Beautiful Bitch (Beautiful Bastard, #1.5)(4)

“What is it?”

Her eyes were enormous, searching mine and full of apology. “I just finished my defense, and—”

“Oh, shit. I’m such an ass. I should take you to dinner or—”

“—and I promised Julia and Sara that we would go out—”

“—maybe we could get some dinner after I make you come—” I barreled on.

“—for drinks after my presentation—”

“I just need to hear you come once and then we can go. Just give me . . .” I stopped, finally letting her words settle in. “Wait, what? You’re going out with Julia and Sara? Tonight?”

She nodded, eyes tight. “I didn’t know you’d be here. I can’t tell you how much I want to call and cancel. But the thing is, I can’t. Not after how good they’ve been to me the last few months . . . when you and I were . . .”

I groaned, pressing the heel of my hands to my eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me this before I got you naked? Holy shit, how am I supposed to let you go now? I’m going to be hard for hours.”

“I tried to tell you.” To her credit, she looked as frustrated as I felt.

“Do we have time to . . .” I shook my head, looking around as if the answer were buried somewhere in this ancient furniture. “I could probably get us both off in, like, two minutes.”

She laughed. “I’m not sure that’s something to brag about.”

The hell it wasn’t.

Her small gasp of surprise was stolen by my lips as I kissed her, tongue and teeth and not even caring if we only had a few minutes. I could do a few minutes.

I slid my hand over the racing pulse in her throat, between her breasts and lower, down the front of her stomach. I moved lower still, finding that familiar, favorite place where she was warm and slick, and the roof could fall in and I wouldn’t even notice because, God, nothing existed but her and her little sounds and quiet whispers to keep going, keep going.




“Bennett,” she whispered. “Please.”

I reached down for my own pants, and had just started to speak—

And was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door.

A familiar voice floated into her entryway. “We’re here, Miss Serious Business Graduate, and we’re ready for the drinking!”

“This is a joke. Tell me this is a joke,” I said, glaring at her.

She shook her head, biting back a smile.

“I am in no mood to share right now. You have got to be f*cking kidding me.”

“I forget how much I love seeing you on an angry tear.”

She walked to the door in her f*cking underwear, and opened it a crack before turning and sprinting into her bedroom, leaving me to greet the intruders.

What in the actual f*ck.

“I’ll be out in a few!” Chloe yelled over her shoulder, her nearly bare ass disappearing into a bedroom down the hall.

Julia whistled loudly, stepping over the threshold, and then stopped, and broke into laughter when she saw me.

“Wow, I didn’t expect you to answer the door in your underwear, Chloe.” Sara walked in with her hands over her eyes, reaching out blindly. She grabbed a handful of my half-unbuttoned shirt and shrieked when she uncovered her eyes and saw that it was me she was holding on to. “Mr. Ryan!”

“Hello, ladies,” I said, voice flat. I straightened my shirt, pulled my tie back into place.

“Oh boy, did we interrupt something?” Julia asked, eyes wide and teasing.

“Yes, in fact. We were . . . becoming reacquainted.”

Chloe called out from one of the bedrooms down the hall to help ourselves to the champagne in the fridge, and I tried to ignore the way Julia’s eyes dropped to my zipper. I stood still, letting her take a good long look. My erection was gone anyway.

Mostly.

“I didn’t realize it was to be a girls’ night out,” I said, when the silence felt like it had dragged on forever.

Sara stepped back, her eyes seeming to struggle to stay above my shoulders, and explained, “I don’t think any of us expected you to be here and . . . want a night in.”

I most definitely wanted a night in. In every part of Chloe.

Julia studied me for a minute and then smiled. “I’ll admit I was pretty sure Bennett would be here.”

I couldn’t help but mirror her grin. She had, after all, called me to urge me to go to Chloe’s presentation. She was obviously on my side.

Even if she had interrupted my attempt to f*ck Chloe for the first time in forever.

I turned, moving into the kitchen to wash my hands. Julia followed, and behind me I heard her open the bottle of champagne, the squeak and pop and then the quiet fizz reminding me how much I’d rather be opening that bottle over Chloe’s naked body, and licking the foamy bubbles from her skin.

Julia continued, “But I think we should all go out to celebrate, and he can have as much of her as he wants.” She poured four flutes of champagne and then handed one to me. “You’ll just have to wait until later to . . . reacquaint.”

Chloe emerged from her room in black skinny jeans, strappy black heels, and a shimmering blue tank top that made her skin look golden.

No way in hell would I be able to keep my hands off her if she wore that out.