Good with His Hands

His eyes were mesmerizing, light-colored but blazing with intensity. “Good to know.” Raising his free hand, he traced her lower lip with the pad of his thumb. Desire had been sparking inside her since the moment he’d smiled at her in the office hallway, but now a pang of sharp arousal jolted her—and they were fully dressed in a public place. Imagining the kind of magic he could work in the privacy of her apartment left her dizzy.

If she didn’t move away from him, she would be in no condition to shoot pool accurately. Which might not matter in the larger scheme of things, but she had to admit, part of her wanted to impress him.

When she stepped back, reaching for her drink, Gray gave her one more scorching look, then took his place at the table. The competitor in her wanted to watch the balls scatter and check for strategic positioning; the female in her was having difficulty looking away from the back of his jeans. When he’d said earlier that he liked physical activity, it had obviously been more than innuendo. He was in fantastic shape.

“You’re up,” he said, drawing her attention back to the game.

She scanned the table. He’d pocketed the seven, so she was stripes. She called the eleven and leaned down to take her shot. Recalling the appreciative way she’d watched him shoot, she stole an involuntary glance toward the mirrored wall at the last second. His reflected gaze locked on hers—avid and hungry—and she fumbled her shot. The eleven rolled in right where it was supposed to, but the cue ball followed.

Annoyed with herself for the undisciplined lapse in concentration, she let loose a stream of profanity.

Behind her, Gray laughed. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“Actually, she died when I was a baby.”

He paled. “Oh, God. I’m—”

“You didn’t know.” Whenever she told someone about her mom, she felt as if she should be sadder, but she didn’t remember the woman at all. The deepest sorrow she’d experienced was for her father’s loss. “My dad raised me and, incidentally, taught me most of the bad words I know. He wasn’t above swearing at soldiers if it motivated them, and sometimes he forgot to turn it off at home.”

“Military, huh?”

She nodded. “Army.”

“My father had his own roofing company and took on a lot of small construction jobs for extra income. He was careful, but anyone who works with tools that often is gonna catch his thumb with a hammer from time to time or run afoul of a circular saw.” He smiled. “Colorful words abounded. Of course, he swore me to secrecy. Mom would’ve had a fit if she’d known the vocabulary I was picking up in the garage.”

He surveyed the table, nostalgia fading as he immersed himself in the game. Using the conveniently positioned stripes, he knocked in two easy shots before having to stop and think about what he wanted to do next.

“If I were a show-off,” he said, “this is where I’d impress you with some fancy trick shot.”

She smirked over the rim of her beer. “In my experience, guys who really know how to handle their sticks don’t need to compensate with trick moves.”

“Need? No. But nothing wrong with spicing things up every now and then, right?” Giving her a suggestive smile, he executed a perfect behind-the-back shot.

She bit back her own smile. “I refuse to contribute to your ego by applauding that.”

“You can admit I make you weak in the knees. I won’t lose respect for you.”

She snorted. He sank a fourth ball before finally missing. Dani used the opportunity to reclaim her dignity with a great stop shot. The waitress brought another round of drinks while Dani pocketed two more, steadily closing the gap. But then she was left without a shot. Even as she banked the cue ball as best she could, she held no real hope. Sometimes, physics was against you.

Gray returned to the table. She sipped her beer, watching in admiration as he ran the table. His cockiness at pool was well warranted. After knocking in the eight ball for the win, he sauntered back to the railing with a satisfied smile.

“Now I wish we’d bet something,” he said. “Or that I’d suggested strip pool.”

The idea was appealing, if either of them had a pool table at home. She slid off her stool and began gathering the balls to rerack. “You can’t play strip pool in public.”

He joined her at the table, leaning close as he lowered his voice. “Sure you can.” His breath feathered against her ear, a tantalizing tickle of warmth. “You just have to remove things that aren’t obvious to everyone else in the room.” For the second time that night, he cupped her hip. Then he traced a finger across the denim, just above the elastic band of her panties. “Like...earrings.”

His outrageous teasing made her laugh, and she shoved against his chest. “You are a bad man.”

He dipped his head in agreement. “Being bad is my best quality.”

4 (#ulink_f6f6c46c-eedb-517e-ae6e-628918f839cf)

“NICE JOB.” IT was damned uncommon for Sean Grayson to smile when he lost, but he couldn’t help an admiring grin as Dani pocketed the winning ball in their second game.

She was a worthy opponent. Plus, she was sexy as hell. Watching her lean over in that narrow skirt that hinted at naughtiness without actually revealing anything lessened the sting of defeat. “Best two out of three?” It was a logical suggestion, given that they were currently tied and that the waitress had just brought them a basket of chips and salsa to go with another round of beers. Yet, the longer he spent here with Dani, the more desperate he was to get her alone.

