Bait (Wake, #1)(44)

He held my gaze for a few seconds and when he noticed Reggie he made the strangest face at him. Casey's grinning lips went off to the side in a boyish, this-is-a-little-awkward sort of way.

Reggie chuckled and we stood there while Casey made his way inside.

Reggie teased, “You're blushing. You don't blush for the robot.”

“No. I'm not,” I said, but I could feel that he wasn't just blowing me shit. My face felt like it was on fire.

Casey walked up to my brother, like he'd known him forever, and shook his hand. “It's nice to meet you,” he greeted. Then, as smoothly as he leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, he whispered, “You look pretty,” in my ear.

Men don't say things like that to nobodies.

Reggie said, “I'll see you later. Be careful.” He looked at Casey and said, “You be careful, too,” and walked away.

His eyes were shining brighter than bluish-green gems under a jewelry case. It could have been the lighting in the grand entrance of my brother’s building, but I told myself it was something else. He tried to subdue his huge smile, but he couldn’t hide the expression in his eyes.

“We have a lot to talk about,” he said. “Come on.”

Casey held my hand in both of his and walked backward out the hotel doors and to the waiting cab like he couldn’t take his eyes off me.

In the cab he'd look at my lips, then steal himself away grinning, just to do it all over again.

Lips. Grin. Repeat.

He was blissful and easy going, none of the stress in his face like earlier at the airport. His contented energy was contagious and put me at ease.

I had a suspicious feeling I'd be falling asleep happy that night.





Thursday, July 3, 2008


SOMETHING TOLD ME IT would be a good night. I’d had a feeling she'd call.

I couldn't get on the plane earlier. I'd made sure Aly had coffee and was all right. She actually gave me the hotel keys, and since we hadn’t officially checked out, I still had two rooms.

After the day I'd had, the fantastic sale, dealing with Aly, and then the airport, I played it cool, but I was wired like someone cranked up the voltage in my spine. Blake and I didn't say much, but it was incredible having her next to me.

She was fidgety on the way to the room and wasn't quite my Blake yet. She hadn't let her guard all the way down.

I shut the door gently as we entered the suite. She paused in front of me just inside. We were only inches apart and her essence arrested me.

“Why do I want you so goddamned bad?” I asked.

She faced me. “I want you, too,” she replied vehemently. “I can’t stop thinking about you,” she stepped closer, “like this.”

“I crave you.” My words tumbled out like apples off a poorly stocked produce shelf. Knowing she was affected, and wanted this like I did, made me bold. Made me feel gratified.

So I did what I wanted. I picked her up and pressed her against the wall. Her legs wrapped around me and held on. She pulled my hair back and ran her fingers through it and along the top of my scalp.

“We were just talking on the phone and texting,” she panted. Who was she trying to convince? I didn’t believe her for a second, but I went along.

I dragged my nose up her neck, but our mouths still hadn't touched. She was intoxicating. “I know. We're friends.”

“We're friends.”

It had been too damn long since I'd seen her. I'd made too many deals with the Devil for this exact moment to pretend it didn't mean everything that it did to me. “You know what?” I asked daringly. “Honestly, I don't really care what you call it. I want you. Text. Call. In the flesh. I can’t tell you what you think you want to hear. So I won’t, but I'll tell you everything else. Everything I know you want to hear. How badly I want you. Now. Up against this wall,” my hips flexed into hers, “and we'll sort our friendship out in the bathroom in twenty minutes. Because right now, I want inside of you. It's been a long day.”

I didn't need her to tell me she wanted it, too. It was written in pink on her nose.

“Put me down,” she panted. I let her slide down the wall, but I held her tight around the hips. “Now take my clothes off,” she instructed.

“With pleasure.” She didn't have to ask me twice. I pulled her shirt over her head and had her bra off in seconds. She lifted my shirt off while I undid her button fly. I had to stop to wrestle my arms through my shirt as she pulled it away from me.

We were hands and legs and arms and stomachs and knees, and all of them were frantically knocking into each other.

When there were no more pants, no more shirts, and no more barriers between us she said, “Okay, now do whatever you want.”

That was a tall f*cking order.

First, I really wanted to kiss her. I cupped her cheeks and brought our mouths together.

She tasted like toothpaste and Blake. Her tongue found mine, and a moan escaped from her mouth into me. “So help me, God, that sound drives me crazy,” I said with what little breath I had. Then she did it again and I smiled through our kiss.

I hoisted her up like we were before. I held her in my arms. Her legs circled my middle. I pushed her flat against the wall, with only my hands acting as a barrier to ensure the wall didn't hurt her beautiful skin. Her hands touched me feverishly. They were in my hair and on my back. They roamed my chest and held my face as we reconnected.