Page 104 of Shutout
“Does this mean we’re doing it?” he asks, panting against my mouth.
I’m so dizzy, all I manage is to ask, “It?”
“Perv.” He chuckles, even though he’s the one who started it. “I mean us.”
I bury my face in the crook of his neck, breathing through my mouth in my haste to get oxygen to my brain. Fast. But even if my mind was in its normal frame, I’d still answer the same.
“Yes.” I mouth the words against his neck. “We’re doing this. Us.”
CHAPTER 35
BROOKLYN
Liv shivers as we walk up to the hotel where the benefit gala is held this year. I paid for valet parking so the exposure to the winter weather was minimal, and I bring her closer against my side as I run my hand up and down her arm. “Cold?” I ask.
“What?” She looks up at me, almost as if she’d forgotten where she was. “No. I just have regrets.”
“About me?” I put my free hand on my chest.
“No. About this dress.” That’s when I notice she wasn’t shivering but trying to stretch the material of her dress. “It makes my huge hips look huger. And this little jacket is way too short.”
She’s talking about the same black dress that made me lose my mind in a store’s dressing room. She paired it with some fluffy black jacket that looks equal parts cozy and elegant, but stops right at her waist and highlights precisely the curves that made me think with my pants when I saw her in this dress.
I slide my hand past her arm, sneaking it below the jacket until I find her waist. Liv’s breath hitches and she turns to look at me. If she hadn’t put so much effort into her makeup I’d beruining it right now, never mind the fact we’re standing in the middle of the hotel lobby. My hand continues its journey lower over the swell of her hip, and it parks right on a spot I now know quickens her pulse.
Dipping my head lower, I run my nose across her warming cheek until I find her ear. I whisper very softly, “Your hips are so perfect I want to bite them. I won’t accept any slander.” And for emphasis, I give her a little squeeze.
Gasping, she steps all the way out of my embrace and fixes up her pristine clothes. “Brooke, we’re in public. You need to behave.”
“How can you expect me to behave when I’ve been resisting you for ages?” I finish the question with a whine and an attempt to grab her. All I get is her hand in mine and I guess I can settle for that.
“Ages, you say when it’s only been like nine months since we kissed for the first time.” She snorts as she pulls me to follow the signs leading to the event hall. “What about me? Should I be acting like a feral raccoon because I’ve been resisting you for longer?”
I tug her hand hard and she yelps as her body follows the momentum. The twirl lands her right against my chest and I close my arms around her before she can react. “Yes please,” I say, brushing my nose against hers. “I’m finally all yours. Unwrap me like candy.”
Her eyes dart around but there’s no need, I said those words low and slow, only for her.
“Well, I’m not the one who’s busy making hasty arrangements to move across the continent.”
I sigh, dropping my forehead against hers. “I’m sorry. But I promise I’m all yours between Christmas and New Years. Should we go somewhere that week? Or… book a hotel room?” I wiggle my eyebrows.
Liv’s eyes narrow. “Actually, not a bad idea.”
As I freeze, she easily frees herself from me once again. Only when I realize that she’s walking away—because my eyes are absolutely glued to her swaying hips—does my brain kickstart again. I run after her and when I catch up, I ask, “Wait, for real?”
“Mina, hi!” Liv says, completely ignoring my very legit question.
Her friend appears in my field of vision, wearing some red dress that matches the tie Dane’s wearing. “Liv, you look absolutely stunning, oh my goodness.”
The two girls hug it out and Liv says, “Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? Because you could stop traffic.”
“Is it because her dress is red?” I ask, which gets me two glares. I turn to Dane. “What?”
He’s laughing at me. “Dude, you’re such a dipshit. I’m going to miss you.”
I put a hand on my chest. “Aww, don’t make me cry. You’ll ruin my makeup.”
“Liv,” the other girl says. “Your new boyfriend’s hot but he’s kind of…”
