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  “It’s in the past,” he said.

  No, it wasn’t. A rejection like that didn’t go away. And now I felt silly for being devastated when someone yelled at me at work. Here he was, shrugging off his mother’s abandonment with a casual flick of his hand. And then he abruptly leaned forward.

  “Let’s talk about something else.” His expression slid into a lascivious grin. “Something that excites us both.”

  My eyebrows lifted while my heart sped up. God, his smile conjured up all sorts of dirty thoughts. But then—infuriating man—he just left the words hanging as our first course was delivered. Oh my God. There was no describing the food that appeared. Best guess, it was bacon wrapped around something and decorated with garnish. But the whole thing dangled from a specially designed circular ladder that came complete with flowers and compotes laid out in an artistic design.

  It was stunning. And then suddenly I got it.

  “You meant food, didn’t you? That’s your exciting topic?”

  He grinned. “We are at Alinea.”

  “Fine.” I reached forward and carefully lifted up the bacon-wrapped something. Jake mirrored my movements. Then we paused before simultaneously popping the food into our mouths.

  It wasn’t classy to groan in delight, but I did it anyway. Whatever I’d just eaten flooded my mouth with tastes. I wasn’t a foodie, not in the classic sense. But I could taste the difference between oregano and dill. I understood how to use my spice cabinet. And I knew some ways to make the cheapest meal taste amazing.

  But this was food on a whole other level. Flavors complemented each other. Textures smoothed through my mouth. And in my head, I was a running Top Chef commentary of delight. One look at Jake showed me that he was equally pleased. Hell, his eyes were at half-mast as he rolled his head back and chewed.

  “We’re going overboard,” I whispered, acutely embarrassed by my groan of delight.

  “Are we?” he countered.

  “No. This is amazing.”

  Then he grinned and reached for another bite. “God, I love Gia.”

  I arched my brow in surprise, and he hastily amended.

  “She’s the one who got us in here. I’d love to claim credit, but this is all part of the publicity thing she runs for the Bobcats.”

  “Good to know,” I said, unsure how I felt about that. But then I realized it was all part of what I’d started when I’d asked him to take me out. Besides, the food here was spectacular, so I wasn’t going to complain. In fact, I was going to enjoy every single bite. Inspired, I leaned forward and grinned. “What’s the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?”

  He answered without hesitation. “Some bug.”

  “You mean like a chocolate-covered ant?”

  “Nah. I did it on a stupid dare when I was ten. I don’t like thinking about it. What about you?”

  “Kopi luwak.” At his raised brow, I shrugged. “It’s a type of coffee. My friend brought it back from Europe, and we tried it out one morning.”

  He frowned. “Why is coffee weird?”

  “Because the beans pass through the digestive track of a civet. It’s a small, wild cat-like creature.”

  He blinked at me. “You drank pooped-out coffee beans?”

  I chuckled. “Not exactly. Well, kind of exactly.”

  “Was it good?”

  “Yeah. But I still prefer Starbucks.”

  “I’ll bet. And for the record, I don’t recommend eating bugs, either.”

  And that was when the next course appeared before us. This one was slivers of meat with a garnish of pretty flowers served on a decorative slice of wood. Leafy greens surrounded the food and I had no idea if we were supposed to eat those, too, or if they were merely decoration. I suddenly wished I’d paid more attention in school. How cool would it be if I could identify everything I was looking at?

  “I feel too uneducated to fully appreciate this meal,” I murmured.

  He grinned. “Thank God, I’m just a stupid jock. Nobody expects me to understand this. Ready?” He reached forward and picked up a slice. I did, too, and together, we popped it into our mouths, then repeated our groans of delight.

  And so went the rest of the evening. We talked about all the regular first-date stuff while indulging in the most amazing food on the planet. He hadn’t been the best student in school, but the moment he’d discovered baseball, he was hooked. I had been a great student in school because I was too bookish to face the real world. He had a brother and a sister plus a team of firefighter friends who felt like family, most in Indianapolis. I had a couple friends in Indy, but the bulk of my family was here in Chicago.

