by Darcy Burke
“I should still go,” he said, despite his feet staying rooted to the floor.
“Or not.” She tipped her head forward and drew his finger between her lips, sucking the tip.
Oh God. Her lips and mouth ought to have been illegal or at least have come with a warning. He closed his eyes for a moment and reveled in her tongue and the way it caressed his flesh. His cock, already hard as granite, lengthened and strained against his jeans, which had become far too tight for comfort.
She let go of his finger, and her hands splayed over his lower back, pulling him against her. The heat of her nearly bare chest scalded his feverish body. It was torture. He wanted more.
He opened his eyes and saw that hers were slitted. Sexy. Seductive. “How can I prove to you that I’m not too drunk to want you to stay?”
Holy hell, he was so screwed. “Just kiss me.”
He cupped the sides of her head and pulled her mouth to his. Her lips were soft and supple. She tasted of lime and tequila and fucking fabulous Aubrey, a treat he could never get enough of. He held her while he slid his tongue into her mouth. She met him, licking at him eagerly as her fingernails carved crescent-shaped grooves into his back. She rotated her hips against his. The contact set off fireworks behind his tightly closed eyes. He didn’t stop the moan that came from his throat, nor did he ease off the kiss.
Instead, he angled his head and speared deeply into her, immersing them both in the sensations of heat and wet and total abandon. Again her pelvis thrust into his. He slid a hand down her spine and splayed it across her ass, holding her hard against him in an attempt to ease the ache in his cock.
Still it wasn’t enough.
He brought his hand back up to her bra and flicked the fastener open. She pulled her chest from his and shimmied out of the lingerie, letting it fall between them. He grabbed at one of the straps and flung it away.
She pushed up against him again, this time wiggling so that her breasts teased his chest. She drew her head back and nipped at his lip before kissing him again.
He held her lower back and brought his other hand from her head down to her collarbone. His fingers grazed the necklace that had prompted this insanity, but he moved right on by until he found the upper curve of her breast. He opened an eye long enough to gauge the distance to the bed—not far.
He guided her backward and broke the kiss as he pushed her to the mattress. He bent and cupped her breast, then put his mouth on the nipple, licking and sucking her flesh. She gasped and moaned and clasped his head, pulling at his hair. His cock raged as he feasted on her.
She curled her legs around the back of his knees and pulled him closer so that his groin pressed against hers. He moved to her other breast, licking and nipping her heated skin. He drew on the nipple with his teeth, gently tugging, then tongued her as he held her captive to his mouth.
She arched her hips off the bed and pressed up against his erection. Two pairs of jeans were far too thick to enjoy a moment like this.
He trailed his mouth down her ribcage, and his fingers found the waistband of her jeans.
She moaned as she twisted her fingers in his hair. “I think I like being friends.”
Friends? What the hell was she talking about?
Friends.
He’d come over the other night and proposed they be friends. This hadn’t been what he’d had in mind, not that he was complaining. But it had seemed the right thing to say, since he’d seen Stuart leaving.
Stuart.
Fuck. She was dating another guy! The hell she wasn’t drunk. He was such an ass.
He jumped back from her, panting lightly as he wiped his hand over his mouth and fought to gain control of his raging lust. “Uh, I have to go.”
She bolted up and instantly closed her eyes. “Uh-oh.”
Yep. She was a lot drunker than she realized. And he was a first-class prick for letting himself be fooled.
“Could you get the room to stop spinning please?” She kept her eyes closed and fisted the comforter with both hands.
He ought to leave right now. Or he could be a real gentleman and take care of her like he’d intended to do when he’d brought her inside and made her drink water. Then she’d taken off her sweater, and he’d completely lost his mind.
First things first: She needed a shirt of some kind. “Where are your pajamas?”
She pointed an unsteady finger at the dresser against the wall. “Middle drawer.” She still didn’t open her eyes.
He went and opened the drawer and grabbed the first thing he found—a Stanford T-shirt. By the time he got back to the bad, she was lying down against the pillows.
