“Playing cards is sort of my job these days,” I say, trying to act like it’s a choice I’ve made, instead of something that I dread doing daily. I’d much rather be finishing up school than spending my nights in the high-stakes room, flipping cards to men who deal out hundreds like candy. Especially since most of them seem to think their stack of chips will impress me.
“You’re a dealer?” He doesn’t seem surprised. After all, I told him who my father was the other night.
“For now. I was in school, but had to take some time off.”
He nods, accepting my response without further prodding.
Another hour passes by in what seems like five minutes. Our conversation jumps from topic to topic, but there’s a buzz in the air that makes everything seem like it has a sexual undertone to it. He’s playful, some of his flirting innuendo is intentional, but my mind seems to want to read something filthy into everything he says. I finally eye the time on my watch. “Shoot. I didn’t realize it was so late. I have to work tonight.”
He nods and offers me his hand to stand up. The way he doesn’t let go and we walk to the car with our hands twined makes me feel like a teenager again. He opens my car door and I stop before getting in. “I probably would have passed right by this place and never even noticed it. It’s sweet that you come to your parents’ favorite place.”
“Pretty sure I’ve never been called sweet by a woman.” Cooper adds with a wry grin, “But if you like sweet, I’ll take it.”
My heart is heavy when we pull up to my apartment building. Cooper gets out to open my car door.
“Thank you for kidnapping me.”
“Anytime.” He says. “Are you going to agree to go out with me now, or do I need to kidnap you again?” He takes a step closer to me. “That one little taste wasn’t enough.”
My eyes close with dread. Everything about this man seems perfect, and yet I have to turn him down. Again. When I signed the contract for the show, I didn’t give any thought to what would happen if I met someone. Most likely because I hadn’t met anyone worth worrying about the last year. But of course, now I meet a man who gives me butterflies. And I can’t tell him about the show. Just like dating, disclosure of my involvement with the show itself is a violation of the terms.
Opening my eyes, feeling disappointment and regret at what I must do, I’m met by a sparkling sea of green intensity that threatens to drown me in lust, making what I have to say that much harder. “I can’t.”
Picking up on my lack of conviction or word choice, Cooper says, “Can’t? Or don’t want to?”
“Can’t.” I know it would be easier to lie and say I don’t want to, but something tells me he’d see right through me.
“Why?” He leans in just an inch or two. Our bodies aren’t touching, but the heat emanating from his skin ignites mine. Or maybe it’s the heat from my own body that sparks his. Either way, I can’t think straight with this beautiful man so close.
“I … I … I just can’t.”
“You can’t date me?”
I shake my head.
He leans forward to whisper in my ear. Voice gritty and strained, his warm breath sends a shiver through my body that I can’t even try to hide. “Can you kiss me?”
Too distracted to form a cohesive thought, I don’t respond right away.
Cooper pulls his head back slowly, the stubble on his cheek lightly grazing my sensitive skin, until we’re face to face. Smoldering eyes staring intently into mine, mixed with a hard, muscular body just inches away, make it easy to forget that he’s off limits. Banned. Forbidden. A complete violation of the rules of my contract. It only makes me want him more.
Swallowing hard, my mouth suddenly parched, I unconsciously run my tongue along my lips to moisten them, readying myself to finally speak. Cooper’s eyes drop, following the path of my tongue. As his eyes finally find their way back up to mine, I open my mouth to speak just as his lips crash down on mine.
I don’t even attempt to protest, immediately surrendering to the ferocity of a kiss that sets my entire body on fire. Our tongues find each other quickly, his leading mine in a just slightly aggressive way that excites me. Gently at first, the hard contours of his body press flush against the soft of my curves. Then I reach up, my hands threading the hair curling up at the edge of his collar. Cooper growls when I tug, pushing harder against me, deepening the kiss as we move from exploring to feverishly groping each other.
Both of us are panting wildly as we break the kiss. He tugs at my lower lip, claiming it roughly between his teeth before fully releasing my mouth.