Huh. Well, that could explain why she seemed so familiar, but…
“I don’t remember meeting you before.”
“I’m not surprised. Apparently, you were quite drunk.”
“The last time I was drunk was when I learned about—”
“Your daughters. Yes, I know. You stayed the night with me.”
The way sparks flew between us, I already knew there was more than she was letting on, but my curiosity got the better of me anyway. “And we…?”
“Multiple times.”
Fuck. I had sex with this gorgeous woman and remembered none of it. After that night in Ashfield, I swore I’d never let myself get as wasted as I had that night ever again. I was embarrassed enough that I’d woken up in a strange place, but I saw no evidence of sex. I rushed out of the place so fast I didn’t even look around for pictures or a number.
“Alex, I don’t remember anything. What…? How…?”
“It’s fine. We flirted. You propositioned, and I accepted. Simple as that. Early in the morning, I went down to the bar to make sure everything was closed up. When I came back, you were gone.”
I propped my arms on my knees and tilted my head down. There were a lot of things in my life I’d rather forget. The wrath of my parents when I performed poorly on an exam. The years the jocks fucked with me in high school, because I was a skinny nerd. My marriage to Sasha.
But a night of passionate sex with Alex was not one of them.
And by the way her entire body flushed at her confession, I could sense that our night had been one for the record books.
An apology hovered at my lips, but I couldn’t force it free. What exactly could I say? Sorry that I don’t remember? Sorry that we had a one-night stand? Sorry that I was an asshole and left in the middle of the night when I had some sort of bearing about me?
Then the fear of all fears came to me and trumped them all. This beautiful woman beside me was my best friend’s little sister. She was as off-limits as any girl came.
A few expletives burst from my mouth as I jolted off the stairs and began pacing in front of the porch. My heart was pounding in my chest.
Is this what a heart attack feels like?I asked myself when I leaned over and pressed my palm against my sternum as I tried to free myself from the stifling grip of the enclosing darkness.
“Oh my God. Shit. Fuck,” I continued to mumble as I made every attempt to catch my breath.
Hunching over was doing no good, and I found myself falling farther over the edge as I contemplated what Andrew would say if he found out. With zero finesse, I straightened up and tilted my face toward the punishing sun, hoping it would melt me into oblivion.
No such luck.
Instead, my eyes and skin burned beneath the afternoon rays.
“Nate?” a soft voice called out from around me, and I latched onto it like a lifeline. Blindly, I sought out my salvation until I came in contact with a smooth yet firm arm.
“Nate, are you okay?” Alex asked again, her concern wrapping itself around me like a life vest, saving me from myself.
“He’s going to fucking kill me.” I didn’t need to look at her to realize the implications of our actions would be catastrophic. The arm in my grasp flexed, and Alex’s entire body jerked in alarm as my words sank in. And, of course, my body betrayed me when it realized she was so close. Those traitorous fingers of mine inched off her bicep to rub against the side of her breast beneath the sundress she’d teased me with earlier.
Suddenly, all my anger and frustration dissipated as I felt her body hitch at my sensual contact. She turned to face me with those captivating blue eyes that held more questions than I had answers.
“We can’t tell him,” I explained. My voice sounded foreign to my ears. It was replaced with a gravelly dominance that was usually reserved for the bedroom. Leave it to this beautiful mistake to have me worked up after a complete meltdown a few minutes before.
With the subtlest tilt of the corner of her mouth, Alex replied, “My lips are sealed.”
And hell if I didn’t imagine those lips sealed around a certain snake between my legs.
Chapter Seven – Alex
Dinner at my parents’ house was… something. It was a mix of awkwardness, excitement, and lust. A whole lot of lust, and not just on my end.
