Page 29 of Puck of the Irish

“You’re on his approved visitor list,” he says and understanding hits. He probably puts all his booty calls on the list for easy access. Got it. I decide not to think about that too hard before I lose my nerve. I pull my coat tighter around me and grab the card, smiling at the man.

“He’s probably got a whole stack of these things back there, huh?” I say lightly.

He shakes his head. “No ma’am, just four—including Mr. Rizzo’s parents.”

“Oh,” I say, surprised.

He smiles at me, like he knows something I don’t, and I try not to look as confused as I am.

“Have a good evening, ma’am.”

“Uh, thanks. You too.”

I hurry to the elevators and use my card to access one of only two that will take me to the top floor. I tell myself to go right back down again a thousand times in the time it takes me to reach his floor, but I don’t. I need to see him. I need to touch him. I need to kiss him until I can’t breathe and I forget my own name and I can just pray that this will be the end of it. I’ll stop wanting him so damned badly after one more night. There’s so much we didn’t get to do before, that’s all, I tell myself. It’s just…curiosity.

It definitely isn’t the fact that I’m pretty sure I’m falling for him.

Before I lose my nerve, I march down the hall to his door and knock. I have no idea if he’s even home…and then another, awful idea floats into my mind, one I should have fucking thought about before now: what if he has another girl in there already.

“Shit,” I whisper, heat flooding my cheeks and my heart going triple time. I take a half step back, thinking this was a terrible idea and wondering how I could be so stupid, when the door finally opens. To my relief, he seems to be alone.

“Nat?” he asks, blue eyes full of surprise. My gaze travels down his body, and I wonder how he can possibly make something as casual as worn, holey jeans and a white t-shirt look so damn sexy. I yank my eyes back to his.

“Are you alone? Yes or no.”

“Yes?” he asks, brow furrowed. I sigh in utter relief.

“Not one fucking word,” I say sternly and his lips curl upward as I step forward and kiss him. He quickly wraps one arm around the small of my back, pulling me close. His other hand cups my cheek, the tips of his fingers tunneling in my hair.God I love when he does that. His lips quickly part mine, his tongue rolling and demanding. I push him backward into the apartment and he closes the door once I’m over the threshold, quickly pressing my body back against it, his lips never leaving mine. He moves closer, pushing the length of his body hard against mine, and I nearly whimper at the contact.

I’m officially off the wagon yet again. I’m not sure I’ll ever beat this addiction to him.

“I thought you liked when I talk?” he whispers against my lips before biting my lower one. I gasp and arch my hips against him. “When I tell you all the things I want to do to you…”

“Shut up,” I pant, pulling up on his shirt. He laughs and reaches back to tug it off over his head in that ridiculously sexy way guys do, and then my hands are on him, roving over every muscle and scar. He moans quietly as he traces kisses along my jaw and down my throat, reaching up to start unbuttoning my coat. I smile, wondering what he’s going to think when he sees my insane little surprise.

He freezes when he gets the last button free and parts my coat to reveal nothing but a very sexy—and expensive—black, lacy lingerie set paired with my thigh-high, lace-up heeled boots.

“Nat,” he breathes, stepping back to let his gaze slowly scan my body. He scrubs a hand across his jaw. “Is it my birthday?” I giggle and let my coat slip from my arms, reaching up to pull the clip from my hair to let it tumble down my back in big, loose curls. I don’t know what exactly had possessed me to enact this little plan, but I sure am glad I did. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so…enthralled. I lean back against the door and he continues to stare, his eyes drinking up every inch of me. I feel almost drunk from the pure desire in that look. He finally meets my gaze again and I barely stop a shiver.

“Surprised?” I ask in a voice that’s incredibly sultry and I’m not entirely sure belongs to me. Rizzo brings out this insane, confident, carnal part of me that I never knew existed. And I fucking like it. I have no reservations or fears with him. I feel completely comfortable with him in ways I never knew you could feel with a person. I’ve dated plenty, but I was always worried about what they might think or do, of what picture I was supposed to portray for the outside world. But with him, I can just be me, in every possible way.

Fuck.

I really think this means…no. No, I’m not ruining this night with big feeling revelations.

“I hoped you’d come,” he whispers. “I didn’t think you would, but I fucking hoped. And my God. This…” He runs his eyes up and down me again. “This is possibly the sexiest thing that’s ever happened in my life.”

“Well, then you better thank me properly.”

He slowly raises his gaze back to mine and a slow, sinful smile spreads across his face.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Hours later, we’re wrapped up in a blanket in his bed and I wonder how the fuck we ended up here again. Actually, I know exactly how we ended up here. I’m apparently basically just a horny teenager who can’t control myself. Fantastic.

We did everything we talked about in those text messages and then some, and I don’t think I can move at this point, let alone even think about going another round. He runs his fingers lightly up and down my spine and I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so relaxed or content.

“You know you called me AJ?”

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