“I kinda like it here.”

“I thought we were having a platonic dinner?”

“We were. Until you started to think dirty thoughts about me.”

“You’re impossible!” Lily shrieks, but there’s still a smile on her face, even though she tries to disguise it.

I lean down slightly, forcing her back to arch a bit. “On second thought, don’t tell me.” I pause, my eyes dropping to look at her plump full mouth. Her lips part slightly as she watches me. Returning my eyes to hers, I continue, “I’d rather stay right here.”

She sucks in a breath and I lean down closer. Only this time she doesn’t arch anymore, so we’re face to face. “You like me here. This close to you. Pinning you so you can’t move. Don’t you?”

She gasps, but averts her eyes.

“Lily.” I say her name sternly. Her eyes jump back to mine. “Answer me.”

She looks conflicted, but whispers her truth anyway, “Yes.”

“You have till three, but I’m kissing you, crossing the line from business to pleasure or not, unless you stop me.”

Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t say anything. We’re still pressed tightly against each other, there’s no way she can miss the erection testing the limits of the seams of my jeans.

“3,” I begin my countdown.

Her eyes widen more.

“2.”

Her mouth opens but no words tumble out.

“1.” The second the number leaves my mouth, I kiss her. Her lips may have begun to open to protest, but I don’t give her a chance to get the word out.

At first it’s gentle, our lips softly touching and tongues beginning to explore each other. Until I feel her push her br**sts against my chest, a silent affirmation that she wants the kiss as much as I do. Then I can’t get enough fast enough. The hand that was gently weaving through her thick blond hair, clenches a fistful and I tug, forcing her head back more so I can deepen the kiss. Lily moans in response to the harshness of my action and it makes me god damn wild. Pilfering her mouth, pushing harder against her, I reach down and grab one leg firmly, lifting it and guiding it to wrap around my waist. Her other leg follows without my direction.

Her thighs spread wide, legs wrapped around my waist, the heat between us blends to the point of combustion. There’s fire pulsating through my veins, and my mind and body join together with only one purpose. This kiss. It consumes me as quickly as it started. Her smell, her moan, the feel of her luscious body pressed hard against mine. I have no idea how long it lasts, but however long it is, it’s definitely too damn short. Breathless, we both come up for air. But I’m not ready to let go just yet. I take her bottom lip, the one that has been taunting me since I met her, between my teeth and nibble on it. When my nip turns harsher, she makes a sound that is a cross between a gasp and a moan, and it takes every ounce of my self-control to not carry her into my bedroom while keeping our mouths locked so she can’t object to my ramming myself into her.

As difficult as it is, I force my self-control back. Eventually I release her mouth and we stay quiet, both of us panting uncontrollably, our foreheads pressed against each other, eyes closed, until our breathing returns to normal.

Lily’s the first one to speak, although her voice is more of a whisper. “You didn’t count from one to zero.”

“I’m a go on one guy, Angel.” I brush a lock of hair that has fallen free from her braid back behind her ear.

She smiles, but I see her senses are starting to flood back. Whatever is holding her back, regains its grip on her mind. “We can’t, Jax,” she whispers, her voice sounding as disappointed to say the words as it does for me to hear them spoken.

We’re both silent for a minute, both of us staring into each other’s eyes. As if on cue, the sound of one of our phones buzzing on the nearby table catches both our attention.

“Yours or mine?” I ask without moving. She looks around me to check. Her phone is jumping around the table, the vibration making a tapping sound against the wood.

“Mine.” Her face saddens. Before her phone can even stop buzzing, a second buzz begins, signaling my phone now has a caller too. Looking over at the table and then back to me, the corner of her lips turning upward, a hint of amusement showing, she says, “And yours.”

Breaking the tension the kiss left in its wake, we both laugh, neither of us even attempting to answer the calls. I step back a little, not wanting to force her into something, even though her body seems to be doing the talking. Strands falling loosely from her braid, her cheeks flushed and lips swollen from my kiss, she looks beautiful. Not ready for her to leave, fearing she will run out on me again like she did last night if I don’t give her some space, I decide my original plan still might be fun.

“You think you can outrun a few photographers?”

She smiles, perking up at the thought of an adventure. “Absolutely.”

***

The evening crowd has dwindled, only a handful of diehard paparazzi still wait, hanging around the darkened gym. Both donning sweatshirts pulled up covering half our faces, I tell Lily to go right and I go left when we open the door and make a run for it. Lily locks the door before she leaves, allowing the photographers to begin snapping pictures and shouting out questions to her. I make a mad dash left, half of the photographers following me.

Ten minutes later we meet at our planned location, both of us able to lose the photographers on the chase.

“Nice work,” I say, impressed at her ability to lose people during a chase.

“Not the first time I’ve had to run to get away from someone.” Lily smiles mischievously, there’s a whole story there I want to hear about. But for now, we need to keep moving, put more distance between the mice and the cheese.

We walk a block, both of us spotting one of the photographers that was giving chase on the other side of the street, before he spots us. I grab Lily’s hand, changing direction and increasing our pace to a jog. “Come on.”

Chapter 11

Lily

We weave in and out of streets for almost half an hour, until Jax is comfortable no one is following us anymore. Our fingers still woven and hands tightly entwined, I’m not even paying attention to where we are heading. Content in easy conversation that comes effortlessly, and the feeling of Jax’s big hand meshed with mine, I stop as we arrive at where Jax must have been heading all along. Bethesda Fountain.

“Now you won’t have that one to use as a lie anymore,” Jax says with a grin, pulling me toward the fountain.