He chuckled, such a warm…real…sound that she couldn’t help laughing with him. She looked up at him as he leaned a little closer, the bulge in his jeans still as evident as ever, and rested one hand on the cabinet above her.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said softly. “If it will make you feel better, I could promise to bite you back at some point in the future.”
She felt a tingle between her legs at that. Most of her might not like the idea of biting, but there was at least one part that was interested.
“So, you’re down with a second date,” she asked. “Even after all this?”
He nodded, his eyes dancing. “Definitely. And don’t worry. I was just messing with you about that biting thing. We can do a normal, old-fashioned date the next time if you want. No biting required or expected.”
Selena gazed at him, feeling a little overwhelmed with all the things she was feeling right then. The bite—and the blood—had thrown her for a loop, but she was still crazy about this man. She had a ton of instincts screaming at her right then, telling her he was seriously into her, too. As in the kind of serious that changed everything.
“I’m not sure how normal and old-fashioned it might be, but I sort of committed myself to being a wingwoman tomorrow night for Becca. She’s going out with a guy she’s never met before, so she’s meeting him at a club in the Main Street Entertainment District and asked me to be there for her. You want to come as my plus one?”
It sounded like a god-awful idea the second the words were out of her mouth, but Jayden smiled. “That sounds good to me. You want me pick you up here or meet you there?”
She considered the logistics for a moment before answering. “The plan was for me to ride with Becca, so she could use me as an excuse if she wanted to bail early. Would you mind meeting us there? I’ll text you the name of the club as soon as I find out which one it is. If everything works out well between Becca and this guy, I can slip out with you.”
He nodded. “Sounds good. I’m looking forward to it.”
She pulled his head down for a kiss, wondering how he could get any better. Nobody liked the idea of a double date with a couple they didn’t know, but Jayden agreed without a second thought. Their tongues tangled for a while, those crazy tremors starting back up between her legs. It didn’t help that she still had her ankles locked behind his back or that his shaft was still as hard as concrete in his jeans.
Jayden was the one who finally pulled back. He traced one long finger down her jawline to her neck, sending a delicious shiver through her. “I guess I’d better go, or I might not get out of here at all tonight.”
Selena reluctantly unwrapped her legs from his waist, letting him help her off the counter, then walked with him to the front door, wondering when she’d taken her shoes off. She remembered having them on earlier but found them tossed carelessly aside near the couch.
At the door, he turned to face her. “I had a really good time. Dinner was amazing, and dessert was even better.”
She smiled, standing up on her tiptoes to hook her arms around his neck. “I’m glad you had fun,” she murmured against his mouth as she stole one more quick kiss. His mouth was seriously addicting. “I did, too.”
“Tomorrow night, then?” he asked.
She nodded as she stepped back. “I’ll text you tomorrow with the club name and the exact time.”
Jayden was half out the door when she caught his arm, making him stop and turn back. “Before I forget. Thanks for telling me about your father. And for talking to me about the gangs. It helped.”
He smiled, leaning in for another kiss that almost had her following him out the door. “I’m glad. We can talk more about it tomorrow if you want.”
She watched him walk down the hall, only closing her apartment door after he’d disappeared around the corner. Then she wandered back into her place, still a little wobbly on her feet. That had been some date. And he was right. The dessert had been even better.
She considered cleaning up the kitchen but then reminded herself it wasn’t like she had anything to do in the morning. Besides, she was surprisingly worn out now that Jayden had left and the adrenaline that had been flooding her body earlier was gone. Cleaning the kitchen could wait, she thought as she headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
Her tiny black panties were embarrassingly wet, and she had to rinse them before tossing them in the hamper. Jayden had gotten to her like nobody’s business. Even now, ten minutes after he’d left, her body was still humming.
Selena jumped in the shower and rinsed off, resisting the urge to let the spray linger in that one particular spot for too long or to let her mind wander to thoughts of how nice it had been to sit on Jayden’s lap. If she started down that road, she wouldn’t get to sleep for a long time. And she really was tired. Even more tired than she’d been the night before after her crazy day at the school and hospital. She guessed Dr. Pham had been right. The stress of the shooting had taken more out of her than she thought.
She was brushing her teeth a little while later when she thought about the whole biting thing again. She replayed the moment in her head, remembering how Jayden had smelled, how he’d tasted against her mouth. It had been delectable, but that didn’t explain why she’d bitten him. It was a little unsettling to think she could bite hard enough to draw blood.
She smiled at herself in the mirror, peeking through the toothpaste and trying to understand how she’d even done it. There was nothing in the mirror that explained it. Her teeth weren’t that sharp.
But as she stood there turning this way and that, looking at canine teeth that weren’t nearly large enough to make the holes she’d seen, another disturbing thought occurred to her. The blood had freaked her out, but she’d enjoyed sinking her teeth into the tastiest hunk of man she’d ever met. It was bizarre to think something like that, but it was true. Even now, thinking about the possibility of doing it again had her body tingling like crazy.
She abruptly considered the promise he’d made to bite her back someday. That was when her body started to really heat up. She was going to need another shower—a cold one this time. What the heck was wrong with her? It was bad enough getting aroused at the idea of biting Jayden. Now she wanted him to bite her back?
Maybe she really did need to see a therapist.
Chapter 8
“I’m surmising from the stupid grin on your face that your date with Selena last night went well?”
