Page 6

TWO
JACKSON
“This…is not a restaurant.”Not budging from the curb, Aurora eyes the high-rise building with suspicion.
“I didn’t say I was taking you to a restaurant. I said I’d feed you.”
Her head whips around, panic written all over her face.
“Take out your phone. Send Emily your location. She knows my teammates, and they know where I live. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Just kidnap you.Kidding. Maybe.
She places her hands on her hips, cocking her head to the side. “You said a fantastic place to eat.”
“I have food on the way. My place is quiet and comfortable, preferable to eating out.”
“What if I hate the food? I’m a picky eater.”
“You won’t. If you do, I’ll cook for you.”
She shivers, her arms prickling with goosebumps. It’s an August night in California, so it’s not cold, but she’s not wearing much.
“Please don’t make me beg. I’ll get on my knees right here on the sidewalk.”
I’ll do it, too.
“I’m not sleeping with you.”
I grin at her adorable attempt at being assertive. “I don’t wanna sleep with you. You’re hideous.”
It’s a blatant lie, and she knows it.
She presses her lips together to suppress her smile. “I’m serious.”
I put my hands up in a placating gesture. “I won’t try anything. I’ll keep my hands to myself.”
She releases a dramatic sigh. “Fine.”
I swipe my keycard, and we step into the private elevator.
“Are you this way with every guy you date?”
“Is that what we’re doing? Well, I haven’t dated…much.”
“Why not? Because you’re hideous?”
That makes her giggle, and her smiles are pure oxygen in my lungs, breathing new life into me. “Because I’m nineteen.”
Nineteen?Nineteen?Maybe that’s why she skipped the champagne, not because she didn’t trust Rookie. Oops.
“Shit, really?”
“For three more days, and I’m far too busy to date.”
“Why? Are you in college?”
She drops her gaze and fiddles with a thread on her skirt. “No. I work a lot.”