  It turned out that he was as funny as he was handsome, and my libido ramped up in accordance with his charisma. He also got me to relax and talk about things I never expected would spill from my lips. It wasn’t just that I was a coward about standing up for myself. I’d already told him that. But I talked about when Bernie Hailstock tore my shorts in third grade and I’d spent the rest of the day in ugly, too-big basketball shorts I’d taken from the Lost and Found. And that once my mother had chewed me out in front of the entire cafeteria for forgetting to bring my lunch.

  He responded in all the right ways. He commiserated when I needed him to, and laughed to help me see the humor in the situation. It was perfect, especially since we were eating the most amazing food throughout the whole conversation. But it was now time to leave, and I wasn’t ready. Struggling to my heels, I know I leaned too heavily on his arm. He was laughing at something, but his eyes kept focusing on my lips, which made me lick them self-consciously, which in turn made his nostrils flare.

  “Want to take a walk?” he whispered.

  “Sure. Why not?”

  There were a thousand reasons why not, including the fact that we were supposed to end the evening without any kissing. But I wasn’t listening to that part of my brain. Instead, I was leaning on his arm, smelling his scent while feeling his heat. And he was wrapping his other arm around me to hold me close.

  If I’d been on any other date, I would be popping a mint for the kisses to come. On any other date, I would have made sure I had condoms, just in case. But not tonight. Tonight, I just smiled at him and decided to find out what was coming next.

  Chapter Six

  Jake

  We were walking toward my hotel room.

  It was only a couple of blocks. We’d make it before I finished telling her about my first pro baseball game. She’d still be laughing while we rode up on the elevator. And then, there was a 100 percent chance I could steal a kiss—a 10 percent risk she’d slap me for trying, but a 90 percent possibility I could get her in my room, in my bed, while I did whatever I wanted to her.

  And boy did I want to.

  Guilt started to eat at me. I’d promised to be a gentleman tonight. But then, I never kept my promises to girls. Ever. So why should tonight be any different? I mean, I’d try, but somehow, I always screwed up. Usually, something would happen at home, and I’d have to lie to cover for it. It wasn’t long before I gave up making promises to anyone.

  The conflicting thoughts warred in my head. Be a gentleman. Be a player. Call a cab for her. Pull her into bed with me before she knows what’s happening. All those were possible, and in my control.

  And while my mind built up arguments for both sides, my body did whatever it wanted. She was tucked against me, sweet, pliant, and smelling like the cherry dessert we’d eaten. Her right breast was pushed against my side, and I reached across my torso as if by accident and stroked it. Right across the nipple, which was already a tight nub.

  She gasped against me, but I tightened my hold.

  An apology hovered on my lips, but I didn’t voice it. I wasn’t sorry. After all, hadn’t this been my plan from the beginning? One hot night, pushed too far, so that she didn’t call me back in the morning? That way we’d both have fun tonight, without any promises to break tomorrow. And yet part of me really liked Ellie. And I didn’t want to treat her
like my usual fast fuck.

  Did that mean I was about to play nice? To leave her without so much as a good-night kiss? I couldn’t believe I was even considering it.

  Meanwhile her gaze leaped up to mine. I could see the exact same argument going through her head. Did she want an old-fashioned date or one that ended in sweet release in a celebrity’s bed?

  I pulled her tighter—closer—and rubbed my thumb across her nipple again. I felt a shudder go through her. I knew that reaction. It was one of a woman who hadn’t been touched in a very long time.

  I slowly raised my hand until I stroked under her chin. Her lips parted on a gasp, and I could tell she thought I would kiss her. I wanted to, but I had to know something first.

  “How long has it been?”

  Her eyes widened, and I had another thought. A deliciously sweet one.

  “Are you a virgin?”

