Page 7 of Tempting the Player
Chad motioned to the bartender for a glass of water and then slid it to her. She gave him a grateful smile and took a sip.
Like one of the women in the romance books she read, she was snared in his gaze. “You know, one more line and you win a set of steak knives.”
He leaned in and it felt like there was no room. Her heart sped up as his smile turned half secretive, half playful. “Many, many things.”
Bridget flushed, blaming the alcohol. “I think you should know, I’m impervious to bar bullshit.” She wasn’t, of course, as her racing heart clearly proved, but damn if she didn’t care.
He reached out, brushing his knuckles along her warm cheek. She shivered. “I like the way you blush.”
Bridget felt even more crimson sweep across her cheeks as she reached for her water. “Hey, I thought we agreed no more bad pickup lines.” Peeking at him, she found him watching her intently. Actually, she was pretty sure he hadn’t taken his eyes off her longer than a few seconds.
“Well, that’s no fun.” But his eyes were still crinkled with laughter. His gaze flicked to the bartender. “Another drink?”
When she nodded, she ordered something with less punch to it. They resumed talking and before Bridget knew it, she had completely lost sight of Shell as the crowd in the club thickened around the bar, obscuring the view of the tables. Chad had moved closer, his entire leg now pressed against hers. The contact made her skin tingle beneath her dress.
Glancing away, her gaze found a couple dancing nearby—if you called what they were doing dancing. It was basically sex standing up with clothes on. The woman’s short denim skirt was pushed high and her leg curled along the narrow slant of the man’s hips. Her partner’s hand was under the frayed hem as their hips grinded together. She swallowed and turned back to her drink.
“I can’t believe I’m giving you my A-game here and you’re calling foul ball. I’m wounded,” he said, placing a hand over his heart in mock pain.
The teasing tone brought a grin to her lips. “I can tell you have self-esteem issues.”
Chad laughed, the sound deep and rumbling before slowly waning off. He leaned in, his expression growing serious for the first time that night. “Can I be honest with you, Bridget?”
She arched a brow. “Do I want you to be?”
His palm traced her wildly beating pulse, his long fingers wrapping around the nape of her neck. “I saw you before you saw me. I came to this side of the bar just to talk to you.”
All coherent thought fled her. Was Chad serious? And how much had he been drinking before they met up? It wasn’t that she had a low self-esteem. Bridget knew she was pretty, but she also knew her body went out of fashion several decades ago and this club was packed with supermodel type chicks. The kind she saw him pictured with time and time again.
But it was her he was talking to, touching.
Their lips were so close that their breath mingled. The steady hum of raucous conversation and music around them faded. Maybe it was the alcohol or the fact that it was Chad Gamble. Like any woman with ovaries, she had her fair share of fantasies surrounding the playboy, but everything felt surreal. She was hyperaware of what was happening and at the same time detached from logic.
“And just to be clear, that was not a line.” Chad’s head tilted to the side. “I want to kiss you.”
Chapter Three
“Now?” Bridget’s muscles tensed and then immediately relaxed under his skilled ministrations.
“Now.”
Bridget’s head was tipping back, her body relaxing into his touch, pressing toward it, yielding to it. Chad was spinning a seductive web around her, blurring reality. Her throat was dry and his fingers…his fingers were guiding her head back farther and an ache had started in the pit of her stomach. “I…”
“Just a kiss.” His breath danced over her cheek, and her eyes drifted shut. Bridget’s hands opened and closed uselessly in her lap.
Kissing Chad in a packed bar shouldn’t turn her on as much as it did. PDA wasn’t something she regularly indulged in and usually made fun of when she saw it in public, especially when it was Madison and Chase because they were all over each other constantly, but this…this was different and before she knew what she was doing, she said yes.
Bridget didn’t feel his lips on hers like she expected.
The tip of his nose brushed over the curve of her jaw, causing her breath to catch, and then his head dipped lower. With Bridget’s head tipped back, her throat was exposed to him. Her hands clenched and then his hot mouth was against where her pulse pounded.
Bridget’s entire body jerked as if he were doing something far more wicked than what was usually considered a sweet gesture. The kiss was quick, but as he started to lift his head, he nipped at her neck and then she felt his tongue sweep across her skin, soothing the sting. A moan escaped her parted lips.
“See? It was just a kiss,” he said, his voice deep and husky.
Her lashes fluttered open, and Chad was staring down at her, his eyes hooded. “That…”
His smug smile spread as he brushed his lips over hers, feather light, making her gasp. “That was? Good?”
