Alluring Promises Box Set (Books 1-3)

by Josie Bordeaux

  I glanced over and laughed as I checked out her tits. She must have bent over at some point and her left boob came out of that tiny bra she tried to tease me with earlier.

  “Your tit popped out,” I stated flatly as I glanced back over at her while we kept walking back to our apartment building.

  “What?” She asked, still smiling from ear to ear.

  “Your tit. In that tiny bra you’re wearing. Popped out. It looks like you have one up and one down.”

  I watched her from the corner of my eye stop walking and glance down. I stopped walking and noticed her face flush with embarrassment. I chuckled while she turned towards the building and tried to adjust her boob back into her bra, while mumbling, “Oh shit.”

  I waited for her to fix things while glancing around. There were mostly young drunks walking back from the bars now. Some were stumbling into pizza joints that stayed open for the after bar crowd. It reminded me of college a little, only everyone was dressed in more expensive clothes.

  After Vanessa fixed herself, she walked toward me. “Thank you Matt,” Vanessa said as she smiled and knocked into me. I couldn’t tell if it was because she was pretty buzzed or if she was trying to be playful.

  I had to chuckle as I asked, “For what? Telling you your tits were uneven?”

  She laughed and then tilted her head as we continued walking. “For convincing me to go out.” She shook her head. “I don’t know if you realize this or not, but…” she took a deep breath before continuing, “I have a tough time meeting new people and getting out.”

  I wanted to say, “No shit,” but I refrained. Instead I tried to act surprised, but it came out more sarcastic. “No, you?”

  Her face became completely serious continuing to look right at me. “No really. I do. I’ve always had a hard time meeting people.” She huffed. “That’s why I decided to go into HR. I wanted to force myself out there.” She shook her head as she told me this. I couldn’t help but smile. That took guts to throw herself into something, especially a career, in order to get out of her comfort zone.

  We arrived back at our apartment doors and I stood there watching Vanessa take her keys out of her purse. This wasn’t a date, I reminded myself. So I shouldn’t want to kiss her. But I really wanted to. I stared at her lips wanting to taste them again. All her teasing from before we went out was no longer there. She seemed more humble or thoughtful tonight as she toyed with her keys. She looked up into my eyes.

  “I know this sounds strange, but,” she paused and bit her lip, glancing away quickly before looking back into my eyes. Hers were so bright and beautiful as I glanced back at her lips that were now curled into a sweet smile. “I really had a good time tonight. I mean, I know we didn’t have a date or anything and we were actually apart most of the time. I…” she scrunched up her face and shook her head rolling her eyes. “Sorry, I guess I’ve had too much to drink. I’m just gonna go in and shut up.” She gave a small laugh.

  I put my hand on her arm, giving her a smile back. “No, I actually know what you mean. I had fun tonight forcing you out there.”

  She laughed at my small joke and nodded, glancing away. “I think I really like our new friendship.”

  Her eyes flicked back to mine and I gave her a sincere smile. “Me too,” I told her with pure honesty. Well, minus the jealousy I had tonight. Aside from that, watching Vanessa smile, laugh and flirt, even if it wasn’t with me, really did make it a pretty nice evening.

  “Goodnight, Matt.”

  “Goodnight, Vanessa.” I watched her open her door and go inside. She smiled before she finally closed the door fully. I just stood there staring at the door wondering if I should have said something more. Friendship. I wasn’t sure if that’s really all that I wanted, but I’ll have to just bide my time for now.

  ME: How ya feeling, Gorgeous?

  I smiled to myself as I sent Vanessa a text the next morning. I wondered if she enjoyed being called that. I wasn’t sure if I should ask her or not. I mean, who wouldn’t like to be called that, right?

  I was surprised when she replied so quickly.

  Vanessa: Feeling great. You?

  Me: Good. Want to run out and grab some breakfast?

  Vanessa: I don’t usually eat breakfast, just coffee. But I’ll head out with you.

  Me: Meet you in 15?

  Vanessa: K

  I was surprised she didn’t argue with me. I expected to at least have to drag her out since it seemed to be her initial response.

