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“You won’t be saying that after you’ve spent a night in one with me.”
Sweetly-struck darts of pleasure shot straight to her groin and she matched his now ragged breathing with her own short tugs. He scraped his jaw against hers, the scruff hiking her desire to urgent. Last night, he had taken care of her. Surely, she could do the same for him?
“You’ve already made me feel so good, Jack. Let me touch you. Please.” She placed her hands on the hard plane of his chest and crept lower. Her hip rocked against the hard ridge of his erection. Wrapping her hands, her mouth around him was all she could think about.
He closed his eyes, evidently rallying his strength. When he opened them again, she read determination. Damn.
“Hands off the goods, DeLuca.” Quickly, he manhandled her shoulders into a turn towards the studio’s exit. “We’ve got a show to get through.”
“Sadist.”
He sighed. “This is—”
“So much harder for you than it is for me. I know. Tell it to the judge, tough guy.”
She made sure to infuse some sway into her step as she headed to the stairs. His deep groan was her reward.
On the short walk back to DeLuca’s, Jack demonstrated steely self-control with hands in pockets and subduing glares whenever she strayed into his orbit. Gorgeous, infuriating man.
Inside, Marco and Tad were talking at the bar, or rather Marco was sounding off about something to a silently skeptical Tad.
“Lil,” Marco said chirpily, then his face blackened on noticing Jack. His heavy gaze ping-ponged between the two of them, assessing the situation. “Out and about in public, you two? The rumor mill will be in full swing before the day is out.”
“Marco,” Lili said, exasperated.
Her ex held his hands up in a conciliatory gesture, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Still gloomy, his sneering gaze told Lili something unexpected—Marco was jealous of Jack. It seemed there was nothing more attractive than being attractive to someone else.
“Not that I'm complaining,” Marco continued, his voice dripping with sullen incredulity. “You two are great for business.”
Something that sounded like a growl came from Jack’s direction, then she felt his hand splay possessively on her hip. Seemed touching was okay when a woman needed claiming. Men.
Cara stuck her head around the corner of the short side of the bar, her judgmental gaze immediately shooting to Jack’s hand. “Where the hell have you been?”
Unsure of her sister’s target, Lili looked at Jack only to find him glaring at Marco, a muscle pumping at the edge of his mouth. Oh, boy. Any moment now, they’d be whipping out the tape measures. Last night’s brief hand inspection told her Jack would win. By far.
“You said you'd help and you—” Cara pointed a peremptory finger at Jack. “Need to be in the kitchen. Now. Laurent is having a Gallic fit over the salsa for the lamb chops.”
“I'd best go,” Jack said. Before Lili had a moment to gather herself, he clamped his hand on her butt and drew her close for a kiss that she couldn't have said no to even if she wanted to. Fairly safe to say that she didn't want to.
It lasted mere seconds, an infusion of hot, scorching roughness. His lips cut a path of sweet torture across her jaw until coming to rest at her earlobe.
“Tonight, Lili DeLuca, you and that sweet arse of yours are mine.”
Wow, oh wow. With a gentle squeeze of said sweet arse he strode toward the kitchen, indulging in a clearly calculated shoulder bump against Marco. Tad gave a low whistle while Cara scowled and flounced off to shout at someone else. Heaven help the first person to cross her path.
At Marco’s grim smile, the line from the Grinch song about termites popped into Lili’s head.
“Nice job. Maybe you've managed to throw Kilroy off his game.”
Lili considered her ex and flattened her lips. Jack thought she had a beautiful figure. He said she made him so hard it hurt. He wanted to jump her bones in assorted European capitals.
Marco had called her body ‘comfortable.’
“Tosser,” Lili muttered.
From behind the bar, Tad’s cough sounded suspiciously like, “Awesome.”
Marco frowned. “What’s that?”