  “No,” she answered, though I couldn’t hear the word. I read it off her cherry lips. I also saw the way her head dipped and her gaze slid away.

  “Awful?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Asshole.”

  Her gaze jumped back up to mine. “No. We just didn’t know what we were doing. It was his first time, too.”

  I snorted. “Still makes him an asshole in my book. If you’re going to dance with a woman, it’s important to at least get some instruction first. Figure out what you’re doing.”

  Her brows arched. “Um, that’s not something the typical college guy can do.”

  College, huh? So it wasn’t in high school. Which put her at the top of the Really Good Girl list. And that was yet another reason to be a gentleman. Even though I was incredibly attracted to her, she deserved someone who wasn’t a “different girl every night” guy.

  I started to release her, but then she surprised me. She stretched up on her toes and angled her head for a kiss. I knew that was a possibility, but I’d only given it a 3 percent possibility. So color me surprised.

  “You know I’m trying to get rejected, right?”

  “Baby, if you think I’ll say no, you don’t know anything about me. Or about guys.”

  She smiled, a slow, sexy grin as she rolled around my hip until we were pressed chest to chest. “Are you so sure about that? What if I want whips and chains?”

  I shrugged. Been there, done that. Would she be shocked if she knew?

  “Ropes? Gags?” she teased. “I could tie you up and have my way with you.”

  Had she never read any of the darker stories about me? Sure they were mostly hidden now, buried the moment I started doing well in the minors. But things like that live forever on the internet. I quickly calculated the odds in my head. There was a 92 percent chance she hadn’t even thought to look.

  I stroked her creamy skin. “I want nothing more than to take you to bed, Ellie. The places I would lick you could keep me occupied for hours.”

  She laughed. “Hours? Please. I’m a nurse, remember. No guy—”

  I pressed my finger to her lips. “Do not doubt me on this, little girl. It’s clear you’ve never been with a master.”

  Her laugh bubbled out of her like cotton candy. Sweet, light, and so tempting, I thrust against her. I didn’t mean to. Hell, I was trying to be a gentleman, but she was right there. And when she felt the hot part of me on her belly, she gasped, and her face flushed with heat.

  Would she touch me? God, I wanted to know like I wanted my next breath. So I tempted her.

  “I want it, Ellie. In the worst way. But I’m not going to make a move because I promised to be a gentleman.”

  She chuckled. “Gentlemen do all sorts of naughty things. And I believe you said something about naughty before we even began this evening.”

  I had. And she had no idea what I could do to her. But I was starting to like this game. So I lifted my hands off her and leaned back just enough that she had to support her own weight or fall. She did, though there was a question in her eyes.

  And then I just stood there, my body taut and ready. Would she touch me? Right here on the street? We were tucked next to an alley and there weren’t a lot of people around, but we were definitely in public.

  And I silently dared her.

  Her breath caught as she figured things out. Her lips were wet, her nipples tight, and her gaze slid sensuously down my torso. And while I watched, her tongue flicked out as if she was thinking of something incredibly fun.

  I groaned at the image in my head. And then I had to cut off a moan as I felt her finger find the tip of me through my pants. The head. The side. The deep base.

  “If I told you to suck me right here, right now, would you do it?” The words came out as a hoarse demand, even though it was phrased as a question. It wasn’t a thing to ask a good girl, but I’d always loved corrupting the nice ones.

  She took her time answering. Long enough for me to realize she was actually thinking about it.

  “No,” she finally said. “It’s too public.”

  “What about on the balcony of my hotel room?”

  She grinned. “Oh yeah. Assuming it’s private enough.”

  “No balcony is 100 percent private.”

  Her nose wrinkled adorably when she looked up at me. “That’s part of the fun.”

  Tease. She was teasing me, I was sure of it. And yet enough of a question remained that I knew I’d have trouble walking the rest of the way back to my hotel.

  “It would have to be an even exchange,” I said. “Right there under the stars.”

