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If Nicole wanted to step away—from him or from what might happen tonight—he’d have to let her go, even if every selfish part of him was dying to hold on tighter. But she stayed exactly where she was, still looking up at him and breathing just as hard as he was. With any other woman, Drew would’ve trusted what he saw and made his move. He wanted Nicole too fucking badly to read this wrong.

She let her heels drop to the porch. Her free hand ran down his chest and grazed his abs, and he couldn’t stand there wanting her for another second. Drew kissed her, meaning to take it slow—one kiss, maybe two, giving her room to decide where it went from there. Then her lips parted under his, and the soft sound she made went straight to his dick. Her other hand, purse and all, curled around the back of his neck and pulled him closer.

He kept his arm firm around her waist and backed her up to the door, careful not to slam her into it. She was warm and soft under that thin dress, pressed right up against him, and she gave him back everything he gave her. Her tongue slid against his, and her fingers pushed into his hair and held on when he tipped her head and kissed her deeper.

This was what he’d wanted from the moment he saw her in Waldenbooks, standing there with her stack of books and pretending she hadn’t noticed him. At first it was just that she was beautiful. Then she’d told him no, and just like that she was a challenge. He’d wanted to be the guy she finally said yes to and have her naked and writhing under him. He still wanted that.

But getting Nicole into bed wasn’t the whole thing anymore, and that was where the trouble started. Now he wanted the non-date she still hadn’t officially agreed to, and another hour-long phone call, with all those easy stretches when neither of them said anything, and long drives just for the hell of it while she told him about her art. He even wanted to look into the stands before a game and know she was there for him.

And if Nicole ever got into trouble again, he wanted to be the first person she called. Drew tightened his arm around her and kissed her harder, trying to drown all of that out with the only part of this he actually understood.

She caught his bottom lip between hers and sucked on it before grazing it with her teeth. That was it for whatever good sense he had left. Fisting a hand in her hair, he yanked her head back and took her mouth again, rougher this time. She moaned into the kiss.

Drew had kissed plenty of women, and he’d fucked plenty too. He knew how to do both without letting either mean a damn thing. But he was holding Nicole like somebody might try to take her away the second he loosened his grip. If he didn’t get his shit together, he was going to come in his pants before he even got inside her. The thought should’ve made him laugh. Instead, another one hit him so fast and clear that he almost pulled away.

Nicole could be the one.

What the fuck? He’d known her a little over two weeks, and now his brain was throwing the one at him?

Before he could get any deeper into his own head, Nicole broke the kiss. She stayed pressed against him, close enough that her lips brushed his when she spoke. “Do you want to come inside?”

“Fuck yes.” Drew dropped his mouth to her neck, kissing his way down to the cleavage that little black dress showed off while she reached into her purse for her keys.

Chapter Nineteen

Nicole wanted his mouth back on hers, his hands everywhere, and him inside her. That was the only thought let in her head as she tried to fit the key into the lock without dropping it.

But sleeping with Drew would change whatever this was between them. After tonight, there’d be no going back to pretending he hadn’t gotten under her skin or that any of this could still be harmless. Nicole knew that. She just didn’t care enough to stop.

Behind her, Drew stood with one arm wrapped around her waist and his chest warm against her back. He dipped his head until his mouth was right at her ear. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“I know.”

The lock finally turned. While Drew bent to scoop up the heels she’d left beside the door, Nicole pushed it open, and they stepped inside. The house was dark except for the light above the stove. Ryan’s jacket was still tossed across the couch, which meant he and Bailey were somewhere in the house. Great. She and Drew were going to have to be quiet.

After setting her heels beside the door, Drew closed and locked it behind them. For a second, they stood looking at each other. Then Nicole tossed her clutch and keys onto the couch, caught the front of his hoodie, and pulled him down to her.

Drew’s tongue pushed into her mouth, and she sucked on it like she’d been waiting all night to. He groaned against her lips, and his big hands slid beneath her dress and closed around her ass, squeezing hard.

She needed him. Now.

Nicole grabbed his hand and led him through the living room and down the hall. At her bedroom door, she turned him so his back was against it and kissed him again, her palm sliding over the front of his jeans. He was so hard and thick under the denim. And the second she stroked him, his hips pushed into her hand.

When they finally broke apart, Drew lifted her chin and looked at her. Before he could ask, Nicole answered. “I want you. All of you.”

For a moment, he held her face between his hands, and Nicole felt like she had nowhere to hide. There was heat in his eyes, plenty of it, but the way he was looking at her reached a part of her no one else ever had. For once, she didn’t pull back.

Then he kissed her, slowly enough to make her forget they were still standing outside her bedroom. By the time he lifted his head, her knees felt loose, and it took her a second to remember the doorknob was right behind him. She slipped one hand around his hip and found it.

With the door open, Nicole pressed her palm to his chest and steered him inside, shutting it behind them. She nudged the dimmer up just enough to see.

Drew kissed the corner of her mouth and followed her jaw to her neck, pushing one hand into her hair to tip her head aside. His mouth was warm and open on her skin, and the faint scrape of his stubble made every kiss sharper. When his teeth caught her gently at the base of her neck and his tongue soothed the spot, a moan got away from her.

In the quiet house, even that little sound seemed loud enough to carry through the walls.

Nicole put a hand on his chest. “Hold on. One second.”

She crossed to the stereo on her dresser and grabbed one of her slow-jam compilation CDs. There was no chance in hell she was making it through tonight quietly, and she didn’t want to spend the whole time trying. She popped the disc into the player, skipped ahead to “Red Light Special,” and turned it up until the music filled the room.