Despite her twisted sense of humor being a pain in his ass, he took her to his favorite wings place. It was a little loud, but the food was good and he was a regular.
He’d made the mistake before of trying to impress women. Putting on button shirts and taking them to nice restaurants. Washing his truck. But he couldn’t sustain that standard long and it was better to let a woman know what she was getting right from the beginning.
The server gave them menus and Cait ordered a beer. He ordered an ice water for now and a beer to arrive with his food, since he’d only have one.
“Do they have boneless wings?” Cait asked when they were alone, scanning the long, busy menu.
He scowled at her over the top of his. “Boneless wings aren’t wings.”
“But you can eat them without looking like a toddler who stuck his face and hands in a bucket of sauce.”
“It’s popcorn chicken tossed in sauce.”
“You have strong feelings about wings.”
“I do, yes.”
He could tell by her expression that she was trying not to laugh at him. “Am I allowed to sit with you if I get boneless wings? Or is there a roped-off section for people who don’t like cleaning wing sauce out from under their fingernails for hours?”
“I could lick the sauce off your fingers for you.”
She laughed, but it faded into anolook. “I can’t decide if that’s sexy or not. I’m leaning toward no.”
“Too far,” he admitted with a grin. “I told you I do that. But I’ll try to behave while you’re eating sauced-up popcorn chicken with a knife and fork.”
“I might eat my fries with a fork, too, just to embarrass you.”
They both laughed and when their eyes met over their menus—her eyes sparkling with humor—he felt a little kick to the chest.
Hereallyliked this woman.
* * *
After great wings—even if they were boneless—a couple of beers, and with a stomachache from laughing so much, Cait couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such a fun night out.
She’d probably be sorry when her alarm went off at an obscenely early hour tomorrow, but when Gavin asked her if she wanted to go upstairs, she said yes.
And when they’d gotten their coats off and kicked off their shoes, and he pulled her hard up against his body, Cait stopped caring about early alarms and ran her hands down his back to cup his ass. With a groan, he gripped the back of her neck and kissed her hard.
She surrendered to his mouth, flicking her tongue over his as he pressed her hips against the cabinet. All night, she’d been wanting this—wantinghim—and even as he kissed her, she was pulling up the hem of her shirt. She wanted his hands on her, and she wanted him naked.
He broke off the kiss and helped her pull the shirt over her head. But one of his fingertips skimmed the back of her arm, from her elbow up. She yelped and jerked her arm down.
Gavin’s eyes widened in confusion for a few seconds, and then a slow smile curved his lips. “Found it.”
“Did not.”
“I found your other ticklish spot. I told you I would.”
“You found it accidentally.” Hoping to distract him, she pulled the shirt off and tossed it away. Then she tossed the bra after it and reached for the button of her jeans.
“I still found it,” he said, though he didn’t look as smug now that he was following the progress her fingers made with her zipper. He only looked away long enough to strip off his sweater. He dropped it on the floor and reached for her.
Cait shoved her jeans down, taking her panties with them, and kicked them away. He kissed her hard, his hands cupping her breasts. She moaned and undid his jeans, hoping he’d get the hint.
But he took his sweet time kissing her before moving his lips to her breast. He sucked one nipple—gently at first, but then hard enough to make her gasp—while running his thumb over the other.
She braced her hands on the end of the counter as need pulsed through her. “If I’m naked, you should be naked, too.”
