Nine months before the proposal
“Oh my God, Sam, are you kidding me?”
Samuel Thompson blinked at the exasperated female voice, his thoughts still muddled with the recent development of the game he was testing. Was it too predictable? Too complicated? Perhaps he should make some changes to the design of the dog – he might scare off teenagers who would want to play. Or perhaps the treasure room was too cliché, and he needed some out-of-this-world gems to blend in with the others, to make sure—
A pinch on his neck had him starting, hands snapping behind to swipe the pincher away.
“Ouch. Stop.”
Alessandra Thompson’s gray eyes glared at him intensely, her mouth set in a disapproving line. “What is that laptop doing in this room?”
Sam innocently stared at her. “Um. I brought it?”
The shapely female rolled her eyes, hands on hips. Her navy blue dress fluttered at the movement, a color that glittered and complimented her ivory skin and wavy hair. He would have ignored the attitude had she not looked at the screen herself, eyes devouring the details he had in front of them.
He smirked. “See? You couldn’t resist, too."
“You shouldn’t have brought it,” Alex scolded, finally tearing her eyes away. “And you should put that down right now.”
“I’m working on something.”
“Your marketing rep is going to be mad.”
“Tammy’s always mad. At something.”
“Well, I’m going to be mad.”
Sam’s eyebrows raised. “You’re my sister. Why are you going to be mad?”
“Because. This is the big marketing night. That your marketing rep prepared. For your game.”
Without further ado, Alex began brushing up his hair, complaining about how messy it looked and how wrinkled his dress shirt had become and they were going to be late. She hurriedly shut the laptop and dragged him out of the hotel room, ignoring his protests about treasures and dogs and design.
Sam could do nothing but sigh.
---
Alex looked at Sam trying to blend in the crowd and Tammy whispering at his ear every step of the way, her lavender hair bouncing at her movements. Like a cute pixie, except very bossy. Her lips twitched at the sight of the video game creator and his marketing manager – aka her brother and her friend – making their way through the throng, as news writers and game corporation owners alike tried to get to know them better and negotiate some deals.
Sam’s accountant, Logan West, sauntered in the middle, confidence and formality in every step. He smoothly cut in on a conversation and borrowed the news writer’s ear, earning a very irritated glare from Tammy and Sam looking like he wanted to escape.
A touch of concern made Alex almost step forward – until a strong hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her back to a warm, broad chest.
“Going somewhere?” the purr rumbled in her ear. Alex shivered as heat shot through her, an unstoppable reaction. She turned and saw Nick, her Nick, gazing down at her with curiosity in his coffee-colored eyes. He lowered his head to graze his mouth on hers, a gesture that had her stammering out an explanation.
“He’s a big boy, Alex. He can take care of himself.” The grazing mouth moved to cajole hers open, his two hands steadying her in place. “Meanwhile, there’s something I need you to take care of.” His tongue entered lazily, playing with hers.
Oh, how she missed him. Nick had been very busy, and so had she, and the times they spent in their first three months together had mostly been filled with meetings, parties and more meetings. She just wanted him beside her, kissing and cuddling—
He pulled her closer, and she felt his erection against her stomach. Alex softly moaned in his mouth.
That. She missed that.
As if reading her thoughts, Nick pulled away from the kiss, his eyes darkening and filling with lust. He growled. “Let’s get out of here.”
And so they did. They were already halfway out the hall, crossing a corner divided by a fancy curtain and the fire exit when Alex felt herself nudged against the wall, and Nick was suddenly pressed against her and kissing her hard.
“Nick! We can’t – not here—”
“We’ll be quiet. I can’t wait,” he groaned, hands moving from her waist to her skirt, sliding it up.
They were in a hallway, a curtain away from the crowd. If anyone so much as tried to peek at the fire exit behind the curtain—
His finger rubbed at her panties, thumb pressing her nub. She found herself moaning.
“Shhhh,” Nick murmured, sliding the finger in and curling it. “You’re wet.”
He quickly removed the silk hiding her, letting it slide down one leg. Agitated, wanting more, Alex fumbled with his belt, his zipper, putting her hand inside and—
He wasn’t wearing anything underneath.
Nick quieted his groan against her shoulder as she pumped up and down, feeling his hardness and heat and wanting it inside her. It felt so big in her hand, steel and velvet fire.
As if hearing her silent plea, Nick’s hand removed hers quickly and placed them on his shoulders, his other guiding his cock at her entrance. In one single stroke, he thrust in.
She would have moaned again, but he swallowed it with hungry kisses as he braced her against the wall, caressing her inner thigh before lifting both her legs to wrap around him. His cock slid out completely, rubbing her tip, before plunging back in one powerful thrust. Again. And again. And again. Thrust after thrust after thrust.
Nick stopped kissing her, his mouth trailing to her ear instead. Then he whispered what might possibly be the dirtiest words she had heard in a long while.
“Fuck me. Fuck me hard, Alex. I want your cunt to squeeze me tight.”
