Page 36 of Jack of Hearts
“I thought you were supposed to go for his junk first.”
“If you can get a good, hard knee there, but most men are prepared for that, and they’ll grab your leg, then you’re in trouble. If a man is holding on to you like I am, your best weapon is the back of your head. Throw your head back as far as you can, aiming for the bridge of his nose.”
“Can I try it?”
“Yes, but don’t give me a bloody nose. Slow and easy, just to get the feel of it.”
They spent the next hour letting her practice how to do damage when being held against her will. She was a quick study, and as the time he’d reserved the room for neared the end, her confidence grew.
“Very good,” he said when she got in a good kick to his shinbone. “If you’d had shoes on, I’d be on my knees right now, and you’d be running away like your cute ass was on fire.” As it was, his leg was throbbing, but he didn’t want her to feel bad that she’d hurt him, so he kept that to himself.
She grinned, clearly pleased with herself. “What’s next?”
Christ, he’d created a monster. “Lunch is next.”
“Are you sure I can’t go for his junk?”
Alex laughed. “You’re a vicious little thing. Go ahead. Give it a try.”
She eyed the zipper on his jeans, reminding him of a marksman sighting his target, then swung her leg up. He caught it, scissored her other leg with his, and brought them both down onto the mat, with her on top. “Gotcha.”
“Wow, that was cool.”
“You’re something else, Grasshopper.” And he was damn proud of her.
“Grasshopper?”
“You never watchedKung Fureruns? No? How sad.”
“Sad Grasshopper needs a kiss.” She formed her lips into a pout, drawing his attention to them.
“Yeah?” As he stared up at her, it almost felt as if there were a bump in time, as if something momentous had just happened that should be marked on the calendar. His heart gave a little stutter that he wasn’t sure he liked or welcomed. He blinked, cutting the connection. Crazy imagination had gone haywire there for a moment.
“Put your mouth on mine, Grasshopper.” He slipped his hand behind her neck, tugging her down. One of the things he loved about her was her responsiveness, and as their tongues tangled, she framed his face with her hands while grinding her pelvis over his erection. When they did finally make love, it was going to be like having a tiger by the tail, and speaking of tails, he wrapped her braid around his fist.
He flipped them, and with mouths still fused, he settled his groin between her thighs and rocked his hips. Her low moan set his blood on fire, and he kissed a path down to her neck, nibbling and licking the soft skin under her ear.
Someone knocked on the door, and he froze. What was wrong with him? He’d been minutes from taking her on a gym mat that smelled like sweat. “Almost done here, dude,” he called, knowing it was Rock telling him someone else was waiting for the room.
He rested his forehead on Madison’s. “Guess we better go before we get company.”
“Guess so.” She smiled. “Thank you for today.”
“It’s not over yet.” He took her hands, pulling her up with him. Unable to resist claiming one last kiss, he cupped her chin and brushed his lips over hers, while willing his heart to beat normally again.
He took her to lunch at his favorite food truck, parked near the beach and famous for their fish tacos. Another thing he was learning about her, which he really liked, was that she delighted in the simplest things. She thought getting their meal from a food truck was fun and loved the fish taco so much that she made him go get her another one.
His next stop was Vizcaya, a rambling Italian mansion on Biscayne Bay that was open to the public. As long as he’d lived in Miami, he’d never been there but had always wanted to see it. Turned out Madison had never been there either.
They strolled hand in hand through the thirty-four public rooms of the mansion, admiring the antiques, but they both agreed their favorite part was the 158-foot Venetian barge carved out of stone, sitting in the bay, serving as a breakwater piece between the mansion and the ocean.
“I wonder how many pictures have been taken of it?” Madison said, as she captured numerous photos on her phone. “It even has a teahouse, and all those statues ... how long do you think it took to create it? Do you think they ever let anyone go on it? Wouldn’t it be a cool place for a wedding?”
Alex laughed as he tried to remember the last time he’d enjoyed himself so much. “Thousands and thousands, I’d guess, and I don’t know, and don’t know again, and yes.” She lowered her phone, looked at him, and crossed her eyes, making him laugh again. “So many questions, Grasshopper.” Her enthusiasm was contagious, and he hugged her, liking the feel of her wrapped in his arms.
“I need to watch some of thoseKung Fuepisodes, see if Grasshopper is a good thing or not.”
“How about we stream a few of them tonight after dinner?” When he’d picked her up, he hadn’t decided how long their date would last, but as he stood in front of a mansion full of history, the ocean breeze cooling their skin, and held her against him, he didn’t want the day to end.
