Circle of Friends Complete Collection

by Susan Mallery

  She smiled. “You’re such a guy. Women can do anything in heels. It’s all a matter of practice and balance.”

  He took off her socks next and had to hold in a groan when he saw her painted toenails and a gold toe ring. How many more surprises were there going to be?

  The throbbing in his groin increased every time he touched her. As he had her stand so he could unfasten her jeans, his arousal made a strong case for just going for it. He ignored the message and the way she looked in tiny bikini panties, tossed the jeans onto a chair, then drew her onto the bed.

  He kicked off his athletic shoes before joining her. Then he stretched out next to her and stared into her eyes.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he told her.

  “The things men say to get lucky.” She grinned. “But I choose to believe you.”

  “You should.”

  She was lovely. He let his gaze drift down her body. Her breasts were full and pale, threatening to spill out of her lacy bra. He could see toned muscle under smooth skin. There was a small gold hoop in her belly button that made his mouth go dry. Her legs were long and he had a sudden visceral image of himself between them.

  He returned his attention to her face, then bent down and kissed her. At the same time he reached behind her to unfasten her bra. She put a hand on his chest.

  “Hey,” she whispered. “You’re not naked. Naked is required.”

  “I have some important things I need to do.”

  “While I like the sound of that, fair is fair. You see mine, I see yours.”

  He chuckled. “I like how you think.”

  He stood up and took care of his clothes in a matter of seconds. When he moved next to her, she stroked his chest.

  “Nice,” she whispered.

  He kissed her and again moved his hand behind her back to her bra. This time she turned slightly to help him. When the hooks were free, she tossed the bra off to the side.

  Her breasts were perfect. Full and pretty, with tight coral-colored nipples. He knelt between her legs and bent over so he could cup her breasts in his hands. He closed his eyes and savored the feel of her silky skin, then he brushed his thumbs against the tight tips.

  His body did its damnedest to remind him that paradise was only a few inches away. Pressure in his groin increased, but he ignored it. As much as he wanted his own release, he wanted to please Crissy more.

  He opened his eyes and watched as he touched her. He slid his hands down her ribs to her belly, where he circled the tiny gold hoop. She opened her eyes and smiled.

  “My present to myself when I turned thirty a couple of months ago. A reminder to stay young.”

  “Do you really need it?” he asked, as he drew off her panties.

  “Probably not.”

  He bent over and took her left nipple in his mouth. She tasted sweet. He sucked, then circled her, flicking her with his tongue. She groaned then put her hands on his back. The pressure of her fingers told him what she liked. He licked her skin, then blew on the damp spot. She shivered.

  He moved back and forth, giving each breast thorough attention. When her legs stirred restlessly, he kissed his way down her belly.

  He slid his hands up and down her thighs. As he nipped at the edge of her belly button, he circled his thumbs closer and closer to her center. At last he eased one thumb through her curls and felt her swollen wetness.

  Instantly his arousal pulsed, but he continued to ignore the need as he lowered himself onto the mattress, parted her flesh and pressed his tongue to her center.

  She tasted sweet and salty and when she groaned, he nearly joined in. While he ached to be inside of her, he wanted to feel her body responding to his every touch. He wanted to learn what made her tremble and what made her scream. He wanted to be intimately connected, even just for a few minutes.

  He explored her feminine center, then focused his attention on that one, most sensitive spot. He circled it, then brushed it with the flat of his tongue. He moved slowly at first, giving her a chance to anticipate the next move. Her hips pulsed in time with his actions, then moved a little faster as if urging him on.

  He complied, then slipped a finger deep inside of her. He pressed up, finding her inner pleasure point, then rubbed it in time with his tongue.

  She began to breathe faster and faster. Her hips moved and he felt her muscles tighten. There was a moment of stillness, then she lost herself in her orgasm.

  Her body shuddered. He felt the waves of contractions tightening around his finger. He continued to caress her with his tongue, lightening his touch but keeping up the speed. It was only when she relaxed that he slowed and finally stopped.

  He kissed the top of her thigh, then her belly. She opened her eyes and sighed.

  “Score one for the home team,” she whispered.

  “I had fun,” he said, almost surprised by the fact. But he’d enjoyed pleasing her. He’d enjoyed everything about making love with her.

  His erection pointed out that he would enjoy life a lot more when it was his turn, but he ignored that.

  “Fun does not describe what just happened,” Crissy said with a smile. She reached for him. “Come here and I’ll show you what I mean.”

  The second she touched him, he nearly lost it. He was shocked by the sudden pressure between his legs and it took every ounce of self-control not to give it up right there. Telling himself it had been a long time didn’t make the situation any more comfortable.

  Her touch was sure and erotic. Too erotic. He shifted closer and she guided him inside.

  The soft, wet, welcoming heat of her body hardly made things better. He pushed in, filling her, feeling as if he could get lost in her forever.

