Page 19

NINETEEN

victoria

I look down at the card and then slide it in my pocket. Figure out a way to convince Leo? There’s no way, not after the rules we’ve established for our new friendship—plus, there’s the tiny fact that I broke his heart once, and he won’t ever forgive me for that.

I wipe my face before leaving the bathroom. Leo pounces from a chair, his concerned gaze locked on me, like he’s been waiting.

“Were you sick in there?” He frowns, and I swear I see worry in his eyes.

“I’m perfectly fine,” I say, straightening my spine, trying to prove I’m okay. I take a step forward and nearly trip over my own feet.

Leo grabs my arm. “You are not fine. Why don’t I take you home?”

“Leo, I don’t want to leave yet.” The room tips precariously, and I turn right into a barstool.

Leo places a hand on my shoulder gently. “Vic, you’re in no shape to do anything right now. And if I need to, I’ll throw you over my shoulder, and put you in the car myself... with the child locks on.” His eyes glint with stubbornness.

I jut my chin out. “You think I don’t know how to work child locks?”

“In your current condition?” he asks. “Doubtful.”

I brush by him and head to the team’s table. My stomach churns viciously. Maybe staying is a terrible idea, but I’m not about to bail in front of his friends.

“What’s next?” I say, forcing my attention away from Leo’s disapproving gaze.

“We’re just waiting on Leo,” Jaxon says, nodding at him as he sits across from me. “He won. Now he needs to choose who the lucky woman is.” He waggles his eyebrows at his teammate.

My face flicks up. “Wait, you haven’t kissed her yet?” I blurt out. I’d forgotten all about the kiss while I was in the ladies’ room having a good cry.

“Kissed who?” he says with a frown.

“The one you kissed last time,” I say as if it isn’t obvious.

Another song comes on, and the guys bolt from their chairs to hit the dance floor.

Leo shakes his head and doesn’t move. “Do you know who I actually kissed last time?”

“Yes,” I answer as jealous fire races through my body.

“You obviously don’t.” Leo stands and rounds the table slowly, keeping his eyes on me the whole time. I feel like he knows something he’s not telling me. Or maybe I’m just paranoid because I’m a lousy loser who clearly should’ve never agreed to this game.

I cross my arms, leaning back. “It’s totally okay with me if you kissed that waitress.”

“You think I kissed her ?” he asks, nodding toward Blondie.

“Didn’t you?” I fire back.

“No, I kissed Sherrie, on the cheek, like my grandma.”

Shoot. That was totally not what I was expecting him to say.

I blink, then take a sip of water, trying to pretend it doesn’t matter. “You can kiss any girl you want.”

“Any girl?” He stops next to my chair.

“Yes, any girl,” I say, not looking at him. Because I don’t want to see him kiss anyone else.

“If that’s true, then stand up.”

“Why?” I ask, finally meeting his eyes.

“I’m kissing any girl I want, right?” he asks, his voice a raw scrape.

“What?” I ask, astonished. I slowly rise, even though everything tells me not to.

He puts a hand on my face, and holds my gaze for a few breaths, his eyes darkening into midnight blue. Everything slows in my vision as Leo moves closer, heightening my senses, like I’m about to plummet down the first hill on a roller coaster. His thumb teases my jaw, his lips drop to mine, and it finally hits me what’s about to happen. I’m the girl he’s chosen.

“You want...” I stop, my voice cutting out. I just want to know that it’s not a joke. He’s not dangling something in front of me, only to pull it away at the last second.

“Yes, you,” he answers in a whisper, erasing my doubts. The man is meticulous and in control even when he’s off the ice, while I feel like a spool of thread unraveling with every breath.

“Is this for revenge... or for real?” I ask, even though right now I’d gladly take a revenge kiss in order to get my grubby hands on him. “You’re making me pay for volunteering for this game, aren’t you? Teaching me a lesson in front of your buddies.”

It’s total crap because right now, half the team is on the dance floor while the rest are playing pool in the back room. None of them give a flying fig if we’re making out on a table top in the middle of Boots and Buckles.

“If that were the case—which it’s not—then what lesson would I be teaching you?” he asks, his voice smooth as silk.

