Page 68 of These Pucking Boys

“You think kissing me after you spent the night with Lachy is wrong.”

“Yes.”

“What if you didn’t have to choose?” I kiss the corner of her mouth, and she shivers.

“I... I’d let you kiss me.”

“Good answer.” I slant my lips over hers, coaxing her mouth open with my tongue while I wrap my arms around her waist.

Sighing softly, June melts into me, causing a stir in my pants. I’m getting a hard-on already. Jesus. I pull back with regret.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, her brows furrowing.

“Nothing. Go find your purse, sweetheart,” I reply in a restrained voice and step back.

“Right. Okay. Yeah, we don’t want to be late.”

She disappears down the hallway, and I veer for the kitchen to grab a glass of water. I can’t remember the last time a woman set me on fire this fast from only a kiss. I have to watch out for June. She’s dangerous for me.

CHAPTER 28

JUNE

Ithink about Jake’s kiss during the entire ride to the upscale restaurant in Melrose, where the party is taking place. I feel kind of naughty for kissing him the day after I slept with Lachlan. It almost felt like cheating, even though I don’t regret any of it. This is all new territory to me, and I’m way out of my depth.

But once we arrive and I see the photographers outside the venue, snapping pictures of the guests arriving, my love-life complications take a backseat in my mind. My hands become clammy, and my stomach ties into knots.

Jake enters the line for the valet and turns to me. “You good?”

“There are so many photographers.”

He chuckles. “This is LA, and there are probably quite a few celebrities on the guest list.”

Grimacing, I glance at my Nordstrom Rack dress, which is probably from three seasons ago. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that there would be celebrities here. Hell, Jakeisone. He’s a pro athlete, after all.

“Do I look okay?”

He glances at my dress cursorily before looking into my eyes. “More than okay. You’re a knockout, sweetheart. I’ll have trouble keeping my hands to myself.”

His green eyes are pure fire, and it sets me ablaze. I lean across the space separating us and kiss him. What is it about these men that gives me so much confidence? It can’t be all the praise. It’s the way they treat me, as if I’m a queen in their world.

Jake’s hand is in my hair, and his tongue brushes mine, making me unravel. Every nerve ending in my body is alive.

The car behind us honks, shattering the spell. Jake pulls back but doesn’t break eye contact right away. The car honks again.

“You’d better go,” I say.

“Right.” He drives a couple feet forward before shifting into Park. “Ready?”

“Yeah.”

The valet opens my door and helps me out. I wait for Jake to circle the car, hoping my nerves don’t get the better of me. I’m on pins and needles, and more nervous than when I attended the Titans party a few days ago. I don’t make eye contact with anyone in front of me, but they aren’t looking in my direction anyway. I’m not famous. I’m invisible to the photographers until Jake puts his hand on my lower back. Then the flashes go off.

“Here goes nothing,” I mutter.

Jake keeps his expression shut off and ignores the questions thrown at him. They ask about the fight, then about me. God. Will our pictures end up in the tabloids tomorrow? I hope not. I’m sure my mother will be calling to ask what I’m doing dating another man two days after my fiasco of a proposal. And this isn’t a date. I’m just Jake’s plus one.

Only when we’re inside the restaurant and insulated from the paparazzi do I release the breath I was holding. “Wow. That was intense.”

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