One Summer Weekend

by Stacey, Shannon

  “You sleep naked?” He sounded like he might be choking.

  She shouldn’t tease him. She should tell him to shut up and go to sleep, but she couldn’t help herself. “Usually, unless I’m really tired and fall asleep in my bra and panties.”

  “The lace ones?” Now he sounded like he was being strangled.

  “Yes, the lace ones. And I bet you’re in your underwear right now, smartass.”

  “Oh yeah? What do you wanna bet?”

  “What are you wearing?” she demanded.

  “What are we betting?”

  “Control of the radio on the way home.”

  He snorted. “If I have to show you what I’ve got going on from the waist down, you’ve got to bring more than music.”

  You didn’t spend your entire life around a guy without getting a general idea of what he had going on below the waist, but she guessed he was referring to his pajama situation. Or lack thereof, as the case may be.

  Why did that thought make her skin feel hot and prickly?

  “Maybe I’m wearing PJ pants,” he said.

  “You expect me to believe you’re wearing pajama pants?” She’d seen him in boxer briefs, sweatpants and in shorts, but never pajamas. And she didn’t believe him for a second. “That you even own pajama pants?”

  “You look surprised. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “I am surprised. It’s not really your style.”

  “I bought a pair the day after my mom let herself in to make me a birthday breakfast.”

  Carly laughed. “I remember that. You told me it was the worst surprise party ever.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it right now. Or ever.”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t take her key back.”

  He snorted. “If she knocked and I didn’t answer in the time she thinks it should take me to walk from the farthest point, she’d break every window in my house trying to get in. Easier to let her keep the key.”

  He’d relaxed while talking about his mom, as Carly knew he would, so she took the opportunity to yank hard on the covers, expecting to reveal his boxer briefs. But he had excellent reflexes and yanked back. Because he was stronger, he won the brief tug of war. But because she was more stubborn, she didn’t let go and ended up sprawled across his body.

  And, holy crap, what a body. Her best friend was definitely hard in all the best places.

  “You are not going to win this,” he said.

  Before she could figure out what his next move was going to be, he’d flipped her onto her back and covered her body with his. When she tried to shove him off, he grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head.

  She tilted her head sideways because the blanket had fallen away in the struggle and she could see that he was, in fact, wearing pajama pants.

  “Cats? Really?”

  His hands tightened on her wrists. “It’s the only pair they had in my size. I haven’t gotten around to ordering some online.”

  He didn’t move and Carly tried not to notice how his body pressed against hers. Or how much she liked the feel of his weight on top of her. And she definitely tried not to think about the way he held her wrists over her head, which was making her nipples brush against his chest.

  She wasn’t good at not thinking about it.

  “Okay, wait.” He arched an eyebrow. “If you thought I was in my underwear and I said I wasn’t, but you’re surprised I’m wearing pajama pants, what did you think I was wearing?”

  “Nothing. I thought you were wearing nothing.”

  “You thought I got into bed with you naked?”

  When he said it out loud like that, it sounded ridiculous, but he wasn’t wrong. “I might have thought that, yes.”

  “And you were just going to let me sleep like that and not say anything?”

  “I was trying not to think about it. Now let me go.”

  He grinned again. “Make me.”

  With no other options to free herself presenting themselves, Carly licked the side of his face. He laughed, but didn’t throw himself back onto his own side of the bed like she thought he would.

  Instead he looked down at her with mischief dancing in his eyes. “Oh, so we’re licking now? That’s what we’re doing?”

  And just like that the vibe changed.

  When he lowered his head, she assumed he was going to lick her cheek in relation and turned her face away, but his tongue touched the skin right above the collar of the tee and licked a slow, winding path up her neck.

  This is wrong. But it didn’t feel wrong. It felt so right, and she turned her face back to his.

  Their lips met and she felt him hesitate for a mere second before his mouth claimed hers. His lips were softer than she would have guessed they were, and he was gentle. Almost tentative.

  Until she arched her body off the bed so it was fully pressed against his. Then he moaned and deepened the kiss. There was nothing tentative about the way his tongue dipped between her lips to dance over hers. He released her wrist so he could cup her breast, and she sighed against his mouth as his thumb brushed toward her nipple.

  Then he paused. “Are we really doing this?”

  She trailed her fingernails over his naked back. “Do you want to stop?”

  He shivered under her teasing touch. “Hell no. But I will if you want to.”

  “We already made it weird,” she said honestly. “No sense in you having blue balls, too.”

  He chuckled. “Always thinking of me.”

  “You know it.” She kissed him, then captured his bottom lip between her teeth, tugging slightly.

  His thumb stroked her nipple, and then he broke off the kiss to frown down at her. “I don’t feel any lace.”

  “You wear a lace bra all day and then tell me if you want to sleep in it.” She chuckled at his expression. “Disappointed?”

  “Can’t lie. A little bit, yeah.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, I’m wearing pink lace panties.”

  The erection pressed against her thigh pulsed and he grinned. “That does make me feel better.”

