Dirty Playboy - Alex Wolf Page 0,36

jaw line and gorgeous hazel eyes, the smoldering stares from across the room that heat me to a thousand degrees.

All the other men I’ve dated were so straight-laced and awkward. Super nice men, they just weren’t, you know—forbidden, rugged, beautiful in a very male, testosterone-filled way. They were all reliable, routine-driven, men. Yeah, they were boring. Nice, but boring.

This, what I’m experiencing, is romance, excitement, suspenseful—every checkmark outside of reality, and Rick is ticking them all off, one by one.

I glance over at him. I know he has secrets, know he probably has a difficult past—that he’s done some shady things, has experiences I could never relate to. But he’s so alluring, and dangerous, and I just want to break down those walls and get to the cogs and gears of him, because there’s something powerful between us, even when he was acting like a maniac around me, borderline stalker-ish—there was something drawing us together. I don’t know if it was God, or the universe, or some kind of undefinable force at play, but it’s there. It’s always been there. I think that’s just how it is with some people, whether they want to admit it or not.

I stop in front of a park bench and turn to Rick.

He looks down at me, clearly confused. “It’s called a walk, you know? Walking is involved.” He’s teasing, and shows me the whites of his teeth with a cheesy grin that makes me want to melt.

Don’t do it again. Are you really going to sabotage this perfect moment?

Yep.

“I want to know about your childhood, what you were like as a boy.”

Rick’s jaw tenses, and his eyes harden. Then, he does the classic Rick move and smiles again, showing off a dimple on his right cheek I’d never noticed, but the lights hit him just right. I want him so bad in that moment, but at the same time, I want to know him too. If I’m going to give myself to him, surrender and be all in with this, I have to know first. I need to push him, because he’s not going to just volunteer this information, no matter how many dates we go on. I can just tell.

“Wouldn’t you rather see this beautiful skyline…”

I stand there, his jacket still draped across my shoulders, shaking my head slowly and deliberately. “Not at all. If you want to date me, you have to trust me. And I have to trust you. I’m sorry, but it’s non-negotiable. As much as I want to just ignore, and dive headfirst into this, I just can’t. It’s not who I am. If you want to date me, I have to know who you are.”

There’s a sparkle in his eye, something, every time I mention dating him.

He stands there, staring into my eyes for a long moment, like he’s contemplating everything about us. I think he’s about to say something, but right then, something else happens.

His palms come up to my cheeks, and his mouth slants over mine, and in the brief second it takes for his lips to come into contact with mine, and for my nerve endings to fire a message to my brain and say, “Rick Lawrence is kissing you,” and for my brain to receive and recognize that information… In that fraction of a second, I think I might have a heart attack, and then, I think I might melt into a puddle or float away.

Because oh my wow, this man can kiss, and he can kiss good. More than that, we naturally fit together, like two long lost puzzle pieces finally reunited. My hand slides up around his neck, and his fingers smooth down the sides of my hair as he tilts my head whichever way he wants me to go.

His tongue licks and explores my mouth, learning as he goes, figuring out the dance so he knows exactly what I want, and what I like to feel.

My skin tingles from my scalp down to my toes. Euphoria shoots through my veins. It’s a rush I’ve never felt before, all of it funneling down to my center. Without thinking, my hips press into him and grind, as if I need more, like I can’t get close enough to him.

He growls, just slightly, across my lips the second I do it, like I’m driving him just as wild as he’s driving me.

After what feels like a nanosecond and an eternity at the same time, our lips part and Rick stares at me. Not