  Fifteen minutes later and I was knocking on her door. Aubrey held the door open, smiling and wearing a tight tank top and tiny shorts. God I love my neighbors. I smiled at Aubrey as she eyed me like a piece of candy from head to toe before stepping aside to let me in.

  After she closed the door she stepped towards me, inside my personal space. If I didn’t know any better I’d say she was coming on to me. She gave me this sexy grin and I wasn’t sure what to think. My eyes quickly scanned the room for Vanessa. I wasn't sure if this was a trick or something.

  “You better treat her right. I can be a fucking bitch to deal with if you’re an ass to her. Got it?” Aubrey directed to me as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  I swallowed quickly as I realized how protective she is over her friend. I nodded.

  She pressed her lips together, returning my nod, then strutted away from me towards her room with a confident, sexy walk. Damn, she’s hot. I shook my head as I walked to Vanessa’s room like I did last night. I got a chub just remembering how she came out of the bathroom dancing naked. I’ve seen just about all sides of her, I was pretty sure. At least I hope the bitchy side I saw at work was as bad as it gets. I can handle that.

  I glanced around her bedroom and thought about sitting down on the bed like I did last night, but heard her singing to herself in the vanity area. I peeked quickly and watched Vanessa apply make-up, she caught my eye and smiled.

  “Hoping to catch me naked again?” She teased with a glint in her eyes.

  I walked in and hopped up on the counter as I watched her apply blush. “Nah. Just thought I’d head in here while I wait for you. I meant to invite Aubrey, but forgot to.”

  She chuckled as she searched for something in her drawer before pulling out a tube of something. I watched her unscrew the top and pull out a long black wand. She pulled it up to her long lashes and began to stroke them with the wand brush. “I bet you forgot. Aubrey was wearing her tiny clothes and you couldn’t remember what it was you were saying, huh?”

  I laughed as I averted my eyes and looked to the floor. “Something like that.”

  “She’s packing anyway and has to leave soon. She won’t want to come with us.” I nodded. “So I was thinking about what you said last night—that I shouldn’t call Luke. Is that dating rule 101?”

  “No, that’s just a basic ‘don’t come off as desperate’ 101 rule,” I replied.

  Frowning, she stared into the mirror before protesting, “I don’t think I would come off as desperate.”

  I shrugged while looking around at her countertop. “Fine. Don’t trust my male knowledge. Call him and see what happens.” Did I feel guilty? Nope. Not a bit. If she does wind up calling him and doesn’t get a response or he tells her he doesn’t want to see her again, who’s going to be the shoulder she cries on? Yep. I got a plan for this.

  She stopped applying her makeup and gave a soft pout while turning toward me. “He seemed into me last night, didn’t he? Or was that just me being tipsy?” She shook her head as she looked back at her reflection.

  I picked up a bottle of her perfume and sniffed the pump. Wow. I really like that one. Flowery. “I don’t know. He’s goofy like that. I’ve met him before. Think he’s too into bodybuilding or something.”

  “What do you mean? He doesn’t really date?”

  “Nah. Bodybuilding takes up too much of his time. I haven’t seen him there in a while. I was actually surprised to see him there last night. You’re better off. He travels a l
ot and girls are always hanging on him.” I picked up another bottle and took a look at the label. I felt her glare so I looked up to see her staring at me.

  Vanessa wrinkled her brows and squinted her eyes while glaring at me. “He said he doesn’t compete,” Vanessa pointed out. One hand moved to her hip and she jetted it out. “Did you chase him away?” She walked the couple steps to me and looked up to my face. I couldn’t help but smile. Maybe I just like to banter with her like this.

  “I didn’t chase him away.”

  Her mouth popped open and she smacked me on my arm. “What did you tell him about me?”

  “Nothing!” I protested as I pretended my arm was hurt where she hit me.

  She squinted her eyes. “Are you lying to me?”

  “Pfft. No.” I tried not to look her in the eyes, but when I looked back at her she dropped her gaze to the countertop. I clapped my hands to change the subject. “Come on. Let’s go get some coffee. You look like you could use a pick me up.”

