Mismatch - By Nana Malone Page 0,9

you in a mood? There are a dozen women that are throwing you hungry eyes right now.”

He blinked as if her candor surprised him. “Too bad for them. I’m otherwise engaged.”

“Lucky bitch.” She grinned. “I’m appointing myself as your cheer up committee for the rest of

the evening.”

There it was again. The corners of his lips twitched. If just a partial smile was enough to tantalize her, then what would it look like when this guy really grinned? Jessica pictured panties dropping in neighboring cities.

“What, you mean to tell me you don’t have any friends here ready to rescue you from the creepy, staring guy?” His tone was teasing.

“I prefer to rescue myself.”

This time he did grin. And holy fuck, what a smile. Straight, even teeth. Eyes crinkling at the corners. Her own panties, if she’d been wearing any, would have started migrating south.

“You really will say anything, won’t you?”

So this was what flirting felt like; it had been so long since she’d bothered. Man, she missed it. Nothing like flirting to heighten the anticipation. “You never did answer my question.”

“What question was that?”

“Whether or not you were going to work up the courage to talk to me.”

He chuckled. “I was working my way up to it, but I figured you might be trouble.”

“You were right about that. Lucky for you, I believe in taking matters into my own hands. Now, do I have to lead too, or can you dance?” she asked as she tugged him to his feet. Music thrummed and vibrated through Jessica's entire body. His big, warm hand wrapped around hers, and she shivered in anticipation.

This was something she could hold onto. Something she could use to drum out the annoyance at her mother, the insecurities of her job. The loneliness over losing Izzy. All of it. She could use the anonymity on the dance floor to combat the feelings she wasn’t ready to confront.

Bodies of other dancers jostled her until she found a spot with enough space. Her partner looked unsure. She leaned in to make sure he heard her. “Relax, forget about them. All you need to do is concentrate on me.”

His intense green eyes focused on hers, and in a second of irrationality, she wanted to shrink from the feeling of intimacy. She didn’t even know his name, but felt like he could see deep inside her.

“Am I going to get a name out of you?” As he leaned in, his breath warmed her, and his stubbled chin rubbed against her temple.

She shivered. “Giving you my name would only ruin the spell.” And while he didn’t look the type, he was still club crawling in L.A.. He wasn’t likely to give his real name anyway, so why pretend?

His lips twitched in that sexy way that made her stomach flip.

God, being that handsome should be a sin. Jessica studied him, confused about her reaction to him. Buttoned-up was so not her thing. She preferred tats and piercings and some good old-fashioned hair dye. But this guy set all her receptors to come and get some. Worse, something about him made her want to spill her darkest secrets.

“And if I want to call you tomorrow?”

She shrugged, even as his large hand landed on her waist, drawing her hips into his. “That’s the thing about cheer up committees. You don’t want to overuse them. It affects their potency.”

His eyes traveled her body and heat flushed her whole body. “Somehow I doubt that.”

Jessica met his eyes again. Once more, electricity crackled between them, and again she shut down the connection by turning in his arms to dance. The DJ changed tracks to the latest bass-pumping song by a female rapper, and Jessica let her partner meld their bodies together, enjoying the feel of him around her. For a moment, she let herself relax and enjoy the music.

When he gently turned her to face him, she tried to resist, but then he smiled.

They were jostled again, and he took her hand to lead her through the throngs into the back lounge area. The bouncer at the door greeted him like an old friend and said something she couldn’t decipher. When they were let into the closed lounge area, the door shut, silencing the din from the club.

“What did you say to the bouncer to get us back here?”

“A magician never reveals his secrets.” He smiled again, and Jessica forgot her own name. “Besides, I wanted to be able to hear you. It was a little crazy out there. If