Which she was. Breathy and excited, not a porn star.
“You drive me crazy.”
Part of her was embarrassed. Part of her wondered if this was some kind of elaborate con. Men weren’t driven to madness by her kisses. It just didn’t happen. She had pleasant relationships with pleasant men. And not even recently. It had been eighteen months since she’d had a boyfriend. The last year she hadn’t even dated much.
So this was all out of left field and really hard to wrap her head around.
But part of her, a part she hadn’t even known existed, felt very pleased that she was having this effect on Axl. She felt naughty and sexy and she didn’t want that sensation to go away.
“I don’t think I’ve ever driven a man crazy before.”
“Then you’ve been hanging around the wrong guys because you are so damn sexy. Your body was built to drive a man crazy.”
That also pleased her. Because she knew for certain her body was not built for rock climbing.
Suddenly she realized the bartender was probably hearing every word they were saying. Awkward. Maybe that’s what made her say, without warning, even to herself, “Do you want to go to my room? I feel like this moment should be private.”
His eyes darkened with desire. His thumb brushed over her bottom lip. “Are you sure?”
She knew what he was actually asking. That if they went to her room and started kissing they might end up having sex and was she absolutely sure she wanted to do that? It wasn’t her usual style. She wasn’t impulsive and she wasn’t a woman who could take what she wanted from a man and move on without a backward glance. In fact, she’d always envied those girls who could.
But she’d never met Axl Moore before.
She had damp panties from one kiss.
She wanted him.
There was no reason not to other than her pesky anxiety and right now, it was nonexistent. She should have damp palms, a tight throat, and heart palpitations the way she usually did when she was in an unexpected situation.
Right now, she felt nothing but a burgeoning desire that shocked her with its intensity.
“Yes,” she said simply. “I’m sure.”
He leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss. “You’re beautiful.”
Wow. Maybe her mother had hired him as a gigolo. Or Zach had. Because this was just crazy. Axl seemed so sincere, like he really thought she was gorgeous. She was cute. She wasn’t gorgeous. Her mother was beautiful. Leighton benefitted from makeup contouring. It was that simple.
At the moment she didn’t even care if he was a con artist, or a liar, or a male prostitute hired by a well-meaning loved one.
She just wanted to get that shirt off of him and feel those pecs.
She really didn’t believe he was any of the above. Maybe that was naïve, but she didn’t care. And hell, maybe Axl did think she was gorgeous. Everyone saw different things when they looked at someone. Maybe she spent too much time around body-conscious people.
There was something freeing about being with Axl. He made her want to throw caution to the wind.
Reaching behind her, she pulled her purse off of the chair where she had hung it, intending to pay for her wine. Axl was already dropping a twenty on the bartop. It didn’t seem like enough for two glasses of wine, but she didn’t want to sound rude.
Instead she made eye contact with the bartender, who was grinning, clearly entertained by the dynamic between her and Axl. He didn’t seem to think he was getting stiffed on the tab. In fact, he gave Axl six singles back, which Axl used to return four to the bar. He was a decent tipper, she liked that.
Minnesota was much more affordable than LA, big shocker.
“Thank you,” she said to the bartender. “And thank you,” she added to Axl.
He gave her a wink.
She was pretty sure she’d just gotten pregnant.
That’s how masculine he was.