  She pulled her brows together staring at me and then looked at her reflection. Turning her head from side to side she seemed to be reviewing her features. I hopped off the counter and laughed. “I’m not saying you look bad. I just thought we discussed getting some coffee.”

  After she finished getting ready we headed out to a nearby diner. I grabbed a booth near a window and sat down. I ordered this great platter they have called the Hangover Special. I glanced up to see Vanessa looking at me curiously.

  After the waitress left she asked, “Are you hungover?”

  I shook my head. “No, but the food here is great. I’ll let you try some if you want.” I threw her my best smile and she shook her head, laughing.

  “No, I’ll just stick with my coffee, but thank you.”

  I shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  Just then the waitress returned with Vanessa’s coffee and my Bloody Mary.

  “I didn’t hear you order that,” Vanessa quipped as she watched me take a sip.

  “Comes with the order. Want some?”

  She nodded and took a sip. “Wow. That’s really good,” she remarked as she licked her lips.

  I smiled. “Wait ‘til you try my food. You’ll be begging to come back here.”

  “Begging, huh?” She teased with her eyes smiling bright.

  I looked right into her eyes and whipped my brow up. “I did enjoy it when you begged.”

  Her smile dropped and just as I thought, she hadn’t intended to tease me about our night. She quickly glanced around the room.

  “Looking to see if there’s any co-workers?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeess.”

  “Who gives a shit? What would one of them do anyway if they over heard how you like to beg?”

  Her eyes grew wide and she pressed her lips together. I chuckled, dying to tease her some more.

  Just then the waitress brought my food and placed it in front of me. Vanessa’s eyes grew wide as she took in the food on my plate.

  “Ah,” I clapped my hands together and picked up my fork to dig into the gorgeous display of food.

  “Is that…?” I looked up at Vanessa asking her almost question as I chewed my food smiling. She grabbed the fork that was with her spoon for her coffee and dug in for a taste. Putting her fork to her mouth, she moaned and I swear her eyes rolled back the same way as I remembered when she came for me. I stared at her as my dick got rock hard immediately. I swallowed and tried to tear my gaze away from her tongue licking her lips after she swallowed. “Wow. That really is good. You were right,” she said as she nodded. Her eyes met mine and I must have looked like a dumb ass. “What?” she asked, clearly concerned by the look on my face.

  I shook my head more to get my erotic thoughts out of my head. If I could have grabbed her and slammed her against the wall to fuck her hard I would have. “Matt?” She asked again when I still couldn’t answer her.

  “Nothing. I, umm.” I ran my hands through my hair trying to just breathe again and shake my desires for her. One night with her was definitely not enough.

  Vanessa didn’t seem to notice what could possibly be going through my mind by my facial expressions because she wanted to start a discussion.

  I watched her lean in slightly, placing her arms onto the table as she asked, “So when you see a girl, Matt. Do you automatically think ‘Hmm, I want to bang her?’”

  I chuckled, especially that she dropped her voice trying to sound like a guy. “Bang her?” I repeated as I raised my eyebrow.

  “Yeah, well what word do you use?”

  I laughed again while I stared at Vanessa. I was wondering where she was headed with this question. I can’t answer her honestly since I’m still trying to “bang” her again. Veering on the safe side, I said, “Well, I…”

  She held up her index finger as she interrupted me, “Be honest,” she instructed me.

  I closed my eyes and hung my head down. “I can’t be honest about something like that. That’s pretty much a rule you never tell your girlfriend.” Fuck. Why would I say that? I swallowed and hoped she didn’t pick up on that.

  “Well I’m not your girlfriend, Matt. We’re just friends. And you don’t do the girlfriend thing anyway, remember?” She smiled teasingly. Fuck. That smile of hers is just…entrancing. Is that the word, I asked myself as I stared at her lips. She pulled me out of my moment by hitting my arm playfully.

  “Stop doing that lip staring thing. Answer my question,” she demanded teasingly.

  My eyes flicked back to hers quickly. I didn’t realize I had done that. “What was the question?” I honestly couldn’t remember. Right now all I want to do is lean in and brush my lips against hers. I wanted to taste her again. I want that breath thing we shared where right before we kissed, I inhaled her…

  “Matt! What do you think when you’re looking at a beautiful woman?” She insisted I answer.

