Page 19 of Icy Pour

Johnny raises a brow. “Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He stands up fully, tilting his head to the other side. “What would you like to do instead?”

“I want to go upstairs.”

His eyes flare. “Anything else?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, what else then?”

“I want you to come with me.”

He purses his lips as the dimples on his cheek grow deeper with each tiny movement. “Okay then. Let’s go.”

We walk toward the backroom where a door leads to the staircase, my pulse racing with each step. I open it and gesture for him to head up first. I pop back out and turn off the lights, making sure the door is locked, then race to catch up.

“Nice place.” He walks around taking in the space as I close the door behind us. “Better than what I got across town.”

“Thanks.” I rub my hand across the back of my neck. “It was a nice selling point on the bar. Someday I’d like to own a house, but for now, this is a great place to be.”

“I agree.” He spins around to face me, his eyes locked in on mine. “This is a great place to be.”

I don’t think he’s talking about the apartment anymore.

“You, um…”—my voice cracks as I try to form some semblance of a sentence—“you want to sit on the sofa?”

“No.”

He closes the distance, pushing my back flush against the door, his hands on either side of my head. “Listen. We need to discuss a couple things before we do this.”

“Okay,” I breathe. “Whatever you want.”

He huffs a quiet laugh. “Whatever I want, huh?”

My face heats. “I mean…within reason.”

“I know you’re nervous. Scared even. From someone who’s done this before, I know it can all be a little intimidating. So, I wanna make this crystal clear. You say the word stop, we stop. Okay?”

“Okay.”

My skin prickles as he drags a hand down my arm. “We’re gonna take things slow—as slow as you need.”

I nod as my stomach coils thinking about him taking things nice and slow with me. And me taking a slow, steady inventory of every inch of him.

“Last thing.” He leans in, his words a whisper in my ear. “Downstairs in that bar? You’re the boss. But up here?” He nips the edge of my earlobe, sending a chill up my spine. “Up here, I run the show. Got it?”

“Yes.” My voice and my body shake at the thought of him taking charge.

“Good.” He pulls back, his gaze catching mine as my chin trembles. “Hey,”—he places his palm on my flushed cheek—“I got you.”

His lips find mine and, once more, I’m lost to everything in the world except him. Our tongues collide, and I can’t hide the groan that escapes as he runs his hand down my chest, tugging on my shirt as I do the same to his. Our kiss only breaks to remove the fabric from between us, our shirts forgotten as we stumble our way through the apartment.

My legs press back against the bed as his firm grip settles on the waist of my jeans, my entire body shuddering in response. He works to unbuckle my belt, unzipping my pants, placing slow kisses on my chest as he goes. I reach forward to undo his, both of us stepping out of our pants, me stepping out of my comfort zone. Funny how walking an unknown path makes me feel more comfortable than I ever have.

Both of us stand in our briefs as he rakes his gaze down my body, goosebumps spread across my skin once his hand finds a resting spot on my chest.