“Hold on.” He put his hand behind her back and held her up. “Can you sit for just a second so I can put a shirt on you?”
She nodded and then moaned, but not in the sexual way she’d done just a few minutes ago. This was the sound of a person whose alcohol consumption had just caught up with her.
He pulled the shirt over her head and somehow got her arms into the sleeves. Then he eased her back against the pillows.
He contemplated her jeans. Just take them off. Pretend she’s your sister. God no, don’t do that! Pretend she’s your friend and nothing more. Because she is.
Moving as quickly and smoothly as possible, he stripped her jeans away. He ought to have put her in a pair of pajama pants or something, but fuck it. She was practically asleep as it was. He tugged the bedding down and managed to tuck her between the sheets.
She exhaled as she snuggled onto her side and laid her cheek against the pillow. Her red hair cascaded over the white linen. He couldn’t resist stroking his fingertips against the silky softness.
He forced himself to turn from the bed, then bent to pick up his T-shirt, which he donned immediately. He plucked up his button-down, but she’d been right—it was pretty wet. Clutching it in his hand, he took one final look at Sleeping Beauty.
Then he turned out the lamp and tiptoed from the bedroom. Being friends, it turned out, was a lot harder than it looked.
AUBREY FINISHED HER third cup of coffee and massaged her forehead as she stared at her computer monitor. What the hell had she been thinking drinking like that when she was this busy at work? And especially when this zoning brief was so important.
The drinking and mild hangover were really the least of her worries, however, when compared to her behavior after the drinking. She’d almost slept with Liam. Would have, if not for him being a gentleman.
She groaned as she pushed her chair back from the desk and spun it around—slowly, so her head didn’t splinter—to look out the window. It was a gray, soggy day. Perfect for crawling under a rock in abject humiliation. Or regret.
She’d practically thrown herself at him last night. Nope, there was no practically about it. From the minute she’d tossed her sweater off, she’d made her objective crystal clear. And he’d tried to politely decline, damn him. It would be easy—and vindicating—to tell herself that she’d been too drunk to realize what she was doing. However, the fact that she remembered everything in such horrifying detail told her she hadn’t been nearly that drunk. Not until the tequila had finally caught up with her. She supposed she had to be thankful for that third and final margarita.
Her phone pinged on her desk. She picked it up and saw Chloe’s name. She was the last to chime in on the group text that Tori had started that morning to check in on how everyone was.
Chloe: OMG you guys, what a night! Pounding headache this morning but so fun! Next time we’ll drink water and pace ourselves a little better, LOL.
Everyone had reported a similar hangover-ish morning, minus Sara, who’d only said that she’d had a great time and was glad they’d all gotten home safely.
Aubrey couldn’t help but fixate on what she’d said last night just before the guys had arrived. A dull, queasy feeling spread in her stomach—the kind of sensation that came when you had to have a difficult conversation or had been caught in a lie or, in her case, had been c
aught in a damning truth.
Why had she drunk after that stupid question? It’s not like any of them would’ve known she’d been lying if she’d hadn’t taken a drink. No one knew about her and Liam, for crying out loud.
She only hoped they’d all been too drunk to remember. She didn’t think she’d be that lucky, however.
She had to believe in what they’d said at the outset—that whatever happened at the pub stayed at the pub last night. She didn’t want to think about the alternative. She also didn’t want to think about how awkward it would be next time she saw all of them, regardless of a dumb rule.
Her phone rang in her hand, startling her. She looked down and saw that it was Sara. Apparently there was no time like the present for awkward.
She could ignore the call, but why? She had to face them eventually. She was their attorney.
She slid her finger across the screen and forced a smile into her voice. “Hi, Sara!”
“Hi, Aubrey, how are you this morning?”
“Pretty good. Remind me to schedule future girls’ nights on a Friday or a Saturday or at least when I’m not working the next day.”
Sara laughed. “Good call. I’m so sorry. I hope we didn’t mess up your day.”
