Cool as a cucumber, Millie sucked up the ends of her noodles, then wiped the corner of her mouth with her pinkie. “Yes, the sex. We like the sex.”
He saw no reason to argue the statement, so he inclined his head in acknowledgment. “Yes, we do.”
“I like it a lot.” She speared some duck with her fork, then shoved it in her mouth. He couldn’t help but stare as she chewed. She swallowed the bite, and he jerked his attention away from her lips. Millie was watching him, a knowing gleam in her eyes. “Wanna have some more, or are we done for the night?”
“Oh, I wanna have more.”
She nodded. “Good. I thought so, but I wanted to be sure we were on the same page.”
“Yeah, we’re on the same page.”
Her smile blossomed into the real deal, and suddenly the thought of dropping to his knees in front of her didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Still, if they were going to play this game, he wanted to know all the rules.
“Where do we fall on sleeping together?”
She snickered but avoided his gaze. “I thought we covered that. Weren’t you paying attention?”
Her evasion told him she was torn on the topic. The realization pleased him. He had some leverage after all. He could fall back a little and let her come at him. “I wasn’t speaking euphemistically.”
“Ooh, using the vocabulary words, are we?”
All thought of dinner abandoned, he crossed his arms over his chest, hoping he struck a pose of casual nonchalance. “I can drive you home after, if you want, but I’d like to know up front so I don’t get too comfortable.”
“And here I was thinking about what remarkable powers of recovery you seem to have.”
“Stamina too,” he said without missing a beat. “If you decide to stay the night, I’ll prove how remarkable my powers are.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt them or you.”
He watched carefully as she pushed the food around on her plate. The conversation seemed to have robbed her of her appetite. But then, Millie looked up, and the heated hunger he saw in her eyes forced him to amend the thought. She’d lost any appetite for food, but she was still interested in him. Thank God.
“Why don’t we plan on you taking me home tonight? I don’t have a change of clothes with me, and I prefer to avoid doing the walk of shame.” She wrinkled her nose, then flashed a weak smile as she set her plate aside. “The dean of the English department lives next door, and that old fart gossips more than my great-aunt Maude.”
Skirting the edge of the island, he kept his gaze locked on her. “Do you really have a great-aunt Maude?”
She bobbed her head. “Yep. She’s ninety-four, has three boyfriends, and cheats at canasta.”
He stepped within reach, hooked a hand around her waist, and pulled her up against him. “So you’re a chip off the old block.”
She swatted his chest. “Don’t let her hear you call her old.”
She smiled down at the hand resting on his arm. The inexplicable urge to make her swat him again swept over him with such ferocity he almost laughed out loud. It was a feeble move unworthy of the hellcat in his arms, and he loved it. His smile was irrepressible.
“I’m calling you trouble.”
Millie beamed up at him. “Well, I think we both know you’re probably right.”
“I’m feeling the need to try to teach you a lesson.”
Finely arched brows rose. “You can try.”
The words were scarcely out of her mouth before he bent down and hoisted her up over his shoulder. Formidable as she was, the woman hardly weighed more than his father’s overburdened golf bag. Delighting in her squeal and squirms, he stalked toward the master bedroom. By the time they crossed the threshold, Millie had stopped writhing and started cooing.
“Oh, you’re so big and strong, Coach Handsome. Promise you won’t hurt me. I’m only a girl,” she added with a phony giggle.
She’d pitched her voice high and tried for breathy. The effect was something between a defective foghorn and his ex-wife in a wheedling mood. The combination set his teeth on edge. “Stop.”
The order made her laugh, but it was her real laugh. Throaty and full. Pure pleasure rolled over him like summer thunder, low and rumbly. The sound reverberated through him, making the hairs on his arms stand on end and his dick harden. He stepped up the pace, hoping to get to the bed before his desire for this obstinate woman hobbled him. He made it in the nick of time.
Ty dropped her onto the bed, and she spread her arms wide across the mattress as she scuttled to find a more dignified position, laughing the whole time. The sound of her happiness bounced off his bedroom walls and cut his legs out from under him. He fell on her with a grin and a growl, hoping to sustain the carefree, playful air between them. His fingers skimmed over her rib cage, and she wriggled beneath him. He planted a loud, sucking kiss to the side of her neck. She yelped another laugh, this one accompanied by a protest so absurdly lacking in vehemence, it might as well have been an invitation. He teased the tender flesh with the tip of his tongue, and her giggle segued into a gasp.
Millie planted both hands on his shoulders and pushed. His mouth curved into a smile, and he gave enough resistance to make her increase her efforts. He wanted her giving one hundred and ten percent this time around. No rush to the finish line. This time, he wanted their
