Whatarollercoasterofshittiness this night was. We lost the next game so we were out of the tournament. Although there was less tension with the next game once Dan was gone, my heart wasn’t in it. Cyrus dropped me home and, thank God, did not try to make a pass at me. He gave me a friendly kiss on the cheek at the door, thanked me for the interesting evening, and trotted off to his car.

I spied Nana in the living room, softly snoring on the couch. “Nana, did you wait up for me?” I asked, gently shaking her arm. “I’m home. You can go to bed now.”

“Did you win?” she asked, pushing her glasses back up her nose.

“Nope. Out on the third game.”

“Who’d you play for the second one?”

I gave her a look. “Heather and The Grouch. He was awful. I’ve never seen him like that.”

“He was mean and rude to you,” Nana confirmed. “You should give him a piece of your mind. I wouldn’t put up with that if I were you.”

“You got that right,” I agreed. “He was rude.”

“So rude! In fact, you should go chew out his ass right now before he conveniently forgets how he acted.”

She had a point. I thought about it, and my blood began to boil all over again. “You know what? You’re right. I’m going to go tell him off. He can’t get away with this. He was horrible to me and also to Cyrus. It was supposed to be a fun game, and he fucking ruined it.”

I yanked my coat back on, hiked my purse up my shoulder, and marched out to my car. I was there in three minutes and spent all of those three minutes stewing.

I banged on his door until he opened it. His shirt was completely unbuttoned, and I could see the swell of his chest and the ripple of his six-pack. I snapped my eyes back up. I didn’t want to be distracted from how mad I was. He stepped aside for me to come in and watched me warily.

I stomped past him and stood as tall as I could. “What the hell is your problem?” I yelled at him, hoping he could see the fire in my eyes. I wasangry.

He stiffened, his hands fisted. “What are you talking about? You and that jerk, Cyrus, beat us. You should be happy about that.”

“He’s not a jerk. He’s a guy who asked me to bowl with him in a tournament.

“I don’t like him.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell,” I practically sneered at him. “And I didn’t do the bowling tournament to win. I did it to have some fun, meet new people, and get to know others.”

“So, did you get to know Cyrus better?”

“Yes.”

“How much better? Did he kiss you?” Dan ground out the words.

“That’s my business. Don’t change the subject. You were a first-class ass tonight.”

Dan advanced toward me like a thundercloud about to unleash a mighty storm. I stepped back and butted up against the wall. He put his arms against the wall on both sides of my shoulders, trapping me there.

“And was his kiss good?” He leaned in, and his lips claimed mine. His tongue did things to my mouth that made me wish his tongue would travel down my body and between my legs. I shivered. “Did he make you feel like you do now?” he breathed in my ear before pulling away. The musky smell of him flamed my heat.

“Asshole,” I swore at him, breathing heavily. I grabbed his head and yanked it back to me so his lips could continue what they’d started.

I raked my fingernails down his back, settling on his ass, pulling him to me so I could feel all of him. His bulge pulsed against my abdomen, and my hands trembled, unzipping his fly.

Pushing his jeans down over his hips and thighs, I sank in front of him. I ran my hands up the inside of his bare legs and cupped his balls. I nuzzled my face along his hardness, still contained behind his briefs. Dan’s hands ran through my hair, and he pulled me back up.

We tore off our clothes and came back together, skin-to-skin. I couldn’t get enough of the feel of him.

Dan picked me up like I weighed nothing and carried me to the bed. He dropped me on my back and crawled like a predatory animal up to me, his eyes dark and smoldering. I shivered. He spread my legs wide and dipped his body between them, rubbing against my pubic bone, making me wetter than I already was. I moaned against his chest.

This wasn’t supposed to be happening again. “Dan,” I said hoarsely, gasping for air, “I need to talk to you.”

“Later,” he growled at me and covered my mouth again with his. I felt his fingers circle my nipples, causing them to pebble, before working their way down my abdomen to my wetness. Two fingers slipped inside me while his thumb rubbed my sensitive clit. I bucked into an intense orgasm, my fingernails digging into his skin.