He doesn’t even finish the sentence before people are on their feet, cheering and whooping in an overwhelming show of support.
“Yeah, I’d go with the beautiful women too.” Tiny winks, and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. “Like we end any night here at The Duel when these nutsos grace us with their presence”—he shoots a glance at our table—“it’s time to give my guys a break while we enjoy a little ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.”
Mels gives me a curious look as we all join them on stage. “Um…”
I wrap an around her waist and bend to place a kiss on her neck, breathing in her sweet bubblegum scent. “You’ll see, Sweet Potato.” My hand skims down her arm then I link our fingers. “Sit with me.”
I lead her to the bench of the white piano, crack my knuckles, and stretch my fingers over the keys. Across from us, Andy and Ian take the bench at the black piano.
“Jase?” Mels looks at me like I have two heads.
“Hope you know your Queen, baby.”
“Of course I do.” Her gaze drops to my hands then back to my face. “You…you play the piano?”
“Oh, baby.” I lean in, my lips brushing the shell of her ear as I speak. “I have all sorts of hidden talents.” I pull back and meet her hazy eyes. “Don’t worry—I’ll show you a bunch of them when we get home.” I emphasize my declaration with a wink.
That blush I adore makes an appearance.
Our time at the bar might be coming to an end, but the night is far from over.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Did you have fun tonight?” Jase trails kisses along my neck, helping me out of my coat.
I’m buzzing. This night has already been more than anything I’ve ever experienced.
“I did. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of it before.”
“The Duel is one of the city’s best kept secrets.”
It’s not the only one with a secret. You can’t avoid it forever, Mels. You’ll end up with just your parents.
I shake off those negative thoughts. This night has been storybook perfect, and I don’t want anything to taint it.
I wrap my arms around his neck and push up onto the tips of my toes to kiss him for all I’m worth.
“I’m not taking any chances,” he says when I break our kiss at the sound of the lock clicking. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him use the deadbolt before. “We’ve had more than our fair share of interruptions. Not today, Satan.”
I drop my head to his shoulder, giggling. He’s so ridiculous.
Suddenly I’m in his arms, my legs automatically hooking around his waist, and we’re on the move. I have no idea how we make it to his room without wiping out.
He continues to carry me until we stop next to the massive bed facing floor-to-ceiling windows that match those in the living room. I slide down, rubbing against every one of his delicious muscles along the way.
He groans, rocking his hips into me.
“Now…” His hands slip under my sweater, cupping my shoulders, and he nudges it to fall until it pools at my feet. “I want nothing more than to spend the rest of the night burying myself inside you, but I need to know if you’re ready to take this step.”
I press onto my toes again, circling my arms around his neck and threading my fingers into the hair at the back of his head. “I think the real question is are you ready? You talked a big game while you were away this week—are you sure you can live up to the expectations you’ve set?”
His smile turns wolfish, and the flutter in my belly makes me wonder if maybe I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.
“Oh, baby.” His eyes darken to that familiar green. “I’m gonna rock your world.”
Projecting more confidence than I feel, I nip at the underside of his jaw and whisper, “Prove it.”
I expect to be thrown on the bed and ravished, but—like he’s consistently been doing—he surprises me.
As if he has all the time in the world, he slowly circles me, curling his body around me from behind. One of his feet taps against one of mine until I spread them and widen my stance. He cups a hand over my hip, pulling me tighter into him, the hard length of him pressing into me.
I feel him everywhere.
Even through our clothes, I can make out the bumps and ridges of his abdominals as he holds me so tight. I breathe in the familiar scent of soap and ice as my hair is brushed to the side, his lips finding the sensitive spot revealed on the back of my neck.
An electric current zaps down my spine and I instinctively arch my back, my ass rubbing against the erection I want inside me.
Jase groans, his teeth nipping at my back almost in warning, but as he continues to trail kisses, I can’t stop the pop of my lower body. The contrast between his soft lips and the scruff of his five o’clock shadow is too much.
He licks across my pulse point, my heart rate pounding beneath the drag of his tongue.
“Jase,” I plead—for what, I’m not sure.
“I’m just getting started, baby.” An arm drapes over my shoulder and his hand disappears inside the V-neck of my shirt. With zero hesitation, he pushes the lace cup of my bra down, cupping my breast in his hand. My nipple pebbles beneath his fingers as he thumbs it to life before repeating the same maddening process on the other one until both breasts are free from the lace but supported by the underwire.
The hand on my hip tightens its grip to the point of bruising.
The fingers of the hand inside my shirt stretch until he has both my nipples in his maddening caress.
I guess it’s a good thing Jase calls me baby, because with the way I can’t stop the arch of my back and the movement of my ass, I’m pretty much dirty dancing on his dick.
I try to spin in his arms, but he stops me.
“Jase.” I let out a frustrated growl.
“It’s still my turn.” He chuckles into my neck when I growl again, the vibration of the sound making my clit beg for the attention it’s not getting.
“How is that fair?”
I don’t even care that I sound like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Though our phone sex was hot, I hated that I couldn’t touch him. Being denied now is the worst form of torture.
“I never said anything about playing fair, baby.” He removes his hand from my shirt to peel it from my body. “But I will go tit for tat with you.”
The pile of clothes on the floor continues to grow as his sweater is added.
“That’s better,” he says on a sigh, the bare skin of his torso burning mine with each brush of my heaving chest.
The cold air of the room makes my already hard nipples tighten further.
“God, these are even more perfect in person.” He cups a breast in each hand, lifting them as if testing the weight.
I moan, my head falling back on his chest. He hasn’t even touched me below the belt and I’m close to coming.
The ball bearing of his piercing drags down my neck as he moves his hands. Instead of going for the clasp of my bra, he gets to work on my jeans.
The button opens with a flick of his fingers, and I can’t hear the hiss of the zipper over the pounding of the blood in my ears.