Holy shit, I couldn’t believe Chris had such lousy timing. Of all the times to call. I had started attempting to put dinner together, but I only knew half of what I was doing. Still, I wanted to do a good job to try to impress my gorgeous, green-eyed diner girl. I spilled flour everywhere and had essentially made a mess of the kitchen in my suite. By the time Jade had arrived, I was a nervous wreck. I heard her knock and rushed to answer the door, excited as all hell.

Once I opened the door though, I wasn’t even thinking about dinner. Seeing Jade at the door to my room, damn, I could barely think. She was so breathtaking. Even dressed casually she was stunning. The green blouse matched her beautiful eyes, and the jeans and boots she had on only accentuated her curvy body.

I was coming undone listening to her tease me. My expression darkened, narrowing in on those fucking gorgeous lips.

At her words, I felt the arousal I’d been keeping at bay cut loose.

I stepped closer to Jade, keeping my eyes on those luscious lips as I wrapped my hand around her hip to pull her closer. “What was that?” I murmured.

My other hand cupped her cheek, thumb swiping across her soft, dewy skin. I felt her body tremble, and I felt my already hard cock grow even harder.

She started to speak, but I tugged her against me, pressing our bodies flush against one another. I held back the groan that was rumbling in my chest.

“I think I like you like this,” I murmured, running my nose along her jawline slowly, teasingly. I began kissing her neck. “I was trying to cook you dinner. I even bought wine.” I whispered, my arousal evident.

Pulling back, I looked down at Jade, gazing intensely at her lips. “But I think I want to change our date. I like you like this, shaking for me.”

She thrust against me as she reached for my lips, making me want to strip her bare. But I held back. I needed to know she wanted this too. She tried to kiss me, but I pulled back first.

“Tell me. Is that okay with you?”

“What?” she was looking as distracted as I felt.

I clenched my jaw and swallowed hard. “Is it okay if I change our plans, Jade?”

“Yes,” she nodded once.

I gave her a slow, sexy smile. “Good.”

Suddenly, my hands wound themselves in her silky black hair, scraping my fingers against her scalp and sweeping away the tendrils of hair to move her mouth closer to mine. I was going to own her with this kiss. It was hard and demanding, unlike the other kisses. We were fighting for dominance. It was intensely hot, and I slid my tongue between Jade’s lips, sweeping into her mouth and dueling with her. She kissed me back hard, ready to give herself over to me.

She pulled away, breathing hard. Both of us were. My lips were tingling, wanting more. She pushed at my shirt, tugging it off my shoulders as I wrestled with my sleeves to pull it off. My heart was pounding in my ears. Licking my lips, I reached for Jade’s shirt, plucking at the buttons to undo them. When I finally reached the last one and pulled her shirt open, my breath stopped for a few seconds.

She was wearing a plain white bra, but I couldn’t have cared less. I felt my jaw drop open in awe as I took in her luscious body. She was exquisite, like a fine wine waiting to be savored.

“If I had known—” I started to say, my voice low and thick. I stopped, swallowed, and then spoke again. “Damn, I knew you were beautiful, Jade, but if I had known this is what you were hiding, I would have tried to get you into my bedroom a long time ago.”

Jade squirmed under my intense scrutiny.

I felt the excitement of impending pleasure. But I also felt something else—something I hadn’t felt for anyone else. A feeling of euphoria washed over me—a connection with Jade that made me feel like I was home. It was powerful and heady, and I didn’t know what to do with these feelings.

She leaned in and kissed my neck, making my cock stir and fight for release.

“God,” I groaned, dropping my head back, wanting more of her sexy little nips and licks on me. I wanted her lips everywhere. My hips had a mind of their own, thrusting against Jade’s body as she worked her way down my body.

I pulled away and pushed her gently, so she fell onto my bed. I leaned down to kiss the soft, sensitive skin of her belly, reaching for her jeans.

The sound of my phone ringing from my dresser interrupted my progress.

“Ignore it,” Jade gasped, pressing her hands on my shoulders to keep me from getting up. I met her stormy green eyes, and I was sure her feelings were mirrored in mine. We started at each other as the phone continued to ring. It stopped, and I reached for Jade again, only to hear the ringing start again.

Through the foggy haze of desire, I wrestled for control. Shit, it was probably Chris calling. I had completely forgotten that he was due back today.

“Damn it,” I muttered, dropping a quick peck onto her mouth before lunging for the phone, yanking it from its charger. “What?” I snarled, beyond annoyed.

“Grayson, it’s Chris. You were supposed to meet me tonight. You going to make it?”

“No,” I snapped, closing my eyes. Fuck, I wasn’t ready for tonight’s date to end.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, shaking my head in irritation. “I’m busy.”

“We were supposed to—” Chris began.

“No, no, listen, I’m busy! It doesn’t matter with what…”

“Is everything ok Grayson?”

“I’m—Fine, fine. Okay.”

Chris continued, “Well, if you are fine, then you should have no problem keeping out meeting. Nothing is as important as your career.”

“Whatever, yes. Yeah. I’ll see you soon then. Goodbye, Chris.” I knew if I didn’t meet Chris, he was liable to show up here, and I didn’t want him anywhere near Jade tonight.

I hung it up, slamming the phone down hard on my dresser. Sighing, I turned to Jade. She had sat up and was frowning in concern.

“What’s up?” she asked, her sexy voice was tinged with worry, and I wanted to reassure her.

“My manager,” I said shortly, shaking my head again as I looked toward the ceiling, then back at her. “He’s in town.”

She nodded in understanding. “Oh,” she said. “That guy who you came to the diner with, that one time?”

I nodded. “Yeah.” I sighed and sat down next to her on the bed. “I’ve got to go meet him.”

She looked as crestfallen as I felt. “Okay.”

I nudged her gently with my shoulder. “I’m sorry.” You have no idea how sorry. I didn’t want to leave her and our time together, but I couldn’t risk Chris coming here and causing damage I couldn’t repair. I couldn’t let my career taint what we had.

She shrugged, giving me a small smile. I loved that smile. I had grown accustomed to seeing it these past few weeks, and I had wanted to explore all her many other facial expressions tonight. Fuck.

With a big sigh, I stood, holding out my hand to help her stand up. I glanced at her lips then met her eyes with a resigned smile of my own.

“You’ve got to go now, then?” she asked. Nodding, I raked my fingers through my hair.

“I’ll make it up to you,” I promised.

The smile she gave me was radiantly beautiful. “I’ll hold you to that.”

I leaned close to her until our lips were just barely touching. “Good.”