over the racing pulse in her throat. Suddenly she whimpered, reaching frantically for his cheeks.
“Kiss me,” she demanded, her deep-green eyes wide with lust and soft with pleasure as she looped her arms around his neck.
He was only too happy to comply.
Leaning forward, he seized her lips with his, lowering his hands to cup her ass as she arched her back, pushing her breasts into his chest. Her nipples beaded and he felt them, erect and hard against his chest, a reminder that she was just as aroused as he. And he was. Oh, merde, he was. His dick had started swelling the moment he’d pulled her into his arms, but as her tongue invaded his mouth, whatever blood was left in his head seemed to drain directly to his cock.
It had been such a long time since he’d had the privilege of kissing a woman the way he was kissing Jax, which not only engaged his body but—more and more—engaged his mind and heart as well. She was strong and beautiful, playful and sassy, the most fun he’d ever had, the hardest and fastest he’d ever fallen. And he fell…fell…fell deeper and deeper into the uncompromising attraction, tender longing, and fierce passion he felt for the woman in his arms.
She cupped his erection with the softness of her sex, cupped his head with her hands, her fingers buried in his hair, and leaned her forehead against his shoulder, her breasts pushing against his chest with every shallow breath.
“Come home with me tonight,” he said, nuzzling her ear with his nose, grabbing the lobe between his teeth and flicking it with his tongue before letting it go. “Stay with me.”
When she didn’t answer, he leaned back to look into her eyes and found them worried, uncertain. She flinched just slightly, then tilted her head to the side, giving him a tentative little smile. “You should know that want and should are having an epic battle in my head right now.”
“You just stole my line!” Chuckling softly, he kissed her forehead. “Who’s winnin’?”
“I had fun tonight,” she said, and her eyes, dark and warm, bore the truth of her words. “And I…I love what’s happening between us. But…”
He swallowed. “Too soon?”
He could see it in her face—how much she wanted him to understand. How she wasn’t turning him down or away so much as was trying not to rush things between them. He understood, of course, though, in his mind, her return to Hollywood loomed like a dark cloud, and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible before she left him.
“Too soon,” she confirmed.
He nodded, respecting the hell out of her for gently saying no when she wasn’t quite ready to say yes. “Okay.”
“But how about a lesson tomorrow?” she asked quickly, her eyes bright and hopeful. “My place? At three?”
“If you want.”
“I do want,” she said. “And…can you stay for a swim? And dinner? I’m a terrible cook, but I’m great at ordering.”
“I tell you what,” he said, “we’ll have a lesson and a swim, and if you buy the Abita, I’ll do the cooking.”
“I heard you make a great gumbo,” she said, clasping her hands together at the back of his neck.
He nodded, feeling happy even in the face of her gentle rejection. “We have a deal?”
“We have a deal,” she said, leaning up on her toes and pulling his head down to hers to seal it with another scorching kiss.
Chapter 11
“The groin,” he announced, giving her a dry look.
Standing across from him in the gym, she looked up at his serious face and tried desperately not to snicker.
Last night, she’d driven them back to Haverford, her fingers laced though his for the entirety of the ride as they talked about their families. She learned a little more about his father, who—from what she could gather—not only had been a very successful businessman but was Gard’s best friend too. She sensed his deep sadness about losing his father, and though she shared a similar loss, she hadn’t been as close to her own father and couldn’t completely understand the depth of Gard’s connection to his. However, she also told him all about Mad, Étienne, and J.C., with whom she did share a similar closeness. He gave her a sidelong look after she described her brothers and proclaimed them both “trouble,” which made her chuckle because it was true.
After the intensity of their conversation outside of Club7, when they confessed their growing feelings for each other,