Page 3 of Puck of the Irish

Something shifts then, just a fraction, but it might as well be a fucking mile with the sudden heaviness in the small space between us. Her gaze seems to darken, shifting to my lips for a moment before pulling back up to meet my eyes.

“Worships them, huh?” she asks softly, and suddenly we’re talking about something else entirely. I hadn’t meant it to go that direction, exactly, but, well, it’s true. I lean forward, throwing my rules to the wind and deciding that we’re both fucking adults. If we want to hook up, we can do it and still manage to be normal around each other, I’m sure.Unless she wants more…I tell that voice to shut the fuck up. I’ll deal with that later. She knows how I operate and it’s not like my reputation is a secret or anything. She knows what she’s getting into if she decides to make the decision.

And my God, do I need to her to make it so badly I think I might die if she doesn’t.

“All night long, usually,” I say, voice pitched low and laced with all the promises she can imagine. She swallows hard and our gazes stay locked for an endless, agonizing, perfect moment. I don’t look away. I don’t flinch. I hold her stare and let her see that I’m completely on board if she is.

Finally, her lips curl and one light brow arches in challenge.

“Prove it, Thirst Trap.”

Fuck, is this really happening?

I don’t think I’ve ever called for a check faster or louder than I had the moment the words were out of her mouth. She giggledand I grinned, deciding not to even wait for the check, just throwing a couple of hundreds down on the table and grabbing Nat’s hand. I tug her from the chair, and thankfully have enough blood still flowing to the big brain to remember to put my jacket over her shoulders before pulling her out into the cold night. There’s still a lot of snow left from the big storm we got a few days ago—which had apparently stranded Mac at Shep’s place for a couple of days. The fact that they managed to keep their stupidjust friendsact in place through that is pretty fucking impressive, I’m not gonna lie, but it’s obvious how they both feel. At least to me. But maybe it’s just because I know Shep so well. Nat hasn’t come out and said she knows that Mac is in love with Shep too, but she’s hinted. One of these days the two of them will figure it out, I’m sure. If not, I know they’ll regret it…

I turn to ask Nat what the plan is, but before I get a word out, her hands are knotted in my shirt and she’s tugging me down towards her. Her lips slam to mine and my eyes fly wide in surprise before sliding closed in sheer bliss. I glide my palms along her cheeks, cradling her face and tangling the tips of my fingers into her hair as I tilt my head and deepen the kiss, coaxing her lips open between my own. I gently suck on her full bottom lip and she moans quietly, tightening her grip on my shirt. I move one hand to her hip, pulling her against me as I walk us backwards, pressing her against the side of the building.

Fuck.

I could get way too used to kissing Natalie Morgan. I love kissing. I could honestly make out for hours and be perfectly content, so I do it often, but I can’t remember the last time a kiss felt like this. It’s hot and electric and there’s a deeper connection there that I don’t want to think about too much right now. It starts slow and deep, but there’s so much promise here, something entirely combustible that can burn us both to the ground if we let it. And fuck do I want to let it.

She starts matching me thrust for thrust, our tongues rolling and tangling, the kiss spiraling out of control in a matter of heartbeats. She isn’t timid or reserved. She’s giving as good as she’s getting, demanding what she wants as we figure each other out, and fuck if it doesn’t turn me on to no end. I’m happy with just about anything in the bedroom and have a reputation for trying almost everything you can think of at least once, so I’ve had a wide variety of bed partners. But a girl who doesn’t back down, who pushes me back and takes what she needs and matches me,that’smy sweet spot. That gets me harder than fucking steel and begging for more. That can bring me to my knees.

And this makes Nat far more dangerous than I initially thought she was.

She slides one hand to my pants, curling her fingers inside the waistband and using her grip to yank me forward, pressing our bodies more firmly together.

“Fuck, Nat,” I rasp against her lips. She rocks her hips against mine and bites gently against my lower lip, pulling it between her teeth in a way that’s got a direct line to my fucking cock. I’m hard as hell and ready to fuck her right here in the middle of downtown. No one would notice, right? “You keep that up and everything I said about respecting women is going to sound like total bullshit when I take you right here against this wall.” I can feel her smile against my lips.

“Is that a promise?”

“Dear God, woman,” I groan, nipping at her bottom lip in retaliation and palming her ass, using my grip to wrench her hard against me. “See what you’re doing to me?” I ask when she gasps quietly. I should probably take things slow but I get the feeling that slow isn’t what she wants. We’ll just ignore the fact that I’m not sure I could even if I wanted to. She’s driving me absolutely crazy in the best possible way. Every touch of herlips, every lap of her tongue, every rock of her hips. She knowsexactlywhat she’s doing and God if it isn’t sexy as hell.

She laughs and I force myself to step away. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it fucking right.

And I have things to prove…

Three

NAT

“Let’s go to my place,”Rizzo says, sounding desperate and…a little nervous? I have no idea where he lives, but unless it’s within a block, I’m going to combust before we get there. That kiss broke the dam. No, it didn’t break it, it fuckingdemolishedit into splinters. It’s not like I’d doubted his skill or anything. I mean, he’s got a different girl in his bed every other night for a reason, right? And even though he’s good about not mixing business with pleasure, there are still enough regulars at the games that I’ve heard the rumors of his expertise.God-likehas been used within my hearing more than once.

But even the rumors hadn’t prepared me or done him justice. The man’s lips are soft and perfect and if the way he uses his tongue for this is any indication of how he might use it in other areas…a shudder rolls through me at the mere thought, my toes curling and my stomach clenching in anticipation.

Well, I’m good and fucked, that’s for sure.

“I hope it isn’t far,” I say, trying not to sound breathless and desperate but, well, Iambreathless and desperate. I need himto keep kissing me. I need to rip his clothes off and touch those abs he’s so fond of posting all over the internet. Maybe lick them a bit. I need him to make this one night worth the stupidity of going down this road with him.

It’ll be fine. We’re adults. Everything will be fine. We’ll scratch this itch and then it’ll be done, no harm, no penalty, back to friends in the morning.

I could tell him that I have a penthouse suite back at the Celeste, but I’m not ready to answer the questions that will inevitably come up if we head there, so I resign myself to keeping it in my pants until we get to his place.

“Do we need an Uber? I definitely shouldn’t be driving—not that I’m not fully capable of making decisions, mind you,” I add hastily, making sure he doesn’t think I’m too drunk to know what I’m doing. Despite what his reputation might make you think, I know Rizzo would be the kind of guy who would call this night before it even begins if he thought I wasn’t in the right state of mind. “But I shouldn’t be driving.”

“Good to know.” He smiles at me and heat floods my stomach. That thing should be registered as a lethal weapon. “I’ve got a car with a driver waiting back at the Celeste. Come on.” He holds out his hand and we make a run for it, grinning like idiots.

“Ahh!” I cry when I hit a bit of ice and skid a little bit, clutching onto to Rizzo for dear life so I don’t go down hard on my ass.

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