She smiles, and it lights up her whole face. I tip her chin at me. "I need you to promise me something."
She shrugs. "Anything."
I nod. "I need you to stay away from Mark. Promise."
She rolls her eyes. “That’s an easy one. I promise.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief. I don't know how long I sit here and just stare at her before I feel her hands circle around my neck. She pulls me in closer and looks at my lips. "Are you going to ever kiss me, Jason?"
I tilt her face up. "Honestly, I've been wanting to kiss you since the first day we met. I've just been waiting for you to catch up."
She licks her lower lip. "I'm ready now."
I don’t give her time to change her mind. I lean in and press my lips to hers. One simple touch is like an explosion in my body. Our lips mating together is like nothing I've ever experienced in my life. The kiss goes on. Her hands go down my shoulders and to my back, and before I know it, I have her on my lap. Her breasts are pressed against my chest. Only when she whimpers do I pull back.
Breathlessly, we both stare at one another. I'm not ready for her to leave. "We are having a party over at the clubhouse tonight. Do you want to come?"
"I'd like that," she answers.
I pull her in for a hug, and her head rests on my shoulder. I hold her just like that and watch as my buddies devour the very last pastry in the box. I don't mind that I didn't get any, though. I definitely got the sweeter end of the deal.
Chapter 8
Jason
I walk into the clubhouse with my head held high. I’m proud to have Tara with me. All eyes go to us as soon as we walk in, but it doesn’t seem to bother Tara. As a matter of fact, she’s smiling until she sees some of the cherries over in the corner, dancing. I probably should have warned her, but honestly, I don’t even think about them.
I steer her across the room to the other side where a makeshift bar is set up. “What do you want to drink?”
“Uh... a beer is fine.”
I ask Reaper for two beers, and he sets them down in front of us. I open her bottle first and hand it to her. I watch as she takes a drink and sets the bottle down. “You good?”
She looks around at the guys and back at me. “Chill out, Jason. I’m fine. And I’m not going to embarrass you or anything. Lighten up.” She squeezes my arm. “You need to relax.”
I lean toward her. “I can’t relax.”
The smile drops from her face. “If having me here is a problem, why’d you ask me to come?”
I shake my head. “No, it’s not that. I’m afraid I’m going to fuck this up.”
She tilts her head and looks at me. It seems like she’s trying to rationalize things or something, and then as if she’s figured it all out, she stands up. Her hand comes out in front of me, and I grab on to it without question.
She tugs me from my seat but doesn’t move. “What’s going on? What’s happening?”
She blinks her wide eyes up at me. “You have a room here?”
I swallow... hard and my mouth starts to water. “Uh, yeah, in the back,” I tell her with a tilt of my head.
She squeezes my hand and laughs softly. “Okay, you going to take me there?”
She doesn’t have to ask me twice. I pull her into the crook of arm and lead her through the room, ignoring all the curious eyes. The only person I care about right now is Tara.
We get to the hallway where the rooms are. I point to the third door on the right. “That one’s mine.”
She walks in front of me as if she’s excited to get there. She stands at the door and looks back at me like she’s asking permission to open it.
I wave her on. “Open it. Go ahead.”
She does, and I follow behind her as she steps through the door. I try to see it through her eyes and wince. It’s been home for a few weeks, but the walls are bare, and the only furniture is the bed and the dresser in the corner. I’ve learned to travel lightly, and I’m almost embarrassed to say that almost everything I own is in this little room.
“I know it’s not very nice.”
She looks at me and shrugs. “It’s nice. At least you have your own place. I was trying to figure out how we were going to do this if you shared a room or something.”
My mouth drops open, but I slam it shut. “Do what, exactly?”