"Should I spin in a circle to make it easier for you to check me out?"
"It wouldn’t hurt." He smirks but pulls me tight against his body. For a brief minute, I return his embrace, enjoying the simple comfort that is Leo’s hugs.
"Eh, hm." I hear Casey clear her throat from the kitchen. Her eyes are glued to mine and her wide grin is unmistakably peaceful.
"Shit. I’m sorry. Casey, this is Leo James. Leo, this is my best friend, Casey Black," I say motioning, between them.
"Hi." Leo extends a hand in her direction, but Casey just glances at it and crosses her arms.
"What are your intentions with Sarah this evening?" she questions with a stern tone that causes Leo’s forehead to crinkle in confusion.
"Jesus. Stop screwing with him," I tell her, curling into Leo’s side. "He already had the pleasure of meeting Caleb and Emma. He’s been interrogated enough."
"Oh God. I bet that was a real treat," Casey mumbles as her face pales. She quickly recovers. "Okay. You guys have fun. Sarah, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Yeah, of course." I smile up at Leo and walk Casey to the door.
Just as I pull it open, she leans into my ear and says, "I really fucking hope you cleaned the cobwebs out of your panties, because I don’t care if he does think you’re easy. I want you to run into that man’s bed, strip naked, and let him kiss you wherever the hell he wants. You did not tell me he was that good-looking."
"Yes, I did!" I whisper-yell back to her while glancing over my shoulder to make sure Leo can’t hear us. But, much to my dismay, he’s very obviously listening. His confident shit-eating grin is impossibly wide. "Oh fantastic." I push Casey out the door without even so much as a goodbye.
"I like her," Leo says when I turn back around.
"I figured," I laugh and roll my eyes.
"I’m serious. She gives excellent advice."
"I’ll be sure to let her know you think so. Let’s go." I grab my purse off the table next to the door, but I’m stopped as Leo wraps his arms around my waist from behind and nuzzles into my hair.
"What do you say we skip dinner and you can run to my bed? It might not be the most conventional first kiss, but I can definitely think of a few places I’d like to taste. Your mouth only being one of them."
His breath across my sensitive neck combined with his words send chills over my body. I try to lock it down, but as he drags his nose up to my ear, a gasp escapes.
"Mmm, I like the moan better, but the gasp works too," he purrs.
We stand there silently for a minute as Leo holds me tight against his large body. His lean muscles are pressed against my back, and his quickened breath in my ear tells me that he is just as turned on as I am. Though, just to be sure, I reach up and drag the tips of my nails over his neck and into this hair. He lets out a mouth-watering moan that makes me smile.
"We should go," I whisper, unable to trust my voice.
"Or we could stay. You have a bed. I could amend my statement to your bed instead of mine." He brushes my hair off my shoulder and leans down, placing a very wet and promising kiss on the exposed skin.
As very appealing as his idea sounds, I need to clear my head from the fog. Perhaps make a decision about where I want to end the night without Leo’s lips muddling with my resolve.
"We should go," I repeat, causing him to growl.
I spin in his arms and look up into his eyes. He has the thickest eyelashes I have ever seen on a man, and they only serve to make his otherwise common brown eyes stunning and unique. But it’s the intensity in his gaze that really has me reconsidering his suggestion.
Very slowly, Leo leans down, stopping only a breath away from my mouth. My pulse begins to race as his hands drift from my hips to the small of my back.
"Sarah, go pack a bag. You’re staying at my place tonight."
"I am?" I squeak out, completely lost in the moment.
"You are," he confirms then presses his lips against mine for what can only be described as the best-slash-worst first kiss in history. His lips are soft and warm but gone before I can even appreciate them. I want more.
So. Much. More.
"Go," he orders with a smirk as he steps away.
Fuck it. Who needs resolve anyway? Clearly not me, because I find my legs carrying me back to my room to pack a bag.
"WE DESTROYED them!" Sarah laughs as we leave the sports bar she chose for dinner.