Settling the Score (The Summer Games #1)(47)

“Why’d you make up a fake party?” I asked, wiping beneath my eyes.

“To get you here.”

That one sentence sobered me up fast. His brown eyes met mine and I watched his wide smile slowly fade into a flat, nervous line. “I knew you weren’t keen on dinner, but this is different. This is an intimate soirée.”

I dropped the party horn on the couch and took a shaky breath. “It’s cute, but it’s still not a good idea, Freddie. You kissed me yesterday in the middle of the training center. What if someone had taken a photo of that?”

“So what if they had? I want to be with you. I want to be kissing you.”

He’d come to stand directly in front of me, leaning down so his gaze was level with mine. His hands gripped my arms, so strong and powerful I couldn’t have pulled away even if I’d tried.

“I’m putting a stop to my betrothal, Andie. I’ve already talked to my mum and Georgie. It was all a sham and I should have seen that from the beginning. I just need to talk to Caroline and explain that I’m not going to roll over and marry some girl I don’t love.”

“Good.” I nodded, unable to pull my gaze from his mouth. “I want you to be with someone you can love.”

His eyes fell to my lips.

“What if I want to be with you?”

My gut clenched. “I’m currently…unavailable.”

The edge of his mouth perked up like I’d just declared a challenge he couldn’t pass up.

He bent forward and cradled my neck in his hand, bending low to whisper in my ear. “You didn’t appear to be unavailable the other day.” I dug my fingertips into his forearms and tried to form some kind of coherent response, but choppy stutters weren’t enough to deter him.

“Freddie…I-I…”

He took my earlobe between his teeth, just gently enough to tilt my world. I squeezed my eyes closed.

“Tell me you don’t want this.”

Obviously, I couldn’t. I wasn’t that selfless. I wasn’t even a little selfless. I needed Freddie so much my body hummed, and desire surged through me in time with the beat of my heart.

Stop.

Thump.

Walk away.

Thump.

This won’t end well.

Thump.

Who.

Fucking.

Cares.

I turned and crashed my lips against his.

“Fuck,” he hissed.

He gripped my loose braid and pulled me closer, tugging me flush against him. I could feel how hard he was. This was it. This desire tainting the air between us would finally see the light of day. I dug my fingers into his powerful back and he picked me up, forcing my legs around his waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him, hard.

The front door opened then; I could hear Thom’s voice out in the hallway. I broke my mouth from Freddie’s, expecting him to drop me, but he took three steps into the bedroom off to the side of the living room and kicked the door shut behind him.

His bedroom.





CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR


Freddie




ANDIE WAS COILED around me so tight I nearly had to rip her dress to get it over her head. I tossed it aside and pushed her up against my bedroom door. I gripped her hips and felt the dimples in her lower back as she rolled herself against me, teasing me. She was so accepting of my attack, no fight at all. I’d have welcomed a fight; it might have slowed me down.

I could feel her through my clothes. Her body was soft and her hands were tugging me closer, dipping into my shirt and dragging against my skin.

“Guys!” Thom called. “Food’s here!”

“Piss off,” I yelled through the door.

“It’s going to get cold. And—I’m quite lonely at this shite party.”

Andie laughed against my neck and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Should we eat?” she asked with a wicked smile.

I yanked my shirt off over my head and tossed it aside. “We’re not leaving this room.”

Her eyes skimmed down my chest and the wicked smile disappeared, replaced with dark, hot desire. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and her hands reached out to touch me. My stomach flexed when her finger dragged along the top of my jeans, and then she popped the button and met my gaze with a wicked gleam.

“I hope you have a condom in these jeans, Freddie.”

I laughed, and it was the sound of a wild man, one so far beyond the edges of control, he was hardly recognizable.

She slid her palm flush against my abs, pushed past my boxers, and continued down until she had me gripped in her palm. I squeezed her hips, needing something to hold on to as her soft hand stroked me up and down.

“Oh,” she whispered with a teasing tone. “Olympic-sized.”

I laughed right before her lips found mine again. I had a condom in my wallet I needed to grab, but I couldn’t pull my hands off her. I reached for her bra and unclasped it, letting the soft material drag off her shoulders.

That first moment her naked chest hit mine was the moment my groan turned to a growl. She was tiny in my arms, receptive and eager. So much had separated us until now, and as she pressed her naked breasts flush against me, I knew she was appreciating the skin on skin just as much as I was.

I took her earlobe in my mouth and whispered everything I wanted to do to her…against that door…on the floor…in my bed. Her eyes fluttered closed as she listened to me, but I couldn’t stop. I needed her to know how far she’d unwound me.