Under Pressure
Page 3
I clear my throat. “Well, Olivia ended up staying in Italy with Gio, and Kennedy hooked up with Sean in London and now the two are living together in Chicago. Are you all on a marriage quest or something?”
“Not…exactly,” she says and crinkles her nose.
“Then what exactly?”
She shrugs like it’s nothing, which makes me realize it is something. Now I want to know all the more.
“It’s silly,” she says.
“Tell me.”
She huffs. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“No.”
She throws one hand up in surrender. “Fine, we’re supposed to find a man and have epic sex. Those two girls had deeper feelings for the men they chose to have sex with—heck, they were already in love, which is why they’re still together after the adventure.”
My stomach punches into my throat. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Whose idea was this, anyway? Harper’s?” She always was the wild one in the group. She’d hit on me a few times, but I wasn’t interested. Sure, I fooled around. A lot. But that was only to try to keep my mind off Reece. Didn’t fucking work.
She nods. “Yeah, but we all agreed to it.”
I give a hard shake of my head, and my damp hair falls into my eyes. I shove it back. “No way are you having sex with some stranger, Reese.” Her gaze jerks to mine and she gives me a strange look. Shit. “You’re in a foreign country and it’s dangerous,” I add, to cover how I really feel.
“You’re right,” she says, a look of sadness on her face as she stares off into the distance. “I’m not.”
My stomach squeezes. Christ, I really need to beat the hell out of Jared for hurting her.
“Good,” I say. Tension eases from my shoulders to know she’s not going to do something dangerous. Christ, if she wants epic sex, I can give her that.
Wait! What?
“And it’s not because it’s dangerous. It’s because I’m off men. Done with relationships.”
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I can’t stomach the thought of her with another man, but if she’s off men, done with relationships, then she’ll never be mine.
She’ll never be yours, anyway, asshole. She doesn’t like you like that, and you’re not the guy for her.
Still, Jared is definitely getting a beatdown when I get home. He’d hurt her so badly she no longer believes in true love and happily ever after. Fucker. Even if I were going to make a move on her, offer her epic sex, which I’m clearly not going to, I couldn’t do it now, anyway. Not when she’s hurting and still upset over the breakup.
Wanting to lighten her mood, I say, “Well, if you’re off men, at least you’re in the right profession.”
“What do you mean? How does being a veterinarian help me?”
“You don’t have to go far to start collecting cats.” She whacks me, but it does bring a smile to her face. Then, at the same time, we say, “Mrs. Jones.”
I shake my head. “That woman was bat-shit crazy.” Christ, when we were kids, we all used to take the long way to the playground to avoid her house at the end of the street.
Reese smacks her palm to her forehead. “God, I’m going to turn out just like Mrs. Jones, aren’t I?”
I nudge her. “Don’t worry. I won’t let that happen to you.” As the vessel reaches the pier, I grab our wrappers and package everything back in the box we were given. “I’m going to buy a video. Maybe we can watch it tonight.”
She nods and I reach for her hand to help her up. The boat sways, and her body collides with mine. I wrap my hand around her and feel the warmth of her skin beneath my fingertips. Fuck, she feels good. My cock thickens as her breasts push against my chest. She is so fucking perfect.
Her hands go around my back, and I become hyperaware that her tiny little bikini and my swim shorts are the only things separating us. What I wouldn’t do to feel skin on skin, to taste my way from her mouth to the spot between her legs. As my mind conjures the route my tongue will take, I harden even more. A strange, strangled sound catches in Reese’s throat, and I want to inch back and apologize. Would inch back and apologize, if I had any fucking blood left in my damn brain.
“Cole,” she squeaks, and the sound snaps me back to reality.
Back the fuck off, dude.
“Uh, yeah,” I say, but as I step away, I don’t miss the way her hands linger on my body, or the way her gaze dips to see me in all my hard glory. She stares for a moment, a pink flush crawling up her cheeks. Her lips part, and her chest rises and falls as her gaze lingers. She’s fucking checking me out. The girl I’ve been crushing on since I was eight is checking me out.
I stand there and let her, but she can’t for one minute think she’s going to get an eyeful and I’m not. I take in those sweet, lush lips I want to suck on. My gaze drops to her breasts, a little smaller now that she lost so much weight. They’d fit into my mouth so nicely. I take in her tanned skin, the soft curves of her hips, and those long legs I’d cut off my left nut to feel wrapped around my back.
I slide my gaze back up, and when my eyes lock on hers, see the heat reflected there, I want to drop to my hands and knees and howl at the damn moon.
“Right this way, everyone,” one of the crewmembers says, pulling me back from my fantasy—one that has been plaguing my dreams for years.
“We, ah…we should go,” I say, my voice an octave lower.
“Yeah. It’s a long drive back to the hotel.”
“Let me get that video, okay?”
Needing a reprieve so I don’t take her right here on the catamaran and ruin everything between us, I turn and leave her standing there. But when I feel her eyes drilling into me, I look over my shoulder and catch the way she’s staring at my ass. Son of a bitch. She’s still checking me out.
So, what am I going to do about that?
Chapter Three
Reese
Honest to God, I have no idea what the hell happened between Cole and me on the boat yesterday—okay, maybe I have some idea—but were we seriously checking each other out? Gazing at each other with pure lust in our eyes? We’re best friends, for God’s sake. Best friends don’t look at each other like that, right?
