Page 72 of Pink

Gigi ignored it.

Lev adjusted his stance one more time before lifting his arm and taking his shot. Of course, his dart hit the target that he intended for it to. He tossed her a smug wink before heading for the board to grab his dart—and hers still stuck in the stupid wall.

“And hey, about what I said,” Gigi told him, smiling a little brighter when he was in front of her again.

“You said a lot of things.”

“Yeah, but I mean about the modeling. All the control. That nonsense.”

“What about it?” Lev asked, lifting a single brow.

“Don’t let it bother you; I sure don’t.” Before he could open his mouth and say something else, she was quick to add, “Back when I first started and my career blew up, I didn’t have a choice. They were making me, you know? Except they didn’t realize that they were also putting me in a position where I could fight for myself, too. I’m doing that more often. I’m looking out for me now.”

“What you’re saying is … you got smarter than them.”

She tipped her head to the right and lifted her shoulder at the same time. “A girl has to do what she has to do, right?”

Lev wagged a finger at her. “That’s right.” Lifting the darts higher, he added, “You could just let me show you how to properly throw one of these instead of pretending like you know how.”

“Why, so I can stroke your already humongous ego a bit more than it already has been tonight?”

Darts still in hand, Lev flattened the items and his palm to his chest in mock indignation. “How has my ego been stroked, Gigi? Very little of anything on me has been stroked by you. At least, not tonight.”

Shots fired.

She heard the warning.

And yet, her cheeks still flushed pink when she stuttered out, “You are the worst. The absolute worst.”

“Yep.” He popped the P like he was having the most fun of his life, but if she was an honest woman, and she was, this was the greatest time she had in a long while, too. “But seriously, come here … let me show you. It’ll make a difference.”

That was how Gigi found herself entirely distracted and not at all paying any attention to Lev’s attempt at teaching her the proper way to throw a dart. Why? Because the man figured the best way to teach her was to mold his hard, warm chest and strong thighs against the back of her body while his hands touched her.

Oh, not like that.

No.

It all seemed innocent.

She was sure it looked that way to the other patrons in the bar, too. The shivers racing through her body every time his fingers grazed her throat when he showed her how to hold her arm or the proper way to toss the dart forward, however, told an entirely different story. All Gigi needed to do was squirm just a little and her ass was even tighter to Lev’s groin. His dark hiss in her ear said he knew exactly what she was doing.

And what he had done.

His cologne washed over her senses, and every breath she had to take was measured when she was this close to him. Every touch was a tease. Every word he said became an echo in an ever-growing chamber between the two of them.

“Go ahead,” he said in her ear, “try to throw it.”

“I wasn’t even paying attention.”

She felt his lips press against the sensitive skin behind her ear, and the vibration of his chuckles only added to the sinful sensations that danced over her nerve endings. Every single one of her nerves, really.

“Who’s the worst now?” Lev asked.

Gigi didn’t bother to throw the dart.

Instead, she turned in his arms because he didn’t seem to want to let her go just yet. She was fine with that because she didn’t want him to let go of her yet, either. Face to face, she couldn’t look away from the hard lines that made up his handsome face.

“You know what, I’m only a little bit sad you shaved.”