Taking A Shot (17 page)

TY KNEW EXACTLY WHAT JENNA WAS DOING.

He’d seen the parade of guys she’d been trying to date—hell, he’d sent a few of them her way. He’d also noticed none of them had stuck around. He wasn’t too unhappy about that. He’d gambled on setting her up with some of those guys. None of them had been losers. But he also knew her type—him. It had just taken her a while to figure that out.

Maybe he wasn’t exactly the man of her dreams, yet here he was, driving up to her place again. At her invitation. She hadn’t exactly forfeited the game, but she was obviously trying to exorcise some demons—with him in the starring role of Beelzebub.

He grinned as he grabbed a bottle of wine from the passenger seat and headed to the front door.

This should be interesting.

She opened the door and he drank in the sight of her dressed in skin-tight jeans and a loose fitting top that fell over one shoulder,
revealing skin he wanted to sink his teeth into. She was barefoot, her toenails painted black and white.

Cute.

“Hey,” she said, smiling as she let him in.

“Hey yourself. You look nice.”

“Thanks. I’m starving, so what kind of pizza do you like?”

“Anything with meat on it.”

“Good. That’s the kind I like, too. I’ll go order it.” She looked at the bottle of Cabernet in his hand. “Wine?”

“I like wine. It goes good with pizza.”

“It does, actually. Corkscrew is in the right-hand top drawer next to the sink. Go ahead and open it while I call for the pizza. Glasses are in the cabinet above the dishwasher.”

He went into the kitchen, opened the wine, and found two glasses. He leaned against the counter, letting the wine breathe for a few minutes. Jenna came in.

“You know wine.”

He crossed his arms. “I’m not just some dumb hockey jerk. I have a few skills. Like knowing the right wine to go with—”

“Pepperoni and sausage pizza.”

He held up the bottle. “A smooth Jacob’s Creek Cabernet.”

“Oh. Australian. I’m impressed.”

He poured the red into their glasses and handed her one. She inhaled the wine, then took a sip.

“Good choice. And you’re right. Perfect for pizza. But you still don’t strike me as a wine guy.”

“Now what fun would I be if I was predictable?”

She walked out into the living room and he followed.

“I might have to rethink my labeling of you.”

“Does that mean you have me all figured out now?”

She laughed. “Not a chance.”

She took a seat on the sofa, and he sat next to her. “Good. Hopefully I’ll keep you guessing.”

“You’d be the first.”

“How about the guy the other night? The whiskey guy? Did you have him figured out?”

“I thought I did, but then he saw you guys and became a fan boy, and that was the end of him.”

“All because he likes hockey?”

“No. There was no spark between us.”

He leaned over and played with a lock of her hair. “That spark’s important to you, isn’t it?”

“Chemistry is important. There’s no point in spending time with someone if you don’t have it.”

“True. So that’s why I’m here? The undeniable chemistry you have with me?”

She lifted her gaze to his. “Something like that.”

He leaned in and brushed his lips to hers. She moved forward, balanced her wineglass in one hand, and laid her other hand against his chest.

His heartbeat sped up when she kissed him back.

Yeah, that chemistry between them was a hell of a thing. He’d never been in a drought where women were concerned, but lately he hadn’t been interested enough in anyone else to even take a second look. Not since Jenna. There was something about her that was his primary focus. Maybe he had a few of his own demons to demolish.

He cupped the back of her neck and deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue in to taste her.

Wine and peppermint, a heady combination that made his cock tighten. His body heated. He wanted to pull her on top of him and take off her clothes.

He pulled away only long enough to take the wineglass out of her
hand and put it on the table. She swept her tongue across her bottom lip and pulled her legs up on the sofa.

“Shouldn’t we wait for the pizza guy?”

He arched a brow. “Why? Do you have some three-way porn fantasy involving the pizza guy? Is that why I’m really here tonight?”

She tilted her head back and laughed hard. “Isn’t that a man’s fantasy? The whole ménage thing?”

He gave her a hard stare. “I don’t share.”

“Good to know. I’m not much into sharing, either.”

“Good. Now that we got that settled…”

He reached for her, but the doorbell rang.

Too bad.

Jenna slipped off the sofa, but he beat her to the door and paid the pizza delivery girl, who obviously recognized him.

“You’re Tyler Anderson. I love hockey. I’m a big fan.”

“Thanks a lot.” He winked at her, tipped her ten bucks, which made her eyes widen, then carried the pizza into the kitchen.

“Oh, that smells good.” Jenna set out plates and they piled on the pizza.

“I have a couple movies we could watch.”

“Oh, yeah? What kind of movies?”

“Fantasy, action, romance, horror.”

“I like any of them.”

She cocked her head to the side. “You’d watch a romantic comedy.”

“I like to be entertained. Whichever one you pick will be fine, as long as it doesn’t suck.”

She grabbed her plate and the bottle of wine and they headed into the living room. “The pressure’s on now.”

“What pressure?”

“To pick a movie that doesn’t suck.”

He grabbed a slice of pizza, then put his feet up on the table. “I’m pretty easy to please, Jenna. Just put a movie in and I’ll like it.”

“Okay.” She got up, slid a DVD in, and pressed play.

It was a horror movie.

He loved horror movies. A lot of women didn’t. A point in Jenna’s favor.

They finished eating, and Jenna turned off the lights.

