Page 64 of The Arrangement

“It does?” I whispered, swaying toward him.

“Mhmm,” he hummed. “You’re a logistics man.”

I sank my teeth into my bottom lip to quell the smile determined to break free. Not sure why I bothered. I was failing spectacularly. “I am, aren’t I?”

He hummed his agreement again, somehow drifting closer, though I was at a loss for how we could get any closer, not that it stopped my breath from stuttering. “Hey, Marc?” I made a noise of encouragement, or I’m pretty sure I did. It was a little hard to focus with him looking at me like that and his body pressed against mine. “Can I kiss you?”

My breath caught, and suddenly it was as if we hadn’t shared any of those other kisses. There was only this moment, right now, and I wanted him to kiss me more than anything. “I was really hoping you’d ask me that.”

He leaned down and my eyes slid shut as his breath ghosted over my lips. Then his mouth was on mine, soft, sweet, tender. Much like our first kiss at Page and Palette, it began slow, unhurried, as if this right here was the only place we needed to be. But like any time I kissed JD, I quickly grew hungrier for more until I was spearing my tongue into his mouth to explore and gripping his arms like they could give me leverage.

When we pulled apart with a ragged breath, I was half-hard and ready to be halfway home. Except, I didn’t get to voice that before JD was back to owning my mouth and trying to pull me even closer while I simultaneously tried to gain more height between him and the railing. This time when we broke apart, he gasped and took a full step back, while I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

“Apartment?” he asked.

I nodded, not trusting wordsat all. Unfortunately, the motion also shook loose the laughter I’d been struggling to hold at bay. To make matters worse, it came out as a giggle.

“What’s so funny?”

I shook my head, but it was too late—the damage had already been done. The harder I tried to stifle the thought that had made me laugh in the first place, the worse the laughter got. “I just… I just think I understand now…why the books…say…climb…like a tree.” As if giggling through that mess of words wasn’t bad enough, I had to go and snort-laugh at the end. He continued to stare at me while I doubled over laughing as if my cheese had slid clean off the cracker, which, okay, fair. Then he blinked as if finally registering what I’d said. And that was my cue to make a beeline for the parked car.

“Wait, did you just say you wanted to climb me like a tree?” he shouted after me as the boards plunked beneath my racing footfalls.

I skidded to a halt at the far end to grin at him. “Catch me and find out.” Even from thirty feet away, with nothing more than the soft glow of twinkle lights to illuminate his features, I could make out the wicked gleam in his eyes.

Chapter 32

James

Ihadn’t been angling to get lucky by taking Marc out. I really did want to celebrate all of his success. But I also wasn’t complaining about it either. Add to that him being playful again and I was toast. This man might as well have been my personal Pied Piper. And fuck me, when he implied he wanted to climb me like a tree? Yes,please.

It was tempting as hell to mess with him as we drove back to the apartment, but then I also wanted to get back in one piece. Shame he didn’t have the same reservations.

“I swear to God, baby boy, if you ‘conveniently’ stop at another yellow light right before it turns red…” I trailed off as he scratched his nails on my thigh, my brain unhelpfully going blank.

Marc flashed me a smirk as he slowed for yet another yellow light. “You’ll what?”

I wanted to say, “Make you pay for it,” but then he punched the gas, flying through the intersection milliseconds before thelight could turn red, and I made a mad grab for the “oh shit” bar. I shot him a scowl as his laughter filled the car, not that I had any prayer of maintaining it while that beautiful sound wrapped around me. God, I loved his laugh, loved when he was playful and flirty, and those eyes. Fuck, those eyes of his had been my undoing from the start.

I laced my fingers through his and slowly raised the hand he’d left resting on my thigh to my lips. He darted several looks my way, trying to watch me and the road at the same time. I brushed my parted lips over the heel of his palm and felt him shudder. Rather than place the kiss he no doubt expected, though, I sank my teeth into the meaty flesh. Marc’s subsequent groan replaced the earlier laughter, his lust pressing mercilessly against the windows of the confined space. Only then did I place the lightest of kisses. Thanks to the multitude of streetlights now surrounding us, there was no missing how dilated his pupils had become when he looked at me next. We also didn’t “catch” any more yellow lights.

Finally, at the flower shop, the sense of expectation hung heavy between us. I pulled Marc to me the second he was clear of the car, claiming his mouth as if to make up for all the times I hadn’t this week. We stumbled toward the receiving door in a tangle of limbs, laughing between kisses and doing a terrible job of keeping our hands to ourselves. Besides, who would want to? I’d seen the way other people looked at Marc, even if he didn’t, and I definitely wasn’t the only one who wanted to get hands on him. Lucky for me,I didget to. I smiled against his mouth at that happy little thought.

“Kinda need to open the door, Sergeant,” Marc said, his breath light from lack of air and humor.

“Then what are you waiting for,Specialist?”

He groaned and attacked my mouth more aggressively before ripping away to fumble his key into the lock. The second he hadthe door open, he yanked me through it. I shut it behind me, flailing to lock it, even as he tugged me toward the stairs leading to the apartment above. Then it became anyone’s guess who was dragging whom.

“I had a really great time tonight, Sarge,” he said, hooking a finger in my belt loop and pulling me closer once we made it into the apartment.

“Glad to hear it, Spec. Weathers.” I kicked the door shut with my heel and caged him against the wall, enamored with the smile playing on his lips. I teased a kiss, pulling up short when he leaned forward to claim it. “You deserved it.”

“Really?” From anyone else, I’d assume the breathy whisper was a coy fishing expedition for compliments. Not Marc, though. He genuinely had no idea how truly amazing he was.

I cupped the side of his neck and brushed my lips over his. “Really.”

“Enough to warrant a treat?” he asked, a grin I could just make out in the dim lighting breaking free.