Free The Real Me (How to Tame a Heartbreaker Book 4) by Casey McMillin

book , then you have to back it up. To earn the right to use a phrase that extreme, you have to at least break a few more rules. A kiss would definitely be in order."
    "Okay, then I just won 't say I've broken every rule in the book."
    "Oh, I'm afraid it doesn't work that way," he said. "You've already said it, so now you have to back it up."
    Oh God, how could she make this happen while still acting like she didn't really want it to? She couldn't really say, "Okay why don't you go ahead and kiss me," and she didn't want to refuse him, so she just laughed it off as if she thought he was joking.
    He almost told Jax h e was going to kiss her when he dropped her off at her car whether she liked it or not, but decided to just do it rather than talking about it. He parked next to her little white hatchback and they both got out of the truck. She opened her car door but turned to lean against the open door as she spoke.
    "I really did have fun tonight, Cole."
    Ouch. He had himself believing he wasn't really lying to her all that much—but hearing her say his brother's name instead of his own annoyed him.
    He smiled, unfazed. "I had way too much fun Jax." He moved toward her slowly, and instead of backing away from him like she intended, she inched closer to him. He kept a few inches of space between them, but the threat of contact was eminent, and she felt breathless with anticipation. He reached up and ran his thumb from her temple, down her jaw to her chin. He gave it a gentle little nudge upward, forcing her to look at him. Her breath hitched, and she knew the shaky rise of her chest was obvious. He gave her a sweet half-smile as he licked his lips and dipped to put them on hers.
    His facial hair was soft and not nearly as distracting as she feared. She easily felt his soft, warm lips, and that was all that mattered. Cam's touch was so gentle that her first instinct was to deepen it, and she had to remind herself that a gentle kiss was already crossing the line. She gave in to the kiss without deepening it, letting herself enjoy the surge of warmth that coursed through her every time he repositioned and kissed her again. He put feather light kisses on her lips for what must have been the better part of a minute before finally pulling away. She was both relieved and disappointed at his retreat. He kissed her so lightly and broke away so suddenly that she was left yearning for more. She took a few seconds to catch her breath before speaking.
    "I should probably go."
    "I know," Cam said.
    She ducked into her car and pulled the door closed as she simultaneously started the engine and rolled the window down. "Thanks again for dinner."
    "You're welcome."
    "I like your thirty-thousand-dollar beater."
    Cam laughed. "You can have it if you want." He meant it. He'd love to give it to her—thought she'd look good driving it. She laughed as if he was just being silly and put her car into reverse. Until that very moment, Cam forgot he had no way of getting in touch with her. She was already backing out as he waved and yelled, "Call me. I don't have your number."
    She nodded and waved in a non-committal way, but figured she'd wind up reaching out even though she knew better.

 
    Chapter 9
     
     
    Jax went straight to her apartment when she left Café Coco. She lived in a basement apartment she was renting from a family friend who, like her own family, pastored a Baptist church. That's how they knew each other. Her dad's church was actually an offshoot of Pastor Gregory's church, and they'd been friends for years. The Gregorys were also like her own family in that they had no idea that she worked at a bar. Jax wasn't sure how neither family got suspicious of her having money since they knew the shelter didn't pay her to be there, but she'd gotten by with the lie by omission for over a year. Maybe everyone was smarter than she thought and knew she was lying, but she really thought they assumed she was still at the restaurant and never