“I meant what I said earlier. You look gorgeous in that dress,” he said in a gruff voice.
“Thank you.” She smiled, her cheeks turning pink in the way they did every time he flirted or complimented her.
It was sweet and endearing. Most women he dealt with were more assured of their sexuality and usually came on to him. He didn’t have to work hard for it. There was something captivating about Macy and her air of innocent sensuality.
He glanced down, realizing he still held her hand in his from when she’d told him about losing her parents. “So I take it you have to get home to your sister?”
To his surprise, she shook her head. “Hannah’s sleeping at a friend’s tonight.”
He hesitated and thought, what the hell? He could feel his siblings’ annoyed stare from inside and needed peace. “Want to get out of here? Go somewhere quiet and grab a bite to eat?” he asked, because she was easy to be with and wasn’t giving him shit about his life and behavior.
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth before releasing it. “Are you telling me there are places you can go and not get recognized?”
He shook his head and laughed. “Not really, though some owners and managers are stricter than others about letting people bother their customers. But as you probably know, that doesn’t always mean a damn thing. I’d say we could go to my house and order in, but you probably think I’m the big bad wolf,” he said wryly.
Her brown eyes met his. “You might be the big bad wolf, but I’m a big girl who can handle you,” she said, surprising him.
He rose to his feet and pulled her up with him. “Let’s get out of here,” he said. “Damon and Evie are gone, and I don’t want to deal with the family. Any reason you need to go back inside?”
“I can touch base with Bri tomorrow. I’m good.”
“Follow me to my place? I’m about twenty minutes from here.”
He watched as she visibly drew a deep breath. “Relax, Macy. It’s just dinner.”
She grinned. “Says the big bad wolf.”
Chuckling, they walked around front to their cars.
* * *
Macy had lost her mind. Somewhere between walking into the Prescott home and sitting down with Jaxon, her brain had retreated and her libido had taken over. Just dinner didn’t have to be just dinner and they both knew it.
As she followed Jaxon’s black Range Rover in her Volkswagen Jetta, she knew she was out of her depth, but she wasn’t turning around or changing her mind. Driving through the luxury neighborhood, she thought she might throw up. And as she pulled into his driveaway, the house the size of a mansion and containing a four-car garage, she figured she’d used up the bulk of her courage getting here. What happened next was all up to her hormones.
After parking, they walked into his house through the garage, where she saw one vintage car, a sports convertible, and an empty spot. Not being a car person, she couldn’t recognize each model but had no doubt they were expensive.
“Let’s go to the den. We can hang out and I’ll order dinner on an app from my phone. How’s Chinese food?”
“Love it,” she said, ignoring the fact that she was in a fancy dress and high heels. Those she kicked off, leaving them on the floor beside her.
“Anything in particular you want to eat?”
She rolled her shoulders. “I’m not a spicy fan. I love pork dumplings and an egg roll. Anything else I’m good to go.”
“I can work with that.” He led her to a huge room with – no surprise – a wall-to-wall-size screen and a massive couch with recliners on either end and gestured for her to sit.
He settled in beside her and turned his attention to ordering dinner.
When that was finished, he moved the remote, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Is that screen so you can see yourself life-size?”
Chuckling, he faced her, one arm over the back of the sofa. “Yes, I’m that arrogant.” He shook his head. “No. It’s that I’m a guy and I like big things.”
She laughed, enjoying his sense of humor. She also couldn’t miss the sexual innuendo in his comment, which led her to wonder about the size of his package beneath the trousers.
Which caused her to squirm in her seat, and she decided it was time to change the subject. “So tell me. What’s it like playing ball in front of a crowd?”
He leaned close, and the smell of his cologne wrapped around her, the scent of musk and man arousing her beyond belief.
“It’s a rush like you wouldn’t believe. The roar of the people, the cheers, knowing you can give them what they want.”
In his eyes, she saw how much he loved the game. “I take it you have to be a little arrogant to play pro? And believe in yourself that much?”
“You do,” he admitted.
The food arrived and they ate in the family room, casually, plates on their laps, telling stories and avoiding her problems with her sister and his issues with his siblings. With the world outside his house, she fell under his masculine, seductive spell, the underlying sexual tension never dissipating, and if Macy had second thoughts about coming here on the ride over, they never surfaced again while sharing a meal. Or as they cleaned up together.
And when he turned to her, a predatory gleam in his eye, she knew exactly what he desired and had every intention of giving it to him.
He met her gaze. “You can leave and we can call it a fun night or—”
Before he could finish his sentence, her lips met his in a sizzling melding of mouths she’d been waiting for all evening. If she was going to do this, there would be no regrets or looking back, and she would enjoy every second in this hot athlete’s arms.
He took over without hesitation, backing
