“Women also have the ability to catch any man’s attention with just two little objects.”
His eyebrow quirked in interest. “Yeah? And what would those be?”
Leaning forward, my shirt dipped just enough to show off my impressive cleavage. Well, it was impressive to me. It was there, which was more than I could say for myself when I was in my early twenties.
And as expected, his eyes dropped straight to my chest. What I didn’t expect was the heat that flared behind his eyes, or the way he shifted slightly on the couch.
I was so busy reveling in the glory of my win that I was totally unprepared for his eyes to flick up and meet mine in a heated stare that ensnared me, making it impossible to look away fromthose steely gray eyes. Heat blossomed in my belly, swirling dangerously throughout my body.
For just a moment, I let myself imagine what it would be like if he shifted closer, if those rough hands slid under the blanket and touched my bare skin. How his hot breath would feel against my neck as he ran his lips down the column of my throat.
I swallowed hard as heat overwhelmed my body. It wasn’t just the images in my head. It was that damn look in his eyes. It was the scruff along his jaw that had me itching to run my fingers through it, and that wild, untamed hair that, just minutes ago, he had been messing with.
My heart thumped wildly in my chest as he shifted again. Closer. Just a scant inch. I swallowed around the lump in my throat, willing myself not to back down when he was so clearly challenging me.
“See?” I whispered. “Caught you.”
The blanket was flung out of the way in the blink of an eye, and he was right in front of me, his fingers tangling in my hair as his lips brushed against my ear.
His overwhelming masculine scent surrounded me, filling me up and making it impossible to think about anything other than him. My eyes slipped closed as I memorized the feel of his fingers in my hair and his lips brushing against my skin.
“Was this what you were hoping for?” he whispered. “Then you’re fucking right. Women are more powerful than men.”
My lips parted as I struggled to find the words, to tell him to keep going. Everything about this man was intoxicating. I wanted to slip my fingers through his hair and?—
He shifted away from me, smirking at my reaction. The whole thing was a joke to him, but I was shaking on the inside. I could not have a thing for my neighbor. Not even when I knew what it was like to have his lips on mine.
“You were saying about women being able to do anything men could do?”
“Right,” I said, clearing my throat. “Obviously, I had you there for a minute. Not that it matters. The point is…”
But the problem was, I couldn’t think about the point at this second. My thoughts were still muddled from that near-kiss. From the way his breath heated my skin, and how all I could think about was his hands touching me.
“The point is?” he smirked, knowing how he had affected me.
“Sowbugs,” I said, switching the topic.
“Yes. Sowbugs.”
He knew he had me. It was written all over that beautifully carved face, and there was nothing I could do to rid him of that smug look unless I was willing to take things further.
Which I was not.
I would never win. JR would tangle me up in knots and then walk away like I meant nothing to him. He had that demeanor about him, the one that said he didn’t get involved with anyone. I’d met his kind many times before, and I’d even taken a few home.
The result was always the same.
The only way out of this was to flip the script on him. “So, Jason, is that what you did in Tennessee? Fishing?”
“Jason?” he questioned.
“Joseph.”
He snorted.
“John.”
“You should stop guessing.”
