Pleasured By You

by Steph Nuss

“Would Jane Doe care to dance?” Fletcher whispered into my ear.

  Before I could answer, he had my hand in his and was leading me out there with him. He hooked my hands around his neck and then rested his on the small of my back. The dance floor was crowded, but I didn’t know anyone who could say no to a Garth Brooks song. I saw Tessa and Justin dancing together and nodded toward them.

  “Hey,” I said softly, “What’s up with them?”

  “Tessa and Justin?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  Fletcher sighed. “She’s in love with him, and boy genius is completely oblivious to it.”

  “Boy genius?”

  “Justin tested out of high school and entered college when he was fourteen.”

  “Wow, I didn’t know that,” I said, glancing over at Tessa and him again. “So why doesn’t she just make a move? They look good together.”

  He laughed into my ear. “I don’t know. We’ve told her to, but I think she’s just scared of being rejected.”

  “Why haven’t one of you told him?”

  “I can’t speak for everyone else, but I personally don’t want to get in the middle of it. Plus, I think in a way he already knows. I mean, he’s dancing with her. If he felt nothing, he wouldn’t agree to dance with her.”

  “That’s not true,” I said, shaking my head. “He could be dancing with her just to be nice since they’re friends.”

  “Is that what you’re doing? Dancing with me to be nice or because you actually want to?”

  “Well, if I recall, John Smith didn’t give me much say in the matter,” I answered, raising my brows at him.

  “I didn’t hear you complaining,” he quipped, with a playful gleam in his eyes.

  I sighed and looked past him at the other couples dancing. I had such a fight-or-flight response to him. One minute, I was fighting for his attention, wanting him by my side, and the next, I wanted to run away from him because the lines of our friendship were blurring. Right now, I wasn’t sure what the hell my response was to him except that I liked his hands on me. “I wanted to dance with you.”

  “Good,” he said, pulling me closer to him.

  And I liked it when he held me closer.

  “Can I ask you something?” he asked, leaning back to look me in the eyes. “Why’d you give me a fake name that night?”

  Running my hands over his shoulders, I laughed. “Because you apologized for not getting my name before trying to get me naked.” I laughed again and shrugged. “It was cute and I was drunk, so, I gave you a fake name. I sometimes do that when I’m drunk.”

  “Good to know,” he said jokingly, as the song came to an end.

  He led me back to our table with his hand still on my back. I took a seat next to a tired Harper, her feet resting in Maverick’s lap. He took her heels off and let them fall to the floor and then began rubbing.

  I turned my attention back to Fletcher and took a drink of my beer. “So, what did my mom say to you earlier?”

  “You know,” Fletcher said, looking between the three of us. “Your mom isn’t so bad. I don’t know what all the fuss was about because she was really nice to me.”

  “Of course, she was,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

  “Yeah,” Maverick said, smiling at Harper. “I was all worried about meeting your parents and they’ve been nothing but nice since we got here.”

  “Okay, that’s because you’re giving them their first grandchild,” Harper said, pointing at her belly.

  “Yeah,” I said, nodding. I glanced back at Fletcher and waved my beer bottle at him. “And of course, Mom’s going to love you. You’re successful and charming and good-looking.”

  Fletcher busted into his deep, full body laugh that I liked and held his hand up to my forehead.

  “What are you doing?” I scowled, pulling away from him.

  “Just checking to see if you’re okay.” He looked at Harper and Maverick and pointed at me. “Did you guys hear her? She gave me not one but three compliments!”

  They laughed and I slapped his arm. “Oh, like you didn’t already know that crap.”

  He waited until Maverick and Harper started talking about something else amongst themselves and then leaned toward me and whispered, “But it’s nice hearing what you think of me.”

  “Whatever,” I said, rolling my eyes. “So, what’d you talk to her about?”

  “Well, she asked me all about my work, but then the subject turned to you.”

  “Me?” Oh, God, I thought.

  “Yeah, we were talking about the wedding cake and how good it tasted. She thought you did a great job. She also said you had some job interviews lined up at a few bakeries in New York.”

