Alluring Promises Box Set (Books 1-3)

by Josie Bordeaux

  “Well, it’s a date-date—like a real date. No sex. I’m going to try to take it slow. If something develops, great, but if not, it’s no big loss, right? And I won’t feel used.” She looked down at the table, her smile faded.

  “That’s great. That’ll be great.” I wanted to cheer her back up so I started asking about her date and her smile returned. “So, where’d you meet him?” That question was more for me. If she was going back to those stupid dating sites, I knew I’d have to talk her out of it.

  “A coffee shop down the street from work. We were both in line waiting and when he got his order, he turned around and bumped into me. It was cute.”

  “He sounds like a klutz,” I teased as she rolled her eyes, still smiling. I was actually serious about him being an idiot, but she didn’t notice my jab. She was too busy having that dreamy look in her eyes. I swallowed not really wanting to know the answer to this one. “So, when’s he taking you out?”

  “Sunday night,” she told me, still smiling huge.

  My smile dropped. “What about dinner at Mel and Flynn’s?” I asked her.

  “Oh, I’m sure you guys will be fine without me.” She said as she waved her hand in the air. She bent down to take her shot, lining up her pool stick with her body. Her perfect tits were in full glory for me to see. I licked my lips as I tried to flick my eyes back to her cue stick on the ball. It didn’t happen that way and I realized my dick was as hard as the stick I was holding in my hand. She looked up at me and I remembered we were talking about dinner on Sunday. I grabbed my beer and took a swig before answering.

  “Not really. I mean, it’s nice when you’re there,” I told her, trying not to sound pathetic. She needed to know we like having her around. Especially after the shit she tried to pull. The feeling of panic and fear shot through me as the picture of her lying on her bed passed out popped into my thoughts.

  She tapped my ass with her stick this time after taking her shot. “Aww, you’ll miss having me there,” she teased. “Careful, Clark. You’re starting to sound like a regular guy, you know. I’m sure all these women eying you would love to hear you say sweet and sensitive things like that.”

  I chuckled and glanced around the room. There were several here that I had noticed and knew if they heard me talk like that, they’d eat that shit up. I walked around the table and eyed my next shot. Smiling, I told her, “I bet you’re one of them, Aub. Is that all I had to do to get you back in bed with me?”

  “You know me better than that. I don’t go for that corny stuff. And…you’re back on with Tina. For now at least.”

  I took my shot as my heart beat faster. Was it from the playful teasing with Aub or thinking about Tina? “She’ll leave me again soon.” Crack! The ball rolled into the corner pocket as I looked back up at Aub. “We both know she’ll never stick around.”

  “That’s probably because you don’t give her a chance. Or give her what she wants.”

  “Why should I? She’ll just go back to Hank anyway.” Aub nodded and took her shot. I didn’t want to talk about this anymore and I couldn’t even remember how we got on this subject. “So where’s he taking you on your date?”

  She was back to smiling now, but shrugged. “I don’t know. He didn’t really say. He just told me we’d do something casual and asked if I was all right with that.”

  “So, he’s cheap. A klutz and cheap. Aub, you need to pick ‘em better than that.”

  Her smile dropped as a thoughtful gaze swept over her eyes.

  “I’m just teasing, Aub. I’m sure it’ll be a nice café or something,” I lied hoping she wouldn’t get upset by my comment. She nodded and took her next shot.

  All I kept thinking about is how Aub should have a guy take her somewhere nice. Just so she knows how special she really is. I know exactly where I’d take her. Maybe I’d take her there just for a dinner together. It doesn’t have to be a date with her since she’s my roommate. Although I wasn’t sure why I had a silly fantasy of taking her to my place for a nice cozy dinner. Or why that thought excited me.

  I TOOK the stairs two by two making sure to get some cardio in since I didn’t workout today; I hate it when I don’t. I like to get my frustration out and right now, I’m frustrated and can’t figure out why. Actually, I know why. Aub went out on her date and I purposefully made sure not to be there when he picked her up. We were coming back from Mel and Flynn’s Sunday night dinner, but Matt and Vanessa decided to make it more of a romantic stroll, so I high-tailed it back to the apartment. I was hoping that I’d make it home in time to console Aub after her date went wrong and he wound up being the loser that I’m sure he is.

