Page 13 of Calling the Shots

“Open-ended, huh? Does your date know?” I tease.

“He does now.”

I suck in a breath, digesting her words, rolling them over in my mind.

There are solid reasons not to get involved with Gracelyn, but none of them seem all that important right now.

Setting the chair down on the driveway, I punch in the garage code and wait for the metal door to lift.

“Well, aren’t you going to say anything?” Hands on her hips, she stares me down, tapping her toe against the pavement and waiting for a response.

I carry the chair into the dim garage and she follows right behind me. Once she’s over the threshold, I hit the button and the metal door rumbles back down, hitting the concrete with a loud thud. A small, dusty window lets in a few weak rays of light and the scent of sawdust and gasoline floats on the air. I haul the chair over to the back wall where I keep my tools and set it off to the side for repair. Then I spin around and take two long strides toward Gracelyn, stretching my arms out on either side of her face and pinning her back against the wall. I’m close enough to hear her breath catch, watch as her pulse flutters in her neck.

I lean in. “We shouldn’t do this.”

She presses her pink lips together, her face falling in disappointment. “Oh.”

Her sweet floral scent assaults my nose, heat shimmering between us as her breath dusts my cheeks. The tip of her tongue trails along the seam of her mouth and every muscle in my body tightens.

This is a terrible idea.

Her curves brush against my chest with each shuddery inhale and I dip closer still. The crystal blue of her eyes darkens to a deep ocean, pupils wide.

I’m playing with fire and I damn well know it, but I can’t stop myself.

Don’t want to stop myself.

I smash my mouth to hers and every doubt, every hesitation, flies straight out the tiny garage window. Licking at her bottom lip, she opens to me and I slide in, tasting her. Our tongues roll together, tangling and fighting for dominance. Then her hands are at my chest, fisting in my shirt, pulling me up against her body.

“I thought we weren’t doing this?” she mumbles into my open mouth and I shake my head.

“We shouldn’t be.” One of her hands finds the nape of my neck, her small fingers twining in my hair. Sharp bolts fly through me as her nails scrape my sensitive scalp, my dick twitching against the stiff denim of my jeans.

I cup her face with my palm, my thumb running along her jaw. “This is probably a bad idea.”

“I’ve always been a fan of bad ideas.” She locks her gaze on mine and my heart pounds harder in my chest.

Fuck me.

Gracelyn’s exactly the type of bad idea I do not need. Young, perky, optimistic. We’re nothing alike and I already know this is going to be complicated.

I should definitely walk away, not take this flirtation or whatever we have going on between us any further.

Make the right call, Mack.

For once in your damn life, make the right call.

CHAPTER5

GRACELYN

“Same.”

The word rumbles from his chest, a low, primal growl, and my body responds. Fiery sparks fly through me, racing beneath my skin. My nipples stiffen to tight peaks in my satin bra.

This man is beyond sexy. How have I never noticed him before?

With that deep voice, those large, rough hands. Hands I’d very much like to be all over my body right now, touching me and driving me close to the edge.

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