I narrow my eyes, watching him line up his next shot. He looks cocky as hell, like he’s got this all sewn up now.

We’ll see about that.

I move closer, sliding my hand over the rippling muscles of his shoulder blades. I feel him chuckle, a low, vibrating hum. He straightens up. “You trying to distract me, sweetheart?”

“No,” I coo, looking up at him. “If I wanted to distract you, I’d do something like…this.”

I stroke lightly down his arm, barely a whisper, and lift his hand to my lips. With my gaze never leaving his, I slowly lick his fingertip.

Dex groans.

I can’t believe I’m doing this, but a wicked instinct drives me on, making me bold.

I part my lips and take his index finger into my mouth. The callused skin is rough against my hot, wet tongue, a foreign sensation that thrills me, heady with desire.

“Fuck,” Dex exhales in a gasp. “Alicia…”

I slide my lips around his finger and suck.

He snaps.

With a growl, Dex wrenches free, shoving me back into an alcove until I hit the wall. I don’t have time to think, to even breathe, before his lips crash against mine, hot and fierce. Claiming me.

Yes.

I arch up against him, dizzy with lust. The fire in my blood is ignited, raging out of control as I grasp at his neck, his shoulders, tugging on the soft fabric of his T-shirt, desperate and greedy for more. It’s overwhelming, the hunger suddenly clawing at my body, blocking out everything but his demanding mouth and roving hands.

I don’t care about the game, abandoned behind us. I don’t care about the people, just a few feet away. All that matters is need and heat and lips and tongue.

This. All of it. Now.

Dex clutches me tight to him, his hands roving across my waist and back, tangling in my hair. He forces my lips wider, plunging his tongue into my mouth to taste me, hard and hot and unrelenting.

This is the kiss I’ve been dreaming about for months. The total obliteration of all sense and logic, a passion so overwhelming, I have no choice but to succumb.

“Jesus.” Dex gasps for air. He thrusts his body against me, and I wantonly respond, arching up to meet him, aching to feel his touch on my skin. “Alicia…”

There’s a note of desperation in his voice, a strangled plea. I feel it, echoing in every atom in my body.

Such a raw desire, I think I’ll die if I don’t have him all my own.

I pull him down to me again, needing his kisses, the exquisite pleasure of his mouth on mine. His hand slides down my body, grazing over my breast, sending me gasping from the sensation—

“Hey!”

The delicious pressure suddenly disappears as Dex is dragged back from me. I look up, dazed, to find Garrett pulling him away.

“This is a family establishment,” he warns us sternly, but I can see the laughter in his eyes. “Do I have to book you guys a room?”

I feel my cheeks burn. Dex wrenches free from Garrett, breathing hard.

“You’re a brave man, interrupting like that,” he growls.

Garrett laughs. “Get out of here, before you make scene. Carina says we need new entertainment, but I don’t think she had a live floor show in mind.”

Oh God. Embarrassment crashes over me. I look around to see if anyone else just witnessed out epic make-out, but Dex is already grabbing my hand and yanking me fast towards the exit.

“Wait up,” I gasp, breathlessly trying to keep up with him. He throws the door open, and practically drags me outside into the dusk light. It’s evening now, the heat of the day cooling to a warm breeze, but my body is still on fire as Dex hustles me around the side of the building, out of sight of the street. He pushes me back against the wall and lowers his head to kiss a fevered path down my neck.

“Not here,” I protest weakly, trying to keep control. “Someone will see!”

Dex doesn’t reply. He licks along my collarbone, and I sink back, overwhelmed. His hands are back on my body, right where they belong, and his mouth is working miracles, teasing the sensitive skin, licking and sucking at me as his hips grind me back into the solid brick wall. The friction shivers through me, brighter than stardust, igniting the flames all over again.

More.

As if in answer, Dex shifts, pressing his thigh between my legs, and now the pressure is sweet, so sweet, an ache taking hold of me, low between my thighs. I arch up, shamelessly grinding into him, feeling his body stiffen against me. Hard. He reaches for my chest again, tugging the neckline of my dress lower and licking down along the edge. I shudder under his tongue, running my hands through his hair, pinning him to me, wanton and crazy with desire.

I shouldn’t be doing this, I try to tell myself. I shouldn’t be liquid in his arms, out here where anyone could see.

You’re not this kind of girl, a distant voice scolds me, but as Dex’s thumb grazes across my breast, finding my nipple through my dress, teasing me, toying with me until the bud is stiff and aching under his hands, I let it go. The voice is gone, drowned under a torrent of need.

I am that girl now. I am.

And God, it feels so good.

A burst of music suddenly blasts through the parking lot. A car pulls in, just around the corner, the radio playing loud.

The noise pierces my haze of desire. I pull back, gasping for air. “Dex…”

His mouth keeps exploring my skin. His hands squeeze tight.

I battle with myself, wanting to stay in this dizzying embrace, but knowing that soon, too soon, we’ll be crossing a line I can’t take back.