“Yes, he’s ridiculously good-looking, and he knows it.” I sigh as I join her at the table and rest my chin on my hand.
“So he’s a heartbreaker, just like your father. We sure know how to pick ‘em.”
My mouth drops open. This is news to me. He was always so loving towards her, and I know they got together quite young, I had just assumed that they were each other’s firsts.
“Dad was like that?”
She pauses, taking off her glasses, and leans across the table like she’s going to tell me a secret, “Darling, your father had a whole heap of girls before me, and a queue waiting the whole time we were together.” She laughs at my head that’s shaking with disbelief, and starts to gather the papers in front of her.
“So…did he cheat on you?” I feel like I could be sick if she answers yes. I always looked up to their relationship and even now I still have it on a pedestal.
“Of course not.” She chuckles. “I just meant, that he was a good-looking man too. And when I met him, he had a reputation. It’s in our genes to fall for the bad boy. You just need to make sure he’s willing to be good. Sometimes. But not all the time, because that would be boring, wouldn’t it? You’re just like me Laurel, you need someone who’s going to challenge you; keep you on your toes and a nice guy just won’t cut it I’m afraid.”
My mother’s words repeat over and over in my head as I put the finishing touches to the buffet the following week. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them. My dad was a bad boy turned good. He turned good for her. Ryan is a nice guy; but something inside craves James’ unpredictability. He’s a heartbreaker, I’ve seen it happen when we’ve been out, but lately, he’s not been like that at all. He’s been thoughtful; he’s bought my favourite wine, and designed plans for my shop and said he just wants to help me out. I may be being naïve but it changes my perception of him completely. He’s been nice with a bit of edge and that only makes me stumble harder for him. I’m on my own, lost in thought, until Ryan walks in with a crate full of glasses.
“Hey.”
“Hey yourself. It’s good to see you.” He says wrapping me in a tight hug.
“I’ve missed you.” I say as I snuggle a bit closer, then realise what happened the other night and pull away quickly.
He tilts my chin up so he’s looking straight into my eyes and briefly touches my cheek, “I don’t want this to be awkward. We can be friends, Laurel. That’s how it all started and that’s how it will end. I’m fine with that. I just don’t want it to change us and if I thought it would, I would never have kissed you. You’re friendship means more to me.” He searches my eyes for some kind of confirmation I understand what he’s saying and I give a brief nod before nudging his shoulder teasingly. “If you want me to set you up, I have a friend who I think you would get along great with.”
“I’m staying away from girls for a while. A whole heap of trouble.” He winks and we’re back to how we were before the whole kiss thing last week.
“Oh I have some guy friends that would be interested too.” I wiggle my eyebrows and he rolls his eyes in mock exasperation.
“That’s not really my thing. I go for beautiful blonde girls, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“How about hot red-heads?” I ask, mentally crossing my fingers that he seems interested. He looks thoughtful, then the grin comes back.
“You’re not very subtle you know. I assume you’re talking about Jen?”
“Maybe,” I answer slyly. They’d be so good together, and I want them both to be happy. “Don’t answer now. Think about it. Talk to her tonight, see if you get on. And I can work my magic!” I clap my hands together excitedly; I haven’t used my matchmaking skills for a while.
He laughs raucously and turns to go back and get more crates from his car.
The party gets into full swing and I’ve invited pretty much the whole town. The showroom’s not huge, but people have spilled into the corridors too so there’s enough space for everyone to mingle. For the next hour I circulate trying to build up as many contacts as possible, and tell everyone I can about the refurbishment plans and investment. I keep one eye on the door as I talk to Scott, the manager of a local hotel. I think he’s trying to flirt with me and it makes me uncomfortable until James walks in with his sexy swagger and a smile, and all other thoughts are thrown aside.
Chapter Nine
James
By the time I get to Proposals I’ve wound myself up so tightly wondering how she’ll react, I only hope she feels the same as I do. If she rejects me I can’t even comprehend how I’ll feel because I seem to have convinced myself that she’ll welcome me with open arms. She wanted me weeks ago when we kissed, but things have happened since then, including me being an absolute jackass and her getting with Murphy so I only hope that she realises how much I regret my stupidity. The room looks fantastic as I step inside and look around, there are so many people here. I walk round the showroom taking it all in. There are customers and friends and family and it looks like there are several local business owners here too. She’s going to make some great contacts through networking like this. I take a drink from the bar and down it quickly – hopefully it’ll give me enough courage to finally do this once and for all. I lean against the wall as I wait for her to finish her conversation with the manager of one of the local hotels.
“You know you look like a creep just watching her.”
Blake slaps me on the shoulder and laughs. We haven’t talked about her properly in months, I’ve just been ignoring it. “I’m not watching her. I’m waiting to talk to the guy she’s chatting with. Gonna see if I can get a contract to redesign the interior of The George. It’s looking a bit worse for wear these days.” I’ve never felt the need to lie to Blake before but he’s tilted his head and raised an eyebrow because he knows.
