“Says the man who just tossed a paper ball at his friend for teasing him,” I said.

He smiled then, a real, raw smile right before he laughed. And God, the sound did things to my body. Made me want things I shouldn’t, like a second helping and then some from what happened between us in the drive in.

“I thought we were on the right track,” he said, dipping me before hauling me upright. The motion had my thigh slipping around his hip, and I trembled from the move. “Where you realized I’m not the teenager you used to know.”

“Oh, I’ve realized that,” I said, grinning up at him. I gripped his strong shoulders, rolling my hips against him to show him I could keep up. “I just like giving you a hard time.”

A low growl rumbled from his chest when I spun around in his embrace, rocking my ass against his front. I reached up and grabbed his hands, guiding them back to my hips as I took control of the dance.

“Goddamn,” he groaned when I rolled over him to the beat, lost to the music, lost in him. “If this is how you give me a hard time, you can give me a hard time any fucking time you want,” he whispered the words into my ear, and my heart raced against my chest.

Anticipation flared through my body, my mind suddenly feeling as clear as it had ever been before. And in that moment? All I wanted was him.

No strings, no talks, just the pure, raw passion he exuded naturally.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to experience that? Even if it was just once?

“Caspian,” I said, but it sounded like a plea. I shifted, spinning to face him again. I reached up, wrapping my hand around the back of his neck, drawing him closer. He leaned down, allowing me to pull him down to my level, our lips an inch a part. I locked eyes with him, holding us both in that suspended moment, questions racing through my brain.

No one was watching us.

This wasn’t for a show.

This was simply because I wanted to feel his lips on mine, feel his body against me.

“Ryleigh,” he whispered, his warm breath hitting my lips he was so close. And I realized he would stay like that until I gave him the go-ahead. He respected me, my choices, and would never force me to do anything I didn’t want.

If that didn’t make up my mind, then I don’t know what else would.

I rose to my tip-toes, closing the distance between us—

“Hey, Caz!” Maxim called from across the outdoor patio, the sound jerking us to the present. The band no longer played in the background, in fact, they were packing up.

Ohmigod, how lost did I get in this man?

“You’re still driving us, right?” Maxim called, nodding toward the iron gate where the rest of the guys were filing out.

“Yeah!” Caspian called back, his hands gripping my hips for a moment before he took a step away from me.

I stood there, frozen in my desire, unsure what to say or do. I was so bad at this, so bad at putting a voice to what I really wanted.

Caspian stopped before the gate, glancing over his shoulder. “You’re still my co-pilot, right?” he asked, and I released a tight breath. Nodding, I hurried over to him.

Thirty-minutes later, we’d dropped everyone off at the hotel where the wedding party was staying, and Caspian turned the big SUV toward the road that would lead to my house.

I chuckled, a bit nervously, as I leaned my head against the window. “Fun night,” I said. “I wonder how rowdy that group will be in the hotel.”

“You can’t even imagine,” Caspian said, turning onto my street. “I can’t believe you didn’t drink,” he said. “I was driving you home anyway.” He parked outside my house, turning to face me.

I shrugged. “I wanted you to have an ally,” I said, and he grinned at me. “Besides, I’ve never been a huge drinker anyway.”

“I get that,” he said. “I’m not really, either. Not that I don’t indulge every now and then, but with practice and games, it’s easier to stay in shape without it. Though, I can’t fault my boys for having some fun. We rarely get vacations like this together.”

I nodded, the nerves tangling in my throat. I’d never been in this position before…where I wanted someone and had to ask. Chuck and I had been together so long, he was always kind of just there. But this? With Caspian? It was nothing like I’d ever felt before.

And I knew he was leaving. Knew he had a lifestyle I could never sustain or match.

But he was here now.

With me. Kind of. And even if it was just this once, I couldn’t shake the terrified sense pulsing inside me, screaming at me to not let him go.

Tags: Samantha Whiskey Carolina Reapers Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net