It’s not too late. She can still go home.
Sitting up, I swung my legs over the side of the bed; my body groaned in response. I stretched my arms overhead in an attempt to work some life back into my exhausted muscles.
This girl was a decent choice for a last minute decision. Memories of her contorted in a variety of wicked ways, screaming my name, made my dick harden again.
“Do you want me to get us something to eat?”
Her nails grazed down my back and I moved out of her reach. Her touch, like her voice, was more annoying than I remembered it being a few hours earlier.
That’s because I just dumped a load.
I twisted around. Her blonde hair was spread across my pillows, black makeup smeared across her face. A part of me wanted to tell her she looked like hell, but a bigger part of me didn’t care enough to point it out. I just needed her gone.
She rolled onto her back, cheap perfume wafting through the air.
I’m going to have to do laundry. Hell, I’ll probably just have to burn these sheets to get rid of that smell.
“I was thinking I would grab us some hamburgers. I could pick up some things for breakfast while I’m out.”
I cringed at the implications saturating her voice. “You’re going to need to tone that shit down.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Look, I have things to do tonight.” Her face was familiar but her name—not so much.
“Oh, that’s fine. I can just wait here while you do what you need to do.” She flashed me her biggest smile and settled back into the sheets, looking way too comfortable in my bed.
“No. You’re going to need to get up, get dressed, and go home.” I massaged my temples with my fingertips, a migraine inching its way into my skull.
For fuck’s sake! Why isn’t this ever as easy as they make it out to be? Maybe I should get them to sign some shit, a ‘This is a Fuck and Only a Fuck’ disclaimer or something.
“I really have no plans for tomorrow, Cane.”
“We discussed this. We fuck. You leave. You know this.”
She had the nerve to look hurt.
“I didn’t think you were going to say that once we were done.”
“It was amazing. It is always amazing with me.” I flashed her a grin and literally watched her swoon.
That never gets old.
“Look, I don’t do this ‘sex and a sandwich’ thing, but that is not a newsflash.”
“But Cane!”
“Why does it feel like we’ve been here before?” Frustration took over and I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself calm. All I needed was a hot little body to dump my stress into for a little while and I had made no illusions otherwise. She agreed to this before she followed me home.
Why does it have to be complicated now? I ran my fingers through my short blond hair, scrubbing my scalp in annoyance.
“When I was here a few months ago, we had lunch, too. Remember? We sat out on the patio.”
Remember her face. Do not triple dip this one.
“You don’t understand how this works.” I glanced at her reclining against my pillows and fought hard to not sound as brusque as I felt. “I have a bunch of shit to do. You really need to go.”
She sighed dramatically as she got up and found her jeans on the floor. I watched her ass jiggle as she pulled them on slowly, undoubtedly for my benefit.
It worked.
I had to restrain myself from grabbing her and fucking her one more time, just for good measure. That would only make getting her out of my house even harder and she simply wasn’t good enough to waste any more time on.
Instead, I sat and enjoyed the show. She turned to face me as she pulled her shirt over her head, her eyes never leaving mine. She tucked her bra in her purse.
With a final glance over her shoulder, presumably to give me time to change my mind, she was gone.
And I was alone again—just the way I liked it.
The Exception is Available Now
Read on for an excerpt from GRIP from
Kennedy Ryan, coming March 2, 2017.
GRIP by Kennedy Ryan
I’M A LITTLE TOO HIGH and a lot too horny for this conversation, for the stone-hard thigh pressing against me, for the heat coming off his body and smothering my resistance. I try to sit up, hoping it will clear my head so I can make my escape, but his hand presses gently into my chest, just above the swell of my breasts, compelling me back into the cushion. His lips hover over mine, and I will him to kiss me because I’ll make the first move if he doesn’t. After years of not moving, I have no idea how I’ll explain that once the smoke clears.
Sometimes at night after the chaos dies, I think about our first kiss at the top of a Ferris wheel. Just like then, his lips start soft, brushing mine like wings in sweet sweeps, coaxing me open and delving into me. Sampling me, he groans into my mouth and chases my tongue. The rough palm of his hand cups my face, angling me so he can dive deeper. He doesn’t come up for air, but keeps kissing me so deeply I can’t breathe. He tastes so good, I’ll choose him over air as long as I can. Why is it never like this with anyone else? I want it to be so badly, but it never is.
He releases my lips to scatter kisses down my neck. My back arches and my nipples go tight. He knows that’s my spot. After all this time, he still knows. My neck is so incredibly sensitive, a gateway to the rest of my body.
“You taste exactly the same.” His words come on a labored breath in my ear. “Do you know how long it’s been since I kissed you?”
Eight years.
“Eight years.” He shakes his head, eyes riveting mine in light lent by candles and the moon. “And you taste exactly the same.”
His words shiver through me, searching out my nerve endings; invading my bones. If I don’t get out of here, we’ll be fucking on the rooftop before I can draw another breath.
“I should go.” I slide from under him, scooting down the couch as far as I can without falling off. “This is why I don’t smoke weed.”
I force a laugh, hoping he’ll let me get away with it. I scoop my hair behind my ears and drop my chin to my chest. When I glance over at him, displeasure clumps his brows and tightens his mouth.
“It’s not the weed, Bristol.” His glance slices through the haze hanging in the air. “It’s us. Don’t pretend it’s not us.”
“There is no us.” My feet explore the floor, searching in the dark for my shoes. “You know that.”
He puts a staying hand on my knee until I look at him.
“What I know is that neither of us has been in a serious relationship in years.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.” I stand and slide my feet into the Jimmy Choos. “You haven’t exactly been waiting around, have you?”