“Not to play games with you,” I answer breathlessly. “Because you like to win.”

His lips hitch up on one side. “You’re right about that. I like to win.” He inches closer and his free hand slides right above my hip. “Especially when it comes to you.”

“A defensive tactic?” I lift an eyebrow, knowing how much he wanted to keep Rourke from playing against me.

“More like a power play,” he whispers, dropping his head closer to my ear. His breath grazes my skin, and I shiver. If there was one thing he was good at back when we dated, it was this part—the warm-up before the kiss. No man should be this excellent at wooing a woman, but Leo was a master charmer in the best of ways. He could stake a claim on me with just the right words, and I responded by toppling like a stack of blocks.

He traces the hollow of my cheekbone with his thumb, then the curve of my ear. “Tonight there was no way I was going to risk anyone else kissing you.”

I should find this infuriating, but I don’t. I’m suddenly glowing with pockets of heat through my body, his touch lighting me up in the best of ways.

He leans closer, his grip on my hip tightening as he whispers, “I can’t stand the thought of anyone else touching you.”

So this is what I get for losing? Kissing Leo? Sign me up.

I’m clearly in no shape to question what this means—if it even means anything at all. But I’ll enthusiastically pretend this is the price I have to pay, that I don’t want it, when everything in me is only too happy to be punished like this.

He slowly leans in, stopping just inches from my lips, and gazes at me. It’s not a punishing gaze. His eyes are as soft as blue butterfly wings, a gentle reminder that under that armored front, he still has a soft spot for me.

He dips his face, his lips meeting mine slowly at first, and then deepening into a kiss that feels like he’s laying down an offering. It’s velvet and silk, like warm water enveloping my entire body, soothing me from head to toe. He pushes closer to me, his hands and lips explaining in a way that words can’t how I’m the only thing in the world that matters to him right now.

His fingers tangle in my hair, urgent with need, pulling me closer, and I give a breathless gasp. Fireworks explode in my chest, edging me forward. I lean on my tiptoes and slide my hands up to his shoulders, pulling myself into him . The New Year’s Eve kiss was good, but this kiss ? This one is exquisite, because this time, he’s choosing me.

Somehow this feels like a victory, even though I’m the one who will probably lose the game. Losing is winning sometimes, and I’m willing to bet the ranch on how this one turns out.

I’ve dreamed of kissing him like this more times than I can count, but the dream pales in comparison to how alive I feel right now. My senses are a knife blade sharpened under his touch as I slip my fingers across his shoulders, letting him overwhelm me with his smell, his powerful hands trembling to stay in control, even though they could easily break me with their strength.

I slide my hands onto the nape of his neck, where his hair curls just above his collar deliciously. I breathe him in, soaking him up, losing myself in his kiss, exploring every inch of his neck and shoulders with my hands, all of me saying yes to this. My heart is a kick drum matching time with his, my thoughts spiraling into nothingness, wiping out every question I had about Leo. I don’t care if this moment will punish me in the future, make me never forget what it’s like to lose myself in a kiss. Because I’ll pay the price to have him like this one more time.

I may have lost trivia night, but this game between us to see who will stop first? I’ll go down with the ship before I quit.

“Victoria...” Leo says in a ragged voice as he breaks away from me.

Suddenly the music stops, and the whiplash of reality forces me back into the moment. Leo slowly steps away, and it physically hurts to have distance between us, to not be in his arms exploring every part of him.

His gaze crashes into mine, and I can see the longing in his eyes, the furrowed brow as he tries to figure out what just happened. His hand remains on my hip, his eyes still laying claim to me.

I don’t know who won or lost, or that it even matters now. I’ve seen a side of Leo I thought no longer existed, a look that tells me he remembers what it was like to kiss me, to know me like that and to feel something for me that’s rocked his world too.

Now that I’ve seen it and felt it, I’m not sure I can ever go back.

A phone’s camera light flashes our direction, and I blink from the blinding light. That’s when I look around and notice a few strangers staring at us.

Leo grabs my hand, dragging me out the back door of the restaurant.

“We need to leave,” he says, his scowl returning. “Before we attract too much attention.”

After that kiss, I’m afraid we already have.