The heated glances they’d shared had escalated to casual—and not so casual—touches. He wanted her. Badly. If his jeans grew any tighter, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep playing.

“One more,” she agreed. Her dark eyes gleamed with pleasure. Because she was having such a good time? Or because, like him, she was looking forward to what would follow their next match? She’d made it clear with her flirtatious words and body language that she desired him every bit as much as he desired her. “I hate to end on ties.”

He chuckled. “Right? There should always be a clear winner. My mom used to get aggravated at me and my brother for being too compet—” He stopped abruptly. With Dani calling him Gray, like most of his buddies did, and that way she had of grinning up at him as if he were the only man in the world who mattered, he’d almost managed to forget that she thought he was someone else.

“Lost my train of thought,” he mumbled.

She nodded absently, her easy acceptance of his fib making him feel like scum. As far as she knew, she had no reason to mistrust him. “You go ahead and rack ’em,” she suggested. “I’m going to run to the ladies’ room.”

Five minutes ago, he would have watched her cross the pool hall, enjoying the view and the graceful, confident way she moved. Now, he was preoccupied with guilt. His almost-mention of Bryce had taken some of the shine off the evening.

A beautiful woman who was supposed to be at her own wedding reception right now had entreated him to show her a good time and help her forget a broken engagement. When he’d agreed, he hadn’t been thinking any further than this evening. But now, thoughts of his brother brought unwelcome reality with them. Unless he swung by Bryce’s house tomorrow and somehow convinced his twin to quit his job and never step foot in his office again, odds were, Dani would run into him at some point. Even though she’d stipulated that she only wanted someone for tonight, that she wouldn’t cling or act differently afterward, Sean couldn’t let her face someone she mistakenly believed she’d been intimate with.

Sean could give her exactly what she wanted—a raw, passionate night with a near stranger to keep her mind off the wedding that hadn’t happened. But before he left, he’d have to find a way to tell her the truth. In which case, she’ll probably never speak to you again.

The realization sucked. He’d known within moments of meeting Dani that he was attracted to her, but over the past couple of hours, he’d discovered he really liked her. She was smart and sassy, shot excellent pool, didn’t seem to have a pretentious bone in her body and, when provoked, had the R-rated vocabulary of a cranky trucker. She was all wrong for Bryce, but exactly the kind of woman Sean could picture himself falling for—except he wouldn’t have the chance to fall. They only had tonight.

Which was what she’d wanted in the first place, he reminded himself. She wasn’t ready to consider relationships or dating. She’d been very clear about her request—a single, reckless night. And if that was all he got, he planned to make it count.

* * *

BY WINNING THE second game, Dani had put herself back in the running for overall victory. In theory, she was good enough to win their final match, too. Yet she was having a hell of a time trying to focus. Ever since she’d returned from the ladies’ room, it seemed as if the sexual tension between her and Gray had grown even more electric, crackling all around them with its own magnetic pull. He was as wickedly charming as he’d been all night, but there was no more playfulness in his expression.

Now, the way he watched her bordered on predatory. He was biding his time but would eventually pounce. And she couldn’t wait.

She swallowed, her throat dry with anticipation. She flagged down the waitress and requested a glass of ice water. Though she was hardly impaired, three beers had softened the edges of the world. She knew what was going to happen after this final game, and she wanted to be able to participate fully, alert enough to register every delicious detail. When morning came, she didn’t want her memories of the night to be vague or hazy. Especially not if Gray was as good in bed as she expected.

Lost in prurient thoughts, she miscued her shot. She was still muttering curse words when he joined her, tugging gently at one of her curls.

“You have quite a mouth,” he drawled.

“That a complaint?” she asked, knowing from his expression it wasn’t.

“Yes.” His gaze slid to her lips. “Because your mouth has been distracting the hell out of me all night. I’m too busy imagining kissing you to think straight.”

Same here. Except, her imagination hadn’t exactly stopped with kissing.

Despite her innate competitive streak, right now, she couldn’t bring herself to care about pool. She wanted Gray’s mouth on her, his hands on her. Since she couldn’t seem to find her voice, she met his eyes.

When he cupped her face with his hands, she experienced a giddy rush of excitement. Even though it had only been hours since they’d encountered each other at the office, it felt as if she’d been waiting forever for him to kiss her. His mouth settled over hers, and she parted her lips in invitation. She buried her fingers in his hair, surprised at how silky it was. Their kiss was salty and spicy, and her body pulsed with sensation.