him that close again. If tonight showed him anything, it was that he wanted back in her bed. And if he was going to do that…he was opening himself up to a relationship. Funny how sitting on the couch with her curled beside him didn’t make that seem like such a bad thing. While he was content with his life, he wasn’t a man who sought comfort. But here with Paige he could see the benefits of it, if he was another kind of man. She was a woman who wanted a relationship, and he was a man who avoided them.
As the animated movie turned to a live-action film, he reached over to touch one of Paige’s curls, half-expecting her to swat his hand away. Instead, she allowed it for a moment, then angled her head to break the contact. But she didn’t chase him out, and fifteen minutes later, she made good on her bargain. CeCe argued, but only a little, as Paige shut off the TV, bent to wrap the girl’s arms around her neck and lifted her from the floor.
That sensation again, like hunger, but not. Something primal but unrecognizable.
“I’ll be right back,” she told Zach, and slipped into the other room.
After a few minutes—was she singing? Maybe reading—she emerged and sat on the couch beside him, closer this time, and swept her hair over her shoulder, exposing that gorgeous throat. Did she know the invitation she was sending? He rested his arm over the cushion of the couch behind her, and she didn’t move away. Okay, she knew.
“I’m sorry, Paige,” he murmured, and with his finger under her chin, tilted her mouth up to meet his.
He kept the kiss sweet, his lips fitting over hers, taking her soft sigh into his mouth as their mouths moved together in a gentle rhythm, nothing like his greeting at the door, just following the shape of her lips, ignoring the tentative caress of her tongue, focusing on the kind of kiss they might see if they watched CeCe’s movie to the end.
Paige shifted, cupping the back of his head. She slanted her lips over his, parting them, her tongue teasing, drawing his out. He deepened the kiss, turning to press her against the back of the couch. Her touch moved restlessly over his shoulders and along his spine, and he parted her thighs with his knee, ready to press against the heat of her body.
Just like that, she broke the kiss. “I think you should probably go now.”
His hormones soaked that in, his gaze moving from her mouth to her eyes. Okay. Not kidding. He eased away, trying to convince his erection that nothing was happening tonight. He drew a deep breath, one arm braced on the arm of the couch as he studied their reflection in the dark TV screen.
“Right,” he said when it didn’t appear she was going to change her mind. “Okay.” He stood and wiped his palms down the front of his jeans. “Are you free for dinner tomorrow?”
She angled her head to look up at him. “Just dinner.”
Just—he hadn’t had “just dinner” with a woman in years. If a woman wanted “just dinner” he steered clear. But this was Paige. She wanted to be romanced. And, after seeing her again, being here with her, he wanted her back in his bed. Right now, no other woman would do. Despite the ache in his groin, he nodded. No matter how stupid this might be, Zach always went after what he wanted.
Chapter Five
As she waited for Zach to pick her up for their date, Paige’s stomach fluttered more than it had when she’d walked into the sex club the other night. She’d thought long and hard about their first night together, both at the club and at the hotel. Zach was attentive, and made her feel like the only woman in the world—while he was inside her. But before, and after, left her feeling as lonely and empty as the bed when she woke up.
She wanted more, and she wanted it from Zach. Yes, he was handsome, and yes, a kind of power rolled through her when she thought about being the woman to tame his wild ways. She’d watched him grow up the middle child in a struggling family of five
As the animated movie turned to a live-action film, he reached over to touch one of Paige’s curls, half-expecting her to swat his hand away. Instead, she allowed it for a moment, then angled her head to break the contact. But she didn’t chase him out, and fifteen minutes later, she made good on her bargain. CeCe argued, but only a little, as Paige shut off the TV, bent to wrap the girl’s arms around her neck and lifted her from the floor.
That sensation again, like hunger, but not. Something primal but unrecognizable.
“I’ll be right back,” she told Zach, and slipped into the other room.
After a few minutes—was she singing? Maybe reading—she emerged and sat on the couch beside him, closer this time, and swept her hair over her shoulder, exposing that gorgeous throat. Did she know the invitation she was sending? He rested his arm over the cushion of the couch behind her, and she didn’t move away. Okay, she knew.
“I’m sorry, Paige,” he murmured, and with his finger under her chin, tilted her mouth up to meet his.
He kept the kiss sweet, his lips fitting over hers, taking her soft sigh into his mouth as their mouths moved together in a gentle rhythm, nothing like his greeting at the door, just following the shape of her lips, ignoring the tentative caress of her tongue, focusing on the kind of kiss they might see if they watched CeCe’s movie to the end.
Paige shifted, cupping the back of his head. She slanted her lips over his, parting them, her tongue teasing, drawing his out. He deepened the kiss, turning to press her against the back of the couch. Her touch moved restlessly over his shoulders and along his spine, and he parted her thighs with his knee, ready to press against the heat of her body.
Just like that, she broke the kiss. “I think you should probably go now.”
His hormones soaked that in, his gaze moving from her mouth to her eyes. Okay. Not kidding. He eased away, trying to convince his erection that nothing was happening tonight. He drew a deep breath, one arm braced on the arm of the couch as he studied their reflection in the dark TV screen.
“Right,” he said when it didn’t appear she was going to change her mind. “Okay.” He stood and wiped his palms down the front of his jeans. “Are you free for dinner tomorrow?”
She angled her head to look up at him. “Just dinner.”
Just—he hadn’t had “just dinner” with a woman in years. If a woman wanted “just dinner” he steered clear. But this was Paige. She wanted to be romanced. And, after seeing her again, being here with her, he wanted her back in his bed. Right now, no other woman would do. Despite the ache in his groin, he nodded. No matter how stupid this might be, Zach always went after what he wanted.
Chapter Five
As she waited for Zach to pick her up for their date, Paige’s stomach fluttered more than it had when she’d walked into the sex club the other night. She’d thought long and hard about their first night together, both at the club and at the hotel. Zach was attentive, and made her feel like the only woman in the world—while he was inside her. But before, and after, left her feeling as lonely and empty as the bed when she woke up.
She wanted more, and she wanted it from Zach. Yes, he was handsome, and yes, a kind of power rolled through her when she thought about being the woman to tame his wild ways. She’d watched him grow up the middle child in a struggling family of five
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