“Pussy,” Jonah finally said before backing away and storming off. Grey really didn’t like being called a pussy, especially not by two different people in a single night, dammit.
Behind him, Grey heard a whoosh of relief rush from Avery’s lungs. He turned around. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Andy warned me Jonah got fired. I should’ve been better prepared. Shouldn’t have baited him.”
“You sure don’t pull any punches.” He noticed her withering now, as the adrenaline ebbed from her system.
She nodded, not nearly as confident as she’d appeared moments earlier. “I shouldn’t be here. I should go.” She dug in her purse and threw a couple of dollars on the bar. “Can you tell Kelsey for me?”
“Hold on a sec.” Grey clutched her forearm and she stilled. “Hang out with me a while.”
She shook her head. “I need to go. I didn’t want to come in the first place.”
“Me neither, but I’m glad I ran into you.” He smiled, hoping to coax her into staying. Her defeated, torn expression warned him he’d already lost the battle.
“I’m sorry, Grey.” She turned and bolted toward the door.
Grey watched her snake through the crowd, checking to make sure Jonah wasn’t lying in wait to get her outside. He scoped the dance floor, but couldn’t locate Trip’s cowboy hat. When he looked back toward the door, he caught sight of Avery slipping outside.
Two seconds later, his feet started moving. He exited the bar, glancing left and right. No sign of her. He jogged—gingerly—left for a block and saw her vivid-blue Jeep parked on the side street. “Avery, hang on!”
She looked up while unlocking her door. As he approached, he noted how flustered she appeared. Shaky almost, as if she’d depleted all her energy holding herself together in the bar.
“Hey. Hey, settle down.” He rubbed her arms. “Everything’s okay.”
“Andy predicted the backlash. I thought I could handle it, but Jonah’s anger scared me.”
He stepped within inches of her, his body strung tight with desire. “Come here.” Pulling her into a hug, his own body unwound a bit as he fitted her against his chest. He heard a little sniffle as her shoulders trembled. He whispered against her ear, “You’ve got one helluva backbone, Bambi.”
Despite the precipitating events, that minute on the sidewalk seemed heavenly. When she started to ease away, he tightened his hold. “Shh.”
“I’m all right now.” She managed to pry herself ten or twelve inches away from his chest, but he refused to release her. “What?”
He stared at her wide eyes and parted lips, and lost all grasp of rational thought.
“This,” he said, gesturing between them. He took her hand and placed it over his heart. “Tell me you don’t feel this, Avery. Feel the way my heart beats so fast when you’re near, like it’s trying to pound its way out of my chest just to get closer to you.” He heard her breath catch. “The way my skin gets so prickly and hot, just aching for you to touch me.” He snuggled closer until his good knee nestled in between her legs. “The way everything in me wants to grab hold of you whenever I see you.”
He trailed his finger along her neck to the spot where her pulse throbbed as hard as everything in his body. “I think you feel it, too. Let’s stop fighting it.”
When she didn’t move, he leaned in and captured her lip with his, gently sucking on it before he kissed her. It was better than before, because this time he could press his entire body up against her. She didn’t even seem to mind him pinning her against her car. After snatching the car keys from her hands, he set them on the roof without breaking their kiss.
Her hands weaved into his hair and he felt her moan in his mouth. Good God, he nearly passed out there on the sidewalk. “Avery.”
His mouth trailed along her jaw and around her earlobe, finally catching those little earrings in his teeth, before continuing down her neck. She shivered and kissed him back with intensity. He got so hard, so fast. Her thighs locked around his leg, like she needed the same relief he did. Yes! “Come home with me now.” His voice rasped like it came straight from his lungs.
He kissed her again, long, slowly and deeply. Can’t. Get. Enough.
“No.” Her answer came too quickly. She gently pushed him away. “I can’t.”
But he had her. He could feel her yearning, just as strong as his own. “Please,” he begged before leaning in to steal another kiss.
He felt her melt into him again. So close. His hands roamed her waist and down behind her hips, grabbing hold and tugging her against him. I want this woman.
“Grey, stop.” She was panting when she pushed him away again. “You know this isn’t right as long as the lawsuits are unresolved. And, well, I don’t want to hurt Kelsey.”
“Kelsey’s a big girl, dammit. I never dated her. The control you’re giving her is plain childish.” He stopped when Avery’s fist landed on her hip. “What’s with the look? Because I swore? Because I said it’s ridiculous Kelsey has anything to do with us?”
“At the very least, I’d need to talk to her first.”
He sighed, preparing for her to tense up once he confessed. “She already knows.”
“What?” Her eyes widened immeasurably. “When?”
“She guessed the truth when you and Trip were dancing. So I admitted you were the girl I’d been talking about, and I told her she was one reason you shot me down.”
“Oh you did not!” Avery looked up to heaven, grabbing her skull with both hands. “Great. No wonder she looked so uptight when I returned from the dance floor.” Then she rested her hands on his arms and looked away. “Doesn’t matter. The bigger problem is that you’re still suing my family.”
“I’m suing your brother.” He tipped her chin to meet her eyes.
“Same thing.”
“No, it’s not. Honestly, the more I think about it, the less important that seems to be. If your parents gave you the house, why can’t Andy borrow against its value to pay any judgment?” He cupped the back of her neck with one hand.
“What gave you the idea my parents gave us the house?” She crossed her arms, looking ready to read him the riot act.
“There’s no mortgage.” He squeezed her hip with his other hand.
“They sold us the house and loaned us the money to do it. We kept it informal, but they’re relying on that money for their retirement.”
“I didn’t know.” Grey scrubbed his hands over his face, unhappy with this new information. “Listen, I’m slowly building new summer business, and it’s possible the Outpost’s insurance company will offer a decent settlement. If that comes together, maybe I’ll be able to make ends meet without needing too much from Andy.”
He blocked out the possibility he might never regain full use of his knee, which would devastate him personally and professionally. He stared at Bambi, unable to stop his hands from reaching for her again. She might be worth it.
She placed her hands on his chest, which felt so good his eyelids fluttered. “Really?”
“Maybe,” he said. Before she could protest, he pulled her into another kiss, savoring every second. Fortunately, she didn’t fight him this time. He cradled her face then broke their kiss just long enough to say, “Stay with me tonight. I don’t want to let you go.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Normally I date someone for at least a month before sleeping over.” She glanced away for a second, as if she anticipated some kind of smart-aleck remark.
“Why?”
She looked him square in the eyes. “If he’s willing to wait, I know he really likes me.”
“I already really like you.” As far as he was concerned, he’d already waited more than three months for her, clearly meeting her test.