Page 18 of The One Timer

“That’s a wrap, Tony. You can bring me the bill.”

I’m still busy sighing in relief when Chase turns back to me with the kind of look that tells me all about his intentions and that maybe we’re on the same track about later tonight. His eyes are glassy and half-lidded, and his lips are slightly parted.

“About later,” he says, “are you sure you weren’t thinking about how special we can make our celebration if we were to continue the night?” His voice is hoarse, scraping my already raw nerves, ripping away whatever sense, decency, or fear I have.

“What did you have in mind?”

“How about this for starters?” He lowers his face until his mouth is separated from mine by only a breath. Then he touches his lips to mine, barely a caress, and those nerves of mine snap, and it feels like something in me bursts open.

My arms come up around his neck, and my hand goes to the back of his head, my fingers frolicking in his thick hair, running amok, while I press his mouth back to mine. And, this time, the kiss is no soft caress. It’s a sumptuous meal where we devour each other, where my tongue and his tangle together tasting, and my nerves are on fire, igniting every cell inside me, especially the ones between my legs.

But as instantaneously as the kiss combusts, it ends, the fire put out by a splash of cold reality when Tony returns.

“Here’s the check. Take your time,” he says, then winks. Damn. If I’m not blushing now, the heat rushing to my face must mean I need to get to the emergency room pronto.

Chase flips a credit card onto the table with the check and says in a low voice, his arm still around me, our bodies still tight together, “I’ll need a minute if you don’t mind.” He gives me a wry look.

I nod and clear my throat. So many things pop into my head that I want to say, that I want to ask him, and I have no idea why my scrambled brain settled on what it did despite my best efforts to think clearly.

“Do you date much?” I ask. What is wrong with me? I know the answer. Do I need to hear it from him? Will his admission somehow make the night even more special?

He chuckles. “Not exactly. I’m all about hockey. Very serious about being the best. The only woman I see on the regular is my grandma.” He flashes a smile, and I feel like a stick of butter in a hot pan, losing all my edges, all my shape, and the sense of who I’m supposed to be.

He looks at his plate, then back up at me. “Tonight is a one-timer. Has to be. I meant it when I said I was all-in with hockey.” He pauses while I hold my breath, taking the punch of his words on the chin and feeling it all the way down to my gut.

I nod.

“But that doesn’t mean it can’t be one hell of a special night.”

“Let’s make the most of our one-timer,” I say. And I mean it in every sense of the word, especially the naughty sense. Merry would be proud. And I shiver with anticipation as his eyes go a touch glassy, and he looks like a drooling wolf. Apparently, he got my meaning.

Outside, the night air is nippier than it was earlier when we arrived, but his arm around me and the protection of his large body shield me from the cold.

We walk along the nearly deserted sidewalk for a second. Taking my cue from him, I remain quiet while he hesitates, though he clearly has something to say. He turns to me, his eyes dark with that special intensity that makes me shiver.

“Let’s spend the night at your place,” he says in a gravelly voice that lights up my nerves.

I stumble, and he catches me, his hands strong and his arms wrapping me against his hard body. Inside my head, my conscience screams at me that I can’t possibly bring him home to my aunt’s apartment where I sleep on the couch.

He stands there with me still in his arms, and all his strength pours into me, reassuring me. His dark eyes hold mine while his statement hangs in the air, expecting a response.

“Um…I can’t bring you home. I don’t live alone.”

Chapter Seven

CHASE

“No problem. We could go to a hotel...” I frown because that doesn’t sound right. “Better yet, how about if we go to my place? It’s not that far. Less than an hour at this time of night.”

She hesitates, studying me like I’m the Dead Sea scrolls with all the answers to the mysteries of life.

I move closer and lower my mouth to her ear. “I just want to spend more time with you. I don’t want our one-timer night to end just yet.”

She lets out a deep sigh. “Neither do I. Your place, it is.”

Tightening my hold, I lower my mouth to hover close to hers and whisper, “You can tell me your life story because I want to know everything there is to know about you, Emery. You fascinate me. You make me throw caution to the wind, and I’ve never felt so exhilarated.” I tell her what’s on my mind without reservation because I feel so sure about how authentic she is. I’ve never been so ready for a wild one-night stand in my life.

She moans into my mouth as I cover her lips and kiss her deeply like I want to reach her soul and make my mark there forever, like I want this kiss, this thing between us, to be remembered.