Page 25 of The Wrong Play

“Because if you were with someone, they’d be glued to your side. Making sure that no one else could swoop in and steal all the perfection.”

Her mouth opened in that perfect little “o” again, the one that made me want to stuff my dick down her throat.

Whoops. Any more thoughts like that, and lil’ Jace was going to be making a major appearance at the party.

And that could make her run. He tended to be a little…intimidating.

Probably because of that extra inch.

I reached out, barely skimming my fingers along her forearm. Her breath hitched, just enough for me to hear it.

“There’s also this, though,” I murmured, my voice rough, because it had rearranged my insides just touching her smooth skin. “If you had a boyfriend, you wouldn’t sound like that I’m thinking…you wouldn’t be looking at me like that either.”

Her eyes widened.

Got her.

She pulled back, guzzling some more of her drink, before starting to cough, a pained expression on her face because whatever she was drinking evidently tasted awful.

I grinned. “So, do you want me to buy you another drink, or are you still pretending you don’t like me?”

She hesitated, and for a second, I thought she might say no.

But then she lifted her still very full glass, and tilted her head. “I wouldn’t say no to something that actually tastes good.”

I fucking beamed. Sign the marriage license. I was gone.

She wanted me.

I could see it in the way her pulse fluttered at her throat. The way she kept tucking that long, thick blonde hair behind her ear, like she needed something to do with her hands.

Without a word, I reached out, taking her hand. The second my fingers closed around hers, my world tilted. Her hand was small and delicate, fitting perfectly in mine, and yet it sent a shockwave through my body like I’d grabbed onto a live wire. My pulse slammed against my ribs, my skin burning where we touched. It was just her palm against mine, her fingers curled slightly, hesitant, uncertain.

But I felt it.

I felt her warmth seep into me, felt the way her fingers twitched like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to pull away or hold on tighter.

Hold on tighter,baby.

I barely kept myself from saying it out loud, from tightening my grip, from lacing our fingers together just to claim her. To stitching her to my side. She had no idea what she’d just done.

She had no idea how fucking gone I already was.

I swallowed hard, my throat tight as I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. She was looking ahead, her lips slightly parted, her breathing just a little too shallow. Like she felt it too.

My chest clenched, something heavy settling deep inside me. I was never going to let this go.

Never.

Not if it felt like this.

I led her through the crowd, the insane urge to rip everyone’s eyeballs out riding me hard. I didn’t want them to look at her. I wanted her all to myself.

Probably wouldn’t be good this early in the relationship to lock us in a room, though. Parker had shown me that.

She was already giving me trouble, and we hadn’t even reached the bar yet. “I already have a card on file—Jace?—”

Fuck.

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