She had the nerve to smirk at him. “I’m not a virgin, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I’m not implying anything.” He smothered his growing aggravation. Christ, the one time he tried acting like a gentleman, and look where it got him. “I don’t know you, but I’m pretty sure you don’t go around doing strangers in public. I have no clue why you decided to do it tonight—maybe it’s that asshole Mick, maybe you had too much to drink. But the best thing for you to do right now is go home, Skyler.”
“Why do men always assume they know what’s best for a woman?” she demanded. “And FYI? I didn’t drink anything but water tonight, and I was over Mick about five minutes after he picked me up. You want to know why I’m out here with you? Because I was attracted to you and decided to act on it. For once in my life I was acting on impulse, not thinking about consequences or overanalyzing things.” Her gaze sharpened as she studied him. “You, on the other hand, you’re all about impulse, aren’t you? You strike me as a man of action.” There was a beat. “I’m kind of surprised you wimped out at the thought of getting busy in front of a camera.”
He clenched his teeth. “I didn’t wimp out.”
“Really? Are we having sex right now?” Another beat. “Nope, I didn’t think so.”
She finally straightened her dress, much to his overwhelming relief. Those red panties had come dangerously close to stealing his common sense again.
Gage sighed. “You really should go.”
“Oh, I will. The moment’s over, anyway.” Her blue eyes flickered with something that made him uneasy. “What would you do if I came back tomorrow night?”
A groan lodged in his throat. He was trying to do the honorable thing, to save her from the regrets she’d undoubtedly have after sleeping with a total stranger, but the infuriating woman didn’t seem at all appreciative of his caution.
“You shouldn’t do that,” he said in a low voice.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re right. I’m impulsive, and I don’t usually show much restraint. No matter what you think, stopping this, stopping what we were about to do, was damn hard for me.”
She glanced at the bulge in his pants. “I can see that.”
Gage grasped her chin, forcing her gaze away from his aching cock and up at his face. “Don’t tempt me, all right? You’re beautiful, Skyler. Beautiful and sexy and so goddamn tempting. If you come back, I won’t be able to control myself next time.”
“Is that a promise?”
Oh hell. He released her, taking a hasty step backward. “Go,” he muttered. “I mean it.”
He waited for an argument, but miraculously, she didn’t give him one. Instead, she smirked again before sauntering away, hips swaying with each step she took.
His gaze followed her all the way to the door, staying glued to her slender form as she walked back into the club. And then the door swung shut and she was gone.
But Gage had the unnerving feeling that he hadn’t seen the last of her.
Chapter Two
“I did something crazy last night,” Skyler announced.
Lacey snickered. “Yeah, you went out with Mick the Dick. We know.”
“No, not that. I did something even crazier.” She dragged her tired body to the kitchen counter, poured herself a cup of coffee, and took a much-needed sip.
She hadn’t slept a wink after Mick had dropped her off last night. Instead, she’d spent a solid hour on the computer, followed by several more lying in bed and thinking about the gorgeous sex god who’d made her feel honest-to-God lust for the first time in her life.
Gage Holt.
Yep, she’d Googled him. It hadn’t been too difficult to find him after he’d let it slip that he owned the club. Two minutes was all it took to pull up a newspaper feature about the grand opening of Sin, with a picture of Gage and his two partners underneath the headline. Another search, and she’d discovered that he was a former fighter. He’d fought on the professional mixed martial arts circuit since the age of eighteen, winning a ton of matches before retiring a few years back. She hadn’t found any online footage of his fights, so she’d had to satisfy herself by staring at his picture from the newspaper article.
And seeing his face, even in grainy black and white, had only reignited the fire of lust he’d set inside her.
“Sky?”
May’s voice snapped her from her thoughts. She gulped down some more coffee, the caffeine successfully turning her brain from muddled to alert.
“Sorry, what?” She turned to face her roommates.
“I asked what could possibly be crazier than going out with Mick,” May said dryly.