  I opened the door from the stairwell and started to walk down the hall. When I looked up, Aub’s arms were pinned against the wall by a guy with dark hair. His body was pressed against hers with his lips devouring hers. Every inch of my body shook with rage and all I wanted to do was smash the guy’s head into the concrete wall. I took off running down the hall with my fists clenched and ready to go.

  The moment I heard that familiar seductive moan, I stopped in my tracks hearing that incredible sensuous sound that played in my fantasies. I stood in the hallway and watched for a moment as she pushed her hands through his hair. His hand slipped under her shirt and caressed her skin. A memory of how soft that skin is flashed through my mind. Fuck.

  I ducked back to the hallway and put my head against the wall. Bam. Bam. Bam. The pain shooting through my head did nothing to rid myself of these stupid feelings I was having for her. I’m not jealous. I’m not jealous. My hands were clenched and ready to go beat the piss out of him, but I knew I didn’t have a reasonable excuse. She clearly wasn’t telling him ‘no.’

  A bell from the elevator pulled me from my thoughts. Vanessa and Matt stepped out just as I rolled my head toward the sound. She was laughing about something and stopped the second she saw me. I swallowed, unsure of what to say. The throbbing through my teeth made me realize how hard I had clenched my jaw.

  “What are you doing out here?” Matt asked when they both stopped in front of me.

  Vanessa peered down the hallway and cringed. “Ooh, is it because Aubrey is getting hot and heavy with that guy?” Vanessa asked without being able to take her eyes off the scene down the hall. Just hearing her say “hot and heavy” made my fists clench again. I wondered if Aub told her best friend her new life plan; not getting into it with a guy until she dates him a couple of times. That ‘being true to yourself’ shit wasn’t happening for her tonight. I was hoping Vanessa would run down there and intervene so she could remind her best friend of the new plan.

  “No,” I snapped, knowing she was catching the rest of the show that I just saw.

  Her face snapped to mine, her eyes wide and sparked with laughter. “Oh, my God! Are you jealous?”

  I coughed. “No, I’m not jealous. I was just…”

  “Giving them some lead time,” Matt chimed in and I gave him an appreciative head nod.

  “Clark doesn’t do ‘lead time,’” Vanessa quipped with a smug smile and turned to Matt.

  Matt’s mouth formed a perfect “O” as his brows pulled in close. Nodding his head, Matt agreed, “That is true…”

  “Would you two quit talking about me as if I’m not here? I’m right here.” The anger in my voice was pretty apparent and I hoped they thought it was directed at them. It’d be easier than if they really believed I was jealous.

  “Ohh, she’s moaning,” Vanessa chirped in.

  “Shut up, Vanessa,” I snapped.

  “Hey, don’t tell her to shut up,” Matt snapped back at me in full protective mode. I knew I went too far on that one.

  “Sorry, Vanessa,” I apologized. “I didn’t mean it. I’m just…ugh,” I groaned with frustration, letting my head fall back on the wall.

  “Jealous?” Vanessa added in, her smug smile was in full glory. She loves this. She turned her gaze back down the hallway. “They went inside if that helps. Do you want to come to
our place and give them some time to go into her bedroom?”

  I rested my head against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t think she goes into her bedroom,” I surmised.

  “Really? She never did that when she lived with me.”

  “That’s probably because she wanted to respect you or some bullshit.”

  “Oh.” Vanessa glanced over to Matt. Matt’s eyes were wide when he looked back at Vanessa. They had some weird communication going on between the two of them and it pissed me off.

  “Can you two stop with the stupid eye exchange?”

  Matt turned back to me. “Well, do you want to go in there? I’ll come over pretending to need something,” he suggested.

  Vanessa snickered. “You just want to go over and see if Aubrey is naked yet.”

