I’d sent everyone home except Cami and Ronnie, who were currently getting their freak on in the living room. I really hoped they stayed off the furniture. Just thinking about sitting in their wet spot made me want to hurl.
Lee sat down on her bed and took a deep gulp of the sports drink.
Good. She needed the electrolyte replacement after all the liquor she’d had.
What is she thinking getting that drunk?
Lee set the bottle down on the floor, tension rolling off of her. “Do you think any of our friends realized…” Her voice went tight.
It took me a moment to catch her meaning. Is that what she’s worried about? “Hell no. They don’t have a clue. They just thought your night of slamming shots caught up to you.”
She let out a relieved sigh.
Once again, I tried to puzzle out why she’d acted so out of character tonight.
Lee’s gaze narrowed. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
“I’m worried about you. Normally, you’re the one keeping it together while we all go crazy. What’s going on?”
Lee glanced away as she finger-combed her hair. “I just wanted to cut loose a little. Instead of giving me a hard time, why don’t you enjoy the rest of your birthday party?”
“I sent everyone home. Well, everyone but Cami and Ronnie. They’re too trashed to drive and they seem to want to get to know one another better.” I hid my inward shudder.
She snorted. “I can’t think of two people who’d be worse for each other.”
“I can. You and that Scooter guy. What the hell was up with that?”
She glanced away, a guilty look on her face.
It was that expression that cut me deepest. She doesn’t even know why she was all over that guy. I shut my mouth before I blurted out the question I really wanted to ask. Why him and not me?
She took a deep breath. “It’s none of your business. Why were you being such a dick to him, anyway?”
We were stepping through dangerous territory. While I fumbled for an answer, I stared at the top of her dresser. Gran’s collection of porcelain frogs cavorted across the mahogany finish. I’d always liked those frogs. I should write a song about them someday.
“Reed, are you even listening to me?”
“Yeah. That poser didn’t deserve you, and he was out of line.”
“Really? He didn’t pinch my ass once.” She let out a husky laugh that told me she was still buzzed.
I sat down next to her, forcing my gaze from lingering on her bare, damp legs. “You’ve never shown an interest in any guy before.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not gay.”
“I never thought you were.” I’d caught her staring at my ass more than a dozen times this week alone. “But you’ve always avoided the dating scene.”
“You’re one to talk. You’ve never even gone on a date.” Her gaze went to my chest, and she flushed.
I rubbed my scars through the fabric of my shirt. I was embarrassed about the way I looked, but that’s not why I avoided dating. The urge to confess everything made my throat tight.
Now isn’t the right time.
Aubry’s story about her mother flashed in my mind.
What if I lose Lee to some other dude while I wait for the right time?
Taking a deep breath, I said, “Yeah, but not for the reason you think. I’ve been waiting for someone.”
She blinked. “Really? Who?”
Here it is. The moment I’d been both dreading and anticipating for years.
Do I go for it or do I play it safe?
My mouth dried, and my heart started to pound.
Seeming to grow impatient with my tongue-tied silence, Lee reclined back on her bed. “Fine, keep your secrets. As for me, maybe I’m just tired of being alone.”
“You’re not alone.” I’d never leave her side.
“I know. I have you and Eden, but it’s not the same thing. God. I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this, but I think… I think I’m ready to hook up with someone. You should too. You’re gorgeous, Reed. You could have had your pick of the women at the party tonight.”
“I don’t want them.” I shifted across the bed so I was stretched out next to her.
“Well, who then?” Her beautiful caramel-colored eyes were filled with questions. Questions I was finally going to answer.
The staccato hammering of my heart roared in my ears.
Screw it. Here goes nothing.
“You.” I leaned over and kissed her.
She gasped.
I deepened the kiss, tasting her shock along with spearmint toothpaste.
She moved her mouth against mine and moaned my name. My motherfucking name.
Thank Jesus!
She shuddered at the first stroke of my tongue against hers and pulled me down over her.
All the blood in my body shot straight between my hips as the softest parts of her pressed against the hardest parts of me.
Can this really be happening?
She let out a sexy moan and bit down on my lower lip.
My head spun as if I’d smoked an entire bowl of that trippy weed Ronnie made me try on my last birthday. If this was a hallucination, I never wanted it to end. Not with the incredible feeling of her gorgeous body under me.
I tore my mouth from hers and kissed down the delicate arch of her neck, cataloging every sharp inhale and gasp.
All of my senses intensified. Her skin had never felt so soft, and the scent of her vanilla body wash had never seemed more seductive.
I lapped at a tiny drop of forgotten water that had collected in the recesses of her collarbone.
She let out a husky moan, her fingers threading through my hair.
As I kissed down the top of her chest, her breathing quickened. Coming to the terry cloth barrier, I looked into her hooded gaze, seeking permission.
In response, she reached between us and yanked open the towel.
The sight of all that bare golden skin blanked my mind. My need ignited in a raw, brutal explosion of hunger so desperate it took all my self-control not to fall over her in a frenzy. “I’ve been dreaming about this… about you forever.”
Some of the heat left her gaze.
Is she having second thoughts?
She chewed her lower lip the way she always did when she was anxious. “Maybe this isn’t—”
Sensing that her excitement was fading, I lowered my head and licked one of her stiff brown nipples.
She let out a raspy moan.
Encouraged, I licked and sucked its twin.
She threw her head back against the pillows. “Oh, God. Yes, more.”
I spent the next few minutes experimenting with different levels of suction and pressure.
She rocked her hips under mine in a wordless plea for me to shift my attention.
When I still didn’t switch my focus, she grabbed my hand and placed it between her legs. “Touch me here.”
My motherfucking mind was blown.
Her bare pussy was even more beautiful than it’d been in my fantasies.
When I didn’t move, she rubbed herself against my hand. “Please.”
Thanking every god I’d ever heard of under my breath, I slowly stroked her. It was so much hotter and sexier than the erotic videos I watched on my phone at night.
I switched the angle of my fingers to press against the top of her sex.