Page 7 of Tiger on the Prowl

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Jay looked at Olivia’s luscious lips and had to force himself, for the umpteenth time, not to get lost in the fantasy of kissing her as if this was a real date and not an important mission he was on. But it was hard not to wonder what her lips would taste like, and how her body would mold itself to his if he embraced her, preferably without a stitch of clothing between them.

He’d already accomplished one task during dinner: Smith wasn’t her father, because she had confirmed that her father was Japanese, and Smith was clearly white. He could also rule out Smith as one of her uncles, because she had none. Nor any uncles-in-law either. But he couldn’t stop there. Smith could easily be an acquaintance or somebody she knew professionally. However, he couldn’t simply ask. For starters, he had no photo of Smith to show her, and he knew that Smith wasn’t his arch enemy’s real name either. And even if he had either or both of those pieces of information, he didn’t know Olivia well enough to know she wouldn’t run to Smith to tell him that somebody was asking questions about him. No, he had to work more clandestinely.

When Jay settled the check at the restaurant, he helped Olivia out of her chair. He didn’t let go of her hand as they left the restaurant, and she didn’t withdraw it.

“I’ll take you home,” he offered. “I’m parked a few blocks up from the store where we ran into each other.” Though their meeting hadn’t been accidental. He’d found out where she lived and watched the house from afar all day until she’d finally left to go grocery shopping.

“Do you mind walking me home? It’s actually really close,” she suggested.

“Let’s walk. It’s such a nice evening.”

The sun had set, and the streetlamps illuminated their path. When they turned off the busy main road onto one of the quieter side streets, the streets were lit more sparingly. He kept holding Olivia’s hand, liking the feel of her trusting touch. It had been a while, a long while, since he’d held hands with a woman, and he realized that he missed this innocent gesture.

“Thank you for the wonderful dinner, Jay,” Olivia said.

“I’m glad I ran into you. You’re great company.” He wasn’t lying. Talking to Olivia had been easy and fun. She was smart and kind. And she was natural. There was nothing fake about her. Whenever she’d blushed, which she did often, Jay had had to distract himself from that lovely sight and drape his napkin artfully over his lap so that she couldn’t see that he was sporting a hard-on.

Like a green teenager! Clearly, he’d gone without sex for too long.

“This is where I live,” Olivia said and pointed to a small cottage.

They walked to the door and stopped there. Olivia turned to him, still not letting go of his hand.

“I… uh…” She dropped her lids. “Would you…” Again her words died.

He sensed what she wanted to say, but he hoped that she wouldn’t, because if she invited him in, he wouldn’t have the strength to say no.

Olivia suddenly lifted her face to him, and before he could step back, she lifted herself on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips.

A curse escaped him.

Startled, Olivia shrank back, her shoulders touching the entrance door behind her. “I’m s—”

“Don’t apologize. I want to kiss you,” he said and crossed the remaining distance between them, before bracing one hand next to her head against the door. “But are you sure you want this? Because if we kiss, I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off you. It was hard enough to keep my distance during class.”

“Why would you want to keep your distance when you want to kiss me?”

“I’m quite a bit older than you. And I’m not exactly boyfriend material.” That was true, but it wasn’t the entire truth. He didn’t want to use her. In order to plant surveillance equipment in her house, he didn’t need to sleep with her. He could simply sneak in at a later time when she was out, and be done with it.

“I don’t care if you’re boyfriend material or not, Jay.” She put her hands on his hips and pulled him toward her, until his groin pressed against her stomach.

A startled gasp escaped Olivia’s lips. “Ohh.”

“Yeah, I’m hard.” He knew she could feel him. “And if you invite me into your house tonight, we both know what’ll happen. So, please tell me to go home and sleep in my own bed.”

Olivia suddenly smirked and lifted one hand to his nape. “No, you’re not going anywhere tonight but my bed.” She slanted her lips over his.

“Ah, fuck it,” he cursed and took what she offered him, kissing her mouth hungrily for a few seconds, before he ripped his lips from hers. “Keys?”

She pulled her keys from her purse, and he took them and put them in the lock, when Olivia kissed him again and slid her palm over the bulge in his jeans. He nearly leapt out of his shoes, the touch jolting him, and making him realize that the desire he felt for Olivia wouldn’t be stilled by only one fuck in just one night.

Somehow, he managed to unlock the door and slam it shut behind them. He dropped his backpack on the floor, where it landed next to Olivia’s handbag. In the darkness of the foyer, he pressed her against the door and captured her lips again, dueled with her tongue, and explored her, while he ground his cock against her stomach.

He knew she was twenty-eight years old, so what they were doing was definitely legal, but everything about Olivia screamed innocent. Yet, here he was, practically mauling her, and ready to fuck her against the door. He had to slow down, or she would change her mind and realize that having invited him in was more than she’d bargained for.

Breathing heavily, Jay severed the kiss. “Olivia, are you sure about this?”