Chapter 16
“It’s well past yourbedtime, princess, are you sure you’re up for a game of Wheel?”Wolfe asked, making his way into Aspen’s apartment behind her and moving toward the living room.“Is the show even on in the nine ‘o clock hour?”
“Shows how little you know,rookie,” Aspen teased, using one of the many nicknames Connor preferred to call those in his circle.“On Demand, baby.”
After changing out of her dress and into shorts and a tee, Mia grabbed a couple of bottles of water and set them on the coffee table before plunking down on the couch next to Connor.She then used the television remote to scroll through the listings and selected the latest version of the popular gameshow.
Tonight spiraled out of control from what Aspen initially thought would be a chill evening getting to know Mia’s friends to a night of barbs and chirps as they called them between some of the hottest men she’d ever seen.
All of that faded away as Connor began his discreet and lingering touches and strokes against her back and arms above the table, and all sorts of naughtiness under the table with his roaming hands across her bared skin and higher under her denim dress.
Should she have stopped him?Yes.
Was she turned on beyond reason?Absolutely.
She didn’t think of herself as an exhibitionist, but the added layer of trying to control her emotions to avoid detection while Connor’s hands worked their magic showered her with a thrill she’d never expected.
She was so bothered by the time they made their way to the outside of the restaurant, she had to physically hold herself back from threading her fingers through his golden hair that brushed against his shoulders and clutch it in her hands while she directed his kiss to her lips and lower.
Instead, he beat her to the punch...and what it punch it was.
It seemed that every time they kissed, Aspen lost her sense of reason.Hell, even time.
She may offer herself internal pep talks about focusing on her business and a busy schedule, but yet a few touches from the man with more layers than a Pillsbury Grand Biscuit and the pressure of his lips against hers had Aspen soaring into the clouds.
Aspen didn’t know exactly where tonight would go.She hoped, though.The instant she spied Connor at the table at dinner, she recalled their stolen moments and end of night kisses the last few weeks.And by some miracle she primped and primed her body complete with shaving all of those hard-to-reach places and slathering her body with herThousand Wisheslotion in preparation for a fun girls’ night out.
“Texas Roadhouse.”
“Huh?”Aspen was so fixated on ‘should she,’ onto ‘oh, hell yeah I want to,’ she didn’t realize Connor had already solved the first puzzle.
“Texas Roadhouse was the answer to the first puzzle, which I smoked you on, by the way.”Connor turned toward Aspen and perused her body head to toe, eyebrows pinched in concern.“Listen, BB, if you’re too tired...”
Without thinking, Aspen drew her fingertip to Connor’s lips to keep him from talking.
“No, I really like you here.And I’m not tired.”
That smirky smile that touched one side of his lips lifted.Connor caught her hand and laced his fingers between hers.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Connor’s icy-blue eyes soaked up every inch of Aspen as the studio audience cheered about something or other from the game.He continued to hold her hand and stroked her palm with his thumb.
