"Hey," James said, making me jump.
Whenever I interacted with Rob, I seemed to forget about everyone else around us. I tore my eyes away from Rob and turned to his brother, who was sitting right next to me. I could feel Kristen's death stare without even looking at her. Rob had placed me in the only seat next to James. Mason was sitting directly on the other side of him.
"Hey," I said. "James, right?" Rob and him looked very similar. Except Rob was a little shorter and he had shaggy hair whereas James' hair was short. I had seen James around campus before, even though I had never taken one of his classes. His hair was usually perfectly styled, but in the humidity it was a little wavy and unruly looking. I knew why Kristen was attracted to him. He seemed so poised, so together. Yet he had this air of danger about him. I couldn't explain it exactly. Like a nerdy bad boy. He was even wearing glasses tonight, which added to the whole look.
"Yup." He smiled and shifted slightly away from me in his seat. Clearly my staring at him was making him uncomfortable. I hadn't even meant to stare. Rob's hands on me had just been so damn arousing that now I was acting completely inappropriate. "I'm the asshole's older brother," James added.
I laughed awkwardly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
"Oh, no, you're good. Rob is definitely an asshole."
I laughed. "I know, right? He's...infuriating." Infuriating? It was the first word that had popped into my head to describe Rob.
James smiled. He seemed amused by what I had just said, but he didn't say why.
"Well, this evening is off to a great start," Rob said from the chair on the other side of me. I felt his warm hand fall onto my thigh, making my whole body shiver in contrast to its heat. Or maybe it was just because of him.
I looked up into Rob's eyes. His brother was handsome, but despite what Kristen believed, I thought Rob was more attractive. All I wanted to do was run my hands through his shaggy hair again. He had scruff on his jaw line that I knew would prickle my palms in a sexy, rugged way. He just had this carefree attitude that I didn't understand and envied. He was still finding himself. And despite what I had thought before this vacation, I was still finding myself too. I wanted to find myself over and over again in his bed.
Calm down. No sex, remember? But I didn't agree to that!
He put his other hand on the bottom of my chin and lifted my face toward his. "Now, if I hadn't been in a rush to fill that seat next to my brother, I would have said you look amazing in that dress. The green matches your eyes perfectly."
I smiled. "I haven't noticed you staring at my eyes that much."
"Oh, did I say eyes? I meant breasts. Sorry about that. And I meant this color," he dropped my chin and ran his fingers along one of the triangles of exposed skin the dress left on me.
I laughed. "You clean up nice yourself. No tie, huh?" I didn't reach out and touch him. Apparently I had no self control, so I couldn't risk it.
"I can't wear ties. It makes it feel like someone is strangling me. Whoever invented them is the asshole. Not me."
"It's probably the same person that invented high heels."
"The worst human being who ever lived."
I laughed. "So, you never wear a tie? Not even for a super fancy occasion?"
"You mean my brother's wedding? Yes, I'm being forced to wear a tie to that. But as long as I can help it, I avoid them. If you ask me, there's only one good use for a tie."
"And what is that?"
He smiled, as if the fact that I didn't know the answer was humorous. He leaned closer, until I could feel his warm breath in my ear. His hand had slid slightly up my thigh. "Has no one ever tied you up before?"
There was so much innuendo in his voice. If he had said, "Ties only look good on hippopotamuses," I would have been turned on. But even what he said was sexy. I crossed my legs under the table, accidentally sandwiching his hand between my thighs.
The waiter had just arrived, so fortunately I didn't need to answer his question. But my heart was racing. I hadn't even looked at the menu. It was hard to read through the items even as I opened it. Rob's hand felt like it was burning me. His intensity was too much. Or maybe mine was too much.
If I hadn't trapped his hand, it might still be ascending. I could imagine his hands gently spreading my thighs under the table as they dipped under my dress. His fingers would brush against my thong, and he'd feel how wet I was for him. He'd know before he even pushed my thong to the side and touched me.
"And you, ma'am?"
Oh, shit. "Um...water."
I drowned out everything at the table as I let my fantasy overcome me. I could imagine his fingers touching me for the first time. It was easy to feel his warm breath in my ear again, encouraging me to spread my thighs more as his thumb found my clit.
"Uncross your legs."
It took me a second to realize it wasn't just in my head. Rob was whispering in my ear. My heart started racing even faster.
"I'm thinking about it too." His voice was so seductive. "It's all I can think about. You're driving me crazy. You make me so fucking hard."
Holy shit. No one ever talked to me like that. I looked down at his lap, but it was covered by the tablecloth. The tablecloth was covering my thighs. No one would be able to see. I knew he wasn't lying about being hard. I had felt him against me twice. Once this morning in the hotel and once this afternoon underneath the waterfall. I aroused him just as much as he aroused me.
"Let me feel how wet you are, baby."
I immediately uncrossed my legs.
His hand slid slightly up my thigh, higher and higher. His fingers paused right before they reached where he wanted to be. There was a low groaning noise in his throat and he immediately moved his hand off my thigh. So fast that you would have thought something had shocked him. He picked up his menu and leaned back in his chair without another word.
What? Apparently it was not where he wanted to be. Just where I wanted him to be. I crossed my legs again and gripped the sides of my chair. I couldn't have something more with Rob Hunter. This whole thing was just a power game to him. One that he was clearly winning. He just wanted to see if I wanted him. And I spread my thighs. Who does that after knowing someone for less than 24 hours? I could feel my cheeks turning red. That wasn't me. I wasn't that type of girl. I wanted love. I stared down at my menu. The buzz of conversation was all around me, but I couldn't really hear any of it. And the words on the menu didn't seem cohesive. I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath.
"So, I know you like younger women," I heard Kristen say from across the table. "Tell me more about that."
My eyes snapped open. Was she seriously going to hit on a man who was about to get married?
I looked over at James, who seemed to be looking everywhere but at Kristen. I could feel how uncomfortable he was. Why couldn't Kristen see that?
"I don't like younger women," he said, more to Mason who was beside him then to Kristen.
"Yeah he does," Mason said with a wink.
Kristen laughed. "I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Attraction is a natural thing. I don't think anyone should apologize for who they find alluring." She leaned forward, clearly trying to expose more of her breasts which were already barely covered.