“Good story, but I call bullshit. You two are ridiculous.” He snorts and slowly shakes his head at me.
“What you on about?”
He nods over to Laurel, “You both just keep dancing around each other and it’s ridiculous. Everyone thinks it. Mate, you need to man-up and tell her how you feel. Girls like her don’t come around very often, but when they do, you gotta be smart enough to grab hold of them and never let go. She’s sweet, she’s sexy, she’s funny, and she’s into you. I don’t know what else you want. She’s a hundred times better than Shannon, or Chrissy or whoever it is this week. Just tell her, ‘cause we’re all sick of the UST.” He’s smirking but I can tell he’s still serious.
“But what if she wants a relationship?” I want Laurel. There, I’ve actually said it. But a relationship, and all the shit that comes with it? I don’t know if I could handle that. I haven’t had a steady girlfriend since Natasha Key in year eight. That lasted a few weeks and she broke up with me because I kept getting distracted by her best friend Hannah.
He cries with laughter so loud that a few people turn to look over and tut at us.
“So fucking what? Give her one. And quickly, or someone else is gonna step in and you’ll miss your chance. She won’t be single forever. Dude, her conversation’s finished. Do it now.” He walks away and over to Cassie and I’m left still thinking about whether I can do this. I’ve never felt like such a pussy in my life but when I scan the room and see Ryan standing with Jen and Emma I resolve to fight, because the last thing I want is to have to watch him kiss her ever again.
“We need to talk now,” I growl out and grab her by the arm. I fumble in the dark for the door handle and pull her into her office. She turns the lights on and as my eyes adjust I realise she’s put space between us and is on the other side of the room. It’s too far away for what I want to do so I take long strides and close the distance, backing her against the wall. This is it. She’s either going to press her body against mine and kiss me back, or she’ll slap me. Either way I’ll know how she’s feeling without the need for words; I’ve never been good with them. I bring a hand up to the back of her neck to pull h
er mouth against mine and my heart beats faster as my lips wait for her response. And when they start moving against mine I can’t believe that this is really happening. I’m sure as hell not stopping, I’m not backing down, and I’m not letting any misunderstandings get in the way of what this is. In fact, I don’t know what this is, but I know it can’t stop. This is the girl that I have craved for the past nine months. The girl who has had my head in a spin and my body in a constant state of arousal. And now I’m tasting her, claiming every inch of her mouth as mine and my tongue is thrashing against hers in familiar strokes that are leaving me weak at the knees. I break away from her lips to kiss her neck and my hands start to roam. If she doesn’t want this and stops me now I’m not going to be able to take it. I have to give her something, tell her something about how she makes me feel.
“God, I want you so much.”
It’s all I can get out in between the brutal kisses I’m assaulting on her neck, and as she rubs against me I can feel myself straining against my trousers.
“We have to go now, Laurel. I can’t wait until the end of the night.”
She pulls away and I’m worried she thinks it’s a mistake but she looks up at me with the blue eyes that I’m drowning in and pulls her lip between her teeth.
“So don’t.”
She walks over to the door and watches me as she turns the lock. The click sends a shiver straight down to my dick. I need her back in my arms. She’s still standing by the door, so I lean against the wall trying to catch my breath.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Get over here.”
She walks towards me slowly. My shoulder pushes off the side and I go to meet her but she doesn’t stop. She circles me, still biting her bottom lip, and if she doesn’t let me touch her in the next few minutes I’m going to explode.
“What are you doing?” I’m ready to grab her and rip her tight little dress off her.
“Last time I was too drunk to remember. Now I’m sober and I’m taking in every little detail to make sure I never forget. I need this. I need you.”
My body goes rigid. I’m so tense because I need her too. I need to make this something she won’t be able to forget. Even if she tries to.
“Babe, you’ve got to know that this is all I’ve been thinking about since you ripped into me for buying you a glass of wine. Every time I’m around you I want to take you, and there have been so many times I’ve thought about kissing this smart mouth and shutting you up.”
I bring a finger up to trace her lips and she smiles against it, then pulls it into her mouth and bites down on the pad playfully.
“Back at ya. Do you know how many of your little tramps I’ve wanted to wrestle with because they got to have their hands on you?”
Relief seeps through every muscle in my body and I feel like I can breathe again.
I lift her hands and put them against my chest.
“You can put your hands on me whenever you want. But, if you want to wrestle I’ll happily watch.” I smile at her eyes rolling back then I’m grabbing the back of her head crushing her lips to mine. She moans as my tongue finds hers again and I can feel her body shudder as I reach round and grip her butt. I turn her away from me, so her hands are leant against the desk and move her hair so it sweeps down one side, leaving her neck and shoulder bare for me to touch. I slide the straps of her dress down over her shoulders slowly, following with a trail of kisses.
“You deserve more than a quick fuck in your office, Laurel. You deserve to be worshipped, but that will come later, I promise.”
She moans softly as I stroke her hips and legs whilst pushing the dress down so it pools at her feet. Twisting, she rests her hand on my shoulder as she steps out of it and slings it across the room using her heels. So fucking sexy. I place my hands on either side of her hips and pull her back against my crotch.