  “Well, that would be a major bonus,” Matt teased while giving Vanessa a smirk.

  She leaned in and whispered, but I could still hear her, “You’re so bad.”

  “You love it when I’m bad,” he told her and kissed her.

  “Hey, idiots. I’m still here. Can we get back to the situation?” I asked, purely frustrated that this issue was still out of my hands.

  Vanessa’s mouth held a small smile. “Is there a situation?”

  “Yes. No. Shit.” I had no idea why I was feeling like this. Why did I care if she was going to have sex with that guy?

  “You like her as more than a friend, don’t you?” Vanessa asked. She wasn’t smug that time, which surprised me. Especially since I probably deserved it.

  “No. I just…want to make sure she’s okay.” Which was actually the truth. I wanted to make sure that guy wasn’t going to hurt her, like the other guys have.

  “You never gave a shit if I had a chick over. In fact, I swear you used to burst in on purpose,” Matt quipped; almost daring me to admit any type of feelings I might have for Aub. Or admit that I used to do that to him. I did.

  “Look. It’s because I have a female roommate now and I’m just concerned. I’m not sure how to act around her after what happened before she…tried. I just don’t want her to get upset. You chicks always get upset over the little things. I just don’t want her to go off the deep end after this guy breaks her heart.”

  “You’ve had other girl roommates. Mel told me. In fact, you slept with one and then screwed her over. I’m glad Aubrey won’t sleep with you again.”

  My heart caught in my throat. “Did she tell you that?”

  “No, she just...” Her eyes widened. Vanessa’s mouth formed a perfect “O” as she inhaled deeply. “You do want her for something more!” I swear she was almost laughing at the thought.

  “No,” I spat out. “I don’t.” I attempted to convince Vanessa and myself. I hoped at least one of us believed it.

  “Guys, you’re bickering like kids,” Matt said while chuckling. Vanessa gave him a small pout and he kissed her lips. “A cute kid.” She smacked his ass, causing me to roll my eyes. Do they only care about themselves? Fuck, this whole situation is annoying.

  “Come on. I’ll go in there with you,” Matt suggested. “I’ll pretend I have to borrow something.”

  I nodded, hoping I could stop them from having sex. “What are you going to borrow?”

  “Condoms,” Matt said flatly and with a straight face.

  Vanessa laughed while she patted my wallet in my back pocket. “Don’t you always carry one with you? Aub would definitely see through that one. Not to mention, she knows we don’t need them.”

  “Shit, that won’t work,” I noted.

  Matt shrugged. “Screw it. We don’t need a reason to go in there. We’ll just pretend it’s guys night and I’m coming over to watch a game because Vanessa has a headache.”

  “Hey, don’t bring me into this just because you want to see if she’s naked yet,” Vanessa admonished Matt.

  He cringed slightly as he kissed her. “Sorry.”

  Arriving at my door, I put my key in quickly and turned the knob.

  “Holy fuck,” Matt whispered behind me as I opened the door. Aubrey was topless against the back of the couch and her hand down the guy’s pants. They didn’t hear us come in and were continuing their exploration. Aub’s eyes were closed in pure ecstasy as he started to make his way down her amazing body, grabbing her incredible breast in one hand and kissing the other one. “Wow,” Matt whispered behind me.

  Hell fucking no. Seething, I saw nothing but red. Vanessa was right. I’ve seen this with a ton of couples before and it never bothered me before. I’d usually make a smart-ass remark just to fuck with them and be on my way.

  This…pissed me off.

  The force of a thousand cave men surged through my veins as I ran over to the guy, grabbed his collar and threw him across the room. Okay, so he didn’t land all the way across the room, but he was definitely away from Aub.

  “Hey!” I heard Aub screech somewhere in the distance just as I pulled my arm back to beat the fucking piss out of the guy. I felt an arm grab my forearm and pulled me back. I swung around face-to-face with Matt. The red vision began to clear as I stood there, breathing heavy. I probably went too far. Okay, so I did go too far, but I couldn’t let go of the anger I had.