Alex bit her lip to keep from crying out in pleasure at what he was doing. It felt so, so good. He kept pumping and pumping, changing his angle every now and then to accommodate what she liked best. The last angle made his cock rub right in the middle of her core, and it was all she could do not to scream as his tongue played with her throat, as his hips moved faster, the heat climbing higher and higher, almost there—
Panting, his palm cupped her breast, thumb flicking her nipple and making it tighten against her bra. Then, one powerful push.
Her orgasm exploded, and he swallowed her moans ravenously. After a few more pumps, he came inside her, a hot wash of warm liquid that her clenching against him.
They slumped against each other, spent. After a few seconds, Nick kissed her softly.
“I’ve missed you.”
With a laugh, she kissed him back and reciprocated the words.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Rena Mahon adored marketing events.
Well, not adored, per se – but she liked it enough to accept invitations readily, especially if it involved being thrown a challenging interview and getting people to talk and open up.
She remembered a time when she used to dislike it, and the atmosphere it presented – bigwigs getting all puffy and arrogant, free-flowing wine and men; men with their liberated spirits, smooth-talking ways and a motive in their pockets. They liked to flirt and say all the right words, and you had to be pretty smart to flirt back without readily giving anything out.
It was the same as the media world, really – intertwining motives and politics all around. But she got used to it, and what was once a task now became natural as she let her writing shine through, gave the readers a glimpse of the stars, the hotshots, and whoever was currently trending in the entertainment world. She enjoyed what she was doing, and if it involved the so-called politics to achieve what she wanted, then so be it.
Hence, she had learned to like marketing events, and the opportunities it brought.
This certain marketing event was not really in her league, because it involved video games and she didn’t know the first thing about video games to begin with. But Nick had invited her, and her boss had insisted she go, because Sam Thompson was the hottest thing right
now and they’d be an idiot if they let that get in the hands of the other greedy bastards.
Boss’ words.
The event was themed Under the Stars, a tribute to the beautiful graphic design Sam did for his game, Star Light. Sam’s sister, Alex, was a major contributor of said game design, and Rena wanted to support her friend, too. Scanning the crowd, she tried to find said friend—
There. Slipping away with Nick, obviously in a hurry.
Rena smirked, knowing exactly what they were up to.
A male voice interrupted her observations, so close to her ear that she almost jumped.
“Would you care to dance?”
A stranger with pretty brown eyes was staring at her intensely, the expression on his face confident.
With a friendly smile, Rena shook her head and tipped a champagne glass up at him in salute. She may like marketing events, but she had recently sworn off men, because... because. Just because.
Her smile turned into an internal frown when he took it as an invitation and sat beside her – decidedly too close for her liking.
“Come now, sweetheart. I’m sure a beautiful woman like you would rather dance than sit here in boredom.”
Ah, the flirty nicknames. Not wanting to give out her real name, she turned down the wattage of her smile and elegantly shrugged.
“I’m not bored. I like watching everyone dance.”
“But you should be the center of attention. Let’s dance.”
“No, thank you. Perhaps another time?”
“You and I will look good on the dance floor, I promise.”
Oh, my God. Can he not take a hint?
She was about to open her mouth to voice out a polite but very firm refusal when a female voice reached her ears.
“Hey, buddy, you’re in my chair. And I really don’t want to get another chair because my heels are killing me.”
The statement was addressed to the stranger, who was startled enough by the bossy tone that he stood up.
The event coordinator slash marketing rep, Tammy Lancaster, plopped down and began to immediately remove her stilettos, rubbing her feet and moaning in relief.
The stranger wrinkled his nose at the sight, obviously not liking the interruption. Then he turned back to Rena and was about to hold out his hand again—
“Tammy, perhaps I should just return to my room and—”
Without hesitation, Rena stood up – and hooked her arm around Sam’s, squeezing his in affection and offering him a bright smile.
“Hey, Sam. You promised me a dance?”
Tammy raised a brow. Sam blinked. “I did?”
“You did,” Rena said firmly. The stranger looked at them as if he wanted to say something – but Rena dragged Sam before anyone could say another word, chattering about incessant things all the way and making sure to laugh every now and then.
When they were in the middle of the dance floor and swaying forcefully to the music, a puzzled Sam finally spoke.
“Um.”
Rena’s smile became a grin. “Hi. I’m sorry. Our first meet up in a while and I drag you in the middle of my awkwardness.”
“Well…um.”
“You look great, by the way.”
Sam blushed. It was such an adorable sight that Rena allowed herself to look at him fully. Messy, curly brown hair, blue eyes. Metal-framed glasses, which he kept trying to push up the bridge of his nose. He was tall, taller than her tall, and he was wiry – the slimness only emphasized by the dress shirt he was wearing. No muscles, she supposed. He was cute, in a non-threatening kind of way – the main reason why it was better to drag him here and dance with him, than allow an alpha male to try to coax her and lead her into the familiar, boring flirting world that she was used to.
Realizing she hadn’t explained yet, Rena began to. “It’s that guy. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Sam glanced at the corner of his eye in speculation, but she shook her head. “No, it’s not that bad. I just didn’t want to flirt back, you know. I’ve sworn off men lately.”
There was a cough, followed by Sam almost stepping on her feet. He recovered and pulled her closer, and the move surprised her so much that she ended up saying a lot more than she was planning to.
