“Oh my God…” I gasp, then punch my sister in the arm, and not lightly either. I can’t believe she just said that.
“Exaggerating what?” Cage inquires, turning to me with one eyebrow cocked and an amused expression.
“Nothing,” I say, the urgency of my reply hopefully conveying to my sister to shut the hell up.
She’s such a little shit, though, and is enjoying the moment. She leans in toward Cage, almost conspiratorially, and whispers, “She merely said you were smoking hot.”
Oh, I said a lot more than that. Ever since she became sexually active, we’ve shared more of the intimate details of our love lives with each other, so I’m okay if she leaves it at “hot.”
“I bet she said more,” Cage says with a sly grin leveled right at my sister. A charming smile with dimples that he hopes will sway Laney to spill all.
My racing pulse calms when Laney shakes her head. “Sorry, dude… that’s all you get. Sisters have a pact of secrecy we take very seriously.”
Cage gives an almost respectful bow, inclining his head. “I can respect those boundaries.”
Then he leans over, puts his mouth right up against my ear, and rumbles, “I bet I can torture it out of you later.”
A full spinal shiver runs from bottom to top, leaving my skin tingling. I bet he could get it out of me. When he told me at the restaurant last night that he wanted to eat me, I thought he was just being cliché. Like, “I could just eat you up.”
What he really meant was he wanted to spend a long and glorious time with his mouth between my legs—something my ex hated doing, although he didn’t mind me going down on him, something I enjoy doing.
At least that’s another way in which Cage and I are compatible. We both like oral, and I intend to reciprocate tonight.
Assuming he wants to do something after the game. We haven’t talked about it, and I’m trying to play things loose and casual. I mean… this feels casual.
Somewhat.
But part of this feels cataclysmic.
Cage is a force. Something I’ve never experienced before. He takes control, but not in a patronizing way. He says what’s on his mind, which I find to be refreshing. He listens as if my words are music to his ears.
And the way he looks at me?
I can’t even describe it because it’s a new experience for me. I just know it has my heart hammering. My silly romantic nature has me wishing this will turn into something far more than loose and casual.
It has me wondering if this guy has come into my life for an important reason.
Granted, it’s only been three days since we met, but the connection is unlike anything I’ve felt before. We seem to just mesh on all levels—intellectually, mentally, sexually. There’s not one thing I dislike about him, except maybe for the fact he lives with three male roommates and proclaimed I would never want to step foot in that apartment.
But that’s fine with me.
My place is perfect, and I don’t have roommates.
I blink back to awareness, realizing I had just gotten lost in my thoughts, to find Cage and Laney carrying on an easy conversation. Actually, she’s giving him shit about wearing a Carolina sweatshirt, and he’s rubbing her nose into the fact that Pitt is down by three at the half. It’s easy ribbing that only comes if two people like each other, and I think Laney and Cage both made the quick decision that they do, in fact, like each other.
It’s a good thing because I trust Laney and her instincts.
“Either of you want a beer?” Cage asks, throwing a thumb over his shoulder at one of the vending carts serving drafts.
“I’ll take one,” Laney says.
“Me too,” I reply, then get a little wobbly when Cage bends and gives me a swift kiss before ambling off.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Laney squeals when he’s out of earshot, grabbing onto my upper arm. She squeezes hard and exclaims, “You were totally not being honest about how hot he is.”
“But he’s cool, right?” I ask, worrying at my lower lip and glancing across the crowd at him’. “I know you didn’t talk to him long, but you think he’s cool?”
“Well, I didn’t get to complete my Rorschach test on him,” she says dryly. “But yeah… he’s cool.”
I glance at him again, then back to Laney. “I feel like… I could really fall for him, you know?”
“It’s been three days, Jaime,” she reminds me. “And you just broke up with Terry.”
I wave that last statement off impatiently. “This is not a rebound. I broke up with Terry over a month ago. I wasn’t even hurt by that. Pissed, yes. Vindicated when I hit him in the face with a book. But I’m not looking to replace something that Terry left empty.”