That One Summer: A Collection of Steamy Contemporary Romance

Chapter 8

Emma

I sucked in a breath, calming the fluttering in my chest and keeping my eyes on the deck of cards rather than James’s bare chest. The two cards in my hand were trash and unless my luck improved on the turn, I might regret playing strip poker with James.

Strip poker with James.

A scenario I definitely dreamed about last night, but hadn’t thought I”d get to live.

I turned the third card onto the table, watching James”s lips curl up into a faint smile before clearing away. My eyes jumped to the card, running through the card combinations that made that seven of hearts so attractive. A straight, probably. Less likely, a flush. Both hands would blow my two-card pair out of the water.

”I raise.” James stood up from the floor, unbuckling his shorts and pulling them off in a fluid motion.

My tongue escaped from my mouth, licking my lips as my eyes wandered over the outline of his cock in the tight boxer briefs underneath the shorts. My fingers darted toward the chips, clinking them against the table before drawing back.

”Okay, call.” I kept my eyes on James as I swept my hair to the side, unfastening the clasp on my halter top and letting the straps fall. His eyes flared shamrock green, shoulders bunching as I shimmied the top off over my head and placed the cotton fabric on the coffee table.

His eyes heated, body leaning forward, and I silently thanked the dull gray t-shirt bra I’d worn through grad school that had ripped and forced me to go bra shopping right before my trip. I hadn’t expected the lacy red bra to get any appreciation on my trip to Northshore, but I was happy for it just the same.

”Call,” he repeated, voice tight and eyes skirting over my breasts. A part of me wants to raise the stakes again, strip off my remaining clothes and fall with James to the ground.

I threw the river card instead. Another heart, but he doesn”t take his eyes away from me. ”Raise.”

He stood again and shucked off the boxer briefs with practice ease. A faint gasp escaped my throat. My eyes raked down his near-perfect body: the faint impression of abs, the strong shoulders, his half-erect penis that looks damn near good enough to eat and made a liquid pool at my center.

”I”m all in,” he said with a cocky grin that made my stomach flip even as I questioned my very sanity.

James didn”t like me. Could barely even stand me. Hell, didn”t even know me. But the parts that I saw, I liked.

”So, are you joining me?” he asked.

Short of a massive bluff, I would lose. Not just the game, but the thorny part of me that had spent the last day convincing myself that someone like James couldn”t possible like someone like me. Still, what did I have to lose?

”Okay. Call.” My fingers trembled as I unfastened the back of my bra. I took it off and set it on the pile of clothes. I stood and James craned his head up, mouth agape, as I wiggled out of my shorts, taking my thong with it.

With a twinge of self-consciousness, I sat back down, rolling my eyes. ”It”s nothing you haven”t seen before.”

”And I like it just as much the second time.”

Before I lost my nerve, I flipped over my hand with a shrug. ”Two pair.”

James covered his cards, fingers hovering over the top, before turning them over.

”A bluff?” I gasped, eyes darting between the two of clubs and the three of hearts in his hand and the community cards. Nothing. He had nothing. ”Why would you bluff on that hand?”

He leaned across the table with a cocky grin on his face. ”I”m not very good at poker.”

”Clearly. And now I”ve won all the checkers and your clothes.” I moved the pile of clothes and chips onto the ground beside me. ”What are we supposed to do now? You’re broke.”

”I think I can come up with something.” His voice lingered on each word and my cheeks burned at all the incredibly naughty things I wanted that sentence to mean.

”Such as...”

”Another hand.” He slipped the cards off the table, shuffling them clumsily before dealing out a hand.

I set a checker in the center of the pot. ”What are you offering?”

”A kiss.” His gaze raked down my body with a bold lust that made me brave.

”Where?”

”Dealer”s choice.” He picked up his cards before the flop.

I laughed. ”So, your choice?”

”I”m open to some outside input.”

I inched up the edge of my cards, spotting a King-Queen matching the Jack on the table. ”I fold.”

James squinted at me, head cocked. ”Fold?”

”I guess you win.” I feigned disappointment.

The edge of his lips hitched up. ”That easy?”

”It”s a shit hand,” I lied as he pushed the table to the side.

”Really?” He raised an eyebrow as he crawled the short distance to me.

”So, dealer”s choice.” I shrugged, as if my heart wasn”t pounding against my ribcage.

He pushed a lock of my hair back behind my ear, lips perilously close to mine. ”Anywhere I want? Are you sure?”

My throat closed. I nodded, earning a sly smile from James.

”And what if I”m not sure where I want to kiss? What if I need to try a few places before I make my decision?”

”That”s fine,” I said, my body humming with energy and anticipation, desperate for James to kiss me anywhere and everywhere.

”Because I”ve thought a lot about kissing you.”

”Have you?”

He nodded, green eyes deadly serious. ”When I saw you in the water.”

”Where?” I exhaled as he dipped his head, his breath hot on my cheek.

”Here.” He brushed his lips over my ear lobe.

”And here.” His lips skated down to the crook of my neck.

”And definitely here.” He pulled my bottom lip into his mouth, setting a hand behind me and urging me back onto the ground. His other hand cupped the small of my back, slowly lowering me down before releasing my lips and trailing kisses down my neck.

”I had dreams about these,” he said, his tongue brushing over my nipple, sending a jolt of electricity zipping down my spine and to the uncomfortable tightness between my legs. I pushed my thighs together, arching my back up into him until he sucked my nipple into his mouth and I moaned.

He pulled away too soon, the cool air puckering my nipple and making both breasts ache. He kissed my sternum on the way to the other breast and I grabbed his hand, pressing his palm to the other with a mewling moan.

”That wasn”t part of the bet,” he muttered against my skin but kneaded the breast just the same, his thumb flicking over my nipple and making my entire body thrum.

He moved away from my breasts, kissing his way down my stomach, sucking my skin into his mouth and kneading his fingers into the soft flesh of my hips. His hard cock pressed against my leg until he pulled away between my legs.

”Do you want to know what I thought about the first time I met you?”

”Why is there a complete stranger at your beach house?” I asked with a grin.

His face lightened. ”Other than that. I wondered what a siren tasted like.” He gripped my thigh with a hand, thumb brushing circles on my inner thigh, drifting toward the center.

”Only one way to find out,” I said, my voice low and seductive, surprising even me.

He nodded, licking his lips before sinking back to the ground. He kissed both inner thighs, working slowly back and forth, easing closer and closer until his stubble brushed my thighs and his tongue eased me open, his tongue curling over my clit and sending my eyes back in my head.

”Fuck,” I swore, three years of abstinence feeling like a lifetime, my body ready to orgasm at even the faintest hint of pleasure.

”Say my name when you come,” he said, his voice low and gravely and irresistibly compelling. ”Like you did last night.”

Last night? I could barely remember my last name, let alone anything about last night. I didn”t have any time to dwell on it before his fingers eased their way inside of me and his mouth clamped on my clit, tongue moving in circles until his name was the only thought in my head.

As the crest of an orgasm mounted in my body, I moved my hips, rolling against his mouth until I screamed his name and collapsed in a heap on the living room rug.

James pulled up beside me as I recovered, taking my face in his hands and kissing my lips, the taste of me mingling with his.

”Better than I imagined it,” he muttered into my lips between kisses.

I closed my eyes, steadying the rapid beating of my heart and bringing myself, temporarily, back to Earth. ”Upstairs?”

When I opened my eyes, James grinned back at me. ”Absolutely.”