Rascal (Rascals Book 1)(5)

I had no reason to trust him. None at all. He was a complete stranger. Yet, when he smiled at me like that, I couldn’t help it.

“OK,” I said. “What’s this alternative game?”

“I tell you what kind of person you are.” He opened his own bottle of beer. “Just by looking at you. And you tell me if I’m right or if I’m wrong.”

“Hmm.” I took a drink of beer. “And what do I get if you’re wrong?”

His gaze went hot. “What do you want?”

Wasn’t that the million-dollar question?

“I’ll take your beef jerky,” I said, chickening out of anything more suggestive.

“Deal,” Emerson said, and we shook on it.

He gave me a gleeful look as he rubbed his hands together. “OK,” he said. “So you work in a high-powered position.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s a very vague statement,” I told him. “Don’t expect to get any hints that way.”

He grinned. “Fair enough,” he said, crossing his arms. “Well, from the way you’re dressed, I can tell that you don’t work from home.”

“True.” I scooped out a spoonful of ice cream and licked at it.

“I’m guessing you work in an office with a strict dress code,” he observed.

“Also true,” I responded.

“You’re not an assistant,” he told me.

“No?”

“No.” He shook his head. “You’re dressed like someone in charge.” He paused. “Or someone who wants to be.



I’m right, aren’t I?” he asked, looking pleased with himself.

“Maybe,” I admitted.

“So you want to be in charge, then?”

I shrugged, feeling self-conscious.

“I bet you’re great at what you do,” he said.

I let out a laugh, and it was a little harsher than I intended.

“I feel like I’m in over my head ninety percent of the time,” I confessed.

I wasn’t sure why I did. I hadn’t told anyone that I felt that way—not even Kelsey. It had always been important for me to project complete confidence, even when I didn’t feel it, so why was I telling a complete stranger that I wasn’t sure I knew what I was doing?

“I feel that way all the time,” Emerson admitted.

I looked at him, surprised. Everything about him screamed confidence. How could he feel the way that I did? How could he doubt himself?

“It’s not easy being in charge,” he told me. “There’s a reason people say fake it until you make it.”

“I guess so,” I said. “I guess I’m just waiting to make it.”

“I have no doubt that you will,” he offered.

I laughed, not as harshly this time. “You barely know me,” I reminded him. “I could suck at my job.”

“I know enough,” he said. “I know you’ve got excellent taste in snacks—especially in ice cream. I know you don’t panic in unexpected situations. I know you take pride in your appearance and yourself. I know you’re creative and clever.”

With every word, I felt my blush grow stronger and stronger. It didn’t help that Emerson was watching me the whole time, his eyes focused and intense.

“And I also know that you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever been trapped in an ATM with,” he finished.

My breath left me for a moment. We were sitting close together. I hadn’t even noticed us getting close, hadn’t even noticed how his thigh was now pressed up against mine, his arm against mine.

“I bet you say that to all the girls,” I somehow managed.

He shook his head, his eyes dark in the shadows. “Just you.”

I knew right then that he was going to kiss me.

And I wanted it bad.

Emerson put a hand on my face, his thumb stroking the underside of my jaw. The sensation made me shiver. He tilted my face up towards his, and then lowered his head. His lips touched mine softly at first, but we were perfectly aligned. He moved slowly, languidly, his touch light enough that I could move away at any moment, but his kiss confident enough that I couldn’t have moved even if wild zombies were dragging me away.

He kissed me, his tongue dragging across my bottom lip, making me gasp, giving him access. Immediately, the kiss changed. It went from soft and slow to hot and hard. His hand slid from my jaw to the back of my head, making a mess of the tight bun I always wore at the base of my neck. Somehow he managed to unpin it without pulling away from me and I felt my hair come undone and tumble down my back. He let out an approving groan and thrust his fingers into my hair, angling my mouth so he could deepen the kiss more.

I gripped his shirt, not wanting to let go. Our tongues tangled and he tasted like chocolate and beer. I couldn’t get enough. My entire body tingled from just one kiss, and I couldn’t help wondering what it would feel like to have more.

Suddenly, I heard a humming noise and a bright light exploded from behind my closed eyelids. Confused, I pulled back, blinking against the unexpected glow. It took a few moments, but I realized that the power had come back on. And with the power came light, and with the light came the realization that I was kissing a stranger.

An extremely handsome stranger, but a stranger nonetheless.