“Not…exactly,” she says and crinkles her nose.
“Then what exactly?”
She shrugs like it’s nothing, which makes me realize it is something. Now I want to know all the more.
“It’s silly,” she says.
“Tell me.”
She huffs. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“No.”
She throws one hand up in surrender. “Fine, we’re supposed to find a man and have epic sex. Those two girls had deeper feelings for the men they chose to have sex with—heck, they were already in love, which is why they’re still together after the adventure.”
My stomach punches into my throat. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Whose idea was this, anyway? Harper’s?” She always was the wild one in the group. She’d hit on me a few times, but I wasn’t interested. Sure, I fooled around. A lot. But that was only to try to keep my mind off Reece. Didn’t fucking work.
She nods. “Yeah, but we all agreed to it.”
I give a hard shake of my head, and my damp hair falls into my eyes. I shove it back. “No way are you having sex with some stranger, Reese.” Her gaze jerks to mine and she gives me a strange look. Shit. “You’re in a foreign country and it’s dangerous,” I add, to cover how I really feel.
“You’re right,” she says, a look of sadness on her face as she stares off into the distance. “I’m not.”
My stomach squeezes. Christ, I really need to beat the hell out of Jared for hurting her.
“Good,” I say. Tension eases from my shoulders to know she’s not going to do something dangerous. Christ, if she wants epic sex, I can give her that.
Wait! What?
“And it’s not because it’s dangerous. It’s because I’m off men. Done with relationships.”
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I can’t stomach the thought of her with another man, but if she’s off men, done with relationships, then she’ll never be mine.
She’ll never be yours, anyway, asshole. She doesn’t like you like that, and you’re not the guy for her.
Still, Jared is definitely getting a beatdown when I get home. He’d hurt her so badly she no longer believes in true love and happily ever after. Fucker. Even if I were going to make a move on her, offer her epic sex, which I’m clearly not going to, I couldn’t do it now, anyway. Not when she’s hurting and still upset over the breakup.
Wanting to lighten her mood, I say, “Well, if you’re off men, at least you’re in the right profession.”
“What do you mean? How does being a veterinarian help me?”
“You don’t have to go far to start collecting cats.” She whacks me, but it does bring a smile to her face. Then, at the same time, we say, “Mrs. Jones.”
I shake my head. “That woman was bat-shit crazy.” Christ, when we were kids, we all used to take the long way to the playground to avoid her house at the end of the street.
Reese smacks her palm to her forehead. “God, I’m going to turn out just like Mrs. Jones, aren’t I?”
I nudge her. “Don’t worry. I won’t let that happen to you.” As the vessel reaches the pier, I grab our wrappers and package everything back in the box we were given. “I’m going to buy a video. Maybe we can watch it tonight.”
She nods and I reach for her hand to help her up. The boat sways, and her body collides with mine. I wrap my hand around her and feel the warmth of her skin beneath my fingertips. Fuck, she feels good. My cock thickens as her breasts push against my chest. She is so fucking perfect.
Her hands go around my back, and I become hyperaware that her tiny little bikini and my swim shorts are the only things separating us. What I wouldn’t do to feel skin on skin, to taste my way from her mouth to the spot between her legs. As my mind conjures the route my tongue will take, I harden even more. A strange, strangled sound catches in Reese’s throat, and I want to inch back and apologize. Would inch back and apologize, if I had any fucking blood left in my damn brain.
“Cole,” she squeaks, and the sound snaps me back to reality.
Back the fuck off, dude.
“Uh, yeah,” I say, but as I step away, I don’t miss the way her hands linger on my body, or the way her gaze dips to see me in all my hard glory. She stares for a moment, a pink flush crawling up her cheeks. Her lips part, and her chest rises and falls as her gaze lingers. She’s fucking checking me out. The girl I’ve been crushing on since I was eight is checking me out.
I stand there and let her, but she can’t for one minute think she’s going to get an eyeful and I’m not. I take in those sweet, lush lips I want to suck on. My gaze drops to her breasts, a little smaller now that she lost so much weight. They’d fit into my mouth so nicely. I take in her tanned skin, the soft curves of her hips, and those long legs I’d cut off my left nut to feel wrapped around my back.
I slide my gaze back up, and when my eyes lock on hers, see the heat reflected there, I want to drop to my hands and knees and howl at the damn moon.
“Right this way, everyone,” one of the crewmembers says, pulling me back from my fantasy—one that has been plaguing my dreams for years.
“We, ah…we should go,” I say, my voice an octave lower.
“Yeah. It’s a long drive back to the hotel.”
“Let me get that video, okay?”
Needing a reprieve so I don’t take her right here on the catamaran and ruin everything between us, I turn and leave her standing there. But when I feel her eyes drilling into me, I look over my shoulder and catch the way she’s staring at my ass. Son of a bitch. She’s still checking me out.
So, what am I going to do about that?
Chapter Three
Reese
Honest to God, I have no idea what the hell happened between Cole and me on the boat yesterday—okay, maybe I have some idea—but were we seriously checking each other out? Gazing at each other with pure lust in our eyes? We’re best friends, for God’s sake. Best friends don’t look at each other like that, right?
