bathroom.
Ten minutes later, after brushing her teeth, applying some light makeup, and changing into a black cotton maxi dress with matching flats, she fluffed up her hair and walked out.
Slade whistled. “Don’t you clean up nicely.”
She nudged him playfully with her elbow. “Ready to go?”
He nodded, took her hand, and interlaced his fingers with hers—Slade, who she’d never seen hold any woman’s hand. She felt like doing another fist pump. Hold it together, dummy.
As soon as they walked out of the Pier, he stopped and turned toward her. “Hi.”
She smiled. “Hi.”
“Mouth.”
He was so sweet, Jessica thought, yet so…imposing. She leaned forward and lightly kissed him, then pulled away.
“I’ve been waiting hours for that mouth of yours,” he told her. “You look so good, and I’m pretty sure you’re wearing something underneath that dress that’s going to drive me crazy later, so don’t fuck around with me. I want your mouth.”
He released her hand, placed his big hands on the sides of her chin, and brought his lips down on hers. Her eager mouth opened and her greedy tongue met his in a brain-numbing, panty-combusting kiss in the middle of the sidewalk right in front of where she worked.
When he released her, she practically swayed. He leaned down to look at her face. His blue eyes smoldered. They freakin’ smoldered. As she looked up at him, she finally understood why all the women in town pretty much dropped their panties when he so much as spoke to them. His blue eyes were absolutely hypnotic, and she was completely under his spell.
“So, what are you in the mood for, baby?”
“Um…” More of your mouth on my body. Then I want to do the same to you. Goodness, that mouth, those eyes, those lips, that tongue. I need—
“Jess? Dinner—what are you in the mood for?” He chuckled. Had she said that out loud? Or had he read her mind with his magical eyes?
“Anything’s fine with me. You pick.” Please pick something fast. I want to get you home like now! Her internal dialogue was really getting out of control.
“How about we grab a pizza and take it back to your place? Unless you want to go to—”
“No!” she yelled way too quickly. He laughed, and she took a deep breath. “Sorry. I mean, pizza at my house sounds great.”
Hand in hand, they walked around the corner to a pizza place, which happened to be her favorite. “Everything, right?” he asked. “That’s what you like?”
He’d brought her pizza a few times when she’d been unable to do much walking. It warmed her that he had remembered. She nodded with a big smile.
“Why are you smiling?”
“No reason.” She got on the tips of her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Just happy, I guess.”
He pulled her close to his side as he ordered. While their pizza was being prepared, they went to a little grocery mart next door and bought cookies and ice cream. When the pizza was done, they added it to their other purchases and headed back to the parking lot.
“I’ll follow you.”
“Let’s go in my truck. I’ll bring you back for your car later,” he said. Her heart dropped. That meant one of two things: one, they weren’t going to have sex and he would take her to get her car after they ate their stupid pizza and stupid ice cream, or two, they would have sex and then he’d take her back to get her car, which meant he didn’t want to sleep over.
Just like he did with all the other girls.
Before she could get herself fully riled up, he added, “Tomorrow.”
Uncomprehending, she looked up at him.
“I’ll bring you back to get your car…tomorrow.”
She briefly contemplated playing a little hard to get, but really, she was ready to have sex with him right there in the middle of the parking space while he held a large pizza box in his hand. She smiled at the thought, but suddenly something else occurred to her that brought a frown to her face. Was that even normal behavior?
She was in the midst of this major internal debate when he spoke. “Okay, Jessica. What’s all the thinking about? Spit it out.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Jessica,” he said more sternly.
“Okay. So, I don’t want you to think I’m one of your sluts. Not that the women you sleep with are sluts, but you know what I mean. All you have to do is smile that perfect dimpled smile with perfect white