Page 17

"Oh?" I ask, still out of breath.

He nods. "I'm not asking you to do anything you don't want to do, Lainey. I'm asking you to keep tonight going instead of letting it end in a parking lot with Carla crying about how in love she is with the idea of us."

I glance past him toward Carla, who's gone from cheek-pressed swooning to giving me the world's least subtle thumbs-up. She mouths what looks suspiciously like "go."

"She's not going to let me hear the end of this," I mutter.

"She's not going to let either of us hear the end of it. Might as well make it worth the lecture." He brings my knuckles to his mouth, brushing a kiss over them that shouldn't undo me as much as it does. "So what's it gonna be, darlin'? Real shot, or are you gonna make me stand here at midnight, freshly kissed, and watch you walk off into the new year without me?"

My heart pounds harder. During the drive down here, I told myself this trip was just about Carla, a cowboy bar and boots, and one night away from my life that had started feeling like it was on pause. I hoped for a kiss at midnight. But Jagger didn't just kiss me. He kissed me to make me forget all the reasons I might have regrets when the sun comes up.

I lean into the way his hand fits against my waist like it had been doing it for years, not hours. And I wonder how much of everything he's said to me tonight is an exaggeration versus truth.

Who cares?

It's New Year's.

I don't do one-night stands.

He arches his eyebrows.

I blurt out, "If I say yes, you have to actually behave like the gentleman you keep pretending to be."

"I'm a gentleman in public. I make no promises in private."

I pause, take a deep breath, and try to find a reason to not leave with him.

He grins like he's already won. He adds with his lips near my ear, "Gentleman, until we're through that door. After that, all bets are off."

I should have more resistance in me than this. But I don't. Not with him. So I shock myself when I hear myself say, "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Get the car, cowboy. Before I come to my senses."

He doesn't need telling twice.

The cold night air hits us like a slap as we push out of the bar, but Jagger doesn't let go of my hand. His palm is warm and callused, and he tucks me close to his side like he's already staking a claim. Snow crunches under our boots on the short walk through town. The Christmas lights twinkle in bright colors and the streetlights throw long shadows ahead of us. My heart hammers so hard, I'm sure he can hear it.

"Three blocks," he says, voice low and rough. "Think you can make it without changing your mind?"

I laugh, breathless. "Cocky bastard."

He grins down at me, that wicked curve of his mouth promising trouble. "You have no idea."

His thumb strokes over my knuckles, sending sparks up my arm. By the time we reach the narrow stairs leading up to his apartment above an old hardware store, I'm trembling and not from the cold. He unlocks the door with one hand, the other never leaving my waist, and the second it clicks shut behind us, all bets are off.

Jagger spins me against the wall, mouth crashing down on mine before I can catch my breath. It's not the slow burn from the bar. It's hungry, demanding. His tongue pushes past my lips, tasting like beer and pure sin, and one big hand slides down to grip my ass, hauling me up against the hard line of his body.

He growls against my mouth. "Fuck, Lainey. I've been dying to get my hands on you since you walked in wearing this dress and these boots." He nips my bottom lip, then soothes it with his tongue. "And damn if you don't feel better than I imagined, sugar."

My fingers dig into his shoulders. He's trouble, and I want every second of it. His hat thuds on the wood floor. I bury my hands in his hair, tugging until he makes a low, filthy sound again.

He breaks the kiss and trails his mouth down my neck, sucking hard enough to leave a mark.

"Oh Lord!" I groan.

"Gonna wreck you tonight, sweetheart. You ready for that?" His teeth graze my pulse in my neck.