Formal Arrangement

by Gilmore, Kylie

  Whether or not she meant that as an invitation, it sure as hell felt like one and he took full advantage, guiding her from behind, his hands on hers, murmuring instructions in her ear. She blushed furiously, her entire body heating against his, but she did beautifully nonetheless, taking his direction.

  And when she screwed up a shot, she apologized to him. He forgave her, of course.

  And when she sank a shot, she jumped up and down and beamed at him. “Ah! Did you see that?”

  He loved every minute of it.

  And when they won, she threw her arms around him in an exuberant hug. He hugged her back and she slowly pulled away.

  “Sorry,” she said to his chest. “I got excited.”

  He grinned. “Me too.”

  Her head lifted, green eyes wide. Before he could say something suggestive, they were joined by the next team. Luckily, Ben and Missy were pool sharks and won in a quick victory. Lauren excused herself for the ladies’ room and Hailey followed.

  Alex went to watch his friends play cards. Ethan looked considerably happier at the card table, the chips piling up in front of him. Alex pulled out his cell. Nearly nine thirty. He texted his dad to see if he’d been able to get Viv to sleep. If she was giving him trouble, Alex would have to bail early and get her home to her own bed.

  Sound asleep, his dad texted. Come by in the morning.

  He relaxed. He had all night. A rare thing. Viv had only spent the night with his dad a couple of times when Alex had been sick and, even then, Alex had stayed in the spare room at his dad’s house. That way Viv didn’t miss him, but his dad could help take care of her. He hadn’t minded not having time to himself. Viv needed him; he was there. But now, well, now he needed a little something for himself.

  Lauren and Hailey appeared through the private entrance in a heated discussion that only got louder as they moved closer.

  “I’m just trying to help you!” Hailey exclaimed.

  “And you have,” Lauren said evenly. She turned and gave Hailey a hug.

  When they pulled apart, Hailey said something too quiet for him to hear. Then they both headed for the bar.

  He intercepted Lauren. “Everything okay?”

  “Yes,” she said in a low tone. “I think she’s just a little frustrated with me because there’s no sparks.” She looked over at the guys and back to him. “It’s not something you can manufacture, you know? It’s either there or it isn’t.”

  “So does that mean you can bail now? I could drive you home if you want.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Late,” he lied. “You definitely put in the appropriate amount of time to be polite.”

  She pursed her lips, trying not to smile. “Are you making fun of me again?”

  He grinned. “Never.”

  “I need some kind of excuse.”

  “Tell her you felt a spark with me.”

  She blushed and pushed her hair behind her ears. “Alex.”

  “What?”

  She lifted her gaze, looking at him under her lashes. “Did you feel a spark?”

  “Big time.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “Can we go now?” He held out his hand.

  She stared at his hand for a long moment. He wanted to grab her hand and guide her right out the door, but restrained himself. She had to at least meet him halfway.

  “Lauren!” Hailey called. “Marcus opened some champagne. Come on!”

  Lauren gave him a small smile. “I love champagne.”

  “Then let’s have some.” He joined her at the bar, the only guy there. Carrie sat on Lauren’s other side, followed by Ally and Hailey.

  After Marcus poured the women their champagne, Alex asked, “What’re we celebrating, ladies?”

  “Forbidden romance,” Carrie replied then burst out laughing.

  Lauren rolled her eyes. “You’re done.” She took Carrie’s glass of champagne from her and told Marcus, “She can’t handle more than two glasses of wine.”

  Carrie pushed her black-rimmed glasses up. “That is not true.”

  “It is true,” the women replied in near unison.

  Carrie leaned around Lauren and poked Alex in the arm. “You’re forbidden.”

  “Am I?” He exchanged a look with Marcus, who stepped right in.

  Marcus leaned across the bar to Carrie. “You looking for a taste of the forbidden, darlin’?” he drawled.

  “Yes,” Carrie said with a bright smile. “But you’re not forbidden.” She cocked her head. “Hey, are you a unicorn?”

  Marcus’s lips twitched. “I’ll be whatever you want, cutie.”