  Seriously? It sounded like he was talking about a completely different woman rather than my mom.

  “Yeah, I do,” I said, still slightly confused. My mom usually didn’t brag about my baking. Maybe she was changing.

  “That’s great,” Fletcher said, throwing his arm over the back of my chair. He rested his ankle up on his knee and relaxed back into his seat. “There are a lot of great bakeries in New York.”

  “I actually have an interview at my top pick of bakeries,” I said, my voice giddy. “I was really surprised they were hiring, but I have an interview next week.”

  “When do you move?” he asked, taking a pull from his beer.

  “Monday.”

  ***

  When the dance ended, Harper pulled me aside as everyone was starting to gather their things and leave. She had a tight grip on my arm as she dragged me into the kitchen, and my drunk ass couldn’t figure out why she seemed angry.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, glaring at me.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “With Fletcher,” she said, throwing her arms in the air. “You haven’t left his side all night. You’ve been dancing with him. You sat by him during dinner.”

  “Okay, one, I have not been glued to his side all night. Two, I’ve been dancing with him because that’s the polite thing to do when someone asks you to dance. And three, I sat by him at dinner because we were paired together in the bridal party and we all sat by our partners. I’m not doing anything with him.”

  “Ohmigawd,” she complained, covering her face with her hands. “You’re right. I’m so sorry.” Gazing back at me, she had tears in her eyes. “I’m completely losing it.”

  I wrapped my arms around her in a hug and rubbed her back. “You’re creating a beautiful little girl in there. Your emotional outbursts are forgiven.”

  She laughed lightly. “Thanks.”

  “Why don’t you find that baby daddy of yours and have him put you to bed?”

  “Yes,” she sighed. “A bed sounds amazing right now. I’m so tired.”

  “Me, too.”

  She pulled back and held me by the shoulders. “I love you, B.”

  “Back atcha, H.”

  We left the kitchen area and she immediately grabbed Maverick so they could leave. I found my heels underneath our table, grabbed them and then headed to the guesthouse, too. I was ready for bed. I was beyond exhausted and my bare feet were starting to hurt. But just as I pushed the door open to leave, a familiar hand took the weight of it from behind me and held it open for me.

  “Mind if I walk back with you?” Fletcher asked, his blue eyes slightly glazed over from drinking.

  “Nope,” I said, stepping onto the sidewalk.

  He tossed his jacket over his shoulder and walked beside me. “Did you have fun tonight?”

  “Yeah, I did,” I answered, smiling up at him. He had the sleeves of his dress shirt pushed up to his elbows, showing off all of the muscles and veins of his forearms. I nudged one of his arms and he nudged me back. “Did you?”

  “Yeah,” he said, looking up at the night sky before stepping up onto the porch of the guesthouse.

  We entered the house and he followed me to my bedroom door, which was on the opposite side of the house from his.
“You know, I didn’t need you to walk me to my room. I know the place pretty well.”

  “I’m sure you do,” he laughed, leaning against the wall. “Maybe I just wanted to walk you back for my own good.”

  “Oh, to make sure I made it back safe and sound?” I quipped.

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “So I could enjoy your company for a little longer.”

  Opening the door, I threw my heels into my room and they made a loud thud as they landed inside. I pursed my lips together in a small smile and leaned against the doorframe next to him. He still looked so fucking delicious in his white dress shirt and charcoal vest with his blond hair still in its signature pushed back style. I probably looked like a tired disaster from all the drinking and dancing I’d done, but that didn’t stop me from admiring him. It also didn’t deter my sex drive, and right now, I just wanted to pull him into my room and take a ride on his rollercoaster again.

  “Bayler,” he said, shooting me a warning look.

  My eyes moved from his mouth to his eyes, and I cleared my throat. “What?”

  He stepped closer to me and cupped my face, and I had to press my thighs together in an attempt to calm some of the pressure building inside of me from his touch. His blue eyes were darker now, and he was staring at my mouth. “If I can’t look at you like I want to fuck you, you can’t look at me like you want me to kiss you.”

  “I don’t want you to kiss me,” I lied. I knew how masterful that mouth of his was; of course I wanted him to kiss me.

