Extraits

“I’m not going to give up on you so easily, Clover. There’s something about you, I told you that. You have this zest for life that is just addicting, you don’t give a shit what people—other than your family—think, and you can kick a guy’s butt twice your size. Let me tell you right now, there is only one Clover Black, and I’m not letting her get away.”

My eyes start to get a little watery. Someone must be cooking with onions, or something must have gotten into my eye, maybe a dust particle? I don’t know.

“That speech was meant to make you happy,” Felix announces, parking the car and leaning toward me. “Come here.”

He gives me a quick kiss. “We need to work on our communication skills, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you, all right? It will never mean that I don’t want you.”

“I feel the same way, Felix,” I say, grabbing his face with my hands and leaning in for a deeper, longer, hungrier kiss.

“You better,” he whispers against my lips. “Fuck, you drive me crazy, Clo. You have no idea. Actually, it’s a good thing you have no idea, because otherwise you could use it against me.”

A slow-spreading smile that gives me butterflies plays on his lips before he leans forward and softly kisses me, testing the waters before he dives in deeper, sucking on my bottom lip and making me feel light-headed. I press myself against him, my breasts touching the warm, wet skin of his smooth chest, my arms tangling behind his neck, pulling myself closer to him. He tastes like salt and mint and never was there ever such a perfect kiss in the history of kisses.

When he pulls back and looks into my eyes, I’m breathless, left both satisfied and wanting more. He doesn’t look down, taking in my naked body, just keeps on seeing right into my dark soul and accepting me just as I am. His fingers trail down my back and land on my hips, and he presses one long kiss to my forehead.

“Well, fuck,” he whispers, eloquently expressing exactly how I feel.

“I think . . . we might need to do that again,” I say, pressing my lips back against his.

He smiles, then gives me what I want and more.

“All right, how about we do some weights or something?” I ask him, rolling my eyes.

Relief fills those baby blues. “Sounds good. I wouldn’t want to hurt you, or make you look bad.”

“How kind of you,” I reply in a dry, sarcastic tone. “In that case, maybe we should head to the mats and spar?”

Taking me off guard he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. “Does the sass ever end?”

“Nope,” I reply, unsure how to handle this playful side to him. “Put me down, you caveman. Stop showing off. And don’t try to distract me from the ass kicking you’re about to get.”

He carts me around like I’m nothing; he’s so big and strong, and my mind goes to the gutter, imagining him throwing me around in the bedroom. Not that I have that much experience in that department, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking about it. I have a pretty dirty mind, but none of that ever gets played out. At least not yet, anyway.

“When I’m showing off, Clo, trust me, you’ll know it,” he replies, putting me back on the ground and leading me toward the weights.

I’m more of a cardio girl, but I just want to watch him lift, you know, supervise and all that. Make sure his form is correct.

“I believe it,” I murmur, watching him get into position, fixing the weight to more than I’ll ever be able to lift in my life, and lying down on his back. If only he were shirtless. He starts to lift the weights, arms bulging, and I take the moment to enjoy the view.

If my aunt Lana, who is a romance author, needs any inspiration for her books, she needs to be here right now. She writes under a pen name, and she’s actually really talented. Uncle Tracker, her husband, even used to appear on a few of her covers and was actually quite the hottie back in his day. You know, before he got old.

Lifting me up onto the counter, he kisses me, cutting off my laughter with his mouth. The kiss deepens, and as my fingers tangle in his hair and his go exploring, I can tell that we aren’t messing around this time. Wrapping my legs around him, he carries me upstairs to his bedroom. I’m too distracted to look around, especially when he lays me on the bed and starts kissing me until I don’t even know what day it is or where I am. I reach up to help him remove his shirt, then run my fingers down his chest and abs, all while he looks down at me with eyes filled with such heat, and I know that mine mirror his.

I boldly let my little black dress drop to the floor, so I’m standing there in nothing but black silk and heels.

“Wow,” he whispers, slowly taking me in from head to toe.

I flash him a cheeky smile and bend down to remove my shoes, and then I slide on the track pants. They fit like a glove. Just as I straighten, Felix comes up to me and grabs me by the hips, pulling me forward against him.

