by Nikki Winter
“I mean really, that thing is huge.”
“Got to sleep, Aubrey.”
“Ever have trouble buying boxers?”
“Go to sleep, Aubrey.”
“How do you walk without hurting yourself?”
He groaned. “Aubrey, please, I’m begging you just this once to go to sleep.”
“Because you begged and I’m so merciful, I’ll leave you alone...for now.”
When things went quiet he knew she’d closed her eyes. When snores that sounded more like growls from a tiger’s cage started, he knew she’d fallen into a really good sleep. Taking a chance, he propped up a little to look down at her. Beautiful—the woman was simply beautiful. It wasn’t so much what was on the outside. No, she had a heart of gold, and anytime he got near her, Carlo hoped that she had a space for him in that heart.
The precarious balance they had as friends and the possibility to be so much more had been warring inside him lately. Aubrey pushed every protective and Alpha switch that he had. She made him smile when he didn’t feel like it, made him see the world in a whole other perspective, and made him sigh just from a thought of her. She made him grateful to know her. He didn’t think there was anyone else on earth who could make him feel the way she did, and he wouldn’t be looking anytime soon. Lying down again, he kissed the back of her neck and enjoyed the way she snuggled deeper into his body.
***
“If you even reach over here for the last chocolate, I’m taking your hand off at the wrist.”
At Gwen’s softly spoken warning, Aubrey decided it was best to keep her hand where it was, no matter how appealing that caramel-covered delicacy looked. “How is this fair? You get to eat chocolates and drink the bubbly stuff while I’m over here with this.” Holding up a bottle of sparkling water and a plate of fruit, she frowned at her best friend.
Gwen studied the magazine in front of her. “Because while you’re queen, I am sovereign ruler, and you’re supposed to be getting rid of unnecessary ass, remember?”
“Say that louder, Gwenie, I don’t think they heard you all the way in Utah.”
“Are you getting snippy with me?” her friend questioned, looking up with one brow raised.
“That depends—are you gonna start the pinching if I am?”
“No, but you might wake up to another waxing.”
Aubrey chuckled. “I threatened Carlo with that last night.”
“He had the last Twinkie, didn’t he?”
“You know me so well, my friend.” Aubrey sighed.
“Someone has to. I’m probably the only one who can stop you from destroying the universe. Quick question, are you and Carlo still going through the weirdness that is your friendship?”
“Our friendship is not weird.”
“You still using everything he owns as if it’s yours?”
“Yes.”
“Then that, my friend, is weird.”
“So says you. Mr. Brazil enjoys my presence and my snuggling.”
“When you have a life-size, coke-bottle-shaped, cinnamon-hued insane Barbie, then I think not enjoying her would make people question you as a man,” Gwen replied.
“I love the way you admire my shape and manage to insult me all at once.”
Gwen shrugged. “It’s a gift. Now as maid of honor you’ve got to be the only person who looks almost as good as I do.”
“The only person, Gwenie?”
“Well, I really don’t give a damn about anybody else looking good except for you and my mama, so yes, I’d say you’re just about the only person.”
“I’m not sure if that’s an honor or a curse.”
“You can think it over while you’re trying on dresses. Now get.” Gwen made a shooing motion with her hands.
Snarling a little, Aubrey grabbed the garment bags left for them and headed for the dressing room. The things she did for Gwen! The only reason she did them without complaint was because Gwen was scary and she adored her. They’d known each other all their lives, and there wasn’t a day that went by where Aubrey wasn’t grateful for the big sister that she’d gotten without ever having to ask. Although right now she wanted to strangle her.
***
“Are you telling me that as a grown-assed man, you don’t know how to tie a bow tie?”
Carlo looked at Tony. “I’m telling you that as a grown-assed man, since I don’t wear torture suits on the regular, no, I don’t know how to tie a bow tie.”
Sighing, his best friend slapped his hands away from the black strip of fabric and tied it for him. “Your face is too close, Tony.”
