Bucking the Rules(29)
Trace reached out with one hand and cupped the back of her head, just below her ponytail, and tipped her face up to look at him. “I’m planning to stay all night.”
“If I get sick of you, I know how to bounce you.”
Trace chuckled low, and she wanted to hear more. It sounded rusty, as if he didn’t make the sound often. But she’d be willing to bet Trace was a guy who found humor in life frequently. He just seemed to have that kind of personality.
“Let’s hope you don’t have to bounce me, period.” It was the last thing either of them said before he bent to kiss her.
Chapter Seven
She could taste the salty sweetness of his lips, and a hint of coffee, as if he’d been drinking it on the road. His tongue invaded her mouth without waiting for an invitation, though he likely assumed her moan was one.
Close enough.
He wrapped his hand around her ponytail and tugged so her neck was arched back, exposing her throat. “God, you are sweet,” he murmured against her skin. “I don’t think I’ve tasted anything better.”
Sweet was so not a word used to describe Jo Tallen. At least not usually. Sassy, sometimes sexy, if she played it right, sarcastic for sure. But sweet? New territory.
“Okay, cowboy. Take me to bed.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” He shifted and put his arms under her knees, as if he were about to lift her up. Everything girly and completely illogical in her sighed with delight … though she would go to her grave denying it. But then he stood again and winced. “Sorry, darling. I had these big dreams of sweeping you off your feet and carrying you in there, all movie-style like.”
“I can get behind that.”
“Except I sort of wrenched my back at the event this weekend and the only thing worse than not being able to carry out this little fantasy of mine is the thought that I might drop you.”
“Oh.” Hmm. “Good point. Well then.” Lemons into lemonade. She stepped to the side, out of reach, and pulled her polo top over her head, letting it drop to the floor. She crooked one finger and walked backwards toward the bedroom. “Follow me, if you please. No heavy lifting required.”
He snorted. “Like you’d be heavy.”
As a woman who would never be thin, Jo appreciated the comment. “You can try the he-man thing another time, when you’re less broken.” Suddenly, she stopped. “Should you even be …”
He waited for her to continue, but she just jerked a thumb to the bed instead of saying it. “Oh, hell no. There is no way I’m about to miss out on this again.” He growled and pounced on her, half-pushing, half-pulling her over the threshold of her bedroom. “Hell if I’m letting you escape.”
Before she could say a word or crack another joke, he had her bra off. How did he do that? The practical, beige number designed to keep her too-ample breasts in place while running her ass off behind the bar dropped to the floor unnoticed.
At least he didn’t dwell on the industrial strength underwire. So not sexy.
Trace’s hands were cupping her breasts, pushing them together, testing the weight of each one individually. Learning her body, her shape. Would he be a total breast man, or more interested in her legs? In her experience, men tended to be one or the other.
She had her answer when he leaned down to kiss the swell of one breast. “These are definitely being hidden beneath that black shirt you wear every day.”
“The health inspector warned me to stop serving drinks with my shirt off,” she said, biting back a moan when he took one nipple in his mouth and sucked. “Something about health code violations or whatever.”
“I won’t argue. If no other man knows what he’s missing, then I don’t have to share.”
“I don’t share, period.” Might as well get that out of the way now. “When I go to bed with a man, he’s it … until he’s not.”
He looked at her, warm mouth abandoning her breast. The now-wet skin peaked and tightened in the cooler air until she wanted to beg him to go back at it.
“I’m not looking to just fuck and run, Jo. I’m not starting a harem.”
He looked so offended at the thought, she had to laugh. “I didn’t say you were. Just telling you how I play. I’m a one-on-one kind of girl. And I expect the same from whoever I’m with.”
“I’ll try to keep my horny pants at home, unless I’m with you,” he said dryly. He started to head for her other breast, but she needed to get it out of the way now.
“And you have to wear a condom. Always.”
One brow raised. “Okay … any other rules?”