“T-the party is for the Panthers and you’re the star player,” I stuttered. “We can’t not go, Hunt.”
“We can if I say so.” Impatient hands kneaded my ass, spanking it hard. “Especially when you wear a dress that messes with my sanity.”
“You don’t like it?” I teased. “Should I change?”
It was a blood-red, skin-tight, backless minidress with a giant bow on my derrière since my ass was a gift and he was going to unwrap me later tonight. I paired it with matching stilettos, a heart-shaped choker necklace, and wore my hair in loose curls.
“Don’t you dare,” he warned, dragging open-mouthed kisses down the healing serpent tattoo on my spine. I shivered. “You look beautiful. Fuck, I can’t wait to have you all to myself.”
“We don’t have to be there for long,bello.”
“One hour.”
“Three hours.”
“Two hours,” he countered huskily. “Then you’re mine.”
My bargaining skills needed some help, but so did Hunter’s compromising ones. Because the heated looks he cast me on our way to the party made it abundantly clear we wouldn’t even last the hour.
Josh and Layla’s brownstone was crawling with Vesta University athletes celebrating tonight’s win by the time we arrived, twenty minutes late. Loud music, laughter, and cheers ribboned the ambiance. The second we crossed the threshold, Hunter was instantly engulfed by his teammates.
Anna and Layla grabbed my arm and veered me in the opposite direction.
My fingers unwove from Hunter’s and I called out, “Find me later?”
He looked like he didn’t want to let go of me. “I will.”
It was Hunter’s night and I wanted him to have fun with his friends before I stole him all for myself.
The girls hedged me into the main living room, where the rest of our friends waited. I hugged Ella, Dacia, Darla, and Hera, then a flute with sparkling apple juice and a chocolate-covered strawberry—courtesy of chef Layla—were thrust into my hands.
I munched on my snack while us girls chatted, pausing occasionally to congratulate the passing by football players on the win.
“Lay, I love what you’ve done with your home,” Darla commented to our hostess, brown eyes glancing appreciatively at our surroundings. “You have impeccable taste. I’m especially partial to the grand piano. It really brings the place together.”
Layla smiled, passing a hand over the skirt of her light-yellow maxi dress. “Thanks, Darla. Josh let me have full creative control. It took a few months to find all the pieces, but”—shetoo passed an admiring eyeful around their space—“I’m satisfied with the outcome.”
“You should be.” Darla tucked a black strand escaping her usual chignon back in place. “Dacia and I were talking about how we’ve got two spare bedrooms at our home that are in desperate need of a redecoration. Would you be up for the task?”
“I’m not an interior designer by any means, but I’m more than happy to help.”
Our conversation came to a halt when Idris, another fellow student from Vesta University, joined our group to say hi to Hera and introduce himself to us. Hera met him recently and they were in the talking stage, so she invited him tonight. He was polite and had a charming demeanour. She genuinely liked him.
Idris said something that made Hera throw her head back in laughter.
Unable to help myself, my gaze darted towards the other end of the room, where a group of athletes popped open a champagne bottle in celebration, Josh naturally at the helm of it all.
Shaun stood amongst them.
But he wasn’t participating in their shenanigans.
Instead, his cold blue eyes were fixed on Hera and Idris, the drink in his hand looking like it was seconds from shattering.
Truth be told, I always thought there was something between Hera and Shaun. The sweet smiles. The soft glances. The easy camaraderie. The…occasional flirting.
Right now, Hera didn’t notice Shaun, completely riveted by Idris.
Eventually, Cade came to snatch up Ella because he was a needy boyfriend who couldn’t be left alone for longer than fifteen minutes. Dacia, Hera, and Idris wandered off to stare at some artwork. Layla and Darla were still exchanging interior design notes, which left Anna and me alone.