  “What the fuck is going on?” The guy asked as he reached down to zip up his pants.

  I glanced back to see Aub pulling her shirt back over her head. Her firm, round breasts were perfectly outlined by her thin shirt with no bra. Her hard nipples could be clearly seen and I couldn’t stop staring as I tried to control my breathing. Thoughts of wrapping my lips over each perfect hard peak made my mouth water.

  “Clark, what the hell are you doing?” Aub asked, making me snap my eyes away from her phenomenal rack up to hers.

  I swallowed and tried to think my way out of this one. “I thought he was hurting you,” I lied as I tried to keep my eyes focused on hers, which I found nearly impossible. Her breasts were like beacons calling out to me and my eyes wanted to remain fixed on them.

  She crossed her arms over her chest blocking my line of vision. My eyes flicked back up to her face. She definitely wasn’t happy with me. “Really?” She yelled making me snap back to the situation. “Did I look like I was being hurt?”

  “Who the hell knows? His hands were all over you. He had you pinned up against the wall!”

  “The wall? So you saw me in the hallway, but waited until now to come barging in?”

  “I’m not barging in. I live here too!”

  “That doesn’t give you the right to interrupt us…”

  “The hell it doesn’t!”

  Right at that moment, the asshole walked over to Aub and pulled her into him by her waist. All I saw was red.

  “Get the fuck off her, dammit.” I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him away from her again.

  “Clark, stop it,” Aub yelled as she stepped in front of me.

  “Um, look, I’m gonna get going…”

  “Good!” I snapped at the asshole. “Let me know if you need help finding the door.” I caught a dirty look from Aub just as I was about to help show him out.

  The guy shook his head as he walked over to the door with Aub following him. She turned quickly to glare at me again before turning back to him. I strained to hear what she said as he pulled the door open.

  “You don’t really need to go. I can talk to him.”

  “No, really. Obviously, there’s something going on with him. Is he your boyfriend or something?”

  Aub took a deep breath. “He’s my roommate.”

  “I can’t get involved in one of these weird love triangles. I told you I’m just getting out of a relationship.”

  “I know. It’s nothing like that. He’s just a bit over protective, that’s all and…”

  “Overprotective? That’s what you’re going with?” I yelled out. Matt placed his hand on my chest to silence me. Aub’s lucky he did that or I’d have started into the whole way she let’s guys use her, like he was just about to do.

/>   Aub huffed as the guy walked through the door and she went with him. I was just about to go check to make sure she didn’t leave with him, when she opened the door and came back in.

  The moment the door shut, Aub spun around. “What is with you? Why’d you just do that to my date?”

  “Date? He wasn’t a date. You were going to have sex,” I countered.

  The glare in her eyes coupled with the spark of her anger gave me a rise. Again, I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander to her tight shirt. No bra. My trance was cut off the moment Aub crossed her arms again. “Yes…and?”

  “And you told me you weren’t going to have sex with your dates.” I reminded her, hopeful that would make her realize her mistake. I decided to throw in another important factor. “And he was just going to use you!”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “That’s the oldest line in the book. The ‘Just broke up and fragile’ shit is what I use with chicks all the time!”

  I watched her face change and she yelled, “Oh whatever! And you didn’t hear about that until after you broke us up!”

  “And it’s a damn good thing I did that too! You were going to bang him and then feel shitty. See! I did you a favor, Aub. You should be thanking me!” And…I realized I probably shouldn’t have said that. Her face changed from upset to fury and I knew I pushed her over the edge. But dammit, I was right.

  “Thank you? Thanking you? Because you stopped me from having sex?” She stepped forward and got in my face. “You can’t interrupt me every time I’m about to have sex. If you hear me moaning, I don’t want you in my bedroom. If you hear me squealing with ecstasy, I don’t want to see you. If I’m screaming as he smacks my ass, you better not come in my room! Got it?” She yelled and then turned to stomp to her room and then slammed the door hard. Although I had to admit, the thought of smacking her ass made my dick throb. Especially as I watched her ass sway when she stomped back to her room.