Mark shakes his head and lets out a low whistle. “Man, you must have been crazy to let a knockout like her go.”
At his words, conversation dies out around the table. It seems that everyone’s attention is on Mark and Tristan and, by extension, me. It’s awkward and uncomfortable.
Tristan relaxes, his eyes locked on Mark, and leans forward, elbows on the table. “I’m curious why you care. After all, you’re here with your girlfriend. What does my social life have to do with you?”
At that, Mark’s face becomes flushed and he turns to Shannon, who is already glaring at him.
“He makes a damn good point, Mark,” she snaps, tossing her cloth napkin onto the table as she surges to her feet. With grace that must be difficult in this situation, she walks away from the table with her head held high, leaving Mark to fumble through getting to his feet and stumbling after her with an apology on his lips.
It’s petty, but I can’t help the glee surging through me because Mark had been trying to embarrass me by bringing up Tristan’s ex-girlfriend, but he only embarrassed himself instead.
Conversation resumes around the table, and I lean in close to Tristan, whispering in his ear, “You’re the best fake boyfriend ever.”
He chuckles but when he turns to me, his eyes dark and serious, my entire body is suddenly on fire. “You handle yourself well, Kaylee. I like how you don’t take his shit. I’m just backup for you.”
Warmth and pride slide through me at his words. Knowing Tristan admires how I handled Mark leaves me with a glow, inside and out.
CHAPTER FIVE
Tristan
Iwake upslowly and it takes a moment to get my bearings. Sunlight warms my face, telling me I’m not home because my heavy blackout curtains keep out all light. My second clue comes when I register a weight on my body. There’s a person draped over my chest. I never let a woman stay over because, again… I refuse to give out the wrong signal. I can leave easily from their place, whereas I’d be stuck with a visitor at my apartment.
As the fog clears, yesterday comes back to me. The hotel, sharing a room and a bed…
Kaylee.
I open my eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the natural light peeking in through the hotel room window, where we left the curtains open last night. When my vision has adjusted, I look down to see Kaylee’s face. Her eyes are closed and her mouth is slightly open as she takes deep breaths in and out. She’s still asleep, utterly relaxed against me, no clue that she didn’t stay on her own side of the bed as she insisted we would last night. I smirk as I imagine what her reaction would be when she realizesshemoved on top of me.
After dinner, we returned to the hotel room, both too tired to argue about who would sleep on the couch. We decided, like two responsible adults with self-control, that we could handle sharing the large bed and staying on our own sides.
Never mind the fact that my cock was achingly hard as I tried to fall asleep in the dark, way too aware of her body across from mine. I’d gotten a brief glance of her in her pajamas, apair of white cotton shorts and a hot pink tank top, and the idea of ripping those clothes off of her body made it hard to get my erection under control. I lay up long after I heard her breathing slow and sleep found her.
When I finally succumbed to sleep, she was still on her side of the bed, so I’m not sure when she rolled on top of me, but I have no complaints. Since she’s still out cold, I allow myself a small indulgence, running my hands through her blonde hair. It’s just as soft as it looks, and my mind conjures up the image of those strands wrapped around my fist while I fuck her from behind.
With that picture in my mind, I roll her over and wait to see if she wakes. A little snore escapes and I learn she’s a very deep sleeper. Grinning, I slip out of bed, making sure not to wake her up. I head to the bathroom, turn on the shower, and step under the stream of water before it’s fully warmed up, hoping the shock of the cold water will help cool my blood.
It doesn’t work. My mind lingers on the feel of her body pressed against mine, the chemistry that burned so brightly between us last night, and the desire that has turned my cock into a steel rod. I attempt to ignore it while I wash my hair and clean my body, but my erection doesn’t go away.
I can’t walk around like this all day. I need to try to take the edge off. Bracing one hand on the tile wall, I lean forward so the water hits my back between my shoulder blades. Eyes closed, I grip my cock with my free hand and stroke it from base to tip. A hiss escapes me.
I let my imagination run wild, picturing Kaylee here with me, skin slick and flushed as she sinks to her knees. Her lips part and she locks those blue eyes on my face as she grasps my dick and guides it to her mouth.
Biting my lip, I hold back a moan and move my hand faster, squeezing just enough to heighten my pleasure as I imagine that pouty mouth taking me in, her cheeks hollowed and nipplespeaked. I wonder if I could hold off long enough to take her against the wall or if she’d suck me until I exploded, swallowing every last drop.
That mental image is enough to drive me over the edge, and my hips jerk forward as my release hits the tile wall. I stroke myself through my climax, letting out a muffled grunt but holding back the urge to make more noise. I don’t want Kaylee to hear me. It’d be too damn tempting to pull her into the shower and make my fantasy come to life.
I need to stay on schedule. I’m supposed to meet the guys for breakfast, so I can’t make a move on Kaylee now, but later, if she’s willing, I don’t think I’ll be able to hold myself back.
I grabbed clothes before I came into the bathroom, so I get dressed and go through the rest of my morning routine before I step back into the room where Kaylee is still sleeping. She’s spread eagle on the bed, taking up as much room as possible, and I grin, a foreign feeling washing over me. Like a surge of affection for the woman in the bed we shared.
Smiling to myself, I tuck my key card for the room into my pocket and head to the coffee shop in the lobby of the hotel. It’s only open in the mornings, and they have a selection of pastries. The guys decided we’d do casual. No need to sit in the restaurant for regular service. I buy a mocha and a blueberry muffin and head to a table on the terrace, where Lucas is the only one already here.
I reach the table and have no time to put my food down when he’s in my personal space. “What the hell is going on with you and Kaylee?” he asks.
Last night, he’d been sitting a ways down the table, so I assume he missed a lot of what happened. Though we hadn’t had a chance to talk afterward, there’s no doubt he’d heard all about it. Especially about the part where Mark lost his shit because Kaylee and I were a couple. Most people at the wedding mightbelieve the story we told last night—that we recently started dating—but Lucas is my closest friend and business partner.Andhe happens to be engaged to Kaylee’s friend and business partner. If we were really dating, no matter how recent it might be, Lucas and Rainey would know about it.
“Didn’t you hear? She’s my girl,” I say with a cheeky grin as I take the wrapper off my muffin.