  I snapped out of my thoughts and remembered the conversation we were having. “Oh come on! You don’t really want to hear this. Not to mention…”

  “Sure I do. I want to know what a man really thinks.”

  “You know what a man thinks. He looks at your tits and your ass and thinks, damn I need to bend her over and shove my cock in her.” Vanessa pulled back slightly shocked. “Oh, don’t give me that. You’re not so innocent.” I leaned in closer and whispered, “I remember how dirty you can be. You think the same type of shit when you see a hot guy.”

  She pulled back and seemed to pretend to be surprised. Bullshit. “I do not!”

  “Really? So what does a woman think?” Vanessa looked around, still holding a small smile on her beautiful lips. Then she pressed them together as she rolled her eyes. “Come on. You tell me what a woman thinks as she’s looking at a good looking guy like me.”

  I couldn’t contain my laugh as I watched her roll her eyes. “Forget it. I surrender. We’re done with this,” she stated plainly as she held her hand up, still holding her coffee mug in the other hand.

  “Oh no. You started this. I want to know now. What did you really think when I first walked into your office?”

  She smirked and coyly asked, “What makes you think you’re a good looking guy?” Then her teeth tugged on her full bottom lip. Her eyes were definitely telling me something totally different. My heart beat faster as I awaited her answer, wanting to know what she really thought about me when we first met.

  I stared deep into her eyes and lowered my voice as I placed my arm on the table. “Because the way you’re looking at me right now, I can’t be ugly.”

  She swallowed and took a drink from her mug. I leaned in, refusing to let this go. If I could get another night with her from this or God help me, many more, then I was sure as hell going to try. “Did your panties get all wet for me? Did you picture us together? What I could do to you?”

  I watched her chest rise as if trying to catch her breath. I got to her. Hell yeah, I got to her. “Just say the word Vanessa and I’m yours again,” I whispered a
s I placed my hand on her jean-clad thigh, rubbing her lightly with the tips of my fingers. Her hand came immediately on top of mine to stop the movement, but she didn’t remove it. I noticed that. Her hand was on top of mine, pressing down slightly into her thigh.

  Her eyes were wide, not looking at me as she swallowed. “We can’t,” she insisted, although I was unsure if she was trying to convince herself or trying to remind me.

  I couldn’t resist trying to press harder to see if she would give in as I squeezed her thigh slightly making her breath hitch. I turned up the corner of my mouth, as I watched her eyes flick to my lips. “We can. No one would ever know. We live right across from each other.” She pressed her lips together as she glanced back into my eyes.

  “Excuse me.” She jumped up and practically ran to the bathroom. Shit. I sat back in my chair, ticked off at myself for pressing too hard, but knowing she really did want to.

  When Vanessa returned from the bathroom, she wasn’t in a playful mood anymore. She must have had a discussion with herself or something. I wondered if she called Aubrey and had a “don’t give in to Matt” talk or something.

  We walked back to our building and she told me she had some work to get done. I reminded her about heading over to Mel and Flynn’s around five for dinner. I think she forgot about it because she seemed slightly surprised, but nodded her head.

  WE WALKED several blocks together to get to Mel and Flynn’s townhouse. I always loved their place. Flynn’s dad bought it way back when the whole area was starting to be built up. Flynn dated an interior decorator at the time and she really did a nice job. Too bad she was a little crazy, but also good because he and Mel got together after. It all worked out.

  Izzy and Z were already there and Clark shot me a text that he was on his way. We walked in and the guys were on the couch watching pre-season football. I smacked Z and Flynn’s hands before walking over and hugging Izzy, who was cooking up a storm. Mel was already perched up on a bar stool at the kitchen island right next to the couch. Vanessa took an empty bar stool and sat down after greeting everyone. Vanessa handed a bottle of wine to Mel, thanking her for inviting her over. I kept telling her she didn’t need to bring anything, since we do this just about every Sunday night, but she insisted it was proper etiquette.