  He’d had big plans of impressing her with his endurance, but that plan turned to dust the second time he thrust in her. She felt too good. He wanted her too much. He pushed in again and again, feeling the pressure build. Then he gave himself up to it, increasing his speed, focusing only on the way she pulled him in and made him never want to leave. Another thrust, then another and he was lost.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  JOSH WOKE EARLY to light spilling into an unfamiliar bedroom. It took him a second to figure out where he was and remember what had happened the previous night. He lay on his side in Crissy’s bed, his arm around her waist, his face close to her smooth shoulder.

  Slowly, so as not to wake her, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.

  He’d made love with another woman. After he’d met Stacey, he’d known he would be content to be with her—and no one else—for the rest of his life. Yet last night he’d needed with a desperation that still stunned him. There’d been so much heat and wanting. How was that possible?

  He braced himself for the flood of inevitable guilt, the sense that he had betrayed the woman of his dreams. Somewhere in the house a grandfather clock ticked off the seconds, then chimed the half hour.

  Nothing. Not a flicker of emotion, save the hunger to make love to Crissy again.

  He closed his eyes. Now sadness joined the hunger as he recognized his lack of feelings for what they were—healing. In the four years since he’d lost Stacey, without even noticing it was happening, he’d managed to put his emotional psyche back together.

  When she’d first died, he wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but apparently the clichés about time healing wounds were true. He’d held on to the sadness, because it was all he had left. He loved Stacey—he would always love her—but he was no longer emotionally immobilized by her passing.

  Which meant what? That it was time for him to start living again? Did he want that? Abbey had joked about him taking the equipment for a test drive. He’d done that and more. While he appreciated the fact that he’d moved on, a part of him would always be sad. Now Stacey was that much furthe
r away.

  The bed shifted. He turned to his left and saw Crissy sitting up. She kept a sheet pulled up to her shoulders and her smile was a little tentative.

  “Hi,” she said, then sighed. “This is awkward. I think things will go easier if we just admit that we’re practically family. You’re Brandon’s uncle and I’m his birth mother and if I start to hang around more, then you and I will see each other and that could be tense.”

  She paused to take a breath, then continued. “I don’t do this sort of thing. Sleep with guys I barely know. It’s never been my style. It was just a lot of things. The emotion of last night and the fact that you’re incredibly sexy, which technically makes all this your fault. You should probably apologize.”

  He put his hands behind his head and gazed up at her. “You want me to apologize for being incredibly sexy?”

  She nodded even as her mouth twitched. “Absolutely. It gives you an unfair advantage, which I’m sure you use on a regular basis. Now that I think about you, you owe me way more than an apology. What you did was just plain awful.”

  He held in a chuckle. “So you have no blame in this.”

  She widened her eyes. “None. I’m the injured party.”

  “I see. So the fact that I couldn’t help myself because of how you taste and feel and sound means nothing.”

  Color stained her cheeks. “Not at all. You are solely responsible.”

  “Uh-huh. I can shift the blame to you in one sentence.”

  “Oh, please.” She shook her head. “Not even a chance.”

  “Want to bet?”

  “Sure.”

  “So what are the stakes?” he asked, keeping his voice deliberately low.

  She looked innocent as she asked, “What would you like them to be?”

  That got his body’s attention. Heat raced south and he was ready for round two. Well, technically round three because they’d made love again in the middle of the night.

  Then the sensible part of his brain pointed out that a little perspective wouldn’t be a bad thing.

  “Loser cooks breakfast,” he said.

  “I can’t cook.”

  “Fine. Loser buys breakfast.”

  “Deal,” she said. “So make it my fault. You have one sentence, big guy.”

  He reached out and covered her hand with his. “I haven’t been with anyone since my wife died four years ago. I’ve been on a couple of dates in the past year, but they were disasters.”

  Emotions chased each other across her face. Josh watched as she started to speak, stopped, then just stared at him.

  “I don’t know what to say,” she admitted.

  “Aside from asking me where I want to have breakfast, there’s nothing to say. I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, Crissy. I want you to know that I don’t do this sort of thing, either. We both got lost in the moment. Maybe that’s not a bad thing.”

  “It’s not,” she whispered and squeezed his fingers. “Thank you for telling me. I’m not going to make a big deal out of anything, I’m just glad you can trust me. You can, you know.”

  “I know.”

  She was special. There was something about her that drew him in. He wanted to explore possibilities, something he never thought he would consider again.

  She looked at him. “Really? Four years. That’s a long time.”

  He shrugged. “I was never into empty sex. I like a relationship to go with my intimacy. I got over volume about the time I graduated from college. I know—not the most macho thing to say.”

  “The best thing to say,” she told him.

  “It’s the truth. I’ve had my work and my family. It’s been enough.”

  She smiled. “You’re saying sex is overrated?”

  “Not after last night.”

  “I’m glad.” She released his hand. “Okay, it’s time to get serious. Because you’re my guest, you can shower first. I’ll go make coffee. Just let me use the bathroom for a second first. How does that sound?”

