Tugging her closer, he placed his index finger under her chin, guiding her face within a breath of his. She didn’t resist, her warm body growing pliant. He dropped his voice. “Let me be absolutely clear. Sarah Nelson, I want you. More than I’ve ever wanted anyone. And I don’t mean for one or two nights. I think about you all the time, I dream about you all the time—no one else. Some of those dreams, by the way, wouldn’t make it past any censorship board I know of.
“I don’t care what your brother thinks, what my mother thinks, what your dog thinks. I only care about what you think”—his finger tapped her chest—“and about what you want. Understood?”
Her mouth formed an adorable little O. “But I thought—”
“I know what you thought, and you were wrong.” Even your badass self is wrong once in a while.
A long, slow breath escaped her, followed by, “Oh! I didn’t understand.”
“No, but now you do. So there’s something I need from you.”
She cocked an eyebrow.
“Go out with me.”
She laughed. “Go out with you where?”
“You’ll see. Then after that, I want to take you to dinner. What do you like to eat? I should know that already, shouldn’t I, since we’ve eaten nearly every meal together? Do you like champagne?” His insides were fizzing like a freshly opened bottle of the stuff—from nerves or excitement, he wasn’t sure. Didn’t matter. Right now he was revved and ready to go, the fatigue from his sleepless night forgotten. God, there was so much about her he didn’t know, and he couldn’t wait to learn it all.
“When were you thinking of doing this?”
“Today. This afternoon.”
She frowned and smiled at the same time—the look broadcast she thought he was nuts. Smart girl. “You’re kinda wound up there, Sparky.” Her fingers raked his scalp. She’d moved in a little closer—or he’d pulled her in—and her breasts brushed his chest tantalizingly.
He resisted the urge to let his head fall back and his eyes roll into the farthest reaches of their sockets. “Sorry, babe. Guess I’m a little distracted.”
“No, it’s sorta cute.”
“Cute?” Shit. Is that a good thing or bad thing? “As in ‘you remind me of an Ewok,’ or ‘you’re a five-years-younger punky kid’?”
“If those are my only choices, I’d have to go with the Ewok. They’re cuddly. Actually, though, I don’t know if you’re the cuddly type.”
“If you’re a really good girl, you’ll find out.” So will I. Never been the cuddly type before, but once I get Sarah in my arms? Before she could utter another word, he cupped the back of her head and covered her mouth with his, swallowing the rest of her words. His tongue became a heat-seeking missile, zeroing in on the seam of her lips, probing, pushing, demanding entrance. With a sighing moan, she opened and let him in, let his mouth take hers as she wrapped her arms around this neck and let out little whimpers that fired straight to his very hard cock.
Oh, sweet Jesus!
He loved tasting her, couldn’t wait to explore and taste more of her, and he deepened the kiss but kept his hands strictly in the PG zones. A chuckle rumbled through him, and Sarah pulled back, her lips a little puffy and a crooked smile on her face. “Something funny about that kiss?”
“Nothing funny about that kiss. That kiss was hot. I was just thinking I’m twenty-five, and I’m worried about getting caught by my mom.” He lightly touched the tiny diamond on her nose.
Mischief twinkled in her eyes. “You might want to double-check your curfew with her.”
“Why is that? Planning to keep me out late?”
She started twiddling the hair at the back of his head. Shivers raced along his spine. It felt so damn good! He wanted her small fingers all over him. “Or up late,” she murmured.
Hell yeah! His stomach turned a few flips, and he had to swallow before he could rasp, “Doing what, exactly?”
“If you’re a really good boy, you’ll find out.”
I want to find out right this goddamn minute. But I can wait.
He stared deep into her gold-green eyes, hoping she could read how much he meant his next words. “We can take things as slowly as you say. We’re on your timetable. Nothing has to happen tonight, tomorrow night, or next month. I want to get to know Sarah Nelson. Has she ever had a T-shirt with a bolt pattern force distribution calculator on it? Does she think the episode about building the Golden Gate Bridge was as cool as I do? Does she want kids someday while she’s running the world?” Had he ever said anything like this before in his life? Absolutely not. But he’d never been so fascinated by a woman before. No, everything was different with her, and he was barreling ahead with everything he had.
He never did anything halfway.
Chapter 27
The LBD Never Fails
Sarah’s head floated somewhere above her shoulders as she padded down the hall. Quinn was insane—in a fun, light, catch-you-up-on-high-spin-cycle sort of way. A mix of energy and spark and whimsy, and it was infectious. She grew giddy wondering where he was taking her.
A few hours later, she was cursing her hair as she raked her fingers through it. Why wouldn’t it cooperate? And why did she care? She was merely having dinner with a man she’d shared many meals with. Except she’d never gotten dressed up to eat with him before. Not to mention the man in question had morphed into someone who made her heart race just thinking about him. One with surprising layers she wanted to peel back, who was open, earnest, eager to please. A human version of Archer. Yeah, there was that charm factor, but Archer was
