Sparks of something I try—and fail—to ignore tickle across my skin as he nips and tugs on my bottom lip. His kiss is every bit as playful as his personality. Fun, sweet, tender, while also being scorching hot.
A group of guys erupt into cheers behind Loki—I assume because one of them got a high score on a machine—pulling me out of whatever fever dream I was in with this guy whose real name I don’t know and dropping me back to reality. A reality where I’m dry humping a stranger’s rock-hard cock against the side of the Ms. Pac-Man machine in broad daylight.
Mischief sparkles back at me when I finally rescue my lips from his. They’re swollen, pulsing and tingling, but he’s so close, so in my space that I can’t reach up to touch them. He pinches my chin between his thumb and forefinger and kisses me again, hard, claiming, no tongue, keeping his eyes open and locked with mine.
It’s a kiss filled with possibilities.
A kiss I’m not ready to have right now, maybe never, but also a kiss I can’t walk away from. From the minute he walked into my jail cell, I’ve been cuffed to this man.
Experience has taught me it’s going to end in tears. But years of Disney movies keep tiny embers of hope alive somewhere deep inside me.
His lopsided grin does me in. I can’t even lie to myself that I don’t have a crush on this guy. I do. A stomach-fluttering crush I want to explore after only a few hours of being in his company.
My stomach growls, but all the ambient noise makes it too loud for him to hear—thank fuck.
He leans forward, his mouth brushing against the shell of my ear.
“I could eat.” His voice is laced with a double meaning that makes me clench my thighs together to fight the inferno he’s already sparked between my legs.
“Do you like Brussels sprouts?”
I jerk my head back in surprise and slam into something hard. “Ouch.”
Before I can answer his vegetable question, he’s checking my head. “You okay? How many fingers?”
A laugh bubbles out of me. “I’m fine, you weirdo, it was just a bump. And I can’t say they’re my first choice of vegetable, but I don’t hate them.”
He taps me on the nose. “Prepare to be wowed. The Quarter Barrel does maple bacon Brussels sprouts that are blow-your-mind incredible. Fuel then fuck?”
It’s more of a statement than a question.
I shrug, sliding my hands up the front of his shirt and linking them behind his neck. “I think you mean fuel then fart.”
A blurt of laughter explodes from him, surprising me. He’s smiled and chuckled, but this is a full-on laugh that has him stepping back and doubling over in a matter of seconds.
“This is true. But don’t worry—if you fart while we’re having sex, I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear it.” He winks at me.
“You’re a fucking liar.” I wag my finger at him. “I’ve known you for a half a damn minute. If I decide I want to go anywhere near your bed, and happen to fart, you’ll never let me live it down.”
“I’ll replay it in my mind every day for the rest of my life.” He’s still laughing. “Come on, let me buy you sprouts.”
When I don’t move to follow him, he stops in his tracks and turns back to me. Planting both hands on his hips, he purses his lips. “I can see you’re not convinced by my offer of fart-inducing veggies.” He folds his arms and taps his bottom lip with one finger. “Pretzel bites with beer cheese dipping sauce? Parmesan truffle fries? Frickle spears?”
Pointing at him again, I shake my head. “You made that one up.”
He shrugs and backs a couple feet away from me. “Guess you’ll have to come find out.”
As we walk to grab a table, his wordsecho around my mind.Every day for the rest of my life.He can't really mean forever. Can he?
Was my ex the exception to the rule? It never felt like this with him, not even when we started dating. Carefree, easy, fun. Those things should all feel like good things, but instead, they just feel like red flags, and I don’t know why.
Loki stops at our table and pulls out a chair. “What’s it gonna be, Firecracker? Are we eating or not?”
CHAPTER 4
Raffi
Is there anything worse than a girl who’s afraid to eat in front of a guy?
