And just like that, she threw me another curveball. Even though I kept hearing them over and over in my head, it took a second or two for her words to sink in. I’d wanted her since the moment I laid eyes on her but wasn’t so sure she felt the same about me. Maybe it was the little snide comments she’d make here and there or those irritated facial expressions whenever I opened my mouth, but something told me that she wasn’t exactly fond of me. I assumed that her sudden change in attitude was just an effect of the alcohol, but seeing the way she was looking at me made it hard to know for sure.

“Do you need a ride home or something?” I asked.

She cocked her eyebrow and gave me a sexy smile as she answered, “Or something.”

Fuck me. It was like she was dangling the golden ticket right in front of my face. The corners of my mouth curled into a huge grin, but my smile didn’t adequately reflect how I truly felt. There was no way in hell I was going to turn down a chance to be alone with her—but at the same time, I knew I couldn’t take advantage of her weakened state. It would take some effort, but I could be a gentleman. “I’d be up for that.”

“Great. Let me go grab my things.”

When I walked back over to the table, Colton looked up at me and asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Everything’s fine.” Knowing I was about to catch all kinds of hell, I ran my fingers through my hair and let out a deep breath. “I’m about to head out.”

“What?” Colton protested. “We just got here.”

Clearly disagreeing with his brother, Seth reached for his wallet and tossed several dollar bills on the table, not before he argued, “We’ve been here for over an hour, and I’ve gotta go, too. Grace just texted, and she’s waiting at the condo for me.”

Remembering their last argument over Grace, I was worried that Colton might ask who she was, but he didn’t. Instead, he nodded and said, “Well, thanks for coming out. Good to see ya.”

Seth smiled and asked, “What time is the game on Monday?”

“Seven.”

On his way towards the door, Seth patted him on the shoulder. “Good. We’ll see you there.”

Just as he was leaving, I groaned when I noticed a familiar blonde walking in my direction. She was the chick from the park with the overdone makeup and enormous breasts. With a seductive smile, she slipped up beside me and purred, “Hey there, handsome. I was hoping to hear from you this week.”

Knowing her kid was on the team, I couldn’t be a total dick, so I told her, “Well … I’ve been pretty busy.”

“What about now? Are you free for a drink?”

Before I could answer, I heard, “No. Sorry to break the news, but he isn’t free at the moment.”

The blonde turned and looked over at Kaci with a scowl. “And why is that?”

“Because I’ve already called dibs on him, so you can just move along.”

Surprised by Kaci’s reaction, I couldn’t help but smile. Hoping to derail any kind of argument between the two of them, I put my arm around Kaci and pulled her over to me. I looked over to the blonde and said, “Thanks for the offer, but I’m gonna have to pass.”

She rolled her eyes as she turned and started walking away. “Your loss.”

Once she was gone, Kaci looked up at me as she raked her teeth across her bottom lip. “I guess that was pretty rude of me.”

“No, that was pretty awesome of you.” I chuckled. “Are you ready to go?”

She nodded. “All set.”

“Good.” I turned to Colton and asked, “Are you good to get home or should I—”

With a goofy grin, he shook his head and answered, “I’m just fine. You two go ahead and have fun.”

Out front, there were several taxis lined up by the curb, making it easy to motion one over to us. Once he pulled up, I opened the door and Kaci slid inside. I eased in next to her, and as I shut the door she told the driver, “91 Clement Street. It’s just around the corner.”

As soon as he pulled away, she leaned over to me and rested her head on my shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yep.” She smiled as she inhaled a deep breath. “You smell really good.”

I looked down at her, and I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful sight. Her long, brown hair was down around her shoulders, and the straps of her short dress had fallen loose over her shoulder, exposing just a hint of her black lace bra. “Thanks. You smell good, too.”

As we turned the corner, I heard a low rumble of thunder; when I looked out the window, I noticed lightning off in the distance. It was just starting to sprinkle when she leaned forward and announced, “You can pull over here. The apartment is just over to your right.”

After paying the fare and helping her out of the car, we hurried through the front door of the complex and over to the elevator. She seemed almost excited as she opened the door and led me inside. When the door closed behind us, she dropped her purse and keys on the counter, and as she turned to look at me, her eyes sparkled with mischief. Without warning, she took a step towards me, wrapping her arms around my neck as she crashed her mouth against mine in a hungry kiss. Like a teenage boy with his first hard-on, my need for her burned deep, and just the feeling of having Kaci in my arms was like pouring gasoline to fire. I pulled her closer, and a light moan vibrated through her chest as I delved deeper into her mouth. There was no denying that there was chemistry between us, but the moment I tasted the hint of liquor on her lips, I knew I had to stop.

Pulling back from her took every ounce of strength I could muster, and seeing the lust in her eyes when she looked at me only made it harder. With my hands still on her waist, I said, “Easy there, killer.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you have any water and maybe some Tylenol?”

Lust faded into concern as she cocked her head to the side and asked, “Do you have a headache or something?”

“Or something.”

A smile crossed her face as she turned and headed into the kitchen. She quickly returned with a glass of water and two pain relievers. “Here ya go.”

“Those aren’t for me.” I motioned my hand towards the glass as I said, “Drink up, buttercup.” Doing as she was told, she placed the pills in her mouth and swallowed them down with a sip of water. “Keep drinking. The fluids will do you good.”

With a slight eye roll, she turned the glass up and emptied it. “Is that better?”

“Much. Now, why don’t you go put on something more comfortable.”

With a sexy smirk, she replied, “Okay.”

“I mean something comfortable like shorts and a t-shirt.”

“But—”

“Kaci.” I stepped towards her and placed my hand on her chin, forcing her to look at me. “There’s nothing I want more than to take you back into that bedroom and spend the entire night making love to that hot little body of yours. Hell, I’ve thought about it a million times since that first day I saw you ... but not like this … not when you’re three sheets to the wind.”

