made up, and certainly not something I led them to believe.”
“So this is the part when you tell me about all the fun you want to have with me?” She tried to push back, but he wouldn’t loosen his grip.
“No, baby. This is the part when I tell you that with you, little Miss Drama Queen, I don’t just want to have fun. Why do you think I’ve been chasing you all this time? Just for some tail? No. I want more. To be honest, I don’t know how much more. I’ve never really done…this.” He drew back slightly and gestured to the space between them. “But I can promise you, if I tell you I want something more with you, I’m not going to be with other women while I’m with you.”
Her stomach did backflips. “How about Francesca?”
“What about her?”
“She’s not part of your harem?”
“Seriously, you’re starting to piss me off. There’s no harem. There’s only crazy-ass women.” He reached for her nose and pinched it. “You’re kinda starting to fit that category, babe. Stop being crazy.”
She laughed for the first time in hours. “So, like, are you asking me to go steady?”
Now it was his turn to laugh. “You are seriously a nut!” He hugged her tight. “No woman’s made me laugh as much as you. I’ve been after you for months. How could you possibly be jealous?”
“I told you, I wasn’t jealous.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, babe.” He put his mouth on hers, and she couldn’t help but arch her back into him. His hand slid under her shirt and he cupped a breast as he continued to assault her mouth. She felt a low guttural growl from deep in his chest. Her mouth opened of its own accord, and the kiss quickly became frenzied. His hand slipped underneath her bra and he pinched and played with a nipple until she was so turned on, she was about to dry-hump him in a dark corner of the parking lot. Likely realizing where they were, he removed his hand from inside her shirt and pulled away, leaving them both breathless.
“We may have just gotten to third base,” he said in a husky voice.
She smiled lazily and nodded. “That was fun.”
“Yeah, it was. Not a fan of mauling you in a parking lot where anyone could’ve seen, but I agree that it was fun. My poor dick is sad you have to go back to work, though.”
She laughed. “So, we’re really doing this?”
“Yes. We’re going to date. Hope you’re ready, babe, ’cause I’m all in.”
“All in,” she echoed in a whisper. So much commitment in those two small words.
“Get back to work before I bend you over and fuck you on the hood of your car.” He slapped her ass before leading her back to the Pier.
His words caught her off guard. This man had a naughty mouth. And she so wanted it all over her body.
Chapter 4
What the hell had gotten into him? If he wasn’t with Jessica, he was thinking about her or texting her. It had been two days since he’d dragged her out of the bar and to the parking lot and almost fucked her. Between their work schedules, they hadn’t seen each other since. For months they had flirted, but it had all been innocent, at least on her end. Slade, however, had been dying for her to get rid of that jackass Dennis and finally say yes to a date with him. He couldn’t see why she stayed with the jerk. His sister, Chrissy, had been in a physically abusive relationship, and seeing Dennis grab Jessica sparked an anger he hadn’t even known was there. That fight—which had resulted in Slade getting arrested—also led to complete radio silence from Jessica. He had needed her to testify in his defense, so while out on bail he’d gone to talk to her. But she was already back with Dennis, he’d found out. The next time he saw her, she was broken and in the hospital. He’d discovered that Jessica, at Chrissy’s pleading, had asked Dennis to drop the charges against Slade, and he’d beaten her within an inch of her life.
Slade was a serial dater. Scratch that, he thought; he barely dated—he just screwed a lot. He had no problem getting women. But this woman was different. He’d never let something even close to that happen to her again. If he could stand guard in front of her house all day, he would.
“Son of a