“I’m feeling like a really lucky man right now,” he says against my lips, kissing me softly, a gentle tease promising of much more to come. He cups the side of my neck, stroking my skin with his thumb, driving me crazy. If he doesn’t step away from me right now, I don’t know how much rock climbing we’re going to be getting in.

“You’re not the only lucky one,” I manage to reply, picking up the top and sliding it on over my bra. I don’t feel any less sexy in the casual clothes, especially when we both know what I have on underneath.

Tension filling the room, we manage to get ready and head back outside to do some climbing.

I wouldn’t mind climbing him right now.

Clover, concentrate.

Time to show off my rock climbing skills.

“How about a swim?” he suggests, blue eyes twinkling. “It’s the perfect night for it.”

“I didn’t bring a suit,” I reply, although I’m now wishing that I did, because I would really like to finally see him shirtless. “Are there pools here?”

“Yeah, there are. But I had something else in mind,” he says with a sly, boyish smile. “Something that doesn’t involve bathing suits.”

“Skinny-dipping?” I guess, arching my brow. “Do you do this with all your partners? What do you take me for, Felix Banks?”

“Someone who likes adventure,” he replies, winking at me. “I know the perfect spot, and I’ll even close my eyes and wait for you to get in first.”

“A true gentleman,” I tease.

I’ve never actually been skinny-dipping before, so why the hell not? “Okay, you’re on.”

He grins in triumph.

“But, Felix?” I add, facing him. “Just so you know, I definitely won’t be looking away while you get in.”

He laughs and offers me his hand. “If you want to see me naked, Clo, all you have to do is ask.”

Wait, what?

It had been that easy this whole time?

***

We leave the gym, him sweaty and me happy.

We then drive twenty minutes to the beach.

“Can I take you out on a date sometime this week?” Felix asks me, glancing over at me from the driver’s seat, catching me completely off guard.

“Really? You want to take me on a date? Is that allowed?”

“Yes, I want to take you on a date,” he replies, tone gentle. “And I don’t know, probably not, but is it really anyone else’s business what we do in our private time?”

“I guess not,” I say, mind racing.

Time waits for no one. I either need to take a chance with him and get to know him better, or completely friend-zone him and potentially have to watch him move on with someone else. Now I understand the position Cara has been in for years with Rhett. It takes so much for a guy to get my attention; it’s hard for me to find guys I connect to and actually want to spend time with. And the one who does is possibly off-limits because he’s my partner.

“Is it because you finally saw my ass in these yoga pants? It looks good doesn’t it?”

He barks out a laugh. “I don’t know, I think I’m going to need to check you out in them again, at a closer distance.”

Grinning, I duck my head and come to a decision. “I’d love to go on a date with you, Felix.”

Fuck it.

I’m in.

He’s too good to pass up, rules be damned.

He looks relieved, exhaling, as if he’d been holding his breath.

“Did you think I was going to say no?”

He nods.

“But you still asked?” I push, wanting to see where his head is at.

“You’re worth the chance,” he says with a nonchalant shrug. “If you’d said you weren’t interested, it would’ve fucking sucked, but at least I’d know where I stood and I would’ve accepted it.”

“Lucky I didn’t turn you down then,” I tease.

“I am lucky,” he agrees.

“I feel like we should make this a weekly event.”

“Us getting drunk at a bar and pretending we live normal lives?” I ask, lifting my glass to my lips and taking a sip, eyes locked with his.

“No,” he replies. “Just us. Spending time together alone.”

I put the glass back down and tuck my hair behind my ear. “What exactly are you asking me, Banks?”

More dimples and amusement in those blue eyes. I tilt my head and wait for his response.

Instead of saying anything with words, he cups my cheek with his rough fingers, leans forward, and kisses me, catching me off guard. Instantly melting into him, I close my mind off and just enjoy the moment, his soft, full lips against mine, his taste, and the feelings he brings out of me. I feel fuzzy, and I know it’s not the alcohol. I’ve been attracted to him, before I ever spoke to him; it feels like this has been a long time coming.

“Is that answer enough?” he whispers against my lips before pulling away.