“Now this is how horror movies should be watched.”

“I always thought so.” She finished off her glass of wine, then moved next to him.

He lifted his arm and she snuggled against him.

Ty dated plenty of women, which usually meant they went out to a club, a bar, or a restaurant, and then had sex.

This was different. Staying home, having pizza, and watching a movie? He hadn’t done this in a long time. At the height of his season, he was on the go all the time. What free time he had, he usually spent at the bar playing pool with his teammates. That relaxed him and let him wind down after a grueling game.

But this? It was nice. Being with a woman and doing nothing but feeling her body next to his and sinking into the plot of a grisly horror movie? Yeah, this was a whole different kind of relaxation.

Jenna tensed during the kill scenes, when the murderer leaped out of the shadows with his knife. She didn’t hide her eyes, though. But by the tail end of the movie her legs were draped over his and she was practically sitting on his lap.

“Are you sure you like horror movies?” he asked when the movie was over.

She reached for her glass of wine and held it while he poured her a refill. “Oh, they scare the hell out of me. I love them. I’ll probably have nightmares tonight.”

He laughed and shook his head. “So you like being scared.”

“With movies, yes. Anything else, no. So don’t get any ideas about lurking in corners or jumping out at me. You’ll give me a heart attack and I’ll throw you out of my house.”

“Noted.” They drank wine and she put in an action comedy next.

“I need to unwind after the first movie. I need something to make me laugh.”

The movie was fun and action filled, with lots of explosions and car chases and great special effects. Jenna did a good job choosing movies. But he had to admit he liked the first one better, mainly because she’d stayed so close to him throughout.

Not that she’d moved all that far away during this movie. He wasn’t as invested in this one, so his attention wandered to Jenna’s legs, the way the jeans fit her like they were glued to her skin, outlining every one of her curves.

He played with her hair, letting his fingers sift through the softness of it.

“Have you always worn your hair short?”

She dragged her gaze away from the television. “In high school I wore it down to my waist. It was a giant pain in the ass to deal with, so when I traveled out of the country I cut it all off.”

He tugged at one of the ends. “This suits you.”

“Yeah? How so?”

“Your face is small, so too much hair would overwhelm you. Plus it makes your eyes stand out, and I can see your earrings. And you have really cute ears. The whole package is sexy.”

She turned her head a little to the side. “Uh, wow. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She handed him her glass and he put it on the end table. Then she climbed onto his lap and he put his hands on her hips, feeling the warmth of her body through her jeans.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I’ve been thinking about this all night.”

She palmed his chest. “Thinking about what?”

“You in this position.”

“You like a woman on top?”

“I like you in my lap.” He flexed his fingers, testing the give and play of her flesh. “I like being able to feel you move against me.”

She slid up his lap until the crotch of her jeans aligned with the quickly tightening bulge in his pants.

“Like that?”

He lifted his gaze to hers. “Exactly like that.”

“This would be a lot more fun if we were naked.”

“No hurry.” He knew she was ready to get started on banishing those demons, but he just wanted to feel her body on his. They’d get to the naked part later. He swept his hands up the side of her ribs and along her back, then drew her against him. Her breasts pillowed against his chest, her nose just inches from his.

He palmed the nape of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. This time, there’d be no one to interrupt them.

The softest sigh escaped her lips as their mouths met, their lips sliding together. He kept it slow and easy to start, his fingers dancing in her hair, holding her in place as he moved his mouth over hers. He swept his hand over her back and turned her so her legs were on the sofa and he had her cradled in his arms.

Then he settled into the kiss, demanding more, sliding his tongue inside her mouth to sweep against hers. She moaned and pushed her body closer to his. He heated, hardened, and snaked his hand down her back to cup and squeeze her butt.

It would be so easy to give her exactly what she wanted—to strip her bare and fuck her—to get them both off and release the tension that drove them both.

But that would be too easy, and he didn’t want anything about this to be easy.

He wanted this to be a whole lot of complicated, so she wouldn’t run off and find some other guy tomorrow.

Why he cared, he didn’t know. He wasn’t looking for a relationship or permanence of any kind. But he still didn’t want Jenna to find
it with anyone else. If that made him an asshole, he’d have to live with that.

He laid her head in the crook of his arm and turned her over so he could run his hand over her breasts. She hadn’t worn a bra tonight, and he’d watched her nipples harden every time she got a chill. It had been hard not to reach out and touch them, to scoop a handful of them and tease the puckered crests every time they tightened against her top.

Now he rubbed his thumb over one, then the other, watching them peak from his touch. He tucked his hand under her shirt, her stomach quivering when he palmed it. He smiled down at her, then walked his fingers along her rib cage and laid his hand over her breast.

He loved touching her, loved seeing the spark of passion in her eyes when he rolled his thumb over her nipple.

“Lift, babe.”

She sat up and he lifted the shirt over her head. He had her back in his arms right away, her breasts bared. Now he could play, could lift her in his arms and flick his tongue over her nipple, could lick and suck them until he heard the sweet gasps and whimpers she made.

Oh, yeah, he liked listening to her, liked feeling her wriggle against him as she turned toward him to fit a breast into his mouth. He cupped her breast, flicked his tongue over the nipple, and sucked it between his lips, using his teeth to lightly nibble until she couldn’t hold still, until she moaned and clutched his arm, digging her nails in his skin.