Oh holy shit – that smile.
He was so much more attractive when he was relaxed and fun like this. His bad-boy side was smoking hot – but the cocky routine was getting old.
He looked back over his shoulder at me before he entered the staircase. I hadn’t moved a damn inch. I couldn’t take my eyes off his tight ass in those jeans. I thought I saw him laugh lightly at my obvious staring, but I couldn’t be sure – and I didn’t even care.
“Holy shit, would you two just get a room already?”
Damnit! Caught me again.
I turned around to look at Quinn, I was waiting for the ‘you can’t do my brother speech’ that I was sure she was about to give me.
“Sorry, Q, I don’t know why I’m acting like this, I must have drank too much.”
She laughed and whacked my arm.
“Ow, Quinn, what the hell?”
The cow laughed even harder. “Acting like what? A woman who likes what she sees? Don’t you dare apologize to me for that. Shit, girl, I’m proud of you. You were hotter than hell out there.” She grinned at me. “God, if it wasn’t my brother that you were rubbing all up on, it would have got me turned on.” She mock shuddered at the idea.
I stood there and stared at Quinn for a few seconds.
Is she serious?
I looked her straight in the eyes. “You’re not mad?”
Quinn stopped laughing as she took in how serious I was. “Mad? Shit no! Would you be mad if it was me and Reeve?”
I slowly let a smile creep over my face. “Hell no. But you both know each other so well. I’ve just met Lawson and already I’m acting like a little—”
“Who gives a shit, El,” Quinn interrupted me. “You guys know a lot about each other, and it doesn’t matter how much you know about a person if there’s no chemistry. You have this crazy pull between the two of you... it’s hard to look away from.”
I thought about what Quinn was saying.
She’s right. I’ve never been this drawn to anybody before.
“I don’t know what to do, Q. He’s got me all messed up. I can’t think straight.”
Quinn rolled her eyes at me. “Jesus, just go with it. I’ve never seen Law act jealous like he is tonight. He doesn’t chase women... but it looks like he might be chasing you.” Quinn turned serious. “Just be careful, El. Have a little fun, but keep your guard up. My brother isn’t exactly known for his commitment.”
I nodded my head slowly.
Fine with me. Casual is exactly what I need.
“Enough about me, what the hell was going on over here? And what in the name of God had the unshakable Quinn Pierce blushing like a school girl?” I laughed.
“Now way...” Quinn gaped at me. “I was not blushing.”
I raised one eyebrow at her and waited.
“Okay, okay... Colt did. God, that boy is smoking hot. But shit, El, he’s only twenty-three years old. Twenty-fucking-three.” Quinn dragged out the syllables of his age. “I’m all hot and bothered over a guy barely out of his teens,” she whined.
I busted out laughing at her. I was laughing so hard I had to bend over and hold my side. I looked back up at Quinn and the horrified look on her face had me doubled over laughing again.
“Holy shit, Q.” I wiped the tears that had formed in my eyes. “You’re killing me here. So what if he’s twenty-three? What exactly are you interested in him for? A good time? Or a house, kids, and a dog?” I looked at my best friend who just gaped at me. “He might have a girlfriend or not be interested anyway, Q, don’t stress about nothing.”
I knew the bit about him not being interested was complete shit. I had yet to see Quinn go after a guy and be shot down. She wasn’t one of those women who sat back and waited for men to sweep her off her feet, she went for what she wanted, and I loved that no-bullshit attitude of hers.
“C’mon, let’s go find the guys and your new toy-boy.”
Quinn nodded before narrowing her eyes at me. “Don’t you dare tell Lawson, that bastard will never let me live it down.”
“Pinkie swear.” We hooked our pinkie fingers together and laughed as we headed up the stairs.
15. Quinn
“Oh come on, Ells, one more drink,” Lawson slurred.
I wasn’t sure at which point of the night Lawson had started calling Ellerslie ‘Ells’, but I hadn’t missed the way her eyes lit up every time he did. I giggled at my brother. He’d had too much to drink about half-a-dozen drinks ago – actually we all had. El had a happy glow on and was getting a little clumsy in her heels, Reeve was slurring nearly as much as my brother was, and Colt, who had ending up taking the evening off, was not in much better condition.
I had loosened up since my chat with El – Colt and I had been flirting from then on, we had danced together a couple of times and shit, that boy had me interested.
That’s right, he is just a boy.
Hell, he didn’t look like a boy though. I was having a hard time getting over the fact that he was a whole five years younger than me, but I just tried to remember what El had said.
I’m not going to marry the guy for God’s sake, I just want a little fun.
“Uh uh.” El shook her head. “No way, cowboy. Not happening.”
Reeve clapped his hand down on Lawson’s shoulder. “I’ll call us all a cab. We can get the cars tomorrow, man.”
I had forgotten that Reeve and Lawson had their trucks in town. “Sounds good, Reeve, I’ll come with you.” I grabbed his arm and steered him towards the bar. Colt had gone in back to check up on everything before he left for the night. It was three o’clock in the morning, and I was starting to feel a little exhausted. It had been a long week, and my bed was calling to me.
