“Okay, but don’t think for a minute that crosses out any of my other conditions.” As soo
n as the words leave his lips, his gaze drops to my mouth.
My throat dries, and without thinking, I swipe my tongue over my bottom lip. His eyes darken, and my pulse jumps in my throat. Uh, maybe he was serious about the kissing after all, and maybe I kind of like that idea.
Oh, Nina, this is so bad.
“We, ah, should get back before the game starts,” I say.
“Okay,” he says, but doesn’t make a move to go. I grasp the trunk lid to close it, and he reaches over me, his big body pressing against mine as he slams it shut.
We both get back into the car and my damn body is on hyperdrive, my mind racing a million miles an hour as I retrace the route back to his place. From my peripheral vision, I catch the way he’s looking at me, the way his breathing has changed slightly. Fidgety under his scrutiny, the heat I see in his eyes, I try to think of something to say, but can’t seem to formulate a coherent sentence. I pull into his driveway and we’re both silent as we unload the bags, dropping them on his kitchen counter.
“There’s only one left. I’ll get it,” I say, and dash out the door, needing a reprieve from the hot looks he’s casting my way.
When I come back in, he’s in the living room, the remote in his hand. “Come on, the game is about to start.”
“Can we watch it on the TV in the kitchen? I want to get the steaks on the grill and make our salad.”
“Sure.”
I head to the kitchen and glance around for the remote. When I can’t find it, I turn, about to ask where he keeps it, but shut my mouth when I run smack dab into a hard wall of muscle, aka, Cole Cannon.
“Whoa,” he says, and slides his arm around me. He splays his big hands over the small of my back, the heat from his fingers dancing over my skin.
“I…uh, didn’t realize you were there. Sorry about that.” I try to extricate myself from his arms but he keeps me pressed up against him. His strong heart beats against my palm as I put my hand on his chest.
“Don’t be.” He dips his head, and his hair falls forward, shading his eyes as they move over my face. “I was thinking.”
“About what?” I ask, my voice coming out a little higher than I would have liked it to. But how the hell can I talk normal when I’m meshed up against his body like this—thinking about hate fucking?
“About kissing.”
4
Cole
I want to kiss her. I want to kiss her so fucking bad, but her eyes are wide, her lids flashing rapidly, panic jumping all over her face. She’s practically shivering with anxiety, every muscle twitching.
Jesus, if she still hates me and doesn’t want me to kiss her, no fucking way am I going to force her—no matter how desperate I am for a taste.
For the last twenty-four hours, since she first stepped foot on my doorstep, all I’ve been able to think about are her lips, how they’d taste and feel on my mouth, my body.
She’s so goddamn beautiful, and when she showed up here tonight, in her Daisy Duke jean shorts and tank top that gave me a glimpse of her gorgeous breasts, it was all I could do not to rip her clothes from her body and have my way with her. But while I’m an expert asshole, on and off the ice, this is sweet little Nina Callaghan—my Pretty BallerNina—and I’d never, ever do anything she didn’t want me to.
I remove my hand from her back and inch away. “Hey, if you don’t want—”
“I never said that,” she responds quickly, and flicks her tongue over her bottom lip like she’s moistening it for me.
Motherfucker.
I run my hand through my hair, messing it up as my heart rate doubles. I’ve lusted for women before, many of them, but with Nina it’s different. It’s a longing, many years in the building, but I don’t want to do anything to taint her sweetness.
"Yeah?” I say.
She gives a casual shrug of her shoulder. “I mean, it’s one of your conditions and I agreed, right?”
“Right,” I say, and step back into her, until my thickening cock is pressing against her stomach. No sense in hiding what she does to me. Her breath changes, and her eyes widen when she feels me, but she doesn’t back away. I take that as a good sign and press on. “But do you want to kiss me, Nina?”