I press a kiss against her skin, and then another.God, I wish I could kiss her properly.
But that’s going to require a conversation, and now’s not the time. Now, I want to simply revel in the fact that I have her here with me.
So I pull back and ask, “Will you stay with me tonight?”
And I swear, if kissing her feels half as good as the sight of the smile she gives me…I’m fucked.
“I’d like that.”
But first: dinner with my family.
The taxi ride is a short one, but I eat up every second of it. As soon as we’re in the car, I pull her tight against my side so there’s no space between us. I can’t stop touching her, can’t stop pressing kisses against her skin.
After the tenth one, she giggles and asks, “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re awfully touchy tonight.”
I sigh and fall back against the seat. “It’s the adrenaline. It makes me a little punch drunk for a few hours.” Peeking at Scarlett with one narrowed eye, I add, “It also means you can’t hold anything I say against me, at least until tomorrow morning.”
“Unfortunate, but I understand,” she says, amusement lacing her tone.
“I kind of like you worrying about me, though.”
She ducks her head to hide her smile, but I reach up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear to see her better.
“I also kind of wish we were going back to my hotel right now,” I admit quietly. “Room service and cuddling, maybe putting a movie on, sounds really good right about now.”
Her mouth twitches with another pretty smile. “Cuddling? I didn’t think grown men used that word.”
“They do when it means having you in their arms,” I murmur, my nose pressed to her temple.God, she smells good.
I have to force myself to sit back before I get too drunk on her. “But just to set expectations, there probably won’t be any of that later anyway.”
When she frowns in confusion, I explain, “Once we put a few burgers in me, I’ll for sure be passing out as soon as we get home. I’m not going to be great company.” Then I’m the one frowning when something occurs to me. “I just realized your time with me tonight is going to be mostly spent with my family. Shit.”
Scarlett lets out a cute breath of laughter. “First of all, I kind of figured about the passing out thing. I came to watch and support you, not to make you entertain me. Second of all…” She shrugs, a softness about her as she says, “I like your family.”
My chest warms at that. “Yeah?”
She bites down on her lip and nods.
“Try to keep that sentiment for the next hour, because I guarantee you, they’re about to grill you,” I say instead.
At that, a look of nervousness takes over. “Really? Shoot. I have no idea how to talk to parents. I didn’t think this through.”
I press a comforting kiss to her temple and pull her closer. “Relax. Just be yourself. They’ll love you.”
Her nerves don’t lessen. They actually increase by the time we reach the pub, because I can feel the way her muscles tenseas we take a seat with my family. I give her hand a reassuring squeeze under the table.
“There you two are!” my mom exclaims gleefully. “We were just talking about how good you looked in your fight tonight.”
“Well, don’t let my presence stop you,” I say, gesturing between us. “Continue.”
She rolls her eyes with a smile. “As if you need a bigger head.” Her gaze darts to Scarlett for a split-second, then back to me. “But in all seriousness, honey, you did look amazing. Did he get you with anything?”
I shake my head as I slide an arm along the back of Scarlett’s chair. “Not really. One or two kicks landed, but nothing big.”
She nods. “Okay, good.” Then she turns her attention fully to Scarlett. “In that case, I’d much rather chat with Scarlett.”
I give Scarlett a look that saysI told you so, but I’m grinning. “I don’t blame you.”