  “Lauren!” Carrie exclaimed, one hand cupping her mouth in a shout-whisper even though she was sitting right next to Lauren. “I found your unicorn!”

  Hailey sighed dramatically. “Carrie, I told you he doesn’t exist.”

  “What’s she talking about?” Alex asked.

  Lauren turned to him. “She’s drunk. Don’t listen to her.”

  Ally filled him in. “The gentle alpha. Turns out your brother Ty was the last one.”

  He puzzled over that. Gentle alpha? Ty was like a bull in a china shop. Boisterous, loud, over the top. Ty and gentle didn’t go together.

  “Not gentle!” Carrie said, slapping the bar top. “Sweet! A sweet alpha!”

  Still didn’t make sense.

  “Can we get some coffee into her?” Lauren asked Marcus. “And food. Maybe some fries.”

  “You got it,” Marcus said with a chuckle. He left to put the order in.

  Alex spoke low in Lauren’s ear. “Explain the unicorn concept.”

  She drank her champagne and kept on drinking until she finished it. Then she picked up Carrie’s confiscated glass and took a sip.

  He took a pull on his beer. “If you don’t tell me, I’m sure Carrie will.”

  She remained quiet, also blushing. She gave him side-eye and sipped her champagne.

  “You’re looking for a sweet guy?” he guessed.

  Still quiet. A long swallow of champagne.

  He gave her hair a tug. “What’s an alpha? You mean like a leader? Top dog?”

  She let out a long sigh and answered in a low tone, staring straight ahead. “It’s hard to explain. It’s one of those you-know-it-when-you-see-it kind of things.”

  “Ah. Have you seen one?”

  She slowly turned to him, giving him a once-over that said she appreciated his alpha maleness before whispering, “Yes.”

  “Yes,” he echoed, hope and lust surging through him. Lust winning by a landslide. He stroked her hair back from her face, shifting to cradle her cheek. “I can be sweet too.”

  “I know.” She leaned into his hand, her eyes closing. “You’re intoxicating.”

  He stilled, stunned at the admission. She slowly opened her eyes hazy with lust, he hoped, and not alcohol. “Are you intoxicated?”

  She smiled sweetly. “Just tipsy.”

  “Are they going to kiss?” Carrie’s voice carried over to them.

  Lauren stiffened and whirled toward Carrie, who said, “Sorry, go back to what you were doing and don’t mind me!”

  Carrie giggled, turned and whispered something to Ally.

  Alex snagged Lauren’s pinky finger with his and she slid her hand fully into his, tucked together under the bar.

  Alex stayed quiet, enjoying being close to Lauren and hoping the women would drink and speak freely. He wanted to hear what Lauren had to say to her friends. No surprise, she was caring, concerned, and supportive, even when they said moronic things like “a vibrator is better than a man anyway.” That was from Ally. Or plainly false, like Carrie, who kept insisting if she just had some champagne, she was sure the next man she met would be the man. Whatever the hell that meant. The man for what?

  By the time the women had finished the second bottle of champagne, he knew way too much about Ally’s lack of a sex life, which Carrie feared was catching. Hailey jumped in to reassure them, but when they tu
rned the question around, wanting to know who Hailey had been with, Hailey immediately put the spotlight elsewhere.

  “So, Alex,” Hailey said with a knowing look, “what’re you doing hanging out with us instead of the guys?”

  “If you want me to go…” He shifted and Lauren squeezed his hand.

  “You don’t have to go,” Lauren said. She shot Hailey a dark look.

  Hailey turned to Ally and Carrie. “Do you think sketching someone is like flirting?”

  Lauren turned bright red and stood. “Actually we’re both going to go. Come on.” She grabbed his arm and pulled.

  “I’ll take her home,” he told the women. “Nice seeing you.”

  Hailey smiled smugly. He didn’t care. He put a hand on the small of Lauren’s back, loving the feel of satiny smooth skin that heated at his touch. He guided her to the card table, where they said their goodbyes. They headed for the door that led to the private staircase.

  “I’m sorry about that,” Lauren whispered a little loudly. “I mentioned that you sketched me, but I never said you were flirting.”