“I’m not three sheets to the wind!” she fussed.

“You’re pretty damn close. Either way, I’m not taking any chances, but I promise you this.” My voice dropped low into almost a growl as I continued, “When I finally have you in that bed, you’ll feel every touch, and you’ll know it’s my hands … my mouth … my cock that’s making your entire body tremble. And when I’m done, there will be no chance that you’ll ever regret having me there.”

“Oh.”

Praying that she wouldn’t boot me out the door, I asked, “So, do you want me to go, or do you want to change clothes and find a movie to watch on TV?”

“I’ll go change.”

“I was hoping you would say that.” I smiled. “I’ll be here waiting.”

With a sweet smile, she turned and headed for her bedroom. In a matter of minutes, Kaci returned wearing her comfortable clothes, and while she looked amazing in the dress she had on earlier, the sight of her standing there in shorts and a tank top nearly knocked me off my damn feet. With a playful tone in her voice, she asked, “Is this better?”

“Come here.”

She hesitated for a moment, and then sauntered over to me. As soon as she was within reach, I placed my hands on her hips and pulled her to me, kissing those luscious lips just long enough to leave her wanting more. Kaci brought the tips of her fingers to her mouth as she asked, “Umm … what was that for?”

“Consider it payback for looking so damn good.” I gave her a playful wink, then asked, “Now what?”

“I don’t know. I thought we were here to get our groove on, but apparently I’m too inebriated for that.” She continued in her sassy little voice, “So, what would you like to do now, Mr. Michaels? It’s your call.”

“Why don’t we start by sitting down, and then we can go from there?”

We both wandered over to the couch and did just that. As I settled in next to her, the lights flickered, and thunder shook the window panes. Seemingly unaware of the storm that was raging outside, she asked, “So, do you make a habit of putting off all the women you go home with, or am I just special?”

“Actually, I don’t make a habit of going home with women. Like you, I’m too busy to mess around.”

I could tell she didn’t believe me when she asked, “Seriously?”

“Seriously. You might think I’ve got women knocking down my door, but it’s really not like that. I’m always on the go. When I’m not working out, practicing, or playing a game, I’m working on my classes. Hell, I can’t even remember the last time I got laid.”

“Oh.”

“I hope you’re not disappointed, but I’m no Casanova.”

“I’m not disappointed. Surprised, yes. Disappointed, no.” She smiled. “Wait. You’re taking classes? Like college classes?”

“Yeah. I’m doing what I can online. Eventually, I’ll get to the point where I can’t get by with that, but at least for now it’s been working out.”

Her tone completely changed. “That’s really awesome, Tucker. Most guys wouldn’t go to all the trouble of doing both.”

“It was important to my mother that I get my degree.”

“Sounds like a smart lady.”

“She was.” I smiled.

“Was?”

“She died a few years back.”

“Oh, Tucker. I’m so sorry,” she replied with sadness in her voice.

“Thanks, I still miss her.”

“I bet you do.”

“Things happen.” I sighed. “What about your folks?”

“They’re both still around. My dad’s in the military, so he’s gone a lot. Mom works all these crazy hours, so I try to help out with Kaden when I can.”

“Kaden seems like a great kid.”

She practically beamed as she replied, “He’s okay as far as brothers go.”

“You got off pretty easy with him. I, on the other hand, didn’t get so lucky.”

“Oh, come on. They both seem like great guys. I would think it would be fun growing up with them.”

I ran my fingers through my hair and grumbled, “If you like getting your ass kicked on a daily basis, then yeah, it was great.”

“You mean to tell me that Tucker Michaels was bullied as a child?”

“Hell, yeah. They tormented me in every way imaginable. There was one night when I was around eight years old and Colton tricked me into going up to the attic. I hated it up there, especially when it was dark. Just thinking about it freaked me out. I can’t remember how he convinced me but once he did, he pulled up the drop-ladder and locked me up there for hours. I was scared out of my damn mind … screaming and crying. And those two imbeciles just sat back and laughed about the whole damn thing.”

“That sounds awful! I can’t imagine how terrified you must’ve been.”

“I’m just getting started,” I scoffed. “Seth had a thing for catching snakes. He always knew which ones were poisonous and which ones weren’t. I never could tell the difference and really didn’t care. I hate the damn things.”

“I hate them, too. I’m terrified of them.”

“Well, don’t let Seth hear that. He has a knack for putting them in your bed or throwing them in the shower with you.”

“You’re kidding!”

“Nope. He did it all the time, so trust me, you got off lucky with Kaden.”

“I guess you’re right.” She giggled.

“What about you? What was it like for you as a kid.”

“Well, I was scared of everything, especially storms,” she told me as she turned and looked at the window.

Lightning danced in the sky and the wind howled through the trees as the rain poured down. While we continued to watch the storm, she told me about being an only child until she was thirteen and what a shock it was to find out that her mother was pregnant. From her stories about Kaden, it was clear that she loved the kid from the start, and as she continued to talk, one topic rolled into the next. Before I knew it, she was nestled in the crook of my arm and her voice was becoming softer with each word she spoke. It was late, and she was getting tired, so I lowered my mouth to her ear and whispered, “I think I better go.”

She quickly turned and looked at me, “Do you have to?”

“No. I don’t guess so, but you’re tired. Don’t you think you should get some rest?”

It had been hours since we’d gotten to her apartment, so I knew it wasn’t the alcohol talking when she asked, “Can you stay? I really don’t want you to go.”

“Is this because of the storm?”

She smiled. “Maybe. Or maybe it’s because I’m enjoying your company.”

“Who could say no to that?”