Page 10 of Regards, Mia

She blinks up at me, clearing the hazefrom her eyes. “Tonight, I want to stop thinking about something. I think you could help with that.”

Frustration stabs my chest. “You want to use me?”

She nods. “Maybe.”

After a moment, the frustration ebbs, and I’m surprisingly okay with being used. “Okay.”

She rewards me with a grin. “How far to your place?” she asks. “I’m wearing heels.”

Anticipation ripples through me, replacing any lingering doubts. “We can walk slowly,” I say.

Mia’s eyes sparkle like ice on a clear mountain lake. “Not too slowly.”

Jesus.This woman is going to kill me.

CHAPTER 4

Spider’s Web

Ilift my chin to take in the brick building. “This is a gym.”

Jay’s shoulders stiffen. “Mygym.”

I squint up at the repurposed warehouse. Thanks to a revitalization movement a few years ago, a lot of spaces downtown had a new lease on life. Jay’s gym had probably been a factory or mill, but now it boasts a boxing logo over the entrance.

“I think my friend Thatcher trains here,” I say. “Do you know him?”

“I know Thatcher,” he says, a muscle in his jaw ticking. “He has a lot of women friends.”

“We’re in a book club together,” I say. “We’re just friends?”

“Just friends?” He lifts a brow at me, his gaze raking over me in the dim light of the moon. “Are you sure?”

I step closer, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Positive.”

He lowers his mouth to mine, kissing me hungrily. Now that we are alone, his kiss is less tame than it had been in the restaurant. I feel it down to my bones. His mouth covers mine, taking with fierce possession.

“Want to come inside?” he asks between heated kisses.

“Yes.” My voice is breathless.

He takes my hand and leads me around the back of thebuilding to a private entrance. Unlocking the door, he tugs me inside and climbs the stairs. I follow at a slower pace, enjoying the view of his tight ass in dark denim.

He pauses to unlock another door and tugs me inside. I get a glimpse of shiny wood floors, brick walls, and large, masculine furniture before his mouth is on mine again, dragging me under his spell.

His lips are hard and soft at the same time, and the tickle of his beard is much more erotic than I would have thought.

I’ve never kissed a bearded man before. I’ve never tasted a tattoo.

But that’s what I want now, more than anything. I want to see what’s under his clothes, get more than a peek of what’s beneath the denim and leather.

My fingers slide to his shirt, fumbling to undo the buttons as his mouth continues to scramble my brain.

Thank fuck, I get the first button open. I skim my fingers over his skin, feeling the soft, curling hairs on his upper chest before diving back in for the next button.

Jay’s hands are just as eager as mine. He slides them into my hair, tugging gently and then with more force. My head falls back, and his lips trail from my mouth, along my jaw, to the exposed column of my neck. He bites softly, licking a path to my collarbone as one hand fists in my hair and the other wraps around my waist, bending me backward.

His hot mouth and firm grip almost make me forget my goal to lick his tattoos. But my desire to taste him can’t be forgotten so easily. I tear at the next button, feeling it give with a snap.

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