  “I was.”

  She stumbled and he caught her, keeping her upright. “Oh. Huh. That was before I told you how intoxicating you were.”

  He grinned. “Yeah. It was the bikini.”

  She beamed. “Thank you.”

  She started walking to the exit and he quickly caught up to her, opening the door for her. She brushed by him, her hand coming up to squeeze his shoulder. “You’re my unicorn but…no, no, NO.” She shook her head and then nodded once. “I can’t have you.”

  He sucked in air. She could totally have him.

  The moment the door closed behind them, he snagged her around the waist, turned and backed her into the wall of the stairwell. Her eyes were locked on his, her breath coming faster. Easy. Slow it down. She was sweet bordering on a complete innocent. Not a virgin, he was pretty sure, but so pure in spirit it was practically the same thing.

  He let go of her waist and rested his palm on the wall next to her head. Close but not touching, heat radiating between them. Her cheeks and neck were flushed pink. God, she was sexy.

  He lowered his head close enough to feel her breath fan over him. He waited, giving her time to stop him, but she didn’t. Instead she tilted her face up to his and closed her eyes. He closed the gap, fitting his mouth over hers. Her lips were soft and yielding, exactly as he’d hoped. He slid his fingers under her hair, cupping the back of her neck, and deepened the kiss. She opened immediately and he swept his tongue inside. Sweet champagne and sexy woman. Lust like he’d never felt before surged through him. He pressed his body fully against hers, pinning her wrists against the wall over her head, kissing her like a starving man because he was. She melted against him, soft, pliant, hot. Raw carnal need had him grinding into her. She moaned into his mouth, arching her hips, meeting him. Yes, yes, yes.

  He lifted his head, gazing at her for one hot moment, her lips wet, her breathing ragged. He released her wrists and cupped her jaw, brushing his thumb across her plump lower lip before kissing her again, his other hand slipping under her shirt, sliding up hot skin. No bra. He loosened the tie at her back with a quick tug and gained the room he needed to cup her breast, stroking the nipple into a hard peak. She arched into his hand with a moan. He kissed her long and deep, one hand holding her head, the other hand under her shirt, his fingers rolling and tugging her nipple. His own need magnified with her moans. It wasn’t enough. He needed his mouth on more of her like right now. He broke the kiss, trying to catch his breath and slow things down long enough to get them somewhere more private.

  “Alex,” she whispered, “you’re not ready for me.”

  “Maybe you’re not ready for me,” he countered, shifting to kiss the side of her neck, breathing in flowers, spice, and sweet Lauren. He let his teeth scrape against her and heard her sharp intake of breath, her fingers clutching his shirt.

  He nipped and sucked the side of her neck, hungry for her, before moving to her ear to tell her the desperate truth. “It’s been years since I’ve wanted anyone.”

  “You’re ravenous.” She said that like it was a bad thing.

  He straightened, gazing into her eyes. “Yes, for you.”

  She grabbed his hands and held them. “You have too much baggage. You’re not ready.”

  He stared at her. She was calling him out. Questioning his motives. So maybe he was acting on lust. So what? So was she.

  “Lauren.”

  “I want a relationship.”

  He ran his hands slowly up her sides, under her shirt, stroking fever-hot skin. Her eyes dilated. He cupped her breasts, brushing his thumbs across the hard peaks. Her eyes closed, her head tipping back. “You want me.”

  “I can’t have you,” she said with so much longing he had to prove her wrong.

  He kissed her. “Yes, you can. Do you like my mouth on you?” He brushed his lips across hers and then traced her lower lip with his tongue.

  “Alex,” she said on a sigh.

  “My hands on you?” He slid his hands to the bare skin of her back, stroking down to cup her ass.

  “Yes, but—”

  He cut her off with a kiss and she held him close, her hands gripping his shoulders. When he finally let her up for air, she put her hand on his chest. “I won’t compromise on what I want.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Are you daring me to have a relationship?”

  “Are you daring me to fuck you?” she asked softly.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lauren swallowed as Alex’s dark eyes heated to an edgy intensity that bordered on dangerous. His large hand came up to cup her jaw, surprisingly gentle as his thumb swept over her lower lip and then pressed on it.