  “Yes, you do,” he said, calling my bluff. “But you know what?” He moved in closer, putting his mouth so close to my ear that the warmth of his breath made my body shiver. “I don’t want to just kiss you here,” he said, tapping his finger against my mouth. “I want to kiss you everywhere.”

  He moved away from me looking naughty and glanced over his shoulder to make sure we were still alone. I swallowed hard and tried to ignore the sound of my heart beating in my ears and the cheers from my lady bits saying, Let’s invite him into our room!

  I had to get away from him.

  Turning into my room, I slammed the door behind me without saying a word to him. I waited until I heard him laugh and walk away, and then I leaned against the door still stunned and totally turned on. I unzipped my charcoal dress that had matched his tux beautifully and let it fall to the floor. Undressing didn’t help my sexual frustration, and I knew only one thing would. I tiptoed over to the bed and crawled under the covers completely naked.

  Stretching out, I ran a hand down my stomach toward my clit and fondled one of my breasts. Dipping my fingers inside of me, I closed my eyes and replayed the words he’d just whispered into my ear and remembered how hot and bothered they made me feel as I rolled my taut nipple between my fingers, trying to push myself over the edge. I’d done this a lot in the past five months, getting off on memories from that first night with him because other men just didn’t do it for me anymore. But now, as I tried, stroking and rubbing in all the right places, nothing was happening; the release never came. No matter how many memories I brought to the surface, the same thought kept interrupting me: he’s just down the hall.

  Chapter Three

  The next morning, we were all at the airport again, preparing to leave Texas. Except this time, Elly and Carter wouldn’t be coming with us. They were headed to their honeymoon in Seychelles while the rest of us went back to New York. The selfish bastard in me wished they were coming back with us only so I could have Elly by my side during the flight again. Then they could go wherever the fuck they wanted.

  While Elly and Carter said good-bye to the rest of the bridal party, I eyed Harper’s private plane. It was just a form of transportation, just like taxis and the subway. Why couldn’t I let this fear of mine go? I couldn’t get the image of my parents falling to their deaths out of my mind. I never actually saw it happen, but I’ve always imagined it like that. A plane plummeting to the ground and then crashing and burning all of its passengers along with it. It could happen to anyone, any time. Hell, it could happen to us. Today.

  “Earth to Fletcher,” Elly said, waving her hand in front of my face.

  I looked down at her and smiled weakly. “Hey.”

  “It’s going to be okay,” she said softly, reaching out to rub my arm. “Remember to think of something positive, something you enjoy doing.”

  I nodded silently and watched Carter walk over to us. “Hey, Fletch.”

  “Hey, man,” I said, giving him a pat on the back. “You ready to get this lady alone?”

  “Hell yeah,” he laughed, putting his arm around Elly. “It’s going to be great.”

  “I’m really happy for you guys.”

  “Thanks,” Elly said, “but back to the flight. I was going to ask Justin to sit with you, but I know you fly better when you have someone to talk to—”

  “And Justin rarely talks,” I finished.

  “Exactly,” she laughed. “So, I enlisted Cash.”

  I glanced over at our most talkative friend and took a deep breath. Cash was the complete opposite of Justin.

  “I know he’s almost too talkative, but it’s better than not having anyone to distract you.”

  I nodded. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Well, we should get going,” Carter said, smiling down at Elly. “We have our own flight to catch.”

  “Yep!” Elly cheered, waving back at everyone. “Thank you all so much for making our day so special! Bye!”

  “Bye!” Tessa and Bayler cheered.

  “Have fun!” Paige called.

  “Love you!” Harper said.

  They started to walk away, but I grabbed Elly’s hand. “Hey, will you text me when you guys get there? Just so I know you made it okay.”

  “Of course,” she said sincerely. She patted my hand and smiled. “I’m sure everything will be fine. We’ll see you later.”

  I nodded and watched them walk away as everyone else started to board Harper’s plane.

  “Hey,” Bayler said, nudging my arm. I gazed over at her and her brows furrowed. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah,” I lied, masking my fear with a smile. My throