Tyler pressed his mouth to mine, but unlike the kiss in the parking lot, our experiment to see if we could pull off affection, this was different. This was slow, deep, and soul-searing. His tongue glided against mine as I whimpered into his mouth, my body falling against him with each stroke as I raked my hands through his hair. Nothing about this kiss was an act. When he cupped my chin, dragging a finger down my throat to the top of my collarbone, my insides liquified along with my knees.
His mouth slanted over mine, deepening the kiss as he backed me against the wall. The show we’d set out to put on faded away, and I didn’t care who was around or who saw us. All that mattered was the scratch of his stubble against my skin; the soft, warm glide of his tongue across my bottom lip before he sucked it into his mouth; and the growl escaping his throat as he glided his hand up my thigh, under the slit of my dress.
I had no idea who we became at that moment, but I had no interest in going back.
This was too much to hope for. I didn’t want this to end or to ever stop kissing Tyler. And until I was forced to, I’d savor it for all it was worth.
TWELVE
TYLER
It was official.
I’d lost my goddamn mind.
Going into this tonight, I’d intended to be careful, but it was too easy between us. The flirting back and forth wasn’t awkward or forced like I figured it would be when I’d first agreed to this crazy scheme. It felt natural, right.
Real.
In true reality, the whole thing was batshit crazy, but I was in too deep to bring myself out of it.
Whether I brought a date tonight or not hadn’t mattered. It seemed ridiculous now to be worried about how I looked in front of cousins like Alan, who was nothing but a past-his-prime bully. Surprisingly, seeing Amy and Jayden wasn’t the gut punch I’d expected it to be, even when he caressed her pregnant belly for effect. I’d felt indifference, not satisfaction at her discomfort.
Amy being jealous of Olivia was laughable when I’d first heard her come at Olivia. But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. We’d attend whatever summer barbecue or family function that Mom had invited Carla and her family to, and I’d complain to Amy the entire way home about why they all needed to be included every damn time, reiterating over and over that Olivia was a viper and how I dreaded any event where I had to see her. Most times after I’d seen Olivia, I’d bitch about her afterward to whoever would listen.
Amy connected dots I never realized were there—or maybe never wanted to acknowledge—when she saw us together tonight. After what she did, she had a lot of nerve being pissed about anything when it came to us, but there was no denying that Olivia got under my skin. There were too many witnesses to the drawn-out arguments sparked by ridiculous things. A dirty look or under-the-breath comment, and we were off. We’d gotten more than a few raised brows when people saw us together tonight, but no one looked all that surprised.
Everything between us—the fighting, the tension, the denial of what we were really feeling all that time—finally boiled over. In this moment, despite the inappropriate display I knew we were putting on, nothing short of death would’ve torn my mouth or hands away from Olivia’s body.
“You taste good,” she croaked out as I ran my lips down her neck. She jumped in my arms when I nibbled her earlobe.
“So do you,” I rasped. I wove my hand into her waves and took a pull, just like I had in a thousand fantasies where, despite our animosity, she held a starring role.
“Sweet as sugar,” I whispered, smiling at her shaky chuckle vibrating against my lips as I dropped kisses down her throat to her shoulder.
“Such a dork,” she chided. Her hands ran up and down my chest, stopping at one of the buttons under my tie. I sucked in a breath when she wiggled her red fingernail inside my shirt. My body jolted at the scratch. The thought of Olivia’s naked body against mine almost made me blow in my suit pants.
Besides being sexier than I could handle, I’d seen Olivia in a new light tonight. I’d written her off as a spoiled brat a long time ago, but when she was on your side, she was fierce. A warrior. When I came out of the restaurant to look for her and heard her tirade against Amy, that wasn’t acting. After all I’d said about her and to her over the years, she didn’t have to defend me like that and shouldn’t have wanted to. That was when the tiny bit of control I was grasping slipped, and I couldn’t not have her.
A throat clearing behind me made us freeze.
I turned to find Donnie with his hand fisted against his mouth as if he were holding in a laugh.
“Sorry to be the one to interrupt, but the manager told me it’s pretty bad out there. There’s a ton of flooding, and a lot of the highway entrances are closed. They gave us a block of rooms that we didn’t think we needed to use, but I wanted to offer it to you instead of trying to go home in this.” He smirked, slapping my shoulder. “Up to you—let me know. I think your parents are taking a room and some of Cassandra’s family, but I’ll hold one for you.”
“Thanks, Donnie.” I steadied my hand against the wall, already hating breaking contact with Olivia. For the past hour, I’d been rehearsing what I’d say when I dropped her off tonight. I’d start withThank youandMaybe we can see each other sometimes as friends now that we learned how not to be at each other’s throats, but I wanted more than that. I just didn’t know how that would work or if she would even consider it.
“It does look pretty bad out there.” Olivia nodded at the windows at the front entrance, pounded so hard with sheets of rain that the parking lot was nothing but a blur. It would be a bitch to drive in, for sure, but a hotel room together held a different kind of danger.
It all depended on the risk we wanted to take.
“I’m not sure if you planned on an overnight stay when you agreed to this favor.” I hovered over her, her body an inch away from mine, but we didn’t touch. Her eyes were glassy, lipstick smeared across her swollen mouth. My hand went to my own mouth when I realized I probably looked the same, wiping away the evidence from our heated kiss that I couldn’t see.
“I wouldn’t mind. They’d probably give us double beds.” Her gaze flicked to the floor, then back to me, expectant. The one thing Olivia didn’t do was pull punches, but we’d never been here before, and I’d bet she was just as surprised as I was.
An ominous streak of lightning flashed outside and thunder boomed. This storm had been going on since the wedding started and wasn’t supposed to let up until the morning. Staying in a hotel made the most sense, but if we spent the night together, I knew what it would mean. A couple of kisses had already fucked with our resolve enough. A whole night alone thrilled me as much as it scared the shit out of me.
“Olivia, you know as well as I do that it doesn’t matter how many beds are in that room. I want you inmybed the whole fucking night. I want my mouth all over you until I’m so deep inside you, we’ll feel each other for days.”
