming from the music thumping from Greek Row. He clutches my wrist and leads me upstairs to his bedroom. I’m not surprised to see two queen beds separated by a nightstand. Most of the rooms on campus are double occupancy.
He locks the door behind us, and then lifts me up, ripping a squeal from my lips as he lowers me to the mattress on the left side of the room.
“I’ve been waiting to get you alone for a long time,” Tucker says, making room for himself between my legs. “And I plan to make use of every second we have together.” He cups the side of my face with his hand, the heat from his breath sending a chill down my spine.
This is it. The moment we’ve both been waiting for. And I’m ready.
Stroking his thumb along my jaw, he stares into my eyes. My heart pounds in my chest. Every nerve ending in my body comes alive from his simple touch. I trace my fingers up his arms, feeling the ridges of his muscles, all the way up to his strong shoulders. Tucker is a big guy, well over six feet tall and at least two hundred pounds of muscle pinning me to the mattress.