“You look like you’ve found your entertainment for the night,” Kye shouts into my ear.

I grin. “Remember Jessie Law?”

He frowns when I look at him. “Light brown hair, this tall, attitude that shit on half the school with her lack of fucks?”

My grin widens. “That’s her. You had a crush on her, right?”

“When we were nine and I liked half our grade.”

“Awesome.” I finish my beer. “Don’t crush on her anymore. She’s mine tonight.”

He doesn’t have a chance to reply before I slink away from the bar, through the bodies, and remove at least four pairs of inappropriate hands from me.

I could take any of these girls into my arms right now and we’d be in the back of a cab within five minutes. They’d blush and giggle and rub against me willingly. Easy. Simple.

Boring.

There’s something about the thrill of the chase—of chasing the girl who says no even when her body says yes. There’s just . . . something. It’s exciting and unexpected. It’s so fucking refreshing.

It’s darker on the dance floor. Although, plenty of people seem to recognize me. I look around for a way to escape the hands moving to me and see Tate. His expression is frustrated, and that’s something I thought I’d never see—him pissed off at endless female attention.

Of course, he met Ella. And she’s been everything he needs and more since she walked into our hotel in South Carolina in August.

“Shit,” Tate shouts. “Was it this bad before?”

I grin. A giant, shit-eating, smug-as-fuck grin.

“Manwhore,” he laughs, shoving me toward the girls before wrapping an arm around Ella’s shoulders. She looks back and smiles at him, her eyes lighting up, her hand coming to his and her fingers threading through his.

Conner is next, grabbing Sofie and turning her toward him. She laughs, the loud giggle bursting through the music as her body slams into his. He winks at me, his own grin as shit-eating as mine was just moments ago. Jessie stands awkwardly, Leila and Chelsey nowhere to be seen, and I push past the two sets of hands reaching for me to get closer to her.

“Touch me and I’m gonna have your balls for breakfast tomorrow,” she says.

I laugh, placing my hands on her hips and pulling her back into me. Her ass curves into my pelvis, the closeness making my cock twitch. “Jessie, baby, you had them the minute you got your cosmo before I got my beer.” I pull her ten dollars from my T-shirt and tuck it into her cleavage once more, letting the back of my hand hover at the V-neck of her dress. “And this still belongs to you.”

“And I can still buy my own drinks,” she shouts, leaning back into me.

“Sure.” I spin her, and she gasps when the front of her body collides with mine. I slip my hand up her back into her hair, gently easing her face against mine. “But, baby, we can do a fuck ton of things. Doesn’t mean we should.”

“Like you dancing with me right now?”

“Exactly.” I smile, bringing her closer to me and dropping my mouth to her jaw. She tenses when I brush my lips along the soft curve of her chin, but she can’t fight the shudder that racks her body at the contact. I smile as she does her best to ignore her reaction and stay as stiff as a rock as I glide my lips up to her ear. “I shouldn’t be dancing with you, but I am.”

“You’re directly contradicting yourself,” she breathes, her fingers twitching at my sides.

“I shouldn’t be attracted to you but I am,” I continue. “Mostly because I know you haven’t forgiven me for that black eye in seventh grade.”

“Damn right I haven’t.” She practically yells it. “What the hell are you doing, Aidan?”

The booming song switches to “It’s You” by Syn Cole, and I bring her closer, tightening my grip on her lithe body. “A little birdie told me earlier tonight you were fucked over not long ago,” I say into her ear. “And I happen to know just the guy to help you get over that bullshit.”

“And let me guess,” Jessie says dryly. “It’s you.”

“How did you know?” My smile grows against her neck as she moves her hips with mine, as her hands climb their way up my back.

“Psychic.”

“Sure.”

She grasps my shirt and turns us, pulling me backward across the dance floor and toward the darkness of the tables surrounding it. A couple is making out at the table she guides us to, but she gives the guy a swift kick and jabs her finger toward the dance floor.

They leave without a fight, and she pulls me down as she fills the spot on the curved seat that they just emptied. The music is a little quieter here, the sound muffled a bit. Despite that, Jessie grabs my chin and forces me to look into her gorgeous eyes.

“What the hell makes you think I’ll leave here with you tonight, Aidan Burke?” She curls her fingers across my collar, her lips pursing in a way so tempting that I want to meet them with my own and see if she tastes as spicy and irresistible as she acts. “What the hell makes you think you’re anywhere near my league?”

“Damn,” I laugh softly. I slide across the leather seat, hit full force by her unrelenting confidence. “Jessie, baby,” I say into her ear, curving my fingers around the back of her neck. “I don’t think you’re gonna leave with me. I know you are. You’re gonna leave with me, and I’m gonna give you the night of your fuckin’ life.”

“You’re real arrogant.”

“You mistake my confidence,” I murmur, trailing a hand up her curved side until my thumb brushes the underside of her breast. A tremor runs through her, and my lips twitch, sliding my hand back down and hooking her leg over mine. “Two different things. I’m real confident that I could take you back and kiss my way across your body until you’re begging for me to slide my cock inside you and fuck you until you’re screamin’ instead of beggin’.”

“Still arrogant,” she breathes, her hands slipping down to my waist.

“No—arrogance is sayin’ I’m gonna flip you onto your knees and fuck you until you pass out.” I lean toward her. “Confidence is knowin’ I’ll have you beggin’ and screamin’ for me.”

She trails her fingers around my waist and up to the collar of my shirt. “Give me one good reason why I should let you put your confidence on me.”

“You’ve got a score to settle,” I say into her ear, moving her hair away. “You’re here to get laid because you’re done wallowing in your own bullshit over your ex. Don’t take this for more than what it is, sunshine. It’s a fuck, pure and simple. We’re only connected by the fact that you hold big-ass childhood grudges against me. Don’t think you’ve gotta call me tomorrow or that I’m gonna call you.”

Jessie takes a deep breath, her fingers twitching at my neck. Her nails scrape against my skin in the gentlest way and I resist the urge to grab her wrists and pin them above her head and fuck her right here, right now, in this cheap leather booth.

“Fine,” she breathes. “One fuck, Aidan Burke. No frills. No rumors. Nothing public. Just you and me, and one night of the mind-blowing sex you’re promising me.”

“Sounds like an offer I can’t refuse,” I reply, guiding her mouth toward mine.

She puts two fingers over my lips. “And this doesn’t mean I forgive you for seventh grade. It just means that I’m on the rebound. And a little, little bit drunk.”

Shit, that was cute. “A little, little bit drunk? As opposed to just a little?”

“Shut up.” She rolls her eyes and lets go of me, getting up. “I’m going to the bathroom. Give me five minutes?”

“You got it, baby.”

I get another beer and lean against the wall by the restroom. Jessie either got lost on her way here or she’s climbed out the window to get away from me.

“Hey,” I grab the attention of a blond chick whose skirt is barely brushing the tops of her thighs.

“Hey.” She smiles flirtatiously, pausing as recognition washes over her face. Unsurprisingly, she puts a hand on her hip and pushes her chest out. “Can I help you?”