I turn off the faucet. “Give me that rag.” I go over and put my hands lightly on her waist, moving her aside. It takes everything I have not to let my hands linger. “You clean like someone who grew up with a housekeeper.”
She doesn’t argue. “Football, Spanish, domestic chores. What don’t you excel at?”
“Reeve,” Cash calls from the couch. “We need more beer? Lincoln and a couple guys are coming by.”
“Fridge up here is empty. There’s a case in the basement, I think.”
“You want to be a doll?” Cash asks hopefully.
“Not really, but I’d rather that than your drunk ass falling down the stairs.”
“I can get it,” Jade offers.
I shake my head. “I couldn’t send you to the basementalone, not with the mice and spiders. A little lady like you might get frightened.”
“Okay, big man, then come with me,” she says coyly, her eyes challenging me. Doesn’t matter that she’s teasing, her words completely turn me on.
“Basement’s down the hall.”
I follow her, watching the sway of her hips in her tight jeans the whole way. At the top of the basement stairs, she feels for the light switch but doesn’t find it. I reach for the familiar spot on the wall, accidentally covering her fingers with mine. Her hand feels small and impossibly soft. She lets it stay for an instant, then pulls away. I flip on the light and we go down.
Jade pauses at the bottom of the steps to survey the dank basement. “Not a mouse or spider to be seen.”
“Oh, they’re here. Just lurking. They probably heard you coming and didn’t want to get bitched out.”
“Is that why you wanted me to come down here with you? You’re scared of little critters?” She tosses her hair and turns her head over her shoulder so her face is in profile. God, she’s such a little tease when she’s drunk. The way she throws off signals is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. She doesn’t embarrass herself, not like some girls, but I can read her clear as day.
“That’s not why.”
“What are you scared of then?” She blinks slowly, still watching me in her periphery.
“Nothing. Not a thing.” I move closer to her, drawn like a magnet, and loop my fingers through the belt loop at the small of her back. I’m aching to press my hips against the perfect curve of her ass. “You.”
Jade turns around and she’s practically in my arms. The air I breathe is all her. The heat of her body spreads so deep into me I feel it down to the bone. She runs her hands slowly up my chest, watching her fingers as I watch her. My dick is asteel rod in my shorts. “I don’t believe that.” A soft smile touches her lips, but when she lifts her eyes to meet mine, she pulls away.
Believe what?I don’t even remember what we were talking about, too horny to think straight.
“So where’s the beer?” she asks.
Oh, yeah. Beer. I clear my throat. “I’ll get the case, you grab a couple of those six-packs. They’re under the stairs, right between that rat’s nest and the giant spider web over your head.”
She shoots me a look, then turns toward the space under the stairs. When she bends down to reach for the beer, I sneak up behind her.
“Mouse!” I yell and squeeze her waist.
Jade shrieks and drops the cans of beer, then whirls around. The look on her face makes me cackle. “You asshole!” She laughs in spite of herself, reaching out like she’s going to attack me.
I grab her wrists. She fights to free herself, still laughing, and she’s stronger than she looks, but not strong enough. I’m not letting go. When she finally stops flailing, I pull her closer, my fingers tight around her narrow wrists. She’s warm and Jade scented and at this point I couldn’t let go if I tried.
The half smile on her lips is defiant, but her body softens against me the second I pull her close. She presses her hips to mine and gives a murmur of approval at what she feels in return, her eyelids lowering to half-mast as her gaze drops to my lips. She’s putty in my hands.
I kiss her, and for the first time, she’s ready for it. Her soft lips part for me, inviting me in. The taste of her mouth brings on a flood of hot memories of that night outside the bar, of getting my world completely rocked by these same lips. Need hits me hard. Jade lets out a soft moan of pain, and I realize I’m squeezing her wrists. I let go and move my hands to her body.
“Sorry,” I whisper into her mouth between hungry kisses. My cock strains painfully. I need more of her. I push her backward until we hit the wall and press my hips hard against her. “Fuck. You know how good you taste?”
“How good?”
“Good enough to eat. Right here on the floor.”
