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“Not so fast, Sweetheart,” he growled, stalking toward her, swiftly grabbing her hand and yanking her through the crowd toward the door that led to the balcony. She had to work not to trip in her high-heeled booties with the force of his tug.
Pushing open the glass door, he dragged her behind him. “What the fuck was that?” he yell-whispered, his hand still jerking her along as they hit the brick floor. “Fucking high school games and thatfucking dress…damn it, you know what you’re doing. Don’t you?”
“Jake, I just…” she sputtered between forced breaths.
He scanned the outdoor balcony area, his hands firmly gripping her upper arms. Almost no one was outside because of the chilly, damp night. “What was that little display in there? Fucking shooting down my prospects…why?”
Her chest tightened, halting her breath. “Me”—she took a quick breath in—“chasing you, it was me finally chasing you,” she pushed out between choppy breaths.
“Really? Really!?” He pulled her behind him as he led her away from the door to the side of the building, moving so her body was pinned against the brick wall. Capturing both wrists in his hand, Jake stretched her arms forcefully above her head, holding her wrists firmly against the side of the building. He leaned in close, his face inches from hers, avoiding looking at her lips because he knew what he’d do if he focused on those beautiful, full lips. He locked eyes with her. “Let’s say all this bullshit works, and you catch me…then what?” he hissed. “Then what, Sweetheart?” he bit out, his mouth taut.
She shivered—the flimsy silk dress was no barrier to the brisk air ebbing around them.
He delighted in watching the small goosebumps populate her arms as her nipples grew more erect from the cold.
Her chest was heaving after almost jogging in heels to keep up and the tension slamming down on her. She was breathinglike she’d just gotten off a Stairmaster. “Jake, talk, I just want to…”
“Go. Talk. Now that you blew my night, I’ll give you a minute to talk.” His mouth moved in closer, his hot breath feeling like steam on her face. “Talk!” he demanded, his volume just below yelling.
“Jake, I just want to say…I’m sorry.” She slowly sniffed the air, trying to regain control of her breathing. “Really sorry.” She felt his grip loosen.
“For?” His face seemed to soften when she looked at him earnestly.
“For over-reacting, um, for not responding to your texts, calls, for not making sure we talked before I left...”
“And?” he prompted, the seething anger she’d heard in his voice earlier diminishing to a pointed tone.
“And…just not knowing, just not acting like a girlfriend…”
As he listened, he released her wrists, slowly lowering them, his hands gently rubbing them. Then, with a sudden shift in his energy, he held her wrists firmly, pushing her arms back to the brick wall. God, even if she made him wish he could hit things, she affected him, making him want to pin her to the wall, lift her dress right here, and take her. She definitely pulled on his Neanderthal strings with those big green eyes and pouty mouth.
She saw the edge of his mouth twitch, a sign he was softening.
“And that means shooing off a guy who’s continually chatting you up,” he said, trying not to relent with her.
“I know, sorry about that too.” She quickly shut her eyes. “I was being…”
“A brat.” He twerked an eyebrow.
“Thanks for the wiggle room,” she joked, looking up at him, wishing he’d kiss her.
He leaned into her neck, growling, “No wiggle room for you, Sweetheart,” avoiding being swept up in that mouth.
“What happened to ‘Sweets’?”
His eyes stilled on her. “She got on a plane,” he stated pointedly
She didn’t know what to say, then finally, under the scrutiny of his piercing eyes, she offered, “She won’t do that again, promise.”
“Not if you want this to work,” he said, moving his hand between their bodies, his fingers brushing the silk on her abdomen.
“I do, Jake…I do, but…”
“But…?” he led, arching his eyebrows in question.
“I’m tired of waiting. I mean, I’m ready to have a boyfriend, and not just the hand-holding, high school dating stuff. That’s all fun, Jake, but I’m dying…I, well…I want the sex part of having a boyfriend, so are you ready for that? Because I don’t want to wait…”
“What?” He jerked his head back, giving her an incredulous look, thinking if he had ever said that to a woman, he’d have lost his head. “Let me get this straight: You’re giving me an ultimatum, ‘put out or get out’…” He let her wrist go, making quote marks with his fingers, his mouth twisting into a grimace. “Huh? Me, wow—you’re giving me an ultimatum?”