  “Sexy, dirty angel,” he murmured before his mouth covered hers.

  She lost herself in the kiss, her inhibitions down, her lust out of control. The kiss turned hard and hungry, his tongue thrusting inside. His hand gripped her hair; his other hand cupped her ass, holding her in place for the plundering kiss. She just hung on, her fingers clutching his shoulders, dimly aware this was what ravenous felt like, and she loved it. She arched into him, straining to get closer. He got the message, cupping the back of her knee and lifting her leg, opening her to him and grinding against her. She moaned, the kiss hot and wet and deep, on and on and on, the pressure building inside her. And then she was right there and he wasn’t stopping. Her body jerked and then she flew, small cries escaping swallowed by his mouth.

  He lifted his head, still holding her pressed tight against his hardness. She throbbed against him or maybe that was him against her. She moaned as an aftershock went through her.

  His voice was rough and gravelly. “Did you just—”

  “You were ravenous,” she said in a shaky voice.

  He released her leg. “I think you liked it okay.”

  She nodded once, unable to explain the fact that she had this firm line of no compromise for the relationship she wanted, that she knew he wasn’t ready for, and then came apart in his arms anyway.

  He turned her, redid the tie he’d loosened on her halter top, turned her back and laced his fingers with hers. “Come on.”

  She walked on shaky legs beside him down the stairs, through the bar, and outside. The night air was warm, the lights and noise of the city competing with the thoughts spinning through her brain. She had not been expecting that kiss. Or that orgasm. He’d surprised her, shocked her, overwhelmed her. The men she dated gave gentle kisses at the end of the night with no orgasm involved. Alex jumped in early, before she had time to think about it, catching her unprepared. He’d been aggressive, hungry, downright ravenous, as she’d predicted. Fresh heat rushed between her legs just thinking about it. He’d said Josh would chew her up and spit her out, but after that kiss, she feared that was exactly what Alex would do. Consume her and then drop her.

  She glanced at his expression—still smoldering with intensity—his wide shoulders, his strong ar
ms leading to large hands that had pinned her wrists against the wall. He hadn’t hurt her, his grip was firm, not tight. She swallowed and looked straight ahead.

  Any man that kissed like that, especially with a first kiss, was dangerous. Okay, yes, she liked it, but they weren’t matching up on the right level. She was looking for a committed relationship. He was looking for hot rough sex.

  She lifted her hair off her neck in a vain attempt to cool off. She suddenly wished she could talk to her friends and get their opinions, but they were nearly at his car, and how would she explain why she’d returned without him? “The kiss turned orgasmic and I needed to cool off” sounded ridiculous. Nothing was making any sense to her.

  She wanted him was the problem. Wanted what she knew was a bad idea. She just had to wait for her body to catch up with her brain’s excellent reasoning.

  He stopped at the passenger side of the car and opened the door for her like a gentleman, gently shutting it behind her. She took a deep calming breath and tried to think of the right words to explain that while she enjoyed her orgasm very much, thank you, they probably shouldn’t get naked any time soon on account of the mismatch between their expectations. Of course, she didn’t quite know what his expectations were. She assumed hot sex.

  She pressed her forehead against the window. She hadn’t had sex in eight months. (And she hadn’t come at all with that guy. Such a letdown.)

  He got into the car, still quiet. She put on her seat belt, the click loud in the charged silence of the car. She jumped when he spoke for the first time since they’d left the bar.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine.” Her voice came out too high. “How’re you?”

  “Fine.” He put the key in the ignition, but didn’t turn the car on. He studied her. “So, we good?”

  “I’m fine. Maybe we should talk later when we’re calmed down.”

  His gaze pinned hers. “About what?”

  “The mismatch.”

  His mouth crooked to the side in a small sexy smirk of a smile. “Lauren, you orgasmed during our first kiss. I’m not seeing a mismatch.”

  She crossed her legs, heat flooding her at the reminder. “Yes, well, I’m pretty sure that was because you were ravenous.”