“Damn right I haven’t been waiting around.” He doesn’t get up, but his firm hold on my wrist stops me from walking away. “I’m not Rhyson.”
I look down at him, frowning my confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“Remember when Kai put Rhyson in the friend zone?”
Of course I do. For a long time my sister-in-law Kai denied the attraction between her and Rhyson.
“Yeah, so?”
“When Kai wasn’t checking for Rhys, I assumed he had to be sleeping with other girls.” Grip shrugs. “I mean, he and Kai were just friends. But, nope. He said he only wanted Kai and didn’t sleep with anyone else.”
“Then you’re right.” I tug at my wrist, but he holds on tight. “You’re definitely not Rhyson.”
“It was months, Bristol. She shut him out for months. Not years.”
“I’m not shutting you out.” I release a tired breath. “I’m living my life and you’re living yours.”
“Right.” He nods and turns his mouth down at the corners. “So if you won’t be with me then I’ll fuck whoever the hell I want. If you have a problem with that, you know what to do about it.”
For a moment, our eyes tangle i
n the dimness. His words sink into my flesh like briars. Every word out of his mouth only proves that I’m right to get out of here. That I’m right not to give in. If I ever gave him a chance and he fucked around on me . . . I’ve seen what that looks like. It looks like a woman as strong as my mother reduced to pathetic, teary drunkenness.
“It’s none of my business.” I shift my eyes away from him and to the glittering city skyline just beyond the rooftop.
“It’s none of your business until you say it is.”
I force myself to look back.
“Don’t hold your breath, Grip.” I say my next words with deliberation. “I mean, it’s not like I’m sitting around saving it, either.”
He pulls me toward him, and I stop myself from falling with my knee on the couch, my hand pressed to the hardness of his chest.
“Are you poking me?” One strong hand wraps around the back of my thigh, anger marking his expression. “Do you want to know if it bothers me when you fuck other guys?”
I just stare at him unblinkingly. He presses my leg, urging me forward until I’m fully on the couch, fully on him, one knee on either side of his legs, facing him. Practically straddling him.
“It makes me want to set the world on fire.” His words come softly, but the truth roars in his eyes. “To think of you with them.”
GRIP comes March 2, 2017!
FLOW, the FREE Prequel, releases Feb 25!
Add on Goodreads
Click HERE for updates and details!
Connect With Kennedy Ryan!
kennedyryanwrites.com
USA TODAY AND AMAZON TOP 10 Bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.
She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket.
Adriana can be found on all social media platforms. Look for her on the ones you frequent most!
Her website is the place to go for up-to-date information, deleted scenes, and more. Check it out at www.adrianalocke.com.
Don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter, sent monthly, filled with news, pictures, fun and giveaways: sign up here.
If you use Facebook or Goodreads, there’s good news! Adriana has reader groups in both places. Join Books by Adriana Locke on Facebook and All Locked Up on Goodreads and chat with the author daily about all things bookish.
Contact Adriana
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+
Pinterest | Instagram | Goodreads | Spotify
SnapChat—adrianalocke
THANK YOU TO THE CREATOR, first and foremost, for giving me the tools to do what I love to do.
To my family, Mr. Locke, the Littles, Mama, and Peggy and Rob: You are all the bomb. Your enthusiasm never wanes and I can’t tell you what that means to me.
To my team, Kari (Kari March Designs), Lisa (Adept Edits), Christine (Type A Formatting & Design), Kylie (Give Me Books): Another one bites the dust! Thank you for working with me yet again. I appreciate you all more than I can describe.
My PA, Tiffany, has brought so much light and time to my day. Thank you for hopping on this crazy train and lending the skilled hand you do.
My publicist, Melissa Saneholtz, has come on board and given me a breath of fresh air. Thank you for your enthusiasm and encouragement and words of wisdom. I’m so excited to be working with you!
It’s simply amazing that some of my betas will even speak to me at this point. Jen C, Susan, Jen F, Ashley, Candace, Joy, and Carleen: You read this thing more times than any person should. In the midst of your lives, you fit in my project, my insanity, and incoherent PM’s all times of the day and night. You didn’t give up on me. You didn’t back away when things got hard. You never failed to encourage me and hold my hand. You ladies are incredible. Thank you. Michele, Robin, and MaryLee: Thank you for making room in your day for Switch. I know it was rough and a little hard to get through, but I appreciate your feedback and attention to detail. I can always count on you.
To my admins, Jen C, Jade, Tiffany, and Stephanie: You four keep the wheels turning (and laughs coming!). Thank you for your time monitoring my groups and keeping things running like a well-oiled machine.
To Ebbie, the organized soul that keeps our FitBit Challenge running in the Books by Adriana Locke group: Your kindness and spirit inspire me every day. Thank you for taking over this project and doing it so cheerfully. You make a difference in so many lives, including mine.
To Mandi: I could ramble here, but what could I say that would make sense to anyone but you? ;) Every day, it’s you. You know what I mean. Love you, Pres.
To Lisa, Jade, and Alexis: Life . . . Ish girls are the bomb! You administrate one of my favorite places, send the best stickers, and are some of my favorite (unfiltered) people. Thank you for always being girls I can count on.
Candi, my Locke Librarian, digs in and records all the “Locke history”. Thank you, my friend, for reading once for fun and twice for details. Your notes bail me out more than I care to admit.
To bloggers: I can’t thank you enough for not just reading, but for reading and spreading the word about what you love. Thank you, too, for choosing to pick up my stories. I know you have choices; I appreciate that you consider my work.
Books by Adriana Locke and All Locked Up: You are my people. Thank you for your support, love, enthusiasm, and energy. I love you.
Switch Page 23