The other man barked out a laugh. “Sorry I’m so pretty and you’ve gotta witness it on a regular basis.”
“Do you stop and listen to yourself when you say things like that?”
“Yes, and I sound very intelligent.”
“No, you sound like you should be dressed in something sparkly.”
“I’ll leave that to my soon-to-be wife like you should. Oh wait, I’m sorry, you don’t have one of those, do you?”
Carlo smirked. “I do but she doesn’t know it yet.”
Tony’s brows rose. “Finally gonna stop playing around with Ms. Richards?”
“The more I wake up next to her, man...”
“The more you wish it could stay that way?” Tony nodded. “I get you, man. Gwen has me walking around, smiling just because.”
“Dude, I found myself singing Keith Sweat in the shower this morning. I didn’t even know I knew any of his songs.”
“Was she in there with you by any chance?” Tony asked, waggling his brows.
Carlo snorted then smoothed back his hair. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
“I’ll take that as a, ‘She told me that she’d bust my ass if I opened the bathroom door while she was in the shower.’”
He sighed then nodded. “Yeah, that’s pretty much what she said.”
Laughing, Tony slapped him on the back. “Man, you’re in for a ride with that one.”
Grinning, he answered, “That, my friend, is what I’m counting on.”
Good Eats
“I’m not in the mood for Italian, man. Let’s do Thai.” Tony said pointing to a restaurant opposite to the one Carlo had pointed at.
“Just the word ‘Thai’ makes me itch. Let’s try Mexican.” Carlo suggested looking at another place.
“How about we just find someplace to agree on before I get cranky? Ya’ll do remember what happens when I get cranky, right?” Aubrey asked the pair.
“Two words,” Gwen said slowly. “Melon. Baller.”
Both men winced at the same time and backed away. “Burgers and fries?” Carlo asked, glancing at Tony. The other man nodded hard then grabbed his fiancée’s hand, strolling toward the diner not too far down the street.
Sticking his hand out, Carlo waited until Aubrey gripped it and followed the couple. “Do I wanna know about the melon baller?” he asked softly.
“Probably not,” she answered.
“I thought so.”
“You had fun trying on your hated torture suits today?”
“No, you had fun with trying on dresses?”
“It was more of having Gwen barge into the dressing room and making me try them on.”
He frowned and looked off.
Aubrey smacked his shoulder, taking some satisfaction when he winced. “All that nasty stuff you got going on in your head, just let it go.”
He tried to look innocent and failed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Okay, when you throw out an image of two beautiful women alone in a dressing room… What do you expect?”
“I expect for you to act like you have some sense so I don’t have to find my blade.”
“Perhaps you’ll be naked when you use said blade?” He looked hopeful.
She shrugged. “Why not throw you a bone before you take your last breath?”
“See, I thought you’d just b
e naked, I never thought you’d throw me a bone too.”
She patted his cheek. “Quiet yourself and feed me before I start screaming.”
Carlo chuckled and let her slide into the booth before him as they sat across from Gwen and Tony. He held the menu back from her. “They’ve got a turkey club on rye and some baked chips that you’ll love.”
“Are you telling me what to eat?” she queried softly.
“And risk the tendons in the backs of my ankles being sliced? I don’t think so. I know your eating patterns, and I know today is your sandwich day.” He sat back with a smug expression.
“It’ll also be the day I finally use my shovel if you don’t wipe that look off your face.”
Gwen and Tony snorted. Turning toward her in the booth, Carlo said, “You can’t kill me because you love me so stop with the grumpy act, order the sandwich, and then kiss me as a thank you.”
“How about I let my foot kiss your—”
Since they argued and argued a lot, Aubrey didn’t expect Carlo’s tongue in her mouth anytime soon. Not to say she hadn’t thought about it happening more than enough times, she just hadn’t expected it to happen now, and she really didn’t expect her nipples to harden so much that they stung—nor was she prepared for the flood of moisture that hit her right between the thighs.
