A Tempting Friendship (Clover Park #10)

by Kylie Gilmore

  “Fuck and release and fuck again.” She narrowed her eyes. “He always promises to return.”

  He squeezed her hand and slid his other hand to her bare knee, lifting the edge of her skirt. “But he doesn’t spend the night, does he?” He slowly slid his hand further up, along her soft inner thigh, waiting for her to stop him. The staff and students would arrive soon.

  But she didn’t stop him. Instead her eyes softened, and she licked her lips. He reached her panties and drew his finger across the damp cotton panel. She shivered. He pushed the panties out of the way and slid a finger inside her, drawing a soft moan. He drew back and slid another finger in as he spoke near her ear. “I will be your Damon, and I promise to return.” He stroked her hard nub with his thumb as he thrust inside with his fingers.

  “Yes,” she hissed. He didn’t know if she was agreeing to the fantasy or just loving his hand up her skirt, but it didn’t matter because he was going to do both. He shifted his hand, pressing up on the inside to stroke her G-spot as he ground the heel of his hand right on her oh-more spot. Her soft sounds of pleasure made him thicker and harder. She was fever-hot, soaking his fingers, clenching and unclenching around him.

  “Every night,” he told her as he stroked and ground and she clutched his shirt. “Every erotic scene in those books.”

  “Promise,” she gasped out.

  “Fuck and release—”

  She cried out, shuddering with her release, and he covered the sound with his mouth on hers. He stroked some more, swallowing her sexy cries as she rode every last wave of pleasure. She finally stilled, and he slid his hand away, watching to see what she’d do next. Her cheeks and neck were flushed pink. She didn’t seem mad anymore.

  She straightened her skirt and shot him a wary look.

  He cupped her cheek and kissed her tenderly. “Good little Mia. I’ll return for you tonight. And every night. Promise.”

  Her dark blue eyes lit up. “I won’t use my safe word.”

  He grinned. “You don’t have a safe word.”

  She shivered, gave him a small, sexy smile and sailed out the door.

  Now that was a plan. A good plan. He headed outside for a brisk walk while he thought about superintendent meetings and other crap that would surely make his pants more comfortable.

  ~ ~ ~

  Angel kept his promise. Every night he went to Julia’s place and made her every fantasy come true—in a wide variety of places—the bath, the wall, the bed (only non-missionary position), the chair, the counter, bent over the sofa…damn, that woman had a good imagination. Except they couldn’t do the dining room table scene. She didn’t have one. He’d tried to get her to his place, where a dining room table was conveniently waiting, but she resisted, and when he pushed, she distracted him by dropping to her knees and unzipping his pants. Fuck me, there was nothing hotter than watching her sweet mouth take him in.

  But now it was Thursday night, and he had to go to Luke’s bachelor party. Nico had reserved the back room of Lombardi’s, an Italian restaurant in Eastman his family liked. Angel helped himself to a beer at the open bar and took a seat next to Jared at one of the round tables surrounding a small cleared area of floor.

  “What’s the entertainment?” Angel asked. Luke had invited his wealthy friends, including his biggest client, Bentley Williams, so he really hoped Nico had bypassed strippers. Angel always worried about strippers and ended up talking to them about an alternate vocation. They were often single moms, and he had a lot of contacts in local government agencies and nonprofit organizations that could help.

  “You’ll see,” Jared said, taking a long pull on his beer.

  “What, is it a secret?”

  Just then tiny tinkling bells rang out and a group of women strolled in wearing sequined gold bikini-style tops and gold and black harem pants.

  Jared grinned. “Belly dancers. Lily found them.” That was Nico’s wife.

  The women set up their music and one of them set a chair in the center of the cleared area. A woman with long wavy black hair and a heavily made-up face scanned the room. “The groom?”

  “Lu-u-ke!” Nico bellowed through cupped hands, though Luke wasn’t far away.

  Luke held up a hand, grinning, before taking the seat in the center. The music began and the women began a sensuous harem-style dance around Luke, their tiny finger cymbals and bells around their wrists and ankles chiming in a pleasant beat. Everyone was hooting and hollering.

