“What?”
“Nothing. It’s stupid.” She shook her head.
Jack would be damned before he let her get away with clamming up. Not after he just spilled his guts. “You have to tell me. Then we’ll be even. Otherwise…” He hoped she’d pick up on his insinuation.
“Otherwise, what?”
“Otherwise you owe me.” He leaned in. “And I plan to collect in some very creative ways.”
She sucked in a breath and bit her bottom lip. “That doesn’t make me want to tell you.”
He laughed. He really was off his game. Or was it just this enticing woman who rattled his confidence? “I guess that didn’t work out quite the way I’d planned in my head.”
“Okay, I’ll spill.” She turned a little to face him. “I want to do exciting things.”
“Exciting things?” he asked.
“Yes, things that get my heart racing and stomach fluttering.”
He gave her a curious look. “So the tea, your clothes, and…,” he grinned, “your ass hanging out makes your stomach all aflutter?”
Her soft giggle was adorable. “Something like that.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me. How can I help?”
Silence fell between them and she fidgeted in her seat, picking at her nails. Her lips moved, forming silent words. She was trying to talk herself into something.
He chuckled to himself. “Sterling?”
“There was one other thing that made my stomach flutter,” she blurted.
“What’s that?” Would she have the guts to ask for what she wanted?
“When I touched your hand.” She sat stone-still. A mixture of hope and trepidation danced in her gaze.
“It excited you?”
She nodded and inhaled deeply, but when she exhaled, her breath came out in rhythmic beats and she shivered.
“I heard you,” she blurted. “With your brother. About getting back on the horse.”
He cursed under his breath.
If there was one thing he hated it was eavesdropping. He had enough bullshit with the media and photographers. His actions were front-page news even before he decided on them himself.
“I want to be your horse.” She gasped. “Not a horse but…I mean…” She groaned and hung her head, covering her eyes. “I would like very much to be the woman you use to get back in the game.”
He had just been appeasing Neil. He wasn’t really interested in getting back in the game tonight. But something about this woman intrigued him. She was nothing like the model types he normally dated. And usually the propositions that flew his way were dependent on his money. Jack expected to be asked to go to a club or one of his hot restaurants. Somewhere he could flaunt his VIP status, buy her some drinks, show her a good time. But this was an exciting proposition.
“Sterling Andrews, are you hitting on me?”
“Am I doing a horrible job?” She peered at him through her fingers.
“On the contrary.” He shook his head. “I had every intention of being a nice guy tonight, but now…”
“Now?”
He’d been thinking about a naked Sterling all night. Women usually wanted something first—for him to spend his money. But this woman just wanted…him. And she could have him. Only for the night. There was no sense in getting attached when he was just going to take off in a few weeks.
“Now I want nothing more than to kiss you.”
She didn’t have to say yes. She lowered her hands from her face. Her eyes invited him to taste her.
He leaned in and brushed his lips over hers.
She tensed and jerked away, bringing her hand up to her mouth. “I brushed my teeth. And used mouthwash.”
He laughed, an unexpected burst of amusement he couldn’t control. He shook his head and leaned forward. This woman was definitely going to keep him on his toes. He grabbed her nape and drew closer, pressing his lips against hers. She sighed, a vibration he felt through his entire body.
One hand slid up his arm to his shoulder, the other threaded through his hair. Sterling opened for him, her lips parting, her tongue moving to test the waters. Without having to coax her, she took their kiss to the next level. If the actions of her tongue were any indication of the rest of her intimate moves, he couldn’t wait to find out what she’d be like between the sheets.
Jack mimicked the movements of her tongue, tasting the minty flavor of her mouth as she moved up his body, practically climbing on top of him. The kiss deepened. His heart thudded a million beats a minute, and he welcomed the tightness in his pants. Something else tightened. His chest, because somehow this felt different.
He shook off his thoughts. There was no way this one kiss meant anything more than that—a kiss. He was overstimulated because he was out of practice, that’s all. The feel of Sterling’s breasts rubbing against his chest, the bite of her nails on his skin, the feel of her warm, talented tongue thrusting inside his mouth, were not special. They were simply unexpected.