Chapter 9
Dakota
“You’re not alone now?” What had come over me, that I’d said that?
Out loud. Of all the things I could’ve said.
And then he’d practically sprinted away.
My heart was racing as I waited, tapping my foot anxiously on the cold wood floor.
A few moments later, Colin reappeared from a room down the hallway with a thick blanket in his arms.
“I could only find this one,” he said. “The other good one is on my bed, but I have a few smaller throw blankets too, in case you get cold.”
“I think we can manage,” I said, taking the heavy down duvet from him and spreading it out on the couch while pulling one end over my lap.
Colin sat on the other side of the couch, eyes fixed on me. My heart fluttered and I racked my brain, trying to think of what to say next. A moment later, he cleared his throat and spoke. “You want to play cards?”
I let out a sigh of relief. “That sounds like a great idea.” I watched as Colin stood and grabbed a pack of cards from a nearby bookshelf that was otherwise packed with assorted games and puzzles. “You like board games, huh?”
He opened the deck of cards and began dealing, ultimately giving us twenty-six each. “Yeah, I do. My friends come over for game nights once a month. We usually skip November and December because of the holidays, but the rest of the months, we have a pretty regular group.”
“That’s cool. What are we playing?”
He gave me a grin that could only be described as mischievous. “How about Cheat?”
“Cheat?”
“Some people call it Bluff.” He quickly explained the rules, which were pretty straightforward.
We just needed to get rid of all of our cards, in rank order, and if necessary, we could lie about what we were playing.
If we got caught lying, we had to add cards to our hand.
“And if you decide they’re lying, you call out the word cheat. ”
“Okay,” I said with a nod. “I think I can handle this.”
We played back and forth for a while, the game slowly becoming more and more tense. It took a while but eventually I managed to pick up on the “tell” that he was lying—he bit his lip and nodded, as if he were trying to convince himself that it was the right thing to do.
“Cheat,” I murmured after he played his cards, which he claimed were three sixes. Reluctantly, he flipped over the top three cards, none of which were sixes, before scooping up the entire stack with a sigh.
We went back and forth for a while and I slowly gained momentum, until I was down to my last card, and mercifully, the card was exactly what I needed to play. “One ten,” I said.
Colin groaned, a sound that sent desire roiling through me, remembering the sounds he made when we kissed that night, and wondering if he sounded the same if…
“Cheat,” he said confidently, interrupting my thoughts.
I gave him a slow, confident smile and flipped over the card I’d just played. A ten of hearts.
“Damn it,” he said, tossing his cards down. He was laughing and shaking his head as he did.
“It’s fine,” I said with exaggerated casualness.
“I’m just good at picking up on your bluff, that’s all.
I have a five-year-old. Lots of practice intercepting half-truths.
” I reached for the cards on the blanket between us and started to pick them up, straightening them as I did.
Before I finished picking up the whole deck, Colin’s hand moved to grip my wrist and I paused, flicking my gaze up to meet his.
His tongue darted out to wet his lips and he cleared his throat. “I… really like you,” he said finally.
I took a shaky breath and nodded slowly, but internally, I was panicking. What was I supposed to say to that? “Okay.”
“I’d like to kiss you again.”
Another nod. “I’d like that too.” I moved my wrist and broke his hold on me before reaching for him, grabbing his forearm and pulling him close.
Colin came toward me easily, the deck of cards sliding to the floor and scattering as he moved closer, coming to a rest with his knees bracketing my thighs, straddling me.
I let out a soft groan of my own in anticipation, moving my hand up to rest on the back of his neck and hauling him down until our lips met, my other hand going to his back to pull him close.
I buried my hand in his hair and raked my fingers down his scalp, drawing a soft whimper from him as he shifted forward, moving his body closer to mine. His hands came to rest on the back of my neck and I rocked my hips up, pressing my hardening cock against his ass and letting out another groan.
We moved together, shifting back and forth, bodies roiling together as we kissed.
The lust built in my gut and my groin and my breathing tightened.
All I could think about was Colin and how much I wanted him at that moment.
I moved my hands lower without breaking the kiss, reaching for his shirt and sliding one hand under the soft cotton, the heat of his bare skin warming my hand, which was probably cold.
Instead of complaining or pulling away, he groaned again, his hips thrusting forward more insistently.
I dropped my free hand to cup his ass, gently tugging at the waistband of his shorts with my thumb and silently begging for more. Colin moaned into the kiss, making me ache with need. A few moments passed and he broke the kiss, pulling away slightly.
“I want to suck your cock,” he murmured before moving to press a kiss to my jaw.
I inhaled sharply and groaned. “Yeah. Yes. Please.”