“I can never hear it enough,” my cousin replied.
Unable to take it anymore, I said, “All right, you two, get out of here before you make me puke up all this good beer.”
“Bye, Chloe!” Gabe shouted.
Chloe came out from behind the bar where she’d been throwing stuff away. Even though I knew she had to be dead on her feet, she still looked amazing. In heels, skinny jeans, and a tank top, her hair up in some sort of braided ‘do, she somehow still managed to look fresh and beautiful.
“You guys heading out?” she asked as she approached the three of us.
“Yeah,” Gabe replied. “This one’s exhausted.” Then, he surprised the hell out of her when his free arm came out and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her in for a group hug. “Thanks for everything.”
I could see the shock, and what I swore was pleasure, on Chloe’s face when she pulled away and replied, “Anytime,” her voice rough with emotion.
We said our goodbyes, then Chloe and I worked with the remaining staff to put the bar back to rights.
Once everything was good to go, I let the staff go home, with the promise to lock up as we left.
I walked around the bar, front and back of the house, making sure everything was in its place, turning off the lights as I went. After I locked the front, I headed to where Chloe was boxing up the Jenga game.
“We’ll go out the back. Are you parked out front?”
Chloe nodded, then sighed, a small smile on her lips as she brought her tired eyes to mine.
“It was a great night.”
“Yeah, doesn’t get much better.”
“We’re a good team,” she added, and I swear to Christ,
my heart lurched at her words.
“The best,” I agreed, trying to keep things light. “Have you checked the board?”
I grinned as Chloe’s head swung to the left, then back to me, and stuck her tongue out. She was cute at three in the morning.
“What do you want?” she asked warily.
“I don’t know yet,” I replied, thinking it might be fun to keep her on her toes for a while. “I’ll let you know when I do.”
“Hmmm,” Chloe replied, setting the game down and taking a step closer to me, her eyes on my face.
I felt them on me, and my body reacted as if she were physically touching me. I suddenly felt too hot, and my breathing deepened.
I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I was frozen in place, unable, and unwilling, to move.
“I’ve never seen you anything but clean shaven,” she said, finally breaking the thick silence. She raised her hand tentatively, then, almost as if in a trance, she brought her palm to my cheek and felt the stubble that had grown there.
I closed my eyes, needing to savor every second of this unexpected caress.
Her fingers stayed in place, but her thumb … her thumb moved as if of its own accord, gliding softly over my cheek, then my lips. My mouth opened as a surprised breath escaped me, and I knew Chloe felt the heat there when a soft whimper emitted from her throat.
My eyes flew open, and at the next pass of her thumb, my tongue darted out, testing the waters.
I watched as her eyes dilated and her mouth opened in surprise. Never one to pass up a gift when one was presented, I moved.
Hands to her hips, I gripped and pulled her close. My head lowered and I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally felt those plump, delicious lips below mine. I kept one hand on her hip to steady us both, but could no more deny the other the chance to roam than I could deny myself this kiss.
I felt the soft silk of her skin, the gorgeous curve of her breast, and the sleek toned arm, before moving to cup the back of her neck and tilting my head to deepen the kiss even more. It was like a fire had been lit within her as Chloe met me kiss for kiss, lick for lick, bite for bite.