  He glanced around the room at his brothers, Luke’s friends, even his dad, spellbound by the intricate dance. Not him. Julia ruined him for other women, and he was still nowhere near the happy ending marriage proposal part. He hated to admit it because he was enjoying the hell out of being her fantasy, but things still weren’t right. She didn’t want to look at him when they screwed. Still wanted him behind her. He had to make her look at him, make her face him, and then she got mad, but they still fucked anyway because a fiery Julia turned him on even more. Honestly, everything she did turned him on now that he knew he could have her naked whenever he wanted.

  He took a long pull on his beer. He’d reread the ending of Fierce Loving, and it wasn’t clear what made Mia face Damon finally in the light. The author hadn’t explained that part to his satisfaction.

  Maybe he should’ve invited her to Luke’s wedding like Kennedy said and make her eat the Italian wedding cookies. He’d avoided it because the last time he’d seen Julia at a wedding had been her own, and he’d about died that day. Of course, they had Ally’s wedding to get through anyway, so why not pile on another wedding? Why not try his stepmom’s way? He’d get Julia to the wedding, make her eat a cookie, and wait for the magic. It was pathetic and ridiculous and he was just desperate enough to try.

  Besides, it was time she got to know his family. That was where this thing between them was heading. She would be part of his family soon if he had anything to say about it. And he did.

  He pulled out his cell and texted her. What are you doing Saturday?

  Ally’s bachelorette party.

  He bristled. It didn’t matter that he was currently at a bachelor party, drinking and watching half-naked women writhing on the dance floor. He didn’t want her doing the same. Would she be ogling male strippers? Pretending they were Damon? Forget all that. Stay focused.

  He texted again. Strippers?

  You know Ally.

  So yes. He gritted his teeth. What time?

  Why? You going to join us?

  Maybe I will.

  Just us girls.

  Can you—he stopped. Deleted that. Will you—delete. He rubbed his forehead. This was absurd. He was supposed to be able to handle emotionally charged situations.

  He tried again for a carefully neutral tone. How do you feel about going to Luke’s wedding? Saturday at noon. He figured Ally’s bachelorette party was probably at night.

  She didn’t reply. Maybe he should’ve done this in person. He’d go to her place right after this. But what if they just ended up fucking again? He shifted uncomfortably. Not that he minded fucking Julia, but at some point it was going to blow up in his face. His cell vibrated, and he glanced down.

  Are you sure the bride doesn’t mind a last-minute guest?

  He was so relieved he felt light-headed for a moment. She insists.

  Why would the bride insist? I’ve never met her.

  I’m the only single guy in the wedding party.

  Am I your date?

  Do you want to be?

  No answer. He grabbed his leather jacket and headed outside for more privacy. The texting wasn’t doing it. He had to hear her voice. His cell vibrated with a return text.

  I miss you.

  He pressed her number on speed dial and walked further away from the restaurant. “I miss you too,” he said as soon as she answered. It was the first night they’d been apart since their Damon-Mia reunion three days ago.

  “Why do you want me at the wedding all of a sudden?” she asked.

>   He blew out a breath. “Maybe we should talk face to face.”

  “You’re too tempting face to face.”

  He found himself smiling. “Yeah?”

  “You really have to ask? I nearly lost consciousness with that last orgasm.”

  He groaned.

  “And I wrote three books about our one weekend in bed.”

  His chest puffed out. “So you did.”

  “Can you talk now?”

  “I’m at Luke’s bachelor party. I’ll stop by after. This is too important for the phone.”

  “Fine, but no Damon. I will use my safe word.”

  “I thought we did away with that.” He chuckled. “Okay, let me hear it.”

  “Tara—” She giggled. He grinned. He loved hearing that carefree giggle. “I can’t say it. It’s ridiculous.”

  “That’s exactly why I picked it. Also the hidden meaning.” It was a small hint that he was onto the secret desires she denied. A liar to her own body.

  “How far would you go?” she asked eagerly. “Would you push me to my limits? Would you truly break me?”

  He went rock hard. Fuck. She would let him do anything. She wanted him to do anything. Holy hell.

  “Angel?”

  “Yeah,” he managed.

  “Can you come over like right now?”

  He shoved a hand in his hair. How did this conversation get away from him? They were supposed to be talking about them and their future, not having phone sex. He had to get things back on track.

  He lowered his voice. “Get out your vibrator, let me hear you come, and then I’ll be there for a serious talk.”

  She moaned, making him harder. “But Bob the third isn’t as good as you.”

  He choked on a laugh. Bob the third? “You have three vibrators named Bob?”

  “No, just one. The first two Bobs wore out.”

  He barked out a laugh. He had no idea she was such a horny thing all these years. They could’ve been fucking a lot more than they had. Any sign from her, the smallest thing, and he would’ve been all over her.

  “It’s not funny,” she said. “It’s been very difficult to deal with everything.”

  He got serious. “I could’ve helped you out before you got to Bob the third. What took you so damn long?”

  “You were my forbidden fruit,” she said softly.

  Guilt and sin. Yeah, he could see that. “And now?”

  She sighed. “You said it yourself, the genie’s out of the bottle.”

  He found himself smiling. “Can’t put him back, can we?”

  “Her. And no. She’s a demanding bitch.”

  He slowly shook his head, loving hearing more spirit in her voice. For so long, she’d been a faint wisp of the Julia he knew and loved.

  She spoke again, this time in a tempting seductress voice that grabbed him by the balls. “Do you remember what Damon—”

  “I’ll stop by in a couple hours,” he said through clenched teeth. “To talk.”

  “I like your voice on the phone,” she went on silkily. She knew what she was doing to him. “It’s so deep and sexy.”

  He groaned. “Goodbye, Julia.”

  “Deep, deeper, ooh, yes, deeper.”

  “I said goodbye!” he exclaimed with mock anger.

  She giggled. “Bye.”

  Angel hung up, did a few brisk trips around the block in the cold winter air to cool down, and headed back inside just as the belly dancers were leaving, chattering happily. His oldest stepbrother, Gabe, got a few tables going with poker, and some guys were playing pool in the adjoining area.

  Luke thumped Angel on the back. “Hey, where’d you get off to? You missed the belly finale.” He did a comical hip wiggle to demonstrate.

  Angel chuckled. “I had a phone call. Julia’s coming to the wedding on Saturday.”

  “Yeah? Hey, that’s great. Kennedy will be thrilled. Be careful though. If you don’t get Julia to the cookies, Kennedy will bring the cookies to her. Probably shove them down her gullet. She loves you, that’s all.”

  “Who?”

  “Kennedy, who you think?”

  For a moment he thought Luke meant Julia. But he wouldn’t know that. He’d only met her a couple of times. Once over the summer when she and Brad stopped by. Once after the funeral. Did Julia love him? It occurred to him that she’d never said the words. Of course, neither had he, and he definitely did love her. She had to know that, right?

  “So things are better with you two?” Luke asked.

  “Getting there.”

  “Ah, women,” Luke said, shaking his head. “Such a pain in our—” He stiffened and pulled his cell out of his pants pocket. It must’ve been on vibrate. “Hey, beautiful,” he cooed into the phone. “I miss you so much.” He strode off, murmuring, “I miss you more.”

  Man, his brothers were so whipped.

  Angel showed up at Julia’s house only one hour later, purposely losing at poker to make his escape. He knocked, but there was no answer. It was eleven o’clock on a work night. Had she fallen asleep? He had to see her. This talk couldn’t wait any longer. He knocked again, a little harder. Had she used the vibrator? She often fell asleep after she came because it relaxed her so much. That was it. He pulled out his key and let himself in. The place was dark. He locked the door behind him and headed toward her bedroom.

  She was sleeping diagonally across the center of the bed, taking up all the space. He gazed at her for a moment in the dim moonlight peeking through the blinds. Her dark hair was in wild disarray, her soft lips parted slightly. How he longed to just strip down and curl up in bed beside her, but something stopped him. Lying in bed with Julia never led to talking.

