Page 10 of Breakaway

“No. I mean…” He looked confused. “I’m not kidding about not usually being attracted to cute little blondes. But you’re…cute.”

She laughed. Shook her head. Wished for another drink.

The crazy thing was, he was exactly the type of guy she was attracted to. Not just physically—big guys had always appealed to her, maybe because she was small—but she also liked his smile, his wide mouth and how it tilted up at the corners even when he wasn’t smiling, the fact that he was gorgeous but wasn’t all hung up on himself and the most important thing—he’d dumped a supermodel!

Dammit. What the hell was going on here? She looked around a bit frantically, now hoping Delise would show up and rescue her. But Delise was nowhere in sight. And Jase was right next to her, touching her, his big body radiating heat. He smelled good, like he’d just showered, a fresh masculine scent of shampoo and men’s shower gel, and a faint shadow of beard shaded his jaw. Yum. She wanted to bite him.

Whoa. She blinked. Her mind was in the gutter. What kind of responsible, big sister/school teacher was she?

He put a big hand on her cheek, cupping it, and she melted into a liquid puddle of lust on the red leather banquette. “You’re sweet,”he said, almost sounding surprised. “Okay. We’ll just stay here for a while. We can talk here.”

She nodded.

“You’re a free woman,” he said with a sexy smile. “And I’m a free man. We should both be celebrating. Why not together?”

She took in a long, slow breath. “Why not?” She smiled back at him.

“Here’s the deal,” he said. “I’m not ready to settle down. I like you. We could have fun together.”

“We could.” Oh lord. What had she just said? She closed her eyes briefly, then focused on him and firmed her lips. “I’m not ready to settle down either. I just got my freedom. I’ve had enough responsibility. All I want is to have some fun.”

Even as she said the words, a small niggle of guilt wormed its way into her conscience. Was it true? Was that really all she wanted? She’d been mature, responsible, dependable for so long…did she even know how to just have fun?

She wanted to find out.

“Perfect.” His thumb traced over her bottom lip. He was watching her mouth again and it was so hot and sexy everything inside her contracted hard. She knew her panties were damp. She knew it. “Let’s have some fun, Remi.”

And he kissed her. His mouth was warm, his lips firm on hers and when his tongue licked over her bottom lip she moaned helplessly.

Delicious pleasure rippled through her in waves and she put out a hand and rested it on his arm, the wool of his suit jacket soft and warm beneath her palm. Her skin tingled and tightened and that heavy liquid ache between her legs intensified.

His fingers slid around into her hair, cupped the back of her head and held it while his mouth moved on hers, slow, soft, lingering. Her heart beat so fast she was afraid it was going to explode in her chest and she whimpered. Her breasts swelled and she ached to press them against him.

He drew back. “Sorry. I kinda forgot where we are.” His voice was husky and sexy.

She sat there dazed and foggy, blinking at him. Where were they? Oh, yeah. In the middle of a hot night club. Music throbbed and the lights pulsed and flickered around them.

“I…I need another drink.”

“Good idea.” He turned and looked for a waitress and sure enough one hurried over right away, although she gave Remi a look that could have sliced her open. Was the waitress jealous? No way!

Feminine pleasure curled inside her and she smiled and sat back.

“So.” Jase looked at her, his eyes intent, face a bit flushed. She’d turned him on. With a kiss. That was so freakin’ hot. “What do you do for a living, Remi?”

She opened her mouth to tell him—and then closed it. It sounded so boring. The word “boring” echoed in her mind, what Darryl had called her when he’d given her that ultimatum. The word had stabbed into her heart, mostly because she knew it was true.

“Let’s not talk about stuff like that.” She crossed her legs. “We don’t need to know personal details, right? We just want to have fun.”

His eyes squinted at her a bit, then he smiled, too. “Right. Okay.” The waitress brought their drinks and they somehow managed to find other things to talk about and laugh about as Remi sipped another mojito and Jase drank his beer, their talk and laughter punctuated with small touches of fingertips on the back of a hand, a stroke down a bare arm, the brush of legs as they shifted on the banquette.

“What things do you like to do in your spare time?” Jase asked her

She frowned. “I definitely need to take up some new hobbies.” She tipped her head. “I think I’d like to redecorate my house. And travel.” She perked up a little. She’d always wantedto travel. She could do that now. “Yeah, I definitely want to travel.”

“Where would you like to go?”

“Hmm. Europe. Especially the Mediterranean. And somewhere for a hot beach vacation. Have you done that?”

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