As we got to the bar, Colt appeared again, his eyes lit up and he grinned when he saw me. “Coming to look for me huh, sweetheart? I knew you couldn’t stay away long,” he teased. I grinned back as I watched him walk towards us.
God, that sexy swag. I bet he is good in bed.
I playfully hit his arm when he reached me. “You sure think a lot of yourself, don’t you, Colton William Hunt.”
“Shit, only my mother calls me that. And only if I’m in trouble.” He laughed.
“We actually just came to call a cab so everyone can head home.”
“It’s done. And who’s we?”
“Me and Reeve,” I said as I looked around.
Where the hell did Reeve go?
“Bugger if I know where his drunken ass is gone.” I shrugged my shoulders.
Colt looked around and laughed. “Uh, I think I found him.”
He pointed to a darkened corner near the bar. Reeve had a petite blonde girl pressed up against the wall and was kissing the shit out of her. I thought I recognized her from behind the bar earlier in the night.
“Is that...?”
Colt laughed again. “Yeah. Her name’s Lisa. She’s been eyeing Reeve all night from behind that bar. I don’t know for sure, but I think they might have gone out a few times.”
I winked at him. “Guess we’ve all had our eye on someone tonight.” I turned and headed back to El and Lawson. I could feel Colt right behind me and I took a little satisfaction in knowing that he was sticking close to me. He hadn’t kissed me yet but I wasn’t concerned. He was a good guy. If he decided he wanted to ask me out, I was pretty sure the answer was going to be yes.
“El, your big brother is playing teenage make out in the corner over there.” I flicked my head back in that direction.
“What! With who?” El yelled and moved to try and see. She nearly tripped on her own feet and somehow Lawson managed to catch her before she fell. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the look they shared as their skin met.
There’s something real going on with these two.
I glanced back at Colt. I knew there wasn’t the same connection between us. There was most definitely a physical attraction, and he had an awesome personality – but I knew if I never saw him again after tonight,
I wasn’t going to lay in bed at night wondering what could have been.
Just as well since he’s only 23!
I snapped myself out of it and laughed a little at the direction my thoughts had taken.
Waaaaay too much to drink.
“You guys head on downstairs and I’ll round up lover boy over there.”
“Thanks, Colt.” I winked at him. “See you down there.”
“We looked at each other a little too long to be ‘just friends’.”
- Author unknown
16. Lawson
We had all piled into the van that Colt had organized to take us home. It turned out that he lived not far from me, but since that was a bit of a drive from here, and we had vehicles to pick up in the morning, we had sorted out alternative sleeping arrangements for the night. I would be staying in Q and El’s spare room, and Colt was going to crash at Reeve’s place.
Reeve had also brought a girl called Lisa with him – I knew she would definitely not be using a spare room. She’d spent the past ten minutes trying to apologize to Colt – her boss from the club, about going home with Reeve. It was hilarious listening to her babble on, a mile a minute, in her funny New Zealand accent. Colt continued to tell her that he didn’t care who she went home with and laughed at how concerned she was about it. I eventually lost interest and tuned them both out.
Ellerslie was sitting only a few inches away from me, and even in my drunken state, I could still feel the pull that her body had on me. I looked lazily from her high heels, up her long legs, over her curvy hips and ass, her tiny waist, her amazing tits and her stunning face. She was giggling with Quinn about something, and I had never seen anything more beautiful.
She had been incredible tonight. I’d seen how ballsy she could be from the first moment, but she was also witty and funny, amazingly smart, creative, and to top it all off she was the humblest person I had met in a long time. She had a confidence where she wasn’t afraid to put me in my place, but at the same time I could see she was very unsure about herself and possibly a little insecure too.
She must have felt my eyes on her – she turned and our eyes locked – we looked at each other for what felt like an eternity.
She smiled shyly at me. “What?” she whispered as she lightly nudged my knee with hers.
I intended to say something witty, but instead I got lost in her big blue eyes. “You’re beautiful,” I whispered back in a moment of complete honesty.
She blushed and a nervous giggle slipped out. She paused for a moment before leaning in close enough for me to smell her intoxicating French vanilla scent. “And you’re drunk,” she whispered in my ear. I could smell tequila and lemon on her breath and I felt my heart rate increase slightly.
She giggled as she pulled away from me, allowing me to think straight again.
I shook my head as I smiled back at her.
Shit. This girl has me all tied up in knots.
***
We arrived at the building and after some fumbling around and rummaging through handbags we made it into the elevator and up to the girls’ apartment.
Reeve, Colt and Lisa said goodnight after we made a quick plan to grab a late breakfast or lunch together in the morning. I didn’t miss the look and peck on the cheek that my sister gave Colt. I could see Quinn didn’t want me asking questions about him, but if he was going to be a recurring feature, she was gonna have to suck it up.
I looked around the living area of the apartment.
This is a nice place.
It looked amazing in here. The mix of antique furniture with the other more modern furnishings in the space was perfect. I could see that they obviously had good taste.
“This is a nice place,” I called in the direction of the kitchen as I looked around. “You guys have done a great job with the decorating.”
“It’s all El,” Quinn called back. “She loves that stuff.”
