He grins. “Cool. I think Mina would love to see you. Why don’t you come eat dinner over at our place sometime next week?”
For the second time in the span of two minutes, Alara catches my eye, even though the place is packed. She’s moving toward the bar, and I need to talk to her. See her. My hands are already trembling from anticipation. Kissing her has fucked me up, but I don’t regret it one bit. That’s exactly why I’m standing, ready to seek her out. “I’m in. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be right back.”
The heavy throng of people makes it hard to move forward, but I manage to weave smoothly through the crowd. It takes too much effort to reach the spot where she’s standing by the end of the bar, next to a wall littered with band posters. The jeans she’s wearing hug her curves beautifully, my mouth going dry as I do a double take at her legs. I’m so fucking attracted to her, it’s not even funny. I don’t know what to do with myself.
Checking over my shoulder to ensure that Gaby isn’t looking in my direction, I sigh in relief when I see her in the middle of an animated conversation with her blonde friend. The last thing I need is my sister poking her nose in my business and givingme a lesson onhow not to be a heartbreaker.I don’t intend on hurting Alara, but Gaby doesn’t need to know what we’re doing.
Besides, with all the patrons between us, she won’t notice a thing.
I step forward, and Alara’s body goes rigid, like it’s attuned to my presence. As soon as I brace my hands on either side of her on the countertop, she relaxes, almost falling back against my chest as I cage her in. She knows it’s me, and the thought alone makes me smile.
“Following me?” I murmur in her ear.
She turns her face enough so that her voice carries through the loud noises booming around us. “You mean at the most popular bar in town where all our friends go?”
“Admit it” – I lean further in, taking in a whiff of her sweet fragrance – “you were just missing me.”
Alara finally spins on her heel, keeping her back against the bar. My breath catches at the sight before me, and I’m already on the brink of sayingfuck itand dragging her into the filthy bathroom. But Alara deserves better than a quick lay in some public place.
I love it when she wears her hair down. It looks so soft, long enough for me to wrap my fist around once, maybe twice. Brown strands fall down her shoulders, pulling my attention to her black top, which clings to her like a second skin with the neckline dipping low to her midriff. I can trace the shape of her full breasts like this – it makes me want to kiss the valley between them, to know if her skin tastes as good as her lips.
“The world doesn’t revolve around you, superstar,” she chastises, smiling beautifully.
I smirk, stepping closer, closer, closer, until she has to tip her head back to look at me. “Shame.”
Her attraction for me can’t be concealed either. She gives me a once-over that leaves me hot and bothered, because I can’thave her yet – not until I lay down my terms and conditions and make sure she wants that too. But this is not the place to talk about it. My sister is here – Alara’s best friend. Jordan is on the other side of the room – Alara’s brotherandmy best friend. This is too risky.
“Are you not going to thank me for the cookies?”
My right palm finds her waist. I love the way the dip welcomes me perfectly, seamlessly. “I was getting there.” It’s hard not to lose myself in her pretty eyes. She’s the embodiment of sweet temptation – the more I want her, the more I realize how it’s going to fuck me up. She’s my friend, and maybe initiating a physical relationship with her might ruin everything, but I won’t rest easy until I know what she tastes like, the sounds she makes when I fuck her hard and— Okay, I need to focus. Walking around here with a hard-on is not the goal. “Thank you. They were delicious.”
She beams. Fuck, she’s cute. “I’m glad.”
“How’d you know they’re my favorite cookies?”
“Because I pay attention to you too.” An admission, simple but powerful enough to make every single last brick protecting me crumble to pieces. It didn’t take long for her to look at me and see me. It happened the very moment we met again and, even to this day, it terrifies me how easy it is to be myself around her.
It’s fascinating how, in this crowded room where rock music is blasting away, she’s the only person that matters. How, even with people pushing past me to access the bar, I can’t find a sliver of strength in me to move.
Her fingers play with the top three buttons of my shirt that I hadn’t bothered fastening. “Does the birthday boy want anything to eat or drink? My treat.”
“You? I haven’t had dessert yet. You know I have a sweet tooth.”
She lifts her brows in amusement. “Does this line usually work for you? Because it was lame.”
I shrug, but my grin doesn’t waver. “I don’t know. Never tried it on another woman. Is it working?”
“Do Ilookcharmed? Perhaps you should try harder.”
I bark out a disbelieving laugh. She’s playing hard to get, but I know she’s going to lower those walls as soon as I kiss her again. The way she responded to me last night was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. She wanted this as much as I did, she reciprocated my passion and need, and it was incredibly hot.
“Alright, then. I’ll try being a gentleman. Usually works.”
She gets distracted for a moment as the bartender taps her shoulder to ask if she’s ready to order. She asks for a round of shots for her table, and I tell Martin to put them on my tab. I ask for beers for me and the boys, before gripping her chin between my thumb and forefinger in order to bring those hypnotic eyes back to me.
“You look unreal right now, do you know that?” I murmur, hoping she can hear my sincerity over the sound of Mariah Carey’s voice. Somehow, the music has shifted from rock to Christmas hit songs that have every patron singing at the top of their lungs.
Her rose-painted lips tilt upward. “I have an idea. Seems like you can’t stop looking at me.”
