Page 26 of From Fling to Ring

I pull back. “I… I mean… I was gonna say…”

But I can’t finish because he pulls me in for another kiss and damn if his lips aren’t firm and demanding, and while this guy might have raised his baby sister, he’s nothing but alpha male through and through.

I am in so much trouble.

He releases me and turns off the ignition, then gets out of the car and comes over to my side. He opens my door and extends a hand, which I take because I don’t know what else to do. I have a feeling this man is coming inside my house and I have a feeling I’m not going to stop him.

Because I don’t want to stop him.

I know I should send him on his way. After all, we just shared a perfectly appropriate passionate kiss. Actually, two. I should go up to my apartment and let him go home to his.

But I’m not.

I know what’s about to happen, and while all logic tells me to back away slowly, the throbbing between my legs has detoured the blood from my brain that’s required for making responsible decisions. I’m hanging out with this guy to chronicle everything that’s wrong with him, and taking him into my apartment late at night when we all know what’s about to happen is definitely not the right way to go.

I grab his hand anyway, and we run up my front steps.

12

TYLER

Holy mother of God.

This woman is hot.

She’s conjured some of the biggest anti-jock insults she could come up with and still hasn’t managed to get under my skin.

I get it. She’s testing me. Like she’s up to something, trying to confirm her preconceived notions.

Pretty sure it’s not working.

It blew her fucking mind I took care of my sister when she was little. I saw her face. She just couldn’t get her head around it. The woman clearly thinks I’m some kind of hulking asshole meathead incapable of managing the basic tasks of daily living, never mind looking after a younger sibling because our mother was gone.

I don’t know what’s up her ass, but when I pulled her to me for a kiss, she nevertheless responded in a way that gave me one of the biggest fucking hard-ons I’ve had in a long time.

And I get a lot of hard-ons.

She unlocks the front door of her apartment and drags me in by the corner of my jacket. I don’t bother telling her she doesn’t need to convince me to enter. Given that I’ve already climbed the steps to her door, it’s pretty much a sure thing I’m along for the ride.

She kicks off her shoes and throws her arms around my neck in the middle of her tidy little living room. “You’re so tall,” she says in between pressing her lush lips against mine.

I can remedy that.

I bend at the knees and hoist her up, wrapping her legs around my midsection. She squeals in surprise, something I didn’t expect for someone so practiced in tough guy moves, and it’s good to see she can’t anticipate every damn thing.

Her legs lock behind my back and she holds onto me for dear life. I put my hands under her ass and walk over to the sofa where I lower us. She ends up facing me, straddling my lap, and I pull her close, so close my erection grinds into her crotch. She gasps and I hope I’ve gotten through the hard exterior shell she so proudly wears around me like a damn defensive shield, lest I suck the life out of her like some sort of monster.

The woman has an attitude problem.

And I am so here for that.

I wanted to kiss her the whole damn night but didn’t, first, because my sister was there, and second, because I wasn’t sure how she’d respond. But as the night wore on, I felt her facade relax—not completely, but enough. I was getting closer to making my move without risking a kick in the balls.

With my hands on either side of her face, I take her in, from her big brown eyes and chin-length blonde hair, to her mouth smeared with mostly kissed-off lipstick.

I’ve never seen her this close up and fuck is she cute.

I lower my hands to her small waist, then down her hips and over her thighs, around to her ass, where I grab her cheeks and squeeze.

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