CHAPTER THREE
The kiss was supposed to be a decoy. A front to get this drunken jerk to leave her alone. When she turned and saw Jordan, she acted on a desperate impulse. She hadn’t expected her brain to short circuit the moment her lips touched his, but that’s what happened. All thought flew out the window.
Time stood still. The noise in the club quieted. Everything around her went calm, unlike the firestorm that scorched through her.
Jordan’s eyebrows shot up the second before her lips met his, and her stomach dropped. She’d gone too far this time. He was going to pull back and blow her cover.
But then his hand gripped her hip. She braced for rejection, a sharp word, his cool disdain. None came. Instead, his fingers tightened, and he tugged firmly, anchoring her to him. He flexed his hand once, clenching. Was he asking permission or giving her a warning?
And then, neither mattered, because she melted against him, their bodies fusing, their mouths crashing together and opening, letting their passionate kiss consume them. Hetilted his head, angling his mouth to deepen the contact, and their tongues met in a feverish tangle that left her clinging to him.
Astonishment morphed into something frenzied, something addictive and needy. Something that stunned her more than her brash decision to kiss him.
Slowly, his hand slid up her spine to the nape of her neck, where he grasped her and pulled her back an inch. His hooded eyes seared hers before he growled, “I thought I told you not to play with fire, princess.”
Fire? What she’d just experienced was an inferno. She wanted more. She leaned forward, but he edged back. The slight movement shook her out of her stupor. What was she thinking kissing Jordan? It was ludicrous.
She tossed a look over her shoulder to see what had happened to the slimeball who’d started this in the first place. He’d already moved on to some other unsuspecting group of dancers.
A light flashed inches from her face, blinding her momentarily. She recoiled, bumping against Jordan, and another flash went off. Sparks of light lit up the space around them as she realized people had their phones out, cameras pointed at them.
“Oh no,” she whispered, even as she instinctively smoothed out her high ponytail, brushing it over her shoulder as she plastered on her best smile. She should’ve seen this coming, should’ve known better. A few blissfully quiet months away from this kind of attention and she’d let her guard down.
“What the fuck?” Jordan barked.
Turning, she saw him flinch, his hand shielding his retinas from the camera’s flash. Guilt twisted her gut. Vanessa knew very little about Jordan Thompson. He spokeonly when necessary, shared about himself even less, and if there was one thing he clearly, viscerally hated, it was attention.
And now she’d shoved him into the limelight.
The tension emanating from him was thick and volatile. This was her fault, and if she didn’t fix it fast, he’d never let her hear the end of it.
Grabbing his hand, she dragged him through the throng of onlookers and dancers. “We need to get out of here.”
Voices shouted at them as they struggled through the mob of people. “Is that your new boyfriend?”
“Who’s she with?”
“Is he an NBA player?”
“She goes for anyone, doesn’t she?”
“Can we get a selfie?”
“How long have you been together?”
The questions bombarded them from all sides, causing the knot of familiar anxiety to pulse in her belly. The social media frenzy had probably already started. All press is good press she’d been told, but she’d endured enough negative publicity to last a lifetime, and she hadn’t moved to Portland for more of it.
Her heart rate spiraled out of control as the crowd grew more demanding, causing her to stumble.
Right as she was about to fall, Jordan’s powerful arm locked around her waist, lifting her upright, and curling her against his solid frame. Panicked, she let herself be wrapped up by him, burying her face against his chest.
She stayed that way until cold air broke through her warm cocoon, and she was immediately released. Unfurled like a yoga mat. She teetered before finding her footing.
“What the hell was that?” Jordan snapped.
Before she could respond, his hands closed around hershoulders, firm and steadying. Warm. His head dipped, and his eyes searched hers.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice quieter now. Rougher, like his concern hadn’t erased his anger, only buried it.
