She stepped forward, making a beeline for the darkly dressed blur that was Asher. He was gesturing, talking to someone, and a moment later, the nearby men roared with laughter again. They were just having a good time. That was all. Taylor was just being weird about things. Greer smiled and approached, keeping her hands at her side so she didn’t hide the fantastic low cleavage of her dress. If she knew anything about men, it was that they could be diverted from anything with a nice pair of boobs.
As if determined to prove her theory right, Asher paused mid-conversation and stepped to the side, directly in her path. “Greer?”
“Hi, Asher.” Her voice was breathless with excitement. He was here. He was here and he was noticing her. In fact, she was pretty sure he was staring at her, hard.
“You look . . . different.” His voice was low, sexy.
Yes! He was noticing! Oh, crap, what should she say to pull him away from the others? He had a mask slung in one hand and a drink in the other. “What’s your costume?”
“Pimp daddy,” one guy said, and the men around him guffawed.
Asher turned away from Greer and slugged a guy in the shoulder. “Fuck off, guys. This is Greer. She’s like a little sister to me.”
Her nostrils flared with irritation. Little sister? Really? Did he not see her tits hanging out of this fucking skimpy dress? But then the men started laughing and talking over one another all at once, and she nearly screamed with frustration. She needed to get him away from the group of ex–frat boys if she was ever going to get a word in edgewise. Time to use her nonexistent wiles.
When Asher turned back to a guy telling a story, she moved forward and leaned in, pushing her breasts against Asher’s arm. That got his attention. He looked down at her, and she was short, which meant he had a fantastic view of her cleavage. She was pleased when his gaze stuck there, and he downed the rest of his drink, ignoring his chatty friend.
“Can we go someplace private and catch up, Asher?” Sure, they had lunch last week, but maybe there’d be some catching up to do between now and then, right?
He nodded, transfixed by her cleavage, and handed his empty glass to a passing server, grabbing a fresh one. “You lead the way.”
Perfect. She took his hand in hers—oh, it was so big and warm!—and began to pull him through the party. A few guys hooted and catcalled after them, but she ignored them. As long as she got what she wanted, they could think anything they wanted. Of course, the farther she pulled Asher into the party, the more she needed her glasses. Well, shit.
She paused, and he bumped into her from behind.
“Whoa there,” Asher murmured, and pulled her back against him.
Oh . . . good lord. Was that his cock pressing into her back? Greer was shocked . . . and excited. He was aroused over her? This was . . . awesome!
“You shouldn’t stop like that again unless you want my dick pressing up against your ass for the rest of the night.” He gave her a crooked grin, as if trying to take the bite out of his statement. Were his words a bit slurred? Maybe, but the look in his eyes was bright and he was gazing down at her like she was the sexiest thing at the party. She’d take it.
With a small smile, Greer took two steps forward, then deliberately halted again, glancing over her shoulder at him.
“You’re just being a tease tonight, aren’t you?” Asher put his hands on her bare arms and rubbed them, and as he did, he pressed up against her again, letting her feel his cock. “Is that why you’re in that ‘fuck me’ costume?”
So he’d noticed? Perfection. “Of course not. I’m like your little sister, remember?” She took another step forward and let her hips deliberately sway a bit. This wasn’t like her, but then again, being herself hadn’t gotten results. They’d been lunch buddies for years now and it had gotten her nowhere except “little sister” status.
“Not tonight you aren’t,” he said with a chuckle. His hand went to her waist and he pulled her close. “So where are you leading me, sexy Greer?”
She had no idea because she couldn’t see three feet ahead of her. Hopefully not the kitchen. Or a bathroom. Or a closet. “Depends,” she teased. “Where do you want to be led?”
“Right now? I’d go anywhere you go.”
Her heart pounded. God, how long had she been waiting to hear those words? “Why don’t you lead, then?”
“I will, in exchange for a kiss.”
Her eyes widened. “A kiss, huh?”
He nodded, and his hand went to one of the glitzy, tiny straps holding her dress in place. “I don’t know if anyone has told you, but you are smoking hot tonight, Greer.”
Wow, that was pretty forward, even for Asher. Okay, maybe he was a little more drunk than she’d anticipated. But wasn’t this what she had intended? She wanted him to be completely into her, and she’d gotten her wish. “One kiss,” she agreed, removing his hand from her strap. “And then we’ll see where we go from there.”
“Now that sounds like a plan to me.” He leaned in and she automatically lifted her arms to go around his neck. Greer was barely five foot, and Asher was over six feet, so the height difference was noticeable, but she didn’t care. He could bend to kiss her, damn it.
A moment later, his mouth descended on hers, and his tongue pushed into her mouth. Oh, wow. Okay. It was a very . . . aggressive kiss. One with lots of tongue. She tried to participate, but having been Greer the Unnoticed for 99 percent of her life, she wasn’t an expert on kissing. Maybe she was the one who wasn’t good at it? Because his tongue seemed desperate to go down her throat and explore every molar. She staggered against him, and his hand grabbed her ass.
When she could no longer hold out, Greer pulled back from him, gasping for air. “There’s your kiss.”
He growled low in his throat and hauled her against him again, his hands cupping her backside and forcing her to cling to his front. “Let’s go someplace private, you and me.”
“That’s what I want,” she agreed. Private so they could talk and she could tell him about how she felt. How he needed to get over Donna and move on with his life. How she’d always been his friend and now she wanted to be more.
Asher pressed another mauling kiss on her, and Greer heard a few people snicker nearby. She didn’t care. It was Asher, and he was noticing her for the first time in her life as something other than a kid sister. Nothing else mattered. He was being a little wild tonight, but this was just one night. She’d known him forever and known that he’d suffered in the last two years. He was allowed to get a little drunk to take off the edge. He wasn’t like this normally.
“Come with me,” Asher murmured into her ear, and then nipped her earlobe.