“Cassie.”
He smiles like he’s going to pocket the name and keep it. “Well. Pleasure to meet you, Cassie. I certainly didn’t think this was where my night was going.”
“Me neither.”
“Guess we’re both surprised, then.”
I tilt my head. “How old are you?”
It comes out casual, but the truth is, since turning thirty, I’ve been noticing things—age, maturity, the way a man carries himself.
“Twenty-nine,” he says. “You?”
I tuck a strand of damp hair behind my ear. “Just turned thirty.”
He grins. “Cool.”
Before I can say anything else, his hand skims lower—fingertips grazing the curve of my backside before settling, right on top of the denim pocket. He pulls me in, slow and sure, until our bodies are flush.
Then he kisses me.
Not tentative. Not rushed.
His lips find mine as if he’s done it before in some parallel universe. He’s warm and sure, with just enough pressure to unravel something inside me. He deepens the kiss slowly, tasting me like I’m the first sip of something forbidden.
My knees threaten betrayal.
I fist the fabric of his shirt, trying to steady myself, inhaling leather, rain, and whatever cologne clings to his skin like a sin.
When we finally part, just barely, I’m breathless.
He leans in, his voice rough with restraint.
“Damn. I could do this all night. Too bad you’ve got that no-man rule.”
“Yeah.” I swallow a hard knot in my throat. “Too…bad.”
“Maybe you can make an exception. For one night.”
I clear my throat, the words coming out low and wrecked. “Never say never.”
He doesn’t grin. Doesn’t gloat. He just looks at me like I’m a song he’s been waiting to hear his whole life.
Then, slow and steady, he leans in again.
“Look,” he murmurs, his lips brushing my ear, “I’m not trying to talk you into something you’ll regret. But if you want to dance around this all night, that ain’t my style. I don’t do halfway. Either you come home with me or you don’t. If you’re on a no-man kick, I respect the hell out of that. But I haven’t had a night like this in a long, long time.”
“Me either.”
I don’t want to admit it’s beenyearssince I’ve been with anyone else besides from Evan.
His hand slides up the curve of my hip. “And I can already think of a few very fun things I’d like to do with these curves.”
My heart’s pounding so hard, I’m sure he can feel it through my shirt.
But it doesn’t stop me, and I meet him halfway. Again.
The rain beats down as our mouths collide—thunder rolling, electricity everywhere, like the universe is daring me to say yes.
