go off like that, but her normal filters were off.
The conflict on his face let her know he heard her and understood.
His hand moved slowly to feather her hair behind an ear. He gently stroked her face, and her untried senses throbbed to life.
“It’s never supposed to be like that,” he murmured.
“It wasn’t,” she admitted with a heavy sigh. “I couldn’t do it. I wanted to feel better, and he wanted to fuck. The idea of intimacy with someone who wasn’t going to remember my name in a few hours shocked me back to reality. My change of heart was not met with gallantry,” she snarled. “In the time it took to get dressed and find my keys, I was called a lot of disgusting things. The whole ugly encounter was a harsh wake-up call.”
Their gazes met and held.
“You make me feel different,” she whispered. “This is different. I can’t explain it any other way.”
He pulled her into a hug. She melted in his arms and breathed him in. The difference in the height made for a comfortable embrace. He was solid and warm. With her cheek pressed above his heart, she listened to the steady beat and ceased to question what the hell she was doing.
“I wanted you the minute I heard your voice. And I’m not talking about bending you over the table to do you from behind although the thought did have promise.”
She raised her head to look at him.
“This is going to come off like the height of arrogance, but it’s true, Summer. I’ve never had to seduce a woman into my bed, and yes, I know what it says about me. Every partner I’ve ever had was willing and, damn near most of the time, the aggressor. Don’t shoot the messenger, but I’ve been assured countless times of my pre-approved spot in the Cock Hall of Fame.”
“Wait. There’s a hall of fame for cocks?”
“So it seems, but we digress. My point is, I’ve been plotting your seduction since the minute you challenged my footwear. I knew you were different then, and I sure as shit know it now. The virgin reveal has taken me by surprise, but when you think about it, isn’t it just the kind of thing the universal jokesters love to throw into the mix?”
She smiled, slowly at first, until her face was stretched from the effort.
“Oh, my god. Arnie! Are you planning to make love to me?” She probably shouldn’t have laughed or sounded so excited and gleeful, but there you had it.
He chuckled. “I don’t think I made the distinction between fucking and making love until you gave me a reason to.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means, Miss Giggler, that in this regard, we are both untried novices. I’ve never made love to anyone. Ever.”
“How the hell did we get here?” she asked.
“As already pointed out, it started with a shoe insult then, boom! Took off from there.”
“So now what?”
“Ah, the million-dollar question. I don’t know,” he admitted with a shoulder roll. “Planning to seduce you was fun and games, but now? Now we’re looking at something different. Something with repercussions.”
“Because I live here, and you don’t?”
“Yes,” he agreed with a nod, “and the fact there’s more with us than meets the eye.”
There was a lot to think about. Wasn’t there?
She eyed him up and down. Excitement lurched inside her. He was so strong, so compelling, and she was drawn to him like a magnet.
An otherworldly sensation swept her along. Tingles of awareness danced along her nerves, and she placed her hand in his.
“Am I still in charge of our first date?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered warmly.
“Then come on. Let’s go to my place, and maybe if you play your cards right, there’ll be some bent over the table action.”
His laughter rang out in the night. “Uh, no to the back door entry. Too advanced. We’re barely in the introductory phase, and there’s a, uh, physical consideration we should probably talk about before the kinky shit breaks out.”
What? Intrigued, she asked, “Physical consideration?”
He pointed down. “Big feet.” Then he placed their hands together—palm to palm. The size difference was obvious. “Big hands,” he proudly declared. She was thinking about how cheeky he was when he took her hand and used it to cup the bulge in his pants. “Big dick.”
Oh.
“Should I be worried?”
“It’s all in the foreplay.” He chuckled. “Preparation is mandatory.”
She didn’t know exactly what he meant, but it didn’t stop her from trembling with excitement.