Page 48 of Rookie Move
“Right.” He crossed his arms. “I’ll hide it behind a hockey puck.”
Georgia cleared her throat and studied the grip on her racket a little more closely than necessary. “No, probably something a little...” Her eyes lifted all of a sudden. “That was a joke, wasn’t it?”
He grinned. “Just a little one.”
“Oh Jesus.” She rolled her eyes, but her cheeks had become even pinker. “Will you do the damn calendar or not? I’m supposed to let them know.”
“Dunno, Gigi. I thought you were sick of me being such a... ‘spotlight hog’ were the words you used, I think.”
She bit her lip. “I’m sorry I said that. I know you’re not really a diva, Leo.”
“Thank you.”
“You can let me know either way by tonight.”
“Sure.”
They walked the rest of the way through the lobby together, another silence gathering between them. His desire for Georgia was a living, breathing creature. And maybe it was just wishful thinking, but he could swear he saw it reflected back in her. The way she held her breath when he got near her. And the way her eyes seemed to be asking for something before she looked away again.
He dropped off the racket with a nod and a smile at the concierge. Georgia was holding the elevator when he returned to her side.
The silence had stretched on pretty long by the time the elevator doors closed. Leo punched the button. “Hey,” he said, turning to her. He meant to say,Thanks for the game. Buthe forgot the rest of his sentence when he saw the flush of her cheeks, and an expression heavy with longing.
“Leo,” she whispered, her chin rising toward his.
“Yeah,” he whispered back. It seemed as natural as anything to take a step toward her, slipping a hand onto her waist. The curve of her body under his hand was exactly the way he remembered it. She was actually trembling a little. He reached up with his other hand and grasped the elastic in her hair, sliding it down, freeing all those silky strands, and she gasped right in his ear.
Without thinking too hard about it, he pressed his lips to her temple. That just feltright. He inhaled, and the familiar fruity smell of her shampoo misted his already hazy mind. Slowly, she lifted her chin, her nose tracing a line up his cheek. Then their lips found each other’s effortlessly, like magnets realigning.
The first kiss was soft and slow. Their lips slid tenderly together, as if they both needed a moment to just remember how this felt. But the sensation was so perfect that Leo heard a rumble from his own chest. He pulled her head closer and slanted his mouth over hers. Georgia opened for him, and he groaned at the first sweet taste of her.
“Mmm,” she replied. Warm hands found his chest.
Leo deepened the kiss again, needing more. Needing everything.
Then the elevator dinged its announcement that they’d reached their floor. They parted as the doors slid open.
“Goddamn it,” he heard her swear as she took off down the hall.
Was that a good “damn it” or a bad one?he wondered, following her. She hurried ahead, reaching her door, swiping into the room before he got there.
And she let the door fall shut behind her.
THIRTEEN
Jesus Christ almighty, why did we have to go and do that?
Georgia stalked into her hotel room with shaky knees. Leo’s kisses made her feel crazy and out of control. She hadn’t felt that way in a long time.
And now she’d gone and sprinted away from him like some kind of drama queen. But she hadn’t known what to say after a kiss like that. If he’d asked her a question, she’d probably have ended up babbling, or speaking in tongues.
She heard the sound of a bolt turning in a lock, and then a tap on a door. Leo was knocking on the door that joined their two rooms.
Georgia just stared at the door for a moment. If she opened it, anything might happen. Was that good, or terrifying?
Their currency, as Becca had put it, came back to her in a rush. It wasspeed. Their skates on the ice. The tennis ball flying back and forth over the net. And kisses so hot they could leave contrails in the sky.
“Gigi,” he said from behind the door. “Let me see your face.”