“Damn…” she heard somebody mutter but was too busy enjoying Carlo’s hands in her hair, tugging her head back for him to plunder her mouth some more. Her hands returned the favor as she enjoyed the growl that rumbled through his chest.
“We might as well clear the table since it looks like they’ll need it.”
Aubrey managed to pry her eyes open and broke off the kiss when Gwen said that. Her back hit the booth again, and she took in a lungful of air.
“Here girl, have some water. I think he sucked your mouth dry.” Gwen handed her a glass and turned away, but Aubrey could tell she was fighting off laughter. Tony just shook his head and winked at her while Carlo looked rather…agitated.
“Any reason you’re looking at me like that other than your obvious desire to lose your eyes?” she asked when she could breathe normally.
“I wasn’t done,” he answered. Did he just…growl that? Normally Aubrey would’ve gone for her blade, but all he did was make her clit start doing the tango. Yeah, she was crazy, but this was a whole other level.
“Well, you are now. We’re in public, so suck it up.”
“That’s what I was trying to do before you stopped me.”
Loud coughs came from the other side of the table. Both Aubrey and Carlo looked over at the other couple, who were in the middle of bad theatrics before they got quiet again.
“And if we’re done with this horribly awkward moment, can we please order our food now?” Gwen asked.
Carlo’s jaw clenched, and he gave Aubrey the side-eye before answering their friend. “Yeah, sure.”
***
“I would’ve asked who you’re taking as a date to the wedding, Aubrey, but I guess I know now.”
Carlo watched his woman—and yes, she was his woman—look up from her food and stare confused at Gwen. “Who am I taking?”
Tony snorted while Gwen gave her the same look back. “Uh, I’d think you’d go as Carlo’s date since…”
“I’ll be spending the night riding him like a purebred stallion and we’ll both be at your wedding anyway?” Aubrey completed.
“Pretty much,” the other woman answered.
“Your brother already asked me.”
Carlo’s head snapped around to stare at his woman. “And if he wants to stay conscious, he’ll retract the invite and/or you’ll tell him no.”
The look she shot him said he was crazy. “Neither of those will happen. We’re friends, Carlo. The kid is twenty and about as socially active as an invert. He stuttered through the whole invite and then looked like he wanted to melt into the floor when I told him yes.”
“You think I won’t fight a kid?”
“Its moments like these that you make me wanna get the matches.”
“I don’t care—my woman won’t be going around with some horny little invert who hasn’t had any since it had him and will be more than eager to cop a feel when he gets the chance.”
“You’re being a jackass, and I never agreed to be your woman.”
“Jackass is my middle name, ask my family, and you didn’t have to agree. We both already know that you are.”
“Really? Do we both know what I’m about to do with the butter knife near my hand?” Aubrey growled.
“No, no, no!” Gwen snapped, slapping her hand away and taking all sharp objects from their side of the table.
“You’re fighting a losing battle, Santiago.” Tony said.
“Yes, he is,” Aubrey added.
“You shut up,” he said to Tony, then turned back to his woman.
“If the words ‘shut’ and ‘up’ leave your mouth, I’m ripping your lips off.”
Anger momentarily forgotten, Carlo leaned in close to Aubrey’s ear to whisper, “If you do that, then I won’t be able to suck on that pretty pink p—”
“Oh good Lord, I’m gonna be sick!” Gwen cried out, pushing her plate away.
Aubrey spoke calmly, but her nails were digging into his thigh. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you, but you’re pissing me off.”
He didn’t know what was wrong with him either, but her denial of the fact that she was his and her insistence that she’d be going out with some kid had him all mixed up. Aubrey was a conundrum. You push and she’d push back. You pull and she’d go the opposite way. You do nothing and she’d act like you didn’t exist. He damn sure wasn’t about to be put on a shelf and taken down whenever she felt like it. They had all the makings of a relationship, and yet here they were arguing about what was so obvious.
“If you’d drop the act and admit what we both know, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Arrogance looks about as good on you as yellow does, Santiago.”