“Can you feel that? It’s hard because of you.” I say whilst I run my hands up to cup both breasts covered in bright red lace.
“Can you feel it?” I repeat when she doesn’t answer with words.
“Yes,” she breathes out heavily, leaning her head against my chest and arching her back to fill my hands with her tits. She reaches up to grab the back of my head and pulls me down towards her neck.
“I want your shirt off,” she whispers in my ear and turns in my arms to start unbuttoning the front. It takes too long and by the time the shirt is on the floor I’m aching for her in a way I’ve never felt before. I step back slightly and realise that luck doesn’t even begin to cover what’s happening to me right now. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, her long blonde hair is still pulled to the side, her cheeks are flushed, and her body is insane. She runs her eyes over my chest and down to the belt on my trousers.
“Take these off. Now.”
I love a woman that’s in control and I make quick work of taking them off before reaching down to the pocket of my trousers and taking out a condom. I know I have to make this really count. I have to annihilate all memories of other men so that all she can see is me, and how I make her feel.
She takes the condom off me and rolls it over my cock herself. She pulls me back against her and I coax her leg round my waist, pausing to kiss her neck.
“Are you ready, babe?”
I lower my hand and press it against her core, sliding a finger inside her and she tilts her head back. I can feel how wet she is, so before she can moan again I’m replacing my finger with my cock and thrusting inside her. She takes a sharp breath in and I still, waiting for her to adjust.
“You okay?”
She nods a yes and I move slowly and grip her hips to me forcefully. I pull her leg upwards and she gets my hint, lifting herself up and wrapping her arms around my neck. Her other leg moves round my waist and I’m cupping her butt and slamming into her against the wall. As if we can read each other’s minds she grinds into me, both of us realising we won’t have much longer in here together, especially with all our friends outside. I kiss her mouth and her neck, then reach lower and take her hard nipple in my mouth, sucking gently. She grips my hair and tugs on it whilst biting into my shoulder to keep from screaming. I could never get enough of this feeling. I pound into her harder, and her heavy breathing tells me she’s close. I slide out a few inches and drive into her again, repeating the movement over and over again until she digs her fingernails into my back. Her orgasm ripples through her as the sound of her moans spilling from her lips has me coming with a deep groan into her neck. My forehead rests on her shoulder whilst we both catch our breaths.
“That was…” the words start but I can’t finish them, no-one will ever feel this good wrapped round me.
“Yeah, it was,” she breathes out and all too soon she’s letting her legs hit the floor and pulling away from me and I’m missing her touch. How do I say I want to do this again? That I only want to do this with her. She picks up her clothes so I do the same and I’m watching her as she gets dressed, trying to read her body language.
There’s a knock at the door and within seconds we are scrambling to straighten ourselves.
“Laurel?” A voice sings from the corridor, “Are you in there?”
“Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute Cass, just making some last minute phone calls to confirm appointments tomorrow,” she shouts back.
“Okay,” The response comes immediately and we hear heels clicking away on the wooden floors. My heart returns to normal speed.
“That was close,” Laurel smiles at me and I’m wondering if it would actually be so bad for people to know. It means I could kiss her whenever I feel like it and not worry. My smile matches hers and I realise that I can’t let her go this time. Within seconds I’m across the room and kissing her again, I feel like I can’t get enough of her taste. She moves her head back and I think she wants to say something but I’ve not had enough yet so I pull her back with her lips pressed squarely against mine. My tongue searches for a way in again and she moans as her lips part and the kis
ses come hard and fast.
“James…” She sighs in the seconds that I’ve pulled away to kiss the corner of her mouth, her jaw, her cheek.
“Yeah?” I murmur into the sexy hollow between her shoulder and neck, running my tongue along her collarbone, soliciting a shiver that spreads over her body. She doesn’t say anything but I can hear her breath quickening so I press the issue thinking it could be an admission of her actual feelings.
“Tell me babe, what is it?” My hands tighten round her back and I pull her as close to my body as I can take without launching myself at her again.
She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and hesitates before speaking.
“I think we better get out there now before someone comes looking for us again. I’m being a terrible host.”
I burst out laughing, “I thought you were gonna tell me how great I was, babe. I wasn’t expecting that!”
She elbows me in the side, “Don’t be an ass.”
I grin down at her and place one last kiss on her lips, making sure I savour the feeling so I can get through the rest of the evening.
“Let’s go then princess. Your public awaits.”
I open the door and gesture for her to walk through. She smiles as she brushes past me and her body turns to me, hand catching mine, and she stands on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. It’s a simple gesture and if I was a girl I would be swooning right about now. But I’m a man, and I’m grinning like a fool. My hand reaches out to stroke her cheek, just enjoying the contact and feeling her warm soft skin under my fingers. “Babe, I’m so proud of you. Of what you’ve achieved. And what you’re going to achieve in the future. You know your dad would be too, right?”
Sweet Reflection (Truth) Page 10