  “Great.” Especially considering there weren’t any clothes close to the bed. Which meant she would be walking across the room naked. He couldn’t wait for the show.

  She dropped the sheet, exposing her full breasts, then turned gracefully and slowly moved to the closet. The view was only from the back but he appreciated every curve. His erection throbbed a couple of times as if reminding him that there was still fun to be had.

  Josh ignored it and the need to touch her. For now it was enough to feel alive. It had been a very long time since he had.

  * * *

  CRISSY POURED COFFEE into two mugs. Josh walked in from his shower, barefoot, wearing jeans and his shirt, although the shirt was open. She had a tantalizing view of hard muscles and reddish-brown hair that arrowed down to his waistband as if leading the way to the promised land.

  He was a typical guy, she thought as she sat across from him. He looked good in the morning. Too good. She’d washed off her makeup, brushed her teeth and tried to get her hair to look slightly less like a cat’s barfed-up hairball. She’d only been mildly successful.

  King Edward strolled into the kitchen. She bent down to pet him, grateful for the distraction.

  She wasn’t sure what to do with the information Josh had given her...about her being his first time since Stacey’s death. She didn’t want to make too big a deal of it, but she couldn’t helping thinking it had to be significant in some way. He’d been right about one thing...that single sentence had changed her perspective.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked.

  “That you’re a complication I wasn’t looking for. If you were just some guy, this would be easier. But you’re Brandon’s uncle.”

  “You’ve already panicked about that.”

  “I’m not done with the initial panic. I’m torn. I kind of want to keep seeing you.” Assuming he was interested, but she wasn’t going to say that. She was a powerful woman and powerful women assumed they were wanted. “But if things don’t go well, it’s going to make the situation more difficult. So what makes the most sense is to just be friends. We can pretend last night never happened.”

  One of his eyebrows rose, but otherwise he didn’t react. “If that’s what you want,” he said.

  “It is.” She spoke firmly. “Just friends with short-term memory loss.”

  “Okay. That’s what we’ll do.” He sipped his coffee.

  Crissy stared at him, trying not to act outraged. That was it? She asked to be friends and he agreed? Shouldn’t he protest or try to convince her? Hadn’t she mattered at all?

  He stood. “I should let you start your day.”

  What? “Sure. Fine.”

  She rose and tightened the tie on her robe, then led the way out of the kitchen. She told herself she should be relieved. Obviously Josh was a whole lot more shallow than she’d imagined. In fact he was practically a jerk. Good to know. Better to learn it now than later. She could simply pretend this had never happened.

  She started down the hall toward the front door. Josh grabbed her arm and turned her toward him.

  “Wait,” he said, his eyes dark with passion. “About that friend thing. I’m not sure it’s going to work.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “I have a great memory.”

  Then he pulled her close and kissed her.

  She was weak enough to go willingly. He felt good and sexy and when she leaned in close, she found out exactly what he had on his mind.

  “So about this friend thing,” he murmured against her mouth. “Are you really serious about that?”

  She tugged off his shirt and let it fall to the ground. “Apparently not.”

  * * *

  AN HOUR LATER Crissy found herself right back in the same mess where she�
��d started. Naked and content, but not sure she’d done the right thing.

  “Now what?” she asked as she rolled to face Josh, who looked like a very satisfied predatory male.

  “Now you blame me for what just happened.”

  She waved her hand. “You’re too sexy, all your fault, let’s move on. This is going to be complicated.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Do you want that?” she asked.

  “I don’t not want it.”

  She played that one back in her mind. “Okay. So the friends-only thing?”

  “Not likely.”

  Which left them where? They weren’t dating. She didn’t date. First dates were always disasters and she avoided them on general principle. Of course without a first date, it was tough to have a second or third.

  “When it’s over?” she asked. “You’ll still have to see me. Won’t that be uncomfortable?”

  “I’m confident we can get through it.”

  She wasn’t as sure. “I tend to walk away from my exes,” she admitted.

  “I don’t have a lot of history in that department,” he admitted. “Want to see if we can handle it either way?”

  Crissy knew she would be a fool to do anything but agree. Josh was a warm, caring, sexy man who wasn’t afraid of falling in love. His four years of celibacy more than proved his devotion. Plus, he was a doctor and that would make her parents very happy.

  But were there dangers, too. Playing it by ear was fine while things were going well, but if they ended badly, would that hurt her potential relationship with Brandon? Pete and Abbey might not look kindly on an ex-girlfriend of a beloved family member.

  There was also the matter of her heart. Josh was a great guy. But even though he was pretty damned close to perfect, there could be one major flaw—he might still be in love with Stacey. Did she want to risk falling for someone who couldn’t love her back? Was it light-years too early to be having this mental conversation?

  Josh sat up. “Okay, you’re taking too long to answer the question. You really do want us to just be friends.”