On the Rocks (Last Call #1)(50)

I’m done hiding it. Casey knows… Brody knows… my mom knows, and I’m sure Dad will get an earful when he gets home tonight. All the people whose opinion matters know about it, so there is absolutely no way I’m going to curb my need to touch her.

In fact, I think I’ll test out her thoughts on the matter right this very moment. Gabby bends slightly to balance her hands on the top of the ladder, so she can start climbing down. I use the opportunity to put my fingers in the back waistband of her jeans and give her a tug backward. She’s not prepared for it and immediately starts to fall, giving a small yelp as she does so. But she’s easily caught in my hold, and I’m pleased when her arms go around my neck and she smiles at me.

I figure if she’s okay with that, then she’s okay for this. I lean in and touch her mouth with mine, giving her just a moment of a kiss. She lets out a little sigh from the contact and I feel my heart squeeze inside my chest, so pleased is it from her reaction.

When I pull back, I ask, “So… I’m guessing you’re okay now with some PDA?”

She’s beyond adorable when she shrugs her shoulders, and her cheeks go red. “I suppose a little can’t hurt.”

Let’s test that little theory. I lean back in and kiss her again, this time hard on the mouth. She opens up to me, warm and sweet. The decadence of the kiss is exquisite, and it fills me up with something other than the normal surge of lust I get when our mouths mate.

Finally, I pull away, because I can’t take this any further… not here at Last Call… in public. Setting her on her feet, I take her hand and start walking toward the front bar. “Got time to eat lunch with me?”

“Sure… but Alyssa said she might stop by and eat here today, so I hope three’s not a crowd.”

“Oh yeah, because eating a meal with two beautiful women is a complete hardship,” I say sarcastically.

When we reach the front bar, both of us take a stool. Brody is there to serve us. He gives me a Diet Coke and pushes a bottle of water across the bar to Gabby, then turns to head back to the kitchen to put our orders in. A BLT for Gabby and a turkey on rye for me.

While we wait on our food, Gabby and I angle our bodies in toward each other and lean against the bar. Her foot kicks companionably against mine, and she has a lazy grin on her face.

“Tell me how it went with Casey,” I say to her.

“It was fine,” she says after taking a sip of water. “I apologized, she forgave, and then we trash talked Sasha.”

I can’t help the bark of laughter that comes out of my mouth… the way Gabby just casually told me what they did, including gossiping about my ex. My laughter is apparently appreciated, because Gabby starts chuckling in response.

Grabbing her hand, I pull it onto my lap. Her eyes go somewhat serious, although they still have a hint of mischief in them. “I want you to stay the night with me,” I tell her.

“At your house?” she asks, suddenly losing that mischievous light.

“Yes.”

She tries to pull her hand back, but I won’t let it go. “I don’t know, Hunter. I think it’ll be just really awkward with your ex there. I’m not feeling very kindly toward her.”

“Tell you what… how about at least come over for dinner? I’ll invite Casey and Wyatt, both of whom will have your back. Then that will give me time to convince you to stay the night.” I try to put on my most devastating smile, and it seems to work because she returns a small one.

“Seriously? Dinner? You want me to sit down and talk to your ex?”

“Well… maybe not one on one to start out, but it will be a group… a get-together… a shindig of sorts. We’ll make it casual, grill out… drink a few beers.”

Then I go for the kill when I tell her, “Besides… I want you to get to know John. He means a lot to me, and I want you to see that.”

Gabby’s eyes go soft at my proclamation, and I do an imaginary fist pump that I got her to agree. “Fine. But dinner is all I’m committing to right now.”

“That works for me,” I say, leaning in to whisper in a low voice because Brody has come back from the kitchen, “but I know, once I get you there, you won’t want to leave… not with the things I have planned for you tonight.”

I get the desired effect I wanted because her eyes go from soft and limpid to aroused and hot. “Oh, yeah… what did you have in mind?”

Glancing down at Brody at the end of the bar, assured he can’t hear me, I lean in all the way and run my lips along her jawline. “I want to see how many times I can make you come in an hour, just with my mouth?”

Gabby pulls back and blinks at me, her mouth hanging open. “An hour?”

“One hour,” I assure her. “We’ll time it and everything.”

“Oh,” she says, dumbfounded, but I can tell by the look in her eyes, she’s also completely intrigued.

“Hey guys,” I hear from behind me, immediately recognizing Alyssa’s voice.

I hold Gabby’s gaze for just a moment more, and then say in a voice low enough that I’m sure only she can hear, “One hour of pure pleasure.”

The pulse in Gabby’s throat literally starts beating at my proclamation, and it makes me want to stand up, haul her over my shoulder, and take her home right now to get that hour started.