“It’s fine. I’m a big girl, anyway, so it’s definitely not your fault.”
There was a pause in the conversation, just a slight beat, but it was enough to raise Aubrey’s guard.
“So, I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the end there last night and let you know that no one’s going to ask who you slept with.”
Leave it to Sara to be as blunt as possible. With her sensory-processing disorder, she didn’t always have the best filter. It was actually one of the things Aubrey liked most about her. She was incredibly real and as a result, delightful. She was also apparently the designated spokesperson for everyone else.
“Um, okay. Thanks.” I think.
“I mean, it’s clearly Hayden or Liam,” she said. “It can’t be Evan, obviously, or Kyle, and like Chloe said, Derek’s not an Archer. I’m not even sure you’d met Derek before he got together with Chloe, right?”
Sara was talking pretty fast, and Aubrey wasn’t sure she wanted to keep up. “Uh, no.”
“Anyway, it seems like it’s maybe Liam, since he walked you home last night, although it could’ve been Hayden before he left. Except Hayden isn’t generally the hook-up type, and Liam definitely is. Oh geez, listen to me. I’m doing exactly what Tori said not to do.”
Definitely spokesperson.
Aubrey dredged up another fake smile so she wouldn’t sound as annoyed as she felt—not at Sara, but at herself for being such an idiot. “It’s okay.”
“Well, I just want to say that it would be cool if it was Liam, because he could use a girlfriend like you. We’d love that actually.” She said the last part with such a soft sweetness that Aubrey almost wished she could tell her she’d love it, too.
But they were talking about Liam, and Liam didn’t have girlfriends. He had rotating arm candy.
“Uh, that’s really nice of you to say,” Aubrey said. She massaged her forehead and decided it was time for another dose of extra-strength Tylenol. “I should get back to work. This zoning brief isn’t going to write itself.”
“Oh! I’m sorry. I’ll stop rambling. You sure you’re good?”
“Yep, I’m good.”
“I’m glad. I had such a great time. I’m glad we’re friends. Even when the zoning and The Alex is done, we’ll still be friends—just so you know.”
Aubrey smiled, and this time it was genuine and heartfelt. “Thanks, Sara. Bye.”
She disconnected the call and set the phone on her desk. She picked up her coffee mug and realized it was empty. That meant hauling her sorry ass out of this chair for a refill.
Ugh, girlfriend? She could barely be Liam’s friend. In fact, she’d pretty much failed at that entirely. The very next time she’d seen him, she’d tried to jump his bones.
But they’d stopped themselves. Correction: He’d stopped them.
It seemed like he was maybe better at this friend thing than she was. And wasn’t that surprising as hell?
She stood from the chair and resolved to stop thinking about last night, about what she’d admitted by drinking in that asinine game, about Liam. She needed to focus on work and get through this zoning business. Then Liam would leave, and she could work on flushing him from her system for good.
Chapter Ten
LIAM CHECKED THE gear that bound him to his brother Kyle as they neared the jumping altitude of thirteen thousand feet. He was certified to jump tandem, and Kyle had drawn the short straw and was flying with Liam. Derek was hooked up to Rylan, and Sean was going with Nate, another of Rylan’s employees.
“You ready?” Liam asked.
“You going to drop me?” Kyle retorted.
Liam grinned. “On your head.”
Kyle touched the cap that was sort of a light helmet. “This doesn’t seem too sturdy. And why aren’t you wearing one?”
“Because I’ve done this a hundred times. Pull your goggles down. We’re nearly there.”
Kyle nodded and tugged his goggles into place. “We’re going first?”
“Of course. Would you want it any other way?”
Kyle laughed. “Touché.”
They edged toward the door, which the copilot would open momentarily. He came up from the cockpit and stood in front of the three pairs. “About a minute of free fall. You’ll be going over a hundred miles an hour. Then five or so minutes of gentle gliding to earth after your partner springs the parachute.” He smirked at Liam. “Remember to pull the drogue—don’t wait too long, or you’ll lose your tandem license.”