“I like being single. Relationships are just too taxing lately, you know? And most hot guys nowadays are just the love em’ and leave em’ type. No one can be trusted at this point if this goes on. It's all sex with secrets in the bed. Or wherever.”
He looked like he wanted to say something profound, but closed his mouth and kept on listening as she moaned about the opposite sex. Then he glanced at the corner, where the guy was still standing, and said, “Want me to do something about it?”
Rena glanced too. The stranger was now looking at them with a smirk, as if he was aware this was a ruse and was there to swoop in the moment the dance ended. Not liking it one bit, Rena frowned, and thought.
“Sam?”
“Yes?”
“Would you mind so much if I used you?”
Those blue eyes widened, innocently so. But he tentatively nodded.
With the smile still plastered on her face, Rena stood up straight and pulled his hands tighter around her, as if in an embrace. She let her head settle on his shoulder, sighing like a lover would and putting her hands lightly at his waist. They swayed to the gentle music like casual lovers, not caring about anyone in the outside world.
The music stopped. When Rena turned to look, she found the stranger gone.
"Oh, goodie. It worked."
Good spirits restored, Rena beamed up at him. She remembered a few months ago when they hung out together after a media party, and he kept her company and walked her home. Such a polite gentleman. He had given her a sweet kiss on the cheek that night, blushing as he did earlier and wishing her a good night. They hadn't seen each other much after that, but events like this one had them meeting, sometimes smiling, sometimes just a quick nod when too busy.
Affectionately, she tiptoed and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.
"Thanks, big guy. I owe you one."
Then she was off to mingle, leaving him staring after her.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sam stared at the gold bracelet in his palm, the tiny green crystals glinting every time he moved it. Then he stole a glance at the receptionist, who was typing at her computer and ignoring him like he didn’t exist.
He was shifty, and nervous, and it was a wonder she didn’t look at him suspiciously and ask a guard to escort him away. Sam stood up straighter, shaking his head out of his thoughts. Rena had left her bracelet on the dance floor, and he was here merely to return it.
When you could have just let Alex give it to Nick, who worked with Rena and could pass it to her easily.
Or Tammy. Tammy could have given it directly.
Or his damn secretary, for that matter.
“She’s ready for you, Mr. Thompson.”
Sam shot up from the lobby couch instantly. The receptionist only gave him a puzzled look, pointing at a room across the hall before going back to her typing.
This was a fairly idiotic move, to be honest. He had a meeting of his own, and some designs he needed to finalize. His time was limited. She probably wouldn’t remember the bracelet, because it had been a week and she never looked for it.
The room he stood in front of said Conference Room, and there were voices inside. Some murmuring, then…a laugh. It was her voice, and he found himself opening the door, wanting to hear more of it.
Sam stopped at the sight of Rena, clad in a peach summer dress that looked casual and sexy at the same time. She crossed her legs, showing suntanned long legs, and he gulped at the sight.
Then he noticed that there was also a man, sitting very close. The man laughed at something she said, his hand resting intimately on her arm as he brought his face closer, closer—
Sam knew he should leave.
And it was at that exact moment that Rena lifted her green
eyes, her expression brightening at the sight of him. She shot out of her seat, long legs striding towards where he was, licking her lower lip and—
He blinked at the sight of her pink tongue. Unbidden, his pants tightened.
Then she was pulling him inside the room, and in the throatiest voice he’d heard, said “Darling, I’m so glad you’re here.”
Then her mouth was on his, soft and inviting and very, very warm.
Sam froze as he was kissed by the very woman that was out of his league.
---
He wasn’t responding.
Rena tried not to panic.
There was only so much she could do without having to harass Sam, while convincing the man in the chair that she was taken, and very happy, and was not in need of any pursuing, thank you very much. And it couldn’t be a blunt rejection, because she needed the interview with said man as much as she needed not to get into any affairs with him. The man was trouble with a capital T.
Sam, standing there gazing at her, seemed the perfect solution – if only he responded, even just a little bit.
Putting one more effort, Rena opened her mouth, letting her tongue tap his outer lip teasingly. He took in one sharp breath.
Then those lanky arms banded around her waist, pulling her closer. Rena’s eyes widened.
His mouth was opening, and he was letting her tongue in, and he was kissing her back with fervor, with tongue, and it was glorious and hot and God – God – he was a great kisser. Sam bit her lower lip, then soothed it with his tongue, a rumble coming out of his throat.
The sound aroused her.
“Ehem.”
The male voice pulled Rena out of the heat of the moment, and she slowly pulled away from Sam. He kept his grip on her waist, staring at her with an unreadable expression. Then he stared at the man who had interrupted.
Jack Malone stared at them in blatant amusement.
Rena cleared her throat. “Sorry. Got carried away.”
Jack stood up, movement lithe and graceful. There were a few seconds of awkward silence before Rena cleared her throat again and attempted a smile.
“Jack, this is my boyfriend, Sam – I’m sure you’ve heard about him. And Sam, this is Jack. My current writing subject.”
Best Friends To Lovers Romance Series: Complete Series Boxed Set Romance Page 21