She smiled. “Sure.”
After Emma handed him a beer, she took out a pitcher of iced tea and poured herself a glass. “Don’t drink?” Damn, he hoped like hell the chair didn’t break. That would not make a good impression.
“Yeah, but only on rare occasions.” She sat across from him. “I’ve never mastered the art of holding my liquor.”
That intrigued him. He leaned forward, his attention rapt, the chair forgotten. “What happens when you drink, Emma?”
“It goes straight to my head.”
His eyebrows shot up, and his cock came to full-alert status. “Are you a happy drunk?”
She nodded vehemently. “Too happy, I’m afraid.”
Ah, that sounded promising. “Just how…happy do you get?”
“A few glasses of wine, and suddenly I’m ready for anything.”
She was killing him. Jason winced at the picture she’d innocently brought to mind. “Most people crave that feeling.” He really hoped he didn’t sound as strained as he felt.
“True. Still, I would rather be in control.” She took a sip of her tea and said, “I mean, seriously, if I’m in the mood for a fun time, I don’t want to drink something that’s going to cause me to forget it all.”
“I like the way you think.” And he definitely wanted to get her to a point where she wanted to have fun…with him. Preferably soon. “So, what do you say to dinner?”
All of a sudden, the atmosphere changed, and Emma seemed to take an emotional step back. “At one time, you didn’t have the time of day for someone as boring and plain as me. Now you’re here, asking me on a date. Why?”
“Boring and plain? Is that what you think of yourself, Emma?”
When she didn’t answer, only began sliding her finger along the condensation on the side of the glass, Jason moved closer and touched her forearm, absently stroking his thumb over the jumping pulse he found there. “You’re anything but boring and plain. I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”
His fingers left her arm and moved to a long silky strand of her hair that flowed over her shoulder. He stroked the soft texture between his thumb and index finger. “You have beautiful hair. I’m no poet, so pretty words don’t come easily to me. But all this hair gives a man all sorts of ideas.” In his mind, Jason saw her nude with nothing but her hair covering her. It would sweep down her back in long dark waves, stroking her ass and making him jealous with every caress. “I’ve always had a fondness for espresso, and your hair is that same dark, rich color. Mouthwateringly perfect.”
She looked up now. He hoped she saw the sincerity in his eyes. Saw the deep fires that burned there too. “I asked you to homecoming, and you turned me down. Do you know how hard it was for me to get up the nerve to do that?”
He’d known that particular issue would come up. “I didn’t turn you down because I didn’t want to go with you.” He watched the pulse beating in Emma’s neck quicken. “I was already supposed to go with Patrice. Remember her?”
Emma sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “How could I forget,” she bit out. “Cheerleader. D cup. Perfect blonde hair.”
He sighed. “Yeah, that’s the one. Biggest mistake of my life was dating her, but at the time, I was ruled by my hormones.”
Emma looked away. “And she was hot. I wasn’t.”
He tugged her chin until her gaze was once again on him. “You’re wrong. You’ve always been beautiful, but you were one of the nice girls. And believe me, I had no business touching you. Not then.”
Her cheeks reddened when she asked, “A-and now?”
“Now,” he murmured, “wild horses couldn’t drag me away.”
Emma shook her head. “Look, I appreciate the help with my knee, but you should really go home. I’m sure you have better things to do.”
His temper flared. “Why won’t you give me the time of day?”
Emma quickly looked away.
Jason cupped her cheek and forced her back around. He wouldn’t let her hide from him. “Tell me you feel it,” he whispered. “This…desire. I’m not the only one here.”
On a sigh, Emma closed her eyes. “Maybe, but that doesn’t mean we should do anything about it.”
Damn, her skin was as soft as satin. He stroked his thumb over her lower lip and found it plump, inviting. His dick hardened beneath his jeans as he imagined those full pink lips wrapped snug around his cock.