all too well. “I’m sure I could try to buy it off the winner later, but for once in my life I want to try and win it outright.”
“Are you sure you want me as your partner? I mean, I’m pretty good at hustling low grade pool hall guys, but I don’t know if I would count on me in a tournament; especially not one where the stakes are so high. I don’t want to be responsible for you not winning back your family cabin, and there are professional players who would be a lot better at what you’re looking for.”
Drake crossed rounded the edge of the table and crossed the gap between them in just two short strides. “You may just think of yourself as a two bit hustler, but I watched you play last night for hours. You have skill, quite a bit more skill than you give yourself credit for. I wouldn’t want anyone else to stand with me. I don’t know you, and I don’t know your history or your life story, but I can tell a lot about you just by the way you hold yourself. When you are playing pool, you are the most confident person in the room.”
When she tried to duck her head, to look away from his gaze because she felt embarrassed at the praise he was showering her with, he tucked his hand under her chin and pushed it back up.
“No, I made the right choice.” He whispered just as his lips crushed down on hers.
Randa was taken by surprise at first, but she could not deny the spark that flowed through his kiss and into her. It was electric, and when she sighed and leaned into him, his arms braced her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.
When his tongue slipped between her lips, she sighed and tilted her head back, her hand clutching at the nape of his neck as she pulled him even closer. Fire surged through her body with each beat of her heart, electrifying her skin and sending what felt like a river of lava coursing into her lower abdomen.
It had been years since she was this turned on. The rational portion of her brain screamed that she needed to slow down, that she had just met this man. But the woman in her was not listening. And when his hand slid down her back and under the edge of her shirt, she felt her flesh shiver in anticipation of his touch.
His fingers lightly trailed up her back, each one having the same reaction as the last, until it felt as if her entire body was on fire. She could feel his growing arousal through his jeans, and when he pushed his hand under her bra strap, she took her free hand and ran it along the top of his pants, her fingers feathering along his flesh until they came to the button.
When her fingers dipped below and touched the tender flesh of his erection, he moaned into her mouth, his hands moving around to the front of her blouse, until they were cupping and kneading her breast, rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She could feel it building up inside of her until she let out a roar of a moan and clung even tighter to him, her body swaying slightly.
Then, as soon as she felt her balance giving way, Drake swept his hands down and lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his torso as he took the two steps to the pool table so her rear end could rest on the thick wood as she straddled him. Then, he slid his hands up, pulling her shirt over her head in one swift movement before repeating the action on himself, his bare chest pressed against her flesh.
As soon as her lips were free from his kiss she could feel them, raw, throbbing, and burning with desire. She tilted up her head, expecting him to resume the kiss, but instead he chuckled a little and dipped his head down to the nape of her neck, leaving a trail of burning patches on her flesh as he made her way down to her breasts.
Using his hand, he gently freed first her right breast, then her left from the restraints of her bra. The fabric bunched underneath them, scratching slightly at her tender and exposed flesh while simultaneously thrusting her breasts