  “Want to see them?”

  “I’ll make my way down there eventually,” he said, and her entire body flushed with heat.

  Before she could say anything, he closed his mouth around her nipple—T-shirt and all—and she gasped. But it wasn’t enough. “Move so I can get this shirt off.”

  “No.”

  “No?” She barked out a laugh. “You don’t want me naked?”

  “I do, but I’m going to take my time about it and there’s not much you can do about it.”

  Threading her fingers through his hair, she tightened her grip and pulled his head away from her breast, forcing him to look at her. “Is that a challenge?”

  “Everything about you is a challenge, Carly.” His grin was slow and wicked. “It’s one of my favorite things about you, you know.”

  “I thought my butt was your favorite thing about me.”

  “That’s a more recent development.” He slid his hands down her sides and cupped her butt, which had the added bonus of grinding her against his dick. “It might be a tie.”

  Carly was tired of talking and she still had a grip on his hair, so she hauled his head close and kissed him so hard, he groaned. The sound thrilled her and she set about seeing what other sounds she could coax out of him.

  She knew this man better than anybody, but until tonight she had no idea running her tongue over his Adam’s apple would make him moan. Or that running her fingernails up his sides instead of down his back would make him squirm and try to grab her hands.

  But her favorite sound was the deep hum of appreciation he made when she took her time peeling off the T-shirt she’d stolen from him and dropped it on the floor.

  “I can’t believe you’ve been h
iding these from me my whole life,” he said just before his mouth closed over her tender nipple.

  He was definitely thorough. Noah always did everything with focus and enthusiasm, but she’d never thought about how those traits might translate to the bedroom. As he licked and sucked his way down her body, Carly—her body desperate for an orgasm—tried to move things along, but he resisted.

  Using one hand pressed across her lower stomach to hold her still, he nibbled at her thigh until she parted her legs. His fingers glided over her slick flesh and she meant to say his name—maybe to beg—but all that came out was a low moan.

  His mouth closed over her and her hips bucked against him. But his fingertips bit into her thigh, holding her still as his tongue swirled over her clit. She buried her fingers in his hair, opening her legs farther, and he let go of her thigh so his fingers could join his mouth in making her absolutely crazy. He had long fingers, stroking deep inside her as his tongue worked her clit with the same focus and enthusiasm he did everything else with.

  The orgasm rolled through her and she clawed at the sheets, gathering the fabric in her fists as she bucked against him. When it had passed, he bit the inside of her thigh and then started working his way back up her body.

  He paused to suck one nipple hard enough to make her yelp, and then he kissed her. It was a hard kiss and she tasted herself on his mouth. As they kissed, she pushed on his shoulder until he was on his back.

  Then she grinned down at him for a few seconds before shifting downward so she could lick his Adam’s apple again.

  When she ran her tongue over his nipple, he sucked in a breath, but when she started licking her way down his chest and over his abs—fully intending to reciprocate—he grabbed a fistful of her hair and held her head still.

  “I can’t.” She made a small disappointed sound that had the fingers loosening in her hair for a few seconds before tightening their grip again. “I want to be inside of you right fucking now.”

  He let go of her hair and pushed his body up, rolling her to her back and the intensity of his gaze made her shiver. “God, you’re beautiful.”

  “Wait. Condoms. I...” She let the words trail away as she tried to remember if she had any with her. Usually she tucked a couple away in her suitcase because a woman liked to be prepared, but she’d been heading off on a road trip with Noah. No condoms required.

  “I have some in my bag,” he said. “Not because...well, I always have some. Do not move.”

  Carly did as she was told, more because her muscles felt like butter than a sense of obedience, but she hoped he was quick about it. She didn’t want time for the sexual fog her mind was lost in to dissipate and make room for thoughts. Thoughts about what she was doing and, more importantly, who she was doing it with.

  She didn’t want to think at all right now.

  Noah was back in seconds, condom in hand, and as she watched him roll it on, she stopped thinking about anything but having him inside her.

  He kissed her first, long and deeply, as his hand slid over her body. He brushed his thumb over her breast and then moaned against her mouth as he slid his fingers over the flat of her stomach.

  “Now,” she whispered, just in case he was worried she’d lost the mood while he was gone.

  “So bossy,” he said, but he did as he was told.

  Shifting over her, he settled between her thighs. As she raised her hips, he reached between them and guided himself into her. They moaned in unison as she took his length deeper with every stroke.

  There was nothing frantic about his movements. He kissed her as his hips moved slowly, deliberately. Then he kissed her shoulder and she felt the coarseness of his beard against her skin.

  He thrust harder and she rocked to meet each stroke as her mind emptied of anything but sensation. Her fingernails bit into his back and his pace quickened.

  “Jesus, Carly,” he murmured against her ear.

  Reaching between them again, he stroked her clit and she whimpered helplessly against the oncoming orgasm. He stroked harder and faster, his thumb never letting up until her hips jerked against his and she bit down on her lip in an effort not to wake everybody in the inn.