I walked into the kitchen and took the glass of cold water Quinn handed me. Both of the girls were nearly finished theirs, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to do much for our heads come morning time. I watched Ellerslie drinking the cool liquid and found myself getting hard.
Jesus, everything she does is turning me on.
“It looks good, Ells.”
“Why, thank you, Lawson – we like it.” She smirked at me.
The sound of my name from her lips was just about my undoing. My spine tingled as I thought about her screaming out my name in pleasure. This woman was quickly becoming an obsession.
This was dangerous territory for me.
Do not go and do something stupid...
17. Ellerslie
I hadn’t missed the shiver that passed through Lawson when I’d said his name. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t spoken his name directly to him before that moment – I’d be doing it a hell of a lot more often if it was going to get me that kind of a reaction.
I knew exactly how he felt, I had a rush of heat move through my body every time he had called me ‘Ells’ tonight, I liked the fact that he already had his own little name for me – I found myself hoping that I would get to hear it often.
“I’m gonna hit the hay. Don’t either of you dare wake me before ten.” Quinn pointed a finger at me, and then Lawson.
“Shit no. Maybe even make that eleven for me,” Lawson added with a yawn.
I nodded in agreement.
God, I need sleep.
I was dead on my feet. All of the emotions and drinking from tonight were catching up to me fast. Luckily I’d ditched my high heels the minute we got in the door, I wasn’t sure I’d still be standing if I hadn’t.
Quinn leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Love you, girl. I had a great night.”
“Me too, Q, I’ve missed this.”
Lawson pulled Quinn in for a quick hug and kissed her forehead. “Night, sis.”
Quinn left the kitchen, and Lawson and I both stood staring at one another for a few beats. Electricity hummed between us, and I had an urge to move to him, to run my fingers over his rough stubble and through his hair.
But I didn’t.
I knew that if I touched him I wouldn’t be able to stop – I wasn’t sure how I would feel the morning after that.
“I think I’ll go to bed too. C’mon I’ll show you where the guest room is.” I moved around the kitchen and towards the bedrooms. I looked back and found Lawson leaning casually against the wall, watching me. I raised one eyebrow at him. “You coming or what, cowboy?”
He grinned a cocky smile at me, pushed off the wall and pursued me with that unbelievably sexy swag he had.
Oh hell.
I opened the door to the guest bedroom and flicked on the light. “This is it.” I moved back against the door to allow him room to move past me.
He stepped through the door. I gave him a small smile and moved to step into the hallway.
Lawson’s arms moved quickly to either side of my head, effectively caging me against the open door. I gasped at his nearness.
“Tonight was... It was great, Ells. Thank you,” he whispered to me as he ducked his head down to bring our faces level.
I couldn’t even reply to him, my head was swimming, and my thoughts were all jumbled together. He was intoxicating. I just nodded slowly, my wide eyes never leaving his.
He leaned his head down.
Oh hell, he’s gonna kiss me.
“No. Stop.” The words weren’t more than a whisper, but I knew he’d heard me. He stiffened and started to pull away from me.
I gave the collar of his shirt a quick tug before he could move any further.
Shit – he thinks I don’t want him.
“I want to kiss you. God I want to. I just know it won’t stop there. I’m not ready for that right now. I’m sorry.” I spoke lightly, my eyes falling to the floor with my embarrassment.
He used one finger to gently lift my chin back up. I watched his eyes soften as the reason for my rejection sunk in. He gave me a sweet
smile. “Don’t be embarrassed. There’s no hurry, Ellerslie. I’m not going anywhere.”
I felt my heart rate increase.
Does that mean he plans to see me again?
He leaned down again – his mouth only millimeters from my neck. I could feel his hot breath on my skin.
“Relax,” he commanded. “I’m not going to touch you.” He blew gently on the soft skin beneath my ear and all the way along my jaw and back again.
I went a little weak at the knees.
“Goodnight, Ells... sleep well,” he whispered and pulled swiftly away from me, his eyes blazing.
I could see this was as much of a struggle for him as it was for me, but this couldn’t happen.
Not here, not now, possibly not ever.
I watched him unbutton his shirt as he walked towards the bed and I quickly backed out of the room, shutting the door as I went.
A girl only has so much self-control.
I leaned my head back against the closed door and tried to steady my breathing. I needed to get a grip on this attraction. I needed casual in my life. I needed to learn how to be involved casually with a man, and I knew that my best friend’s brother was not the ideal place to start learning.
***
I woke feeling a lot better than I knew I deserved. I felt rested. More rested than I had in a long time. Unwinding last night had probably done me a world of good, and the fact that early signs pointed to me escaping virtually hangover free, was a complete bonus. I felt around in the sheets for my Cell phone, I squinted against the screen and saw that it was 11.45am.
Holy shit, I slept half the day away, no wonder I feel good.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done this. There was always something to pull me out of bed early – the office, study, Baxter and his terrible early morning singing. It felt amazing to be carefree and lazy, even if it was just for one day.
I stretched my arms high above my head and took note of my sleeping attire.
An oversized T-shirt... not attractive.
I didn’t know if Lawson was still here, but just to be safe I decided on a shower and something decent to wear.
Love like Yours Series Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 8