Page 77 of Offside Attraction

She couldn’t help her exhausted grin as she dropped her head back against the wall. "I meant . . . I want to knowyour name." It was the same thing she already said, but she couldn't think of any other way to explain it. Not without dying of embarrassment and shame. She leveled her gaze at him again and watched as his eyes flared with understanding.

He let out a soft “hmm” and she knew he got it. That night at his hotel.No names.

Then the wave hit her. Heat. Want. Not that she hadn't been noticing him all night, but everything about him seemed to sharpen in that moment. His almost dimple, the nick in his eyebrow, the way his shirt sat slightly askew after he pulled his jacket off.

Maybe that was the problem. She just needed to blow off some steam.

Rhonda looked closer and noticed the pattern on his tie that she'd thought were diagonal stripes were actually tiny roses smooshed together. She reached out and threaded the silk between her fingers. "Can we just get out of here?" Her voice was low, and only after a moment of silence did she allow her eyes to wander up over his collar, the swell of his Adam's apple, his jaw and cheekbones.

Jordan exhaled, his nostrils flaring. "No."

Rhonda blinked as a flash of ice hit her hands. "Oh. Okay." She started to disentangle his tie from her fingers when Jordan's hand slid inside his jacket and curled around her waist.

"If you want to know my name, then I'm not going home with you." His lips were so close, they brushed her cheekbone.

The waves crashed stronger. She needed him to come home with her. It was like she was sitting at the symphony waiting for them to play the final chords, but the conductor wouldn't lower his damn baton.

“But—”

"My first rule is you don't get to tell me when I'm allowed to be nice to you,” he said. Rhonda's breath caught in her throat, but Jordan was already talking again. "Rule number two, no sex."

Rhonda's jaw dropped, and she pushed him back. "What are you?—”

“You don't think I see what's happening here? You don't think I know how this goes?" He scrubbed a hand over his jaw and leaned in again. "I've been that guy, Rhonda. The guy who is perfect for the night, but who nobody wants to take home to their parents."

"I never said?—”

“You didn't have to. You took one look at me in that hotel room, and you knew that's what I was."

“You didn't tell me to leave.”

He blew out a breath. “Exactly. Maybe I don't know how to do this either.” His hands tightened like a belt on her waist. “But I know it's not the way I've been doing it."

Rhonda breathed him in. She wrapped her hand around his tie and tugged, pulling just hard enough that he grunted. "So what do we do?"

"The opposite."

"Which is?"

"I'm going to walk out that door after cashing out. And you’re going to decide whether to stay and endure more miserable talk with hospital administration. And then you're going to go back to your place. Alone.” Jordan's palm found the edge of her opposite hip, and the pressure made her arch involuntarily.

"And then what?" Her breath came in short gasps, the heat from his body soaking into her like sunshine.

"And then you can text me."

"I can text you."

"Yeah. I've got an early shift tomorrow, so I might not even respond. I don't know. I guess we'll see."

His words were both oxygen over coals and a bucket of cold water. So damn cocky. “The opposite sounds shitty.”

Jordan laughed, his breath whispering over her neck. "I'll see you soon." He pulled back, forcing her to let go of his tie, then slowly pulled his jacket off her shoulders. He gave her one last look and turned toward the tables at the exit.

Just as she was about to peel herself off the wall, Jordan turned. He looked her up and down, a muscle in his jaw jumping. "You know, you could use that energy for something."

"Oh, I will." Rhonda snapped, and Jordan smirked.

"I meant before you get home and take off that little black dress." His eyes drifted, and heat flashed over Rhonda's thighs. He cleared his throat and straightened his tie. "You don't have anything to lose with Rocky Ridge." He smiled, then continued on his path to the exit.

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