“I wasn’t aware you were watching so closely.”
Desire crawls up my neck as her image suffocates me and the temperature rises. I catch what I’ve come to know too well in her eyes: the quiet want, that energy sparking when she leans in a fraction closer.
Her breath brushes against my skin, even from across the table, sending a wave of sensation through me.
“Why don’t you tell me what you think?” I ask, my voice sounding a touch rougher than usual.
She doesn’t flinch, doesn’t pull away. Instead, she locks eyes with me, that quiet confidence never wavering.
“I think you want to take me back to your place,” she says, her words deliberate, like she’s daring me to make a move.
“You think that’s what I want?” I reply in a whisper.
“I think you already know the answer.”
I tell myself to back off. To be smart about this. But then she looks at me, eyes wide and unguarded, and yeah—I’m officially fucked.
Chapter 30
Jared
The second we get back to her apartment, we’re quick to give in to each other with the appetite we created at the bar. Alli’s fingers brush the back of my neck, her touch charged with something electric—need, maybe. Desperation. Like she’s been waiting for this just as much as I have. Before I can even turn around, she’s pulling me into her, my back hits the door, and her lips are crashing on mine with a hunger that matches the storm raging in my chest.
I don’t even have time to breathe before she’s claiming more of me. The door digs into my back, a sharp reminder of how impossibly close we are. Her mouth opens and draws a breath for a second, urgent, desperate, like she couldn’t wait all night. And God, I can’t blame her. I wanted to be inside of her hours ago.
It’s fast and fierce. No pretending. No games this time.
I’m about to lift her off the ground when I hear the faintest rustling in the living room.
I don’t even stop kissing her. But then I hear that sound again—footsteps. I almost groan in frustration, but I don’t care enough. Not yet to break away.
Then she speaks, clear as day.
“Okay, that’s my cue,” Olivia says, standing a few feet from the couch. “I’m going out for a couple of hours.” Her keys jingle in her hand as she stands up, totally unfazed by the display of… whatever this is.
My hands find her waist, gripping her tighter as I press her back against the wall to let Olivia through. Alli’s laughter is winded like she’s shy, but there’s nothing fragile about the way she’s hooked onto me. The door closes behind us, and we hear Olivia humming unrecognizably as she walks away.
“Couldn’t wait, huh?” I tease, trailing light kisses down her neck. Her nails dig into my shoulders, pulling me even closer.
She exhales a quiet laugh, her breath sending shivers through my skin. “I couldn’t wait the second I saw you walking out of the locker room.”
Her voice is all confidence, low and dangerous, sending a pulse of need straight to my cock. I pull back briefly, just to look at her, her flushed cheeks, the way her lips are parted, and the desire in her eyes.
Her fingers hook around the hem of my shirt, and I’m done for. She pulls it over my head, tossing it aside before her hands trace over my chest.
“Bedroom,” Alli says against my lips, her voice rough, barely controlled.
I don’t give her a chance to tease me anymore. In a swift motion, I lift her up, and she wraps her legs around my waist, laughing again as we stumble down the hallway toward her bedroom. The way she fits against me, the way her body responds to every touch—it’s driving me insane. I’ve been holding back for weeks before we made it official, and now, finally, there’s nothing in our way.
We barely make it to the bed before we collapse, lips tangled, hands roving. There’s a frantic energy between us, like we can’t get enough, and all I can focus on is her—her skin, her minty ginger breath, her voice.
“You in this skirt kills me.” I yank it off her and throw it to the side like the rest. Her breath hitches when my hand glides up and down her body. Her skin feels like silk under my touch, and when I lean down to kiss the inside of her thigh, she gasps, her hands tangling in my hair, pleading with me for closeness.
“Jared…” her breathy moan fills my ears, and it’s the best sound I’ve ever heard.
“Baby,” I whisper against her skin, kissing a trail higher, inching closer to where she wants me. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
Her muscles stiffen beneath me, a gasp escaping her as my lips graze her skin. Every tremor that runs through her is like a spark under my fingertips, and I can feel her pulse racing, quick and desperate. Her fingers dig into my upper back to stay grounded.
