Bait (Wake, #1)(52)

What I wanted to do was take her upstairs and rip that f*cking tease of a silk shirt off her. Every time the door opened, a breeze blew in and her goddamn nipples got hard. I damn near did, too. The way that silk hung tight to her breasts made me want to destroy it. I couldn't tell from her voice if she'd planned on going to the party or not. “Maybe for a little while. Best to get in and get out of those things,” was all I could get out of her.

“Yeah, that's a good plan. Tomorrow will come early. I should probably have an early night,” I said into her ear while leaning in and motioning to the bartender for another round. “We might as well enjoy the afternoon then,” I added with my best good-boy smile.

My mouth being that close to her face, her skin, was driving me mad. It was the same as the last time we were together. Probably better.

Wait. Probably worse. Worse because I already knew what I wanted. I already knew what it was like to not have it. To not have her. And I felt the loss of her every night when we were only texting, “Goodnight,” instead of kissing goodnight.

It was that thought that kept racking my mind.

That and... You Fuck, you think about this girl every night while you jack your dick in the shower. You figured out a way to be around her again. Quit wasting your f*cking time. Touch her. If she doesn't want you to, you'll know. Then you can stop.

So I touched her, mostly to gauge her reaction. Well, that and because my arms were going to fall out of their sockets in protest, if I didn't. I ran my hand up the small of her back, and I felt the warmth of her body all the way to her shoulder. I left my arm possessively draped there.

The bartender brought our drinks.

Blake looked at my arm.

The hairs on her bare skin prickled and stood. I knew it was because of me. The f*cking prick-teasing door hadn't opened in minutes. Her doe-like eyes glanced over to her shoulder where my fingers held onto her, bridging my body to hers.

Blake returned her eyes to mine and said, “Is this going to get harder or easier?” There was an honest curiosity in her face. Her eyes were wide and a little glassy after having four—really stout—draughts. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing shallow.

She reacted to my nearness.

Her body was saying to mine, “Where were you all that time? I've been right here.” But she was trying to not think with her body but with her head instead. Her head needed to shut-the-f*ck-up.

I didn't hesitate to kiss her right there. The moment was just right. Before she could weigh the pros against the cons and therefore me against him. I was the con and we both knew it.

My lips met hers and she fell forward into my chest. Her arms wrapped underneath mine and latched onto each other behind me. She pulled me tight. I felt a sharp scrape against my skin as she tightened her grip.

As she kissed me she said, “Say easier, Casey. Tell me that if this happens, then it will be easier.”

“I don't know.” I told her. I didn't want to lie, but for me it was easy to be with her. There wasn't a thing in the world that would keep me away from her in that moment. Nothing else mattered. The dream I'd been having over these last few months was coming true and I wasn't about to analyze the why and how of it all. I wanted to live it. The hard part wouldn't come until Sunday.

Fucking Sunday.

Fuck only having a few stolen hours.

And to hell with it, while I'm f*cking things up, f*ck the motherf*cking ring I felt digging into my back right now. I'd think about all of that later.

Right then the only thing I really wanted to f*ck was my honeybee.





Friday, October 10, 2008


THE ONLY THING I wanted was to be with the man who had his arms around me. It was the only thing I'd been able to focus on since the moment I saw him that afternoon.

What was it about that guy? He was like a bad penny. Always popping up. If he were a penny, I would have put him in my pocket and called him lucky.

It was only five or so, but I wanted my bed and I didn't want to go alone. I asked him warily, “Can we go to my room?”

He pulled away from my lips, but what I'd just asked him didn't seem to register. He looked distracted by his own thoughts.

“Hmmm?” He queried running his nose up the side of my neck audibly smelling me. “You smell the same. You taste the same,” he said into my hair and he kissed my head.

“So do you. Did you hear what I said?”

He pulled away to look at my face, now that whatever he was thinking wasn't distracting him anymore.

His curly hair was longer than when I'd last seen him. His big fat curls messy and playful. They suited him. On anyone else they would have looked silly.

“Come up stairs with me,” I repeated, but I didn't ask the second time. I was past requesting what I wanted.

A fire lit in his bright eyes and all humor left his features. “You know what will happen up there, Blake. I thought you only wanted to be friends.”

“We just kissed in public. I think it's a little late for that. Let's call this what it is and not beat around the bush. I want you. You want me. We have some unexplainable attraction to each other. So, are you coming upstairs to f*ck me or are we staying down here and getting shitfaced? It's your call.” I wasn't planning on laying it all out there like that, but we didn't have time to be shy. It was like the universe was handing me my favorite drug. And I was past pleasantries.