Page 44 of Hard Hitter

Outside her door, I pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek and stepped back.

Chloe frowned. “Aren’t you coming in?”

I slipped my hands in my pockets to remove the temptation to reach for her. “Not tonight.”

Her head tilted. “Is something wrong?”

A small laugh burst out of me, borderline desperate. “No. In a possibly insane attempt to take things slow, I’m clinging to restraint with my fingertips.”

“I thought we went over this. You don’t need to restrain yourself. Full permission to rail me.” Her head tilted with a frown. “Unless you’re having second thoughts?”

“No, Chloe. I want to do this right, which means I’m not going to jump in bed with you the first chance I get. No matter how much I want to.”

She stepped closer, her voice going husky. “How much do you want to?”

“Chloe,” I growled.

Her fingers slid down my arms, curling around my wrists and pulling my hands free with a soft touch. “I get it. Testing the waters, remember?” She slipped my arms around her waist, only letting go when I locked in place. “This situationship is new, but I’ve known you a long time—most of it thinking you weren’t interested. Can you blame me for wanting to take advantage of the fact that I can touch you like this now?”

I tugged her a little closer, and she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. Just a hug. She snuggled against my chest, and I rested my chin on her head. Chloe never failed to surprise me.

“I’m not going to pressure you to do anything, Noah. I just like touching you, and I really like it when you touch me.”

I relaxed, amused by the situation—this tiny woman reassuring me she only wanted a hug. A complete lie I was totally comfortable running with for the sake of my willpower.

“I’ll touch you any time you want, Chloe.”

“Good to know,” she murmured. “When do you want your date?”

An inexplicable warmth filled my system, not the electric-filled kind my cock liked, but a happy glow from her effort to take the change in our relationship seriously, to take me seriously.

“I’ll text you when I know Shaw’s torture schedule for the next week,” I told her.

“Text me anyway. Every day. All the time. Especially snaps of you half-naked. Or full naked. I’m not picky.”

My arms tightened at the thought of her sending me nudes, not out of the realm of possibility with Chloe. We already texted constantly thanks to her endless collection of memes. I’d have to be careful when I checked my phone from now on.

Chloe shifted, and her hair caught on the stubble I was too lazy to shave. She smelled like rain—crisp and fresh, with an undertone of something dark. I hadn’t noticed before in the chaos of the dinner, but with everything still, her scent drifted up to me.

Why was I doing this again?

She wanted me to come inside, and I’d already pushed us across the line into a murky relationship. Would holding off really make a difference in the long run?

As if she could read my thoughts, she tilted her face up to me with a saucy grin. “Let me know if you change your mind. I’ll make it worth your while.”

Her lacy thong had been soaked when I’d teased her earlier, and I desperately wanted to follow through on my promise to make her forget her disappointing history. The other guys she’d been with would have taken her up on the offer without question.

I wasn’t those other guys.

“Goodnight, Chloe.” I dropped a kiss on her hair and backed out of the embrace.

Regret flashed in her eyes, but she held her smile. “Night.”

I stayed in the landing until Chloe’s door closed and the lock engaged. At Eva’s demand, Mac had removed the door cams a few weeks ago, but it wouldn’t have mattered. I was rooted to the spot.

My body begged me to change my mind.

I tucked my hands behind my head, linking my fingers together as my jacket pulled taut across my shoulders. All the others had gone to Johnny’s—except D and Nadia, who’d had to fly back to New York tonight—leaving me an empty apartment.

---