Page 29 of Legal

“Then let me ask this a different way. Are you a cougar hunter?”

He sputtered, and I was that close to running over and smacking him on the back. Apparently it wasn’t good timing to ask him such a thing during a swig because he almost spat beer all over my cushions.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Chase started laughing, and I crossed my arms and glared at him.

“I thought you were older that night. If I had known your true age, I wouldn’t have slept with you. No matter how hard up I was.”

I waited for him to make a comment again about sleeping, but then realized I’d just admitted I was hard up.Way to go, Jillian.

“And I thought you were younger.” He rested his forearms on his thighs and leaned in closer to me. “But unlike you, if I would have known your age that night, I still would have fucked you, and I can assure you I am not hard up.”

“No, I imagine you’re not.”

Since when was green not a cool color? His eyes blazed as if they were fire-toned, and I sank farther into the couch to deflect a bit of the intensity. He reminded me of nothing less than a man at the moment.

“Since we’re being so honest with each other tonight, I can also assure you that you’re the first unfamiliar woman I’ve even wanted to see again. So, I could suppose you’d say we’re both of each other’s firsts.”

“Ah…” If there were a correct way to respond to that, I wished it’d hurry up and drop out of the sky because I was at a total loss.

Chase’s inspection let up enough to give me a little breathing room before he stood. My eyes immediately lined up with another equally intense body part.Don’t look, don’t look.Dammit.

He chuckled, his face softening. “We’re getting way too serious here. Would you agree?”

“God, yes.” My original intent to hurl everything at him only seemed to backfire on me.

“Do you have any games?”

“Games? Like in board?”

Chase sat down and guzzled his beer. “Yeah. Anything you’ve got will work.”

He smiled, a boyish grin that didn’t make me want to run and hide. Instead, it made the surrounding air lighter, and the room much more comfortable to be in.

“You’re in luck,” I said, smiling back. Stacks of them were still piled high in my office.Board games, huh? Never saw that coming.

I went through the kitchen, swiping a saucy pepper to munch on along the way. The computer was the first thing I noticed upon entering the room, but I had no desire to take a peek. I went straight to the games, grabbing the first box off the top. I hadn’t played one of these in who knew how long and had no preference.

I came back, settingBunkedon the coffee table. “Ever play this one?” I asked.

“Nope.”

“Me neither.” I adjusted the table, so it fit evenly between the two couches. I wasn’t ready to have him share one with me yet. A little space between us was a necessary thing.

He shook the top lid loose. “Perfect. Another first.” His lips curved, and I felt that warm tingle spread up my neck. What was it about this guy?

Chase scanned the directions briefly, then tossed them aside. “You did not read those already,” I said.

“It’s pretty simple. We read a card, and the other says if it’s true or bunk. You get an extra point if you can give the correct answer to a bunk question. The one with the greatest amount of points wins.” He set the stack of cards on the table, along with the timer. He picked up the top card. “So, tell me, Jillian—has Milwaukee always been your home base?”

I laughed. “That is not one of the cards.”

“It’s a warm-up question.” Chase slipped down to the floor, propping his back against the couch. He spread his legs a bit and rested his forearms on his knees. The position flustered me. Not to mention he was closer now.

“Born and raised. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.” Chase nodded. “What about you?” I asked.

“Lived in Madison till I was five, been here ever since.” He flipped the timer over. “The scientific name for a wolf is Canid Lupis.”

“Wait, what?” He pointed to the timer.Oh, we’re playing the real game now.“Um, fact.”

---