As always, the conversation between them flowed smoothly during dinner, and afterward, when he suggested they put on a movie, he was thrilled by Mia’s easy agreement.

At least until she started dissin’ his DVD collection.

“How many copies of Die Hard does one person need?” she demanded, turning away from the entertainment unit to gape at him.

“What am I supposed to do?” he said defensively. “Not buy a new copy when a special edition is released?”

She ignored him. “And what is your obsession with Tom Hanks? You have every movie he’s ever made. Even the shitty ones, like Road to Perdition.”

“He’s a good actor!” Jackson protested.

“Oh my God. You own every season of Battlestar Galactica. Nerd!”

He scowled at her. “Would you just pick somethin’ already?”

Eventually she chose one of the Hanks films and popped in a DVD of Big, which Jackson had seen a hundred times and would never get tired of.

Mia returned to the couch and sat beside him but kept a good foot of space between them, a travesty that Jackson quickly remedied.

“Uh-uh, sugar, get over here.” He slung his arm around her shoulder and pulled her toward him so that she was snuggled at his side.

Her body was stiff at first, but as the opening credits flashed on the flat screen, she started to relax. The warmth of her body seeped into him and brought a goofy grin to his face. It felt real nice holding her like this, and when she shifted closer and leaned her head on his shoulder, he experienced a rush of serenity that spread through him and loosened every muscle in his body.

They laughed a lot during the movie but didn’t say much save for the occasional observation about the plot. Jackson didn’t mind, though. He was enjoying Mia’s company, her melodic laughter, the sweet scent of her shampoo. He hadn’t felt this relaxed in ages.

Sadly, his state of relaxation didn’t last. Nope, because Mia had suddenly placed her hand on his thigh.

As if on cue, Jackson’s groin began to stir. There was nothing sexual about her touch, yet it set his body on fire and pretty much eliminated any chance of paying attention to the TV screen. All night he’d been trying valiantly not to think about the kiss they’d shared on their last date or the accidental orgasm he’d given her, but now the erotic memories flooded his brain, making it hard to breathe.

He’d jacked off when he’d returned home that night, coming hard to the memory of Mia’s molten hot pu**y tingling beneath his palm and the sexy little whimpering sounds she’d made when she’d orgasmed. He’d gotten her off in a parking lot, up against her truck where anyone could have caught them.

And the entire situation had left him feeling…intrigued. For a woman who claimed not to like sex, she’d been so uninhibited that night, coming apart so fast his ego had inflated like a damn balloon.

Obviously Mia Weldrick possessed a sexual wild side that she didn’t even know existed, but he’d witnessed it firsthand on their date, and he desperately wanted to explore it further. He wanted to unleash all that passion she kept buried deep inside. He wanted to make her whimper again, to find out what made her moan, what made her scream.

Somehow he made it through to the end of the movie without acting on the intense arousal wreaking havoc on his lower body—or alerting Mia to the fact that he had a raging boner. Fortunately, her gaze stayed fixed on the screen, sparing him the embarrassment of explaining why his c**k was attempting to tunnel its way out of his jeans.

The moment the end credits scrolled across the screen, any hope of hiding his desire disappeared. All Mia had to do was take one look at his face. Which she did, and promptly gave a sharp intake of breath.

“Jeez, don’t look at me like that,” she grumbled.

“Like what?” His voice came out hoarse.

“Like you want to…um…”

“Want to what? Kiss you? Because I do, sugar.” He moistened his lips with his tongue. “Heck, you know what? I’m totally gonna do it.”

Before she could reply, he lowered his head and captured her mouth in a long, drugging kiss that made his head spin.

Her lips were warm and pliant, her tongue hesitant as it darted out to taste his. Jackson groaned, stunned by the sheer pleasure that swarmed his senses. He slid his tongue into Mia’s mouth with one sensual stroke, teasing and exploring until they were both panting. When they came up for air, he took advantage of her hazy, disoriented expression and nudged her backward onto the sofa cushions.

Breathing hard, he lowered his body over hers, propped his arms on either side of her so that he wasn’t crushing her, and then kissed her again.

She moaned, a throaty, desperate sound that quickened his pulse. She was so soft, tasted so dang sweet. And Lord, he could feel her ni**les poking against his pecs, right through her clothing.

“Your ni**les are hard,” he rasped, tearing his mouth off hers.

She sighed. “That’s because you’re rubbing your sexy chest all over them.”

“You think my chest is sexy?”

“Are you kidding? I haven’t even seen it bare but I already know I want to have a calendar of it made up.”

He chuckled and brushed his lips over hers. “I love kissin’ you, darlin’.”

They exchanged a tongue-tangling kiss and she moaned again, which only summoned another laugh from him.

“See,” he teased, stroking her cheek with his fingertips. “Foolin’ around can be fun.” He arched his eyebrows. “Or are you gonna tell me you’re bored?”