Liam saluted. “Yes, sir.” He knew the rules. And he wouldn’t try any crazy shit with his brother on board.
“You all ready?” the copilot asked. “Give me a thumbs-up.”
Everyone flicked up their thumbs, and Liam patted Kyle’s bicep. “Let’s do this.”
The door opened, and the whoosh of air and noise overcame him for a second. He loved this feeling—that buzz of adrenaline just before he leapt into the air. Kyle moved forward, and Liam trailed behind him.
Kyle hesitated at the edge, and Liam pushed him out with the force of his body behind him.
“Dick!” Kyle shouted but finished on a laugh. “Holy shit!”
Liam wished he could see Kyle’s face, but it was enough to feel the vibration of his joyous laughter.
They sped through the air faster than a car on the freeway. Faster than most roller coasters. But it felt different, at least to Liam. He enjoyed going fast on the ground, but up here it was just your body and gravity. There was something natural, something pure, something he never felt anywhere else. And that was why his first extreme sport was still his favorite. Why he wanted to push that feeling even further and try BASE jumping.
It was time to pull the drogue, but damn he loved this. He saw Derek and Rylan, who’d gone second, to his left. Rylan activated his chute, and Liam knew he was out of time—there was a timer to automatically release the chute if they fell too fast or if they didn’t pull by a certain altitude. He tugged the drogue, and they immediately slowed, gently, not jerkily.
“Damn, that was fun!” Kyle roared and pumped his fist. “Again!”
Liam laughed. “Sure. Anytime.”
Kyle looked around, his head angling left, then right, then left again. “It’s so beautiful up here.”
Gorgeous. The rain they’d had the last few days had transitioned out last night, and today had dawned bright and beautiful. They’d completely lucked out. Clouds meandered overhead, but there was plenty of blue sky and miles and miles of breathtaking vista below.
“I can see why you’re addicted to this,” Kyle shouted.
Addicted. Is that how they saw him? Isn’t that how they should see him? Scarcely a weekend went by that he didn’t do something that would make most people cringe, even if
it was just riding one of his motorcycles.
He steered them into the drop zone, and a couple of minutes later, they stepped onto the ground.
“Wow!” Kyle gave a loud whoop and looked around for the others. Rylan and Derek had just landed, and Sean and Nate weren’t far behind.
Liam released the clips holding them together. Kyle took a few steps and pulled his goggles and cap off. “Damn, that was awesome!”
Derek strode over. “Dude!” He high-fived Kyle, and they both grinned from ear to ear. “I had no idea the landing would be that easy. It’s like we just walked from the plane onto the ground. More or less.”
Liam chuckled. He remembered his first time. He’d practically bounced back up into the air after landing, and he really hadn’t come down out of the clouds for weeks. Maybe he never really had.
They turned and walked toward Sean, who was pulling off his goggles and cap.
“What’d you think?” Liam asked.
Sean’s face split into a grin. “Brilliant. Next time Tori has to come. She tried to convince me to bring her today, but I told her it was guys’ day, just like they had their girls’ night.”
Liam, Nate, and Rylan gathered up the chutes, and they headed out of the drop zone back toward the hangar.
Liam wasn’t surprised Tori had wanted to come. She’d mentioned going with him a few times in the past, but they hadn’t ever found a convenient time, since they’d both been busy growing their careers away from Ribbon Ridge. Then Alex’s death had thrown them all into turmoil—her more than anyone, it seemed. But now things were maybe back to normal. Or at least not as turbulent.
His mind turned to the rest of what Sean had said—girls’ night. He’d spent the last day and a half reliving everything about Thursday night. Every seductive look Aubrey had given him, every stroke of her fingertips, every body-melting kiss.
He needed to stop thinking about that before he sported wood.
“That was quite a girls’ night,” Derek said. “I don’t think Chloe ate a thing yesterday until midafternoon.”