Page 14 of Just My Luck

“Yes, he’s got this.” She smiled and held her hand out for Kit. “Good night,”

“Good night, Nova.” Kit raised her hand to his mouth once more and brushed his lips across her knuckles. “Jax.” He nodded toward me.

We made our way, sloppily, toward the doors. Once we were in the elevator, to my surprise, Nova shifted and straightened.

“How was that?” she asked, suddenly completely sober.

“What?” I blinked a few times, then stepped closer and looked her straight in the eye. “You…”

She leaned against the elevator wall and sighed. “Thank god for those two years I spent in drama class.” She chuckled. “I swear, men like him only want one thing.” She narrowed her eyes.

“You…” I was still dumbfounded. “You weren’t really drunk tonight?”

“Oh, no, I was, but thanks to you, I sobered up and realized what Kit’s game was.”

“Which was?” I asked, stupidly.

“Wasn’t that obvious?” she asked, blinking her eyes several times at me.

“Apparently not.” I chuckled and motioned for her to continue.

“To steal me away,” she answered.

“Right,” I said slowly. “From?”

She shifted to stand directly in front of me, the silk of her dress pressing lightly against my pants as she lowered her voice to an almost purr. “You,” she said. Then, to my complete shock, she lifted on her toes and kissed me.

A memory flashed in my head, quick and fast. Something… familiar. Then I disappeared into the kiss and let out everything I’d been holding inside.

The absolute madness of the last few years dissolved the second her lips met mine.

It wasn’t a tentative, questioning kiss. It was sharp, deliberate, and entirely consuming. The scent of her—faint lavender mixed with the warm, clean heat of her skin—flooded my senses, wiping out every friend rule, every boundary, and every ounce of restraint I’d forced myself to maintain since the day we’d met.

My hands acted entirely on instinct. I let go of the professional distance I’d been hiding behind. My palms cupped her jawline, my thumbs traced the sharp angle of her face as I pulled her flush against my chest. The smooth, liquid-gold silk of her dress slid beneath my fingers, impossibly soft, but all I could feel was the electric line of fire burning everywhere our bodies touched.

Nova let out a soft, muffled gasp against my mouth, her fingers tangling tightly into the fabric of my shirt, pulling me closer as if she were trying to anchor herself to the center of the earth. I deepened the kiss, letting all the possessive, territorial fury that had been building over the last few hours directly into her. I wanted her to know, past any shadow of a doubt, exactly who she belonged to. Kit Sterling didn’t have a damn chance.

The heavy ding of the penthouse elevator echoed through the small space, shattering the silence.

The doors slid open and the stark reality of the empty bedrooms hit us both at once.

Nova stayed on her toes for a beat longer, her eyes wide and searching mine under the soft lighting of the elevator. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing shallow, the armor of the friendship melted away.

I kept one hand resting firmly against the small of her back, the heat of her skin radiating through the low cut of the gold dress as I guided her out, down the hallway, and into our suite.

“Well,” Nova whispered, her voice rougher than usual, a tiny, nervous smile playing at the edge of her deep crimson lips as she looked up at me. “That definitely wasn’t what I’d expected.”

I turned and locked eyes with her, my pulse drumming a heavy, erratic rhythm against my ribs. The taste of her was still on my lips and my senses screamed for more as I unlocked our door.

The silence of the penthouse stretched tight between us, thick with the sudden, undeniable shift of the last ten seconds.

“What did you expect?” I asked, my voice scraping low and rough through the quiet room.

I didn’t let go of her waist. My hand stayed anchored against the small of her back. I needed the physical proof that she was right here, that the line we’d spent years avoiding had finally been obliterated.

She swallowed, her gaze dropping to my mouth for a split second before rising back to meet my eyes as she bit the corner of her lip. The sheer confidence she’d wielded like a weapon down in the VIP lounge was gone, replaced by something raw and completely exposed.

“I expected you to keep playing by the rules,” she whispered, her fingers still loosely gripping the fabric of my shirt. “I expected you to keep hiding behind the label of friendship.”