his face. She’s not going to make this easy. He couldn’t even remember how long he’d waited to finally feel how soft Danni’s lips were. However, he wanted her to be fully conscious of her decisions when he kissed her. She wasn’t sober, which meant he had to keep his lips to himself.
He glanced down at the glass she was holding. “Danni, I don’t think you mean that,” he said, reaching for her drink. “How about we trade this drink out for a bottled water?” She accepted the water and took a nice long sip. He tried not to watch the way her lips curled around the bottle, but he failed.
“I do mean it,” Danni said as she closed the distance. “The only way I’m leaving this bar is if you kiss me like I’ve seen you kiss so many other women.”
Jaleen winced at the comment despite how true it was. “I do want to kiss you, but how about I kiss you tomorrow night instead?”
She tilted her head as if trying to decide if she could trust to him or not. “Hmm, okay, that might work. As long as you actually kiss me so that I can mark you off my list.”
Jaleen raised one eyebrow. “And what list might that be?”
“My special list that I made on my birthday,” she said with a cheesy grin. “My ‘Thirty Things To Do Before I’m Thirty’ list.”
Jaleen did a quick mental calculation. She’d just had a birthday, so he assumed she hadn’t gotten far on the list.
“You’re on it more than once,” she said in almost a whisper.
When she ran her fingers down the collar of his shirt, he made no effort to stop her. A special list. It sounded like a bucket list of sorts and he knew Danni was big on lists. She was the only woman he knew who didn’t just make a grocery or chores list, but rather a list to remind her she’d created a list for groceries and chores. He often teased her about being overprepared, but she denied it each and every time.
She rested one hand on his chest, moving her fingers in a small, circular motion. Her touch was innocent, but his thoughts definitely weren’t.
“I think we need to get you back to the hotel,” he said as he searched for their friends. He noticed that the others in their group seemed to be preparing to leave, as well.
“Did the ladies drive?” Jaleen asked Aiden as he approached him and Summer.
“No, we had a driver,” Danni answered instead. “But I sent him away since I figured we could walk back.”
The hotel wasn’t that far from the lounge, but tugging along ten tipsy women wearing heels seemed like too much work.
“Let’s head back,” Aiden said with a whistle as he twirled a finger in the air. The group started filing out of the lounge toward the parking lot. Aiden, Summer and Danni hopped into Jaleen’s car while everyone else divided into the other four cars.
“I want to sit with Summer,” Danni said as she pulled Summer to the back of the car, leaving Aiden to sit in the front with Jaleen.
“Well, this isn’t exactly how I thought your bachelor party would end,” Jaleen said with a laugh as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“Tonight with you and the guys was a lot of fun.” Aiden glanced back at Summer. “But the fact that I get to spend the rest of the night making sure that beauty in the backseat doesn’t have a hangover isn’t a bad way to end the night, either.”
The amount of love Jaleen heard in Aiden’s voice didn’t surprise him. If anything, it made him envious that he’d never get a chance to experience the type of love Aiden and Summer shared. His eyes caught Danni’s in the rearview mirror. What is it about Danni Allison? For years he’d wondered why the only woman who seemed to be immune to his charm was the same woman who was constantly on his mind.
He supposed that’s the reason they’d developed an actual friendship. Although he still teased her any chance he got, he was well aware that Danni knew entirely too much about his dating history and, for that reason alone, he couldn’t even get her to agree to go on one date.
After they arrived at the hotel and parked the cars, Aiden and Summer bid good-night to the group. The ladies all boarded the elevator a couple minutes later to head to their rooms, while the men went to the bar in the hotel lobby.
Jaleen had just sat at the bar when Luke nodded his head toward the front of the lobby. Jaleen followed his gaze.
Danni was standing near the hotel entrance with her clutch in her hand.
I could have sworn she just got on the elevator.
Jaleen turned back to Luke. “I’ll be right back.”
“Yeah, right,” Luke said with a laugh as he turned to the other men.
Jaleen caught Danni’s arm as soon as she took one step outside the door. “Where are you going?”
“To get something to eat.”
Seriously! “It’s almost three in the morning. Nothing is open.”
“Well, I’ll find a gas station, then. They never close.” She took one more step out the door.
“They have twenty-four-hour room service,” Jaleen said, stopping her again. “How about you order some food in your room?”
A sly smile crept onto her face. “On one condition.”
He was almost afraid to ask. “What’s that?”
“You come to my room and eat with me.”
Jaleen groaned. “If I do, will you eat and then get some rest before tomorrow’s rehearsal?”
“Yes,” she said a little too quickly. Before he knew it, Danni was tugging his arm and leading him toward the elevators.
The second they arrived at her hotel room, Danni tossed her clutch on the table and kicked off one heel. When she went to remove the other heel, she stumbled.
“Whoa, pretty lady,” Jaleen said as he helped her steady. “Let’s be careful.”
“I’m tired of being careful,” Danni replied, looking him in the eye before turning her back to him. “Can you unzip my dress?”
No, I can’t unzip your dress. “Sure,” he said instead. He felt like his fingers were moving in slow motion as he worked the zipper to reveal the back of a sexy, white-and-teal lace bra. It would take little effort to unclasp the sole clip, but he wouldn’t dare do that tonight.
“There you go,” he said, allowing one sole finger to run down her spine. She gasped at the touch before turning around to face him.
“Are you sure you won’t kiss me tonight?” She looked so vulnerable standing there and something in her eyes made him want to say to hell with what he’d said earlier and take a sample of what she was offering. Luckily, his brain was thinking more than the other part of his anatomy.
“Not tonight. But if you ask me tomorrow, you’ll get a different answer.”
For a minute he thought she was
