Page 41 of Legal

I yanked my attention away from the sky and back to his face. “Yeah, why?”

“I thought I was losing you again there.”

I studied his features, really absorbing myself in the shape of his eyes and the unique color of his irises. His lashes were dark and long, the kind that make women extremely envious. The kind that doesn’t exist in a tube of mascara, no matter what the ads try to sell you.

I didn’t turn away, didn’t try to lessen the intensity that whipped through my body. My gaze traveled down over his stubbled jaw and back up to his lips. I could taste them from here, could feel their warmth. I had a brief moment of utter disbelief. This guy in front of me was gorgeous. He was fucking gorgeous, and it defied all reason.

If I had a perfect physical type, this male specimen was it. And he wanted me. That was the piece that could knock me to my ass in a heartbeat. I could be having sex with my very own pin-up model, and I wasn’t jumping on it. Not just regular sex, but ‘pile-drive me into next week with blackout orgasms’ sex.

I shouldn’t care if he had some kooky fetish, and that’s why he was attracted to me. I definitely didn’t care about seeing him outside the bedroom. In fact, that wasn’t even an option. I resolved myself to the fact that he was young, but everyone looked the same age when the lights were out.

I brushed my fingertips over his lips while he continued to stare at me. I deserved this. I worked hard, so why shouldn’t I allow myself a treat every now and then? He was a man in his early twenties, in one of the horniest stages of his life. Of course, he wouldn’t turn down the chance to have meaningless, string-free sex.

And since I liked him, I could respect myself in the morning.

“Do you know what you’re doing to me right now?” he said.

I hadsomeidea. I leaned in and kissed him, confirming exactly what I was doing to him. His hard cock pressed against me, and I needed it bad.

My new plan: Have as many casual one-nighters with Chase as possible.

“You want to come inside,” I said, breathing into his mouth. “Fact or bunk?”

I felt his lips curve as he fisted my hair tighter. His tongue stroked my bottom lip, eliciting a moan. It was so sensual, and I was not about to pretend he wasn’t affecting me. Turning me on and making my pussy sing. His kisses extended down to the front of my neck and more shivers danced through me. What was taking him so long to answer?

“Fact or bunk?” I asked again. If he said bunk, just shoot me now.

“You know it’s fact, Jillian. The answer to that question is always fact.”Good. So, what are we waiting for then?I tugged his hand, intending to lead him up the steps to my front door. “Wait. I want you to have that dinner with me. Soon. I want to pick you up and take you out. To an actual restaurant.”

What? No. That was not part of the plan.

Chase looked like he expected an answer, and I didn’t want to give him one. Unless that answer was no, and then what? Was he holding my vagina hostage until I gave him an affirmative? I wanted to pout and stomp my feet. If it were possible for a pushing-forty-year-old to have a temper tantrum, I’d soon be on the ground pounding my fists and kicking my legs.

A thunderous boom made me jump. It was fireworks time. Within seconds, there’d be giant bursts of light filling the sky. “Come on, let’s watch from the back,” he said.

“What?”

A display of red and white exploded above us, then fizzled down. He was already pulling me up the steps, but instead of going through the door, we went past it.

“Have you ever watched from your house? I bet we’re close enough to see them almost as well as being at the park.”

“Uh, no.” Even when Daniel was small, there’d never been a year we stayed home. I followed another stream of color shoot into the sky before expanding into silver snakes. They were very noticeable on my back patio, but that was beside the point. “You want to watch fireworks? Now?”

“Yeah, I do. With you.” Chase sat on my widest outdoor chair, more like a loveseat, and pulled me down onto his lap. My back faced him, and I could feel his erection still going strong, poking into my ass. So, what was the problem here?

He wrapped his arms around my waist and hauled me closer to his chest. I rested my head back on his shoulder and watched the show. A red spiral collided with a yellow star, casting off little orange crescents. I was in a box of Lucky Charms. I smiled when he squeezed me tighter. I could handle this for a while. At least he wasn’t bringing up the public dinner question again.

“What color is the next one?” he said. “I call purple.”

“Green.” It shot off, forming into a red heart. Aww… that was cute. I didn’t usually see that shape. “Both wrong,” I said.

He nuzzled his lips into the side of my neck. “What next? I say red.”

“They just did a full red one. I pick gold.” We both eyed the sky, waiting for the color to reveal itself. Red it was. What? I practically felt his gloat against my skin when a gold-spiked offshoot burst out.

“Both right,” he whispered, resuming where he’d left off, turning my skin into molten lava with his mouth. He was the one who wanted to watch the pretty, loud colors in the first place, so why was he taunting me like this?

Oh, it was so on. I could play this game too. Before this night was over, I was going to be the one exploding, dammit.

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