“Hey.” His deep voice slid into her ear and rippled through her body. “Can I see you tonight?”
Wow. Okay. She hadn’t expected to hear from him tonight, and she frowned when she glanced at the clock on the bedside table. In her very limited experience, anything after 11 p.m. equaled a booty call. That was just Sex Etiquette 101.
On the other hand, hadn’t they agreed this arrangement was 100 percent sex-centered?
On the other other hand, just because she’d agreed to a casual fling didn’t mean midnight booty calls were okay. Did she really want to give him the impression that he could call her at any hour of the day and she’d be like, Sure! Come over and fuck me!
Except…the word no got stuck in her mouth. Because darn it, she wanted him to come over and fuck her.
Gage must have sensed her internal dilemma because he laughed softly. “I know it’s late, but I just finished…work.” The stilted pause between the words raised her guard, but he hurried on before she could question it. “I would’ve called earlier if I could. But if you’re too tired or don’t feel like it, then that’s fine. We can just see each other another ti—”
“Would you just get here already?” she interrupted.
Oh boy. Her voice sounded breathy to her ears. She had it bad.
“What’s the address?” He paused as she recited it, then said, “I’m on my way.”
Skyler flew out of bed the second he hung up, self-consciously examining her bedroom. It was messier than usual, which prompted her to run around like a madwoman in an attempt to tidy up. Thank God her room was on the third floor and had its own private bath—if she’d shared a floor with Lacey and May, they might have witnessed her cleaning frenzy and teased her mercilessly about it.
Luckily, her roommates weren’t even home tonight. Lacey was still at the hospital, and May had left a note on the fridge about spending the night at her boyfriend’s.
She and Gage would be completely alone.
Nervous excitement scampered down her body and flew into her stomach in the form of butterflies. She was dying to see him again, but at the same time, she wasn’t sure why she was so taken with the guy. He was a man who’d once made his living with his fists, who now owned a club called Sin. Sin, of all things.
The only sin she’d ever committed was…well, having sex in a nightclub with a man she barely knew. Unless smoking pot qualified as sinful—she’d done a bunch of that during freshman year when the stress of college had gotten too overwhelming.
Damn, girl, you’re so wild.
Skyler laughed out loud. Yep, she sure was wild—it was Saturday night and she was at home watching a cooking competition on TV.
No, it’s Saturday night and you’re about to have a sexy late-night visitor.
Hmmm. Fair point. Maybe she was broadening her wild horizons, after all.
It felt like an eternity before the doorbell finally rang, though in reality, only ten minutes had passed since Gage’s call.
The first thing she did after she’d opened the door was gasp. “Oh my God! What happened?”
Genuine confusion filled Gage’s expression. “What are you talking about?”
She touched his face without thinking, and he winced when her fingers skimmed the bruise marring his left cheekbone. “Oh, right. That. Don’t worry about it. Just a bruise.”
“Did you get in a fight?” Her concern levels remained on high as she grabbed his hand and ushered him into the living room.
He spared a glance at his surroundings, unfazed by the sparse amount of furniture. “I fought in a match tonight.” He shrugged. “My opponent was kind of a dick.”
She furrowed her eyebrows. “I thought you retired.”
“Not really.” He didn’t offer any more details.
Jeez. She’d probably have better luck extracting answers from a CIA operative.
“You’re wearing pink again.”
The gruff observation made her grin. “Sharp as a tack, aren’t you, big guy?”
Amusement twinkled in his gray eyes, but they darkened seductively as he examined her pink tank top and matching boxer shorts. “I’ve never hung out with a girl in pink PJs before.”
“No? What do the women you know usually wear to bed?”
He smirked. “Nothing at all.”
“They’re lucky, then. I can’t sleep naked. My butt and boobs get too cold.”
Gage barked out a laugh, then stepped forward and pulled her in for a kiss.
Shock waves hit her the moment their lips met. God, she loved kissing him. Loved that he didn’t try to drown her in saliva or gnash her with his teeth. Everything he did was deliberate and skillful, from the firm press of his lips to the sensual swirl of his tongue. She moaned against his mouth, sucking on his bottom lip as heat spread through her and settled in her core.
“Fuck.” He jerked them apart. “Bedroom?”