Gina leaned forward and took his face in her hands. “Yes,” she whispered. After that little speech, she leaned forward and kissed him like he deserved to be kissed.
She loved the way she looked and didn’t give a damn about what anyone else might think of her. But she had to admit, she’d be a bit anxious walking into a room of the kind of people she’d spent most of her life trying to avoid. Then again, she was currently sitting on the lap of one of those people, making out for all she was worth.
Life could throw some sick, twisted curveballs, that was for sure. She prayed this one wouldn’t blow up in her face.
She’d need to grab Nat and go dress shopping. Because she had absolutely nothing in her closet that was black-tie fancy and wouldn’t clash with her hair. But first things first…
She grabbed a fistful of Rick’s hair and dragged him closer with a little moan. He took the not-so-subtle hint and picked her up to carry her back to the bedroom. Cleanup would have to wait. They had more important matters to attend to.
Chapter Fifteen
Rick took Gina’s hand and threaded his fingers through hers. She glanced at him with surprise but didn’t pull away. Instead, she gripped him tighter and gave their hands a little swing. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d walked down the street holding hands with a woman. High school, maybe. If even then. But with Gina, it felt like such a natural thing to do. It didn’t matter that she walked right next to him. He still wanted to be touching her, too.
“So, did you have a particular destination in mind, or are we going to wander aimlessly?” she asked.
“I thought we could do with a little fresh air. It’s good for the lungs. Improves the stamina.”
She laughed, that sexy throaty sound that hit him low and deep in all the right places.
“I’m no expert, but I thought our stamina was pretty good. Are you saying there’s room for improvement?”
He stopped and pulled her to him. “I don’t think you can improve upon something that’s already spectacular. But we do need to keep our strength up.”
“Hmm, how long do you plan on keeping me handcuffed to your bed, Officer? Don’t you have a job to get to?”
“I’ve got some vacation days coming up. Thinking very seriously of using them all. Or hell, maybe I’ll retire and then we don’t ever have to get out of bed.” What really scared him was, he almost meant it.
Before she could say anything else, he cupped her face and drew her to him for a long, deep kiss that had him rethinking the whole fresh air thing.
Someone whistled and they broke apart with a laugh.
“Sorry for the PDA,” he said.
“I like PDA. Let them all be jealous.”
She pulled him in for another kiss, and this time when they pulled back it was with a groan. If she kept that up he’d have her up against a wall in an alley.
“You know, on second thought,” he said, “fresh air is totally overrated. Let’s head back.” He took her hand like he was going to tow her back to her apartment, not sure himself if he was joking or serious. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her.
She laughed and tugged on his hand. “Come on. Let’s go get a smoothie or something.”
His eyebrow rose. “A smoothie?”
“Well, I’d have suggested a drink, but it’s barely four o’clock so I know that won’t fly with you.”
“Oh? And how do you know that?”
“Seriously? You haven’t set one foot out of place since I met you. No way you’d sit in a bar drinking before the sun went down.”
He frowned slightly, bothered that she thought he was so straitlaced. Not that that was bad. But still…
“I can be spontaneous and have a good time. I’m not always a rigid hard-ass.”
“Hey. I have no complaints at all about your hard ass.” Her hands drifted down to demonstrate her fondness for that part of his anatomy. “And your rigid bits are fucking amazing, too.” One hand started creeping around the front and he laughed and moved out of the line of fire.
“Glad you approve,” he said, entwining their fingers again.
They walked up the street a little ways and then he spotted something that would be perfect to prove his point.
“Come on, let’s do something fun.”
“Like what?” she asked.
He nodded across the street at the tattoo shop, and her eyes grew so wide he thought they’d pop out of her head.
“The tattoo parlor? Seriously?”
“Why not?”
She shrugged. “I can’t see you doing it, that’s all. Not that you wouldn’t look amazing with some body art.” She ran her hands over his chest and down his arms, biting her lip with a little shiver. He rested his hands on her hips and pulled her into him.