  Panting, she opened her eyes and saw him watching her with so much heat in his eyes, she could practically feel it on her skin. Then he hooked his hand behind her knee and lifted so he could drive deep into her. Gasping, she dug her fingernails into the hard cheeks of his ass, driving him on.

  He groaned when he came, his muscles flexing under her touch, and when the tremors had passed, he gave her a fast and hard kiss before collapsing on top of her.

  “Yes,” he whispered when he’d caught his breath.

  “So much yes,” she whispered back.

  After a couple of minutes, he rolled away and she heard him pull a tissue from the box next to the bed, presumably to wrap the condom in before dropping it in the little trash can under the nightstand. Then he was back and he gathered her into his arms. Feeling practically boneless, she melted against his body.

  “I got my T-shirt back,” he mumbled against her neck. She chuckled and would have responded, but the next sound he made was a soft snore.

  I just had sex with my best friend was the last thought she had before falling asleep in his arms.

  Chapter Six

  Noah woke up when the alarm went off at what felt like a ridiculously early hour, but he didn’t move and his eyes were barely open long enough to register the sunlight filling the room before he closed them again. There was no way he could face this morning after without a plan.

  He wasn’t a morning person at the best of times, though, and the only plan he could come up with was pretending he was still asleep while he figured out how the hell he was supposed to process the fact he’d had sex with Carly last night.

  Great sex. With Carly.

  But when she leaned over to turn the alarm off, her hair tickled his nose. He didn’t sneeze, but he shuddered and scrubbed at his nose with his hand. Rather than listen to her giving him a hard time about fake-sleeping to avoid conversation with his fake girlfriend, he opened his eyes.

  She flopped back onto the pillow and he couldn’t help but notice the covers had slipped down and her breasts were bare and not very far away. And just like that, his dick was hard.

  Morning wood, he told himself. Totally normal for a guy, and had nothing to do with his best friend’s boobs.

  “Coffee,” she muttered, and he couldn’t tell if she was just wishing for some or asking him to make it, but it gave him a reason to dodge the awkwardness of getting out of bed.

  After pulling on the boxer briefs he found on the floor, he went through the steps of making her a cup of coffee with the small brewer sitting on the desk. It didn’t matter how nice a hotel or inn was, the coffee situation was always a pain in the ass.

  When he carried the cup over to set it on the nightstand next to her, he noticed she’d not only pulled the covers up, but managed to retrieve his T-shirt and put it on while his back was turned.

  Once his coffee was ready, he walked back to the bed. The fabric of the armchair looked too fussy and rough to be comfortable against bare skin, and he wasn’t going to shower and get dressed until after he’d had his coffee. So he set the cup on his nightstand and after fluffing his pillows, he climbed onto the bed and sat leaning against the headboard. He was going to stay on top of the covers, but it was chilly in the room and he had that whole painful erection thing to consider. It might be normal, but he didn’t care to have it on display.

  She turned the television on and went through the channels until she found the news, but the sound was low and she didn’t bother turning it up.

  “Are we going to talk about this?” she asked after what felt like the longest awkward silence they’d ever experienced with each other.

  “Do we have to?” He sighed. “I gue
ss forgetting it happened is out of the question?”

  “Maybe if it had sucked I could, but I’ll be honest. I’m not going to forget last night.”

  “It definitely didn’t suck.” Last night had actually blown his freaking mind, but he was afraid of making things even weirder than they were already.

  “We’re adults,” she continued. “And we had a lot to drink.”

  “Yeah.” He hadn’t, actually. He’d been on the heading-toward-drunk side of pleasantly buzzed, but he hadn’t been drunk.

  But if being drunk was an easy out that kept sex—really fun, smokin’-hot sex—from affecting their friendship, he could roll with it.

  “You’re not really saying much, Noah, and it makes me nervous. What are you really thinking right now?”

  “I hear everything you’re saying, but my mind’s pretty much stuck on the fact we had sex.”

  “Obviously. But what are you thinking about that?”

  He could lie. He probably should, actually, but she could usually tell when he was lying to her. “Honestly? I’m wondering if we can do it again.”

  She didn’t say anything and, since Carly was rarely at a loss for words, panic prickled his scalp. He’d blown it. He should have lied.

  “Are you talking about a ‘what happens on the Cape stays on the Cape’ kind of thing?”

  Relief would have made his knees wobble if he’d been standing up. “Yeah, something like that.”

  “I guess that makes sense. We’ve done everything else together, so why not sex, right? Skiing, kayaking, four-wheeling, sex, hiking.”

  “Just for the record, sex is a lot more fun than hiking.” He pulled her closer until she got the hint and straddled his lap. “Especially with you, so we should definitely make the most of this weekend.”

  She looked down at him, her dark hair falling like a curtain, and arched her eyebrow. “No wall of pillows between us tonight?”

  “Nope. I’m not afraid of your girl cooties anymore.” When she pulled his T-shirt over her head and tossed it aside, he reached up and cupped the weight of her breasts in his hands. He could lie there and look at her all damn day.