  “Oh!” she gasped. Her eyes widened, but then she bit her lip. I saw daring in the expression and a hunger I hadn’t expected. One that echoed my own. “Does it have a good view?” she asked. “I mean, it would be great if we could catch a glimpse of Lake Michigan while we’re doing it.”

  Sweet heaven, I never thought this good girl would ever tease me this way, certainly not convincingly enough that I started to think she might actually follow through. Still, it was probably all talk. But she was flushed, and her nipples were tight. Clearly, she was aroused by the flirting, which meant that I had a good shot at getting her to say yes.

  “You have to give me a sign,” I said firmly. “Some signal that tells me clearly that you want this. No mistake.”

  She tilted her head and her curls slipped free from her ear to curl along her jaw. But I followed the motion lower, down her neck to her breasts until I was thinking of her nipples.

  “What kind of sign?” she asked.

  “Stroke me. Right now. In a way that shows you mean it.”

  Her gaze darted around. There were people close, but no one was looking at us. I was about to say that when I felt her hand, hot and hard over my cock. Her palm pressed against the head as she rubbed in a mind-bending circle.

  “Remember when I told you I was shy and bookish in high school?” she asked.

  My attention was fully centered on her hand, on the heat she generated, and the tension building at the base of my spine. I flexed my thighs, stopping myself from thrusting while I nodded in answer to her question. Something about high school.

  “I spent a lot of time reading,” she said. “Fiction. Nonfiction.” Her palm slid firmly down my stalk. “Tantric texts.”

  My gaze sharpened on her face looking for a lie. Lots of girls claimed secret knowledge. No one in my experience actually had it. But then she rotated her hand and lifted my balls with her fingers. Not especially daring, but then she slid farther back, pressing into this spot right behind the sac. A press, then a release before she squeezed my balls. Press, release, squeeze. Each squeeze made me want to burst, the desire growing with every pulse. But the pressure behind the sac shorted it out. Like a stop sign that made the next squeeze ten times more powerful. The need to burst grew harder, hotter, and more desperate.

  Then she stopped cold, and my knees went weak. My back thudded against the brick wall behind me, my entire body straining for release.

  And all the while, she was biting her lower lip, a flash of
white tooth on the curve of her full red lip while excitement flashed in her eyes. She was watching my reaction intensely and I knew she was trying out something she’d imagined a thousand times.

  She started up again. Press, release, squeeze. Another cycle and my breath stopped.

  Press, release, squeeze. Too much! Too—

  She held the press this time. Hard and long while my hands clutched the coarse brick to keep me from falling.

  “Ellie?” Her name was choked out. I didn’t even know what I was asking for.

  “Give it a second. You’ll be able to breathe in a moment.”

  Breathe? Maybe. Think about anything but being inside her? Definitely not.

  And then she eased up, a slow release of those fingers as they gently pulled back. My dick pulsed, my balls were high and tight, and God, the pleasure of the aching need was the most intense thing I’d felt in years. It was so sweet, and I hadn’t even released. “Clear enough?” she asked.

  It took me a minute to process her words. I had trouble hearing them through the pounding in my ears. And when they finally made it through, I realized nothing on earth would keep me from her now. I took a breath, my entire body still throbbing.

  “Clear. Help me walk. We’re going over there.”

  Chapter Seven

  Ellie

  He didn’t need help walking. Or at least, no more than I did in my heels. Plus, every part of me was hot and hungry, so I had my own wobbly knees to contend with. Fortunately, we made it the couple of blocks with startling speed. But then I paused while looking at the hotel front. It was an older place, several stories tall, and not at all the glamorous location I was expecting.

  “Is this where the team is staying?”

  “Nah,” he said as he drew me close and pressed his head to my temple. “God, you smell good.”

  I grinned. I smelled like tonight’s dinner, so I had to agree. Definitely good.

  “You don’t like hanging out with your teammates?” I asked.