Page 98 of Full Tilt
“Yeah, yeah. We get the picture, Morgan,” Tommy interjects, lifting his beer and smirking. “Thanks for the beer, but I’m driving.” Tommy sets the bottle down beside him, his eyes sparkling as they drop down the length of my outfit. “Besides”—his thumb begins drawing circles on my hip—“I need to take my girl home and work on earning a sixth chance with her.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
TOMMY
Ifeel like I’m fifteen again, staring at a girl sitting next to me while I have no clue what to do with myself. All I know is, I want to spend more than only a night with Jenna, but more than that, I want her to want me in her bed for more than just sex.
“Are we heading back to your place or my place?” I ask, gripping my steering wheel tight, hoping it will temper the cringe as it rips through me. Jesus, it’s like I’ve never spoken to the opposite sex before.
It’s the first time Jenna has been in my car—or one of them—and she inspects my Corvette Z06 carefully. I’ve never much been into cars, but the second I laid eyes on this supercar, I figured it would make a great signing treat to myself.
“I didn’t think orange cars would be your thing.” She smiles over at me.
Other than the streetlights lining Jack and Kendra’s block, the entire sky is pitch-black, and a shadow casts across Jenna’s profile as she looks at me.
“You’re right,” I reply with a smirk, gripping my steering wheel even tighter. “Ordinarily, they aren’t. This color was the only one on offer, and I needed to save money. The signing bonus from the Blades was shitty.”
She rolls her eyes, and I crank the engine to life.
“So, are we heading to your place or …” I begin repeating my previous question but trail off when I notice what’s got her distracted.
She shrugs and begins searching through the most recent playlists saved in the entertainment system. The second she scrolls to Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid,” her finger hovers over the track.
“That’s a personal favorite,” I say, heat starting to warm my car through and pinken her cheeks.
She crosses her legs, the fitted black dress she wore to the party tonight rising higher on her perfect thighs. I can’t deny that I can still feel the animosity between us, but it’s gradually being devoured with an attraction that runs way deeper than lust. It’s formed in understanding and respect—a currency that means so much to us both as human beings.
Jenna hits play.
“The lyrics to this song”—she turns to face me in the black leather bucket seat—“it’s like they were written with you in mind.”
Not saying a word, but keeping my eyes pinned on hers, I hit the electric recline button on the side of my seat.
“Why don’t you come sit in my lap while we listen to it?” I suggest.
The corner of Jenna’s upper lip tips up. I can sense she really wants to accept my offer, but isn’t ready to forgive me just yet. I can’t say I blame her. The second her apartment door closed behind me that morning, I regretted my decision to leave.
“All right …” I blow out a breath and slide my seat back even further. “How about I sit in your lap?”
She snorts a laugh, and the sound lights me up like the fucking Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get a chance to speak with her again after the voicemail she left me, let alone hear her laugh.
“Tommy, you’re six foot five. I’m shocked you can even fit in this car, let alone climb into my lap.”
I tap my knee. “Best you come sit in mine then, yeah?”
She tussles with herself a little more, and I give her a second before she releases her safety belt and does as I asked.
I was half hard the second I laid eyes on her in Jack and Kendra’s apartment. And now that she’s perched in my lap, my arms wrapped around her waist from behind, I’m fighting with everything I have not to go off in my pants.
Her hair and perfume smell insane, making my mouth water. This girl is way out of my league, and I know it.
“Does Holt know you made a statement, clearing my name?” I ask, burying my face into the hairs at the back of her neck.
She sucks in a sharp breath, releasing it slowly. “No. Last I heard from him was via text. He said that karma had finally been served since you’d been dropped from the team.”
I move her hair to one side, pushing it over her left shoulder and exposing the sensitive pebbled flesh at the nape of her neck. “You’re a special person, Jenna, and I meant what I said earlier—no one has ever stood up for me in the way you did. You could’ve let my career burn and kept your mouth shut.”
She turns her head to the side, watching me as I run my tongue from the base of her neck to just below her right ear.