  Instead he leaned over, brushed her hair back and kissed her temple. Then using what little willpower he had left, he turned and walked out the door.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Angel stood in line with the groomsmen at the front of St. Joseph’s, the Catholic church in Clover Park, for Luke’s wedding with a strong sense of the familiar. It wasn’t that long ago he’d stood up here for Vince and Sophia’s wedding. He caught Julia’s eye where she sat next to Emily in the row with his sisters-in-law. She gave him a tight smile. She warmed up slowly to people, so he really hoped that meant she wouldn’t be exchanging confidences with Emily any time soon. Like how Emily was his ex-girlfriend, the same one that made Julia jealous enough to pen the Fierce trilogy. Emily had remembered Julia from a cooking class they’d taken back in December and had been chatting her up ever since they arrived. Angel never talked about anyone he dated by name to Julia and, likewise, never mentioned Julia by name to a girlfriend. Some part of him knew deep down that any woman would come in second place to Julia.

  He planned on driving Julia to the reception in Greenport, instead of riding in the limo, so they’d get a chance to talk. It was a half-hour drive to the beachside estate of Luke’s client and close friend Bentley, so that should be enough time to get a few things straight. The music began, and the bridesmaids started their slow walk down the aisle. Kennedy’s younger sisters, Frank and Jamie, went first followed by Kennedy’s friends Hailey (from book club, apparently they grew up together), another friend he didn’t know, and the matron of honor, Candy (Bentley’s wife). Hailey had wanted to plan Kennedy’s wedding and have it at Ludbury House where she worked, but Kennedy wanted the church wedding and the estate reception. They’d had a catered rehearsal dinner at Ludbury House last night for just the bridal party as a compromise.

  Finally, the bridesmaids and matron of honor were in place, and the traditional “Here Comes the Bride” song began. Kennedy appeared in a white satin gown with a long train. She wore no veil, only a thin diamond headband in her blond hair done up in a twist. Intricate lace decorated the top of the sleeveless dress, matching her lace gloves. He knew the dress was designer, there’d been a lot of excitement over it among the women in the family, and he had to admit, she was stunning. Her dad stood next to her, standing stiffly since he w
as still recovering from back surgery.

  Kennedy practically glided down the aisle, a small smile playing over her lips. Angel glanced at Luke, who was beaming. By the time Kennedy got to Luke, she was also beaming.

  Father Munson began the ceremony, a traditional service that gave Angel plenty of time to remember Julia’s wedding, with him standing as witness, the best man dying on the inside. It had been so hard not to let his true feelings show in his expression, especially because Julia kept her gaze fixed on him for most of the ceremony. He’d at first thought it was because she wanted him instead of Brad, but later when he asked her about it at the reception, she said if she focused on him, she could forget everyone was looking at her. He’d wanted to know why looking at Brad didn’t do the same thing for her, but then Brad swooped in and led her to the dance floor.

  He never did find out why.

  Now, he slid a look over to Julia, who had a pleasant expression pasted on her face, but he knew her well enough to know weddings weren’t much easier for her. She must be remembering Brad and missing him.

  Finally, Father Munson announced, “You may kiss the bride.”

  Luke gazed at Kennedy, cupped her face in both hands and kissed her reverently. When he pulled back, the crowd erupted in applause, but Luke didn’t seem to notice. He just stood there, cupping his new wife’s face, gazing adoringly. Kennedy burst into happy tears. That set off a chain reaction with his stepmom, his dad, and Vince, the softies in the family. Angel’s throat was tight, half in reaction to their happiness, half for his own sadness over still not having Julia as his own.

  Kennedy and Luke headed down the aisle, hand in hand, smiling, followed by their entourage of bridesmaids and groomsmen. He looked over at Julia on his way down the aisle, who gave him a small smile. All of his sisters-in-law in the row with her were wiping tears.

  After saying his congratulations to the happy couple along with his family, Angel found Julia waiting by his car. She wore a blue dress with swirls on it that hugged her curves. It had tiny sleeves and showed lots of skin. A small white wrap over her arms added little warmth. He wanted nothing more than to run his hands down her sides, feeling the gentle curve in at the waist and over the slope of her hip. Instead he did the gentlemanly thing and unlocked the car, ushering her in so she wouldn’t get too cold. It wasn’t a biting cold, but February in Connecticut was still chilly.