“Not being arrogant, Richards. I’m just stating a well-known fact.”
Suddenly she stopped and held out her hand. “Can I have the keys to your truck, please?”
“For what?”
“Keys, please,” she repeated.
Frowning, he dug them out of his pocket and handed them to her. She motioned for him to move and he did. Carlo watched her head straight for the main doors before it finally hit him. Then it really hit him when he got a text from Aubrey saying, “I’ve got your truck and sadly for you, you’ll not be riding in either of us tonight.”
Carlo’s forehead hit the dinner table, and he groaned.
Mat Loving
“You gonna ignore me through this whole session?” Carlo asked Aubrey while she stretched and slapped his hands away when he tried to help her. She takes his truck, decides to leave him stranded, doesn’t bring herself back to his place to sleep with him where she belonged, and she’s pissed?!
“That depends; did you take a soak and wash the jackass off you last night?” she snapped.
Sighing, he sat across from her on the mat. “Olhos castanhos, sinto muito.”
She looked at him. “Pulling out the Portuguese and calling me hazel eyes in a real deep voice is a nice move but doesn’t exempt the fact that you were an asshole. And you can keep that ‘I’m sorry.’”
“I am sorry.” He scooted closer and grabbed her legs, slowly pulling her across the mat. “Sorry that I pissed you off and sorry that the first night we would’ve done more than snuggle I ruined it.”
“Are you sorry for acting stupid over Robbie asking me to be his date?”
He shook his head. “No matter how many ways you spin it, my woman and any male—that she isn’t genetically connected to—going out together just doesn’t work for me.”
Her hands hit his shoulders, pushing him back. “Obviously you didn’t scrub hard enough.”
“I’ve seen Robbie. The kid could get a dat
e anywhere; why does it have to be you?”
“I don’t get why you’re being such a jackass about this.”
He gripped the bottoms of her thighs, dragged her back toward him and made her straddle his lap. “Because I haven’t even gotten an official first date from you yet. I was counting on having you all to myself that day since that was when I’d finally make my move—all smooth and fine,” Carlo murmured against her throat, stopping to kiss the spot just beneath her ear. Her hips moved against his, and he was sure she hadn’t done it purposely.
“Well, you made a move already,” she muttered.
“Yes.” He kissed around her jaw. “I did, but it was sloppy, and I did it just to stop you from threatening me.” He kissed her closed lids, her nose, and then his lips found hers.
Aubrey’s mouth opened on a soft sigh as her tongue met his. The kiss started off soft, a gentle exploration of her mouth that he hadn’t gotten the night before, but then she had to go making those little noises and raking her nails down his back. Her back hit the mat in no time with him comfortably between her thighs.
Carlo was so hard that he was sure he’d heard the front of his sweats rip, but with her thighs gripping his waist and her hips pushing upward, he couldn’t give a damn. He didn’t stop his slow grind into her as he tugged her sports bra down until her breasts bounced free. At the sight of her hard chocolate-colored nipples, he almost shouted, “Thank you!” toward the ceiling but refrained, too busy wrapping his mouth around one.
Aubrey’s back arched, and her hands went to his shoulders, pushing him away. “T-too sensitive,” she stuttered, shaking her head.
If she thought that’d make him stop, well, she was just wrong. With a leer, he took her hands and pinned them above her head before going back to doing what he’d been fantasizing about for months; making her come by sleight of hand and mouth.
***
So she really needed to add nipple sucking to her list of “Favorite things done to or for Aubrey.” Really, no, really her legs were wrapped so tightly around him she thought he’d snap in half, her hips unable to stop the frantic pace. It felt just that good. Each suction dredged up a moan from the bottom of her stomach, and when he sucked so hard that it hit the roof of his mouth, Aubrey came—screaming like the arrival of a freight train. Her breasts had always been the most sensitive part of her body, and she’d had too many bad experiences with men who thought they were God’s gift to sex but really knew nothing about it. Carlo, however, had just redeemed foreplay in her mind.