America's Geekheart (Bro Code #2)(69)

“I was going to blackmail one of the British princes and remind someone whose name I’m legally not allowed to mention that he owes me a favor, but I can call Levi and Cash too.”

She lights up so fucking bright when she smiles.

But I wasn’t actually joking.

“My mom’s been asking me for years to go on vacation with her and Dad,” she tells me. “I’ve always had an excuse, but we all knew I just didn’t want to have my picture taken with them. Maybe now…we could try it. I’m not so afraid anymore.” She smiles hesitantly, like she feels silly for putting her parents off for so long. “Maybe you did me a favor by being an internet jackoff. And I’d never actually gotten to taser anyone before, so there’s that too.”

Instead of answering, I release my seat belt and lunge across the seat to kiss her. I stroke her thick, silky hair and wish it wasn’t tied back, and she latches onto my wrists, but instead of pushing me away, she clings tight and angles her lips against mine and leans all the way in.

This.

This is what I’ve been searching for my entire life without even knowing I wanted it.

This desperate hot need to not just kiss a woman, but to be kissed by her.

To be everything she wants.

To step up my game. Try harder. Be smarter. More gallant.

More gallant?

Shit. I’m turning into some kind of medieval knight for her.

And I’m totally balls-to-the-wall on board with going all knightly on her ass if that’s what it takes.

Especially when she parts her lips and lets me all the way in.

Fucking. Heaven.

Her hands trail down my forearms, she deepens the kiss, and I’m two seconds from blowing my load just because a woman’s gliding her tongue over mine.

I might not be the world’s most experienced lover, but I don’t do premature anything.

And I don’t think she’d kiss a guy just to kiss a guy.

Especially not this guy.

So I have a chance.

A real chance.

My hand is drifting down her shoulder toward her breast when my car horn blasts out of nowhere.

And not just the horn.

The whole damn alarm

Sarah flings herself backward, her fingers going to her lips, eyes wide, and she fumbles for the door handle.

I drop my phone between the seats trying to grab it to pull up my car app and deactivate the alarm, but as soon as Sarah leaps out of the car, I realize what’s going on.

Charlie.

Charlie’s phone is hooked to my car, and she just activated the alarm.

And I’m positive it’s her, because she’s standing right there, in front of my car, phone in hand, and the alarm stops as soon as Sarah shuts her door.

I glare at my assistant.

Not in the contract, she mouths.

I flip her off.

She smirks.

It’s a smirky, know-it-all, serves-you-right smirk. Possibly with a side of if you’re going to woo the woman, do it right, after you’re not contractually obligated to just act like you like her anymore, when she knows you’re really just into HER and not what she can do for your career.

I drop my head to the steering wheel, because fuck.

She’s right. Even with telling Sarah this isn’t about the contract, she has no guarantee. Which means she’s going on faith.

Faith in me.

I should probably be grateful there’s no emergency airbag deploy button on the app.

I’m also revoking Charlie’s privileges to run my car app.

“Ready to go home?” She’s asking Sarah as I finally pull myself out of the car.

Sarah nods, face splotchy red, without looking at me.

“You want to come over tomorrow and watch movies?” I hear myself ask.

She glances at me and holds eye contact, but gets redder with each passing second. Shit.

“I have plans, but thanks for the offer,” she says.

Dammit dammit dammit. “Anytime. You’re fun.” You’re fun? What am I, twelve? I had all the right words earlier, and now I’m completely fucking this up.

Charlie’s sucking her lips in. I know she’s stifling a smile, and I’m getting hot in the face too.

One kiss.

One single goodnight kiss.

And my assistant goes and ruins it.

I should fire her.

Except she’s probably right.

I shouldn’t be kissing women when it’s not clear if it’s for me or the stupid contract, because if I were Sarah, I’d be doubting every word I said about liking her for her.

“I meant going out in public,” I say to her. “We should call off going out in public.”

“Not gonna happen, Romeo,” Charlie says. “Or I’ll fire you.”

Sarah flashes me a brief smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, and I think I’ve just fucked up again, but I don’t know how, or why, or how to fix it. I just know I don’t want her to leave.

And not because I don’t want to be alone.

But because I want to be with her.

“Can I call you?” I ask as Charlie ushers her toward the back door of the garage.

This time, she stops and looks at me. She’s still blushing, but she finally lifts those gorgeous eyes to meet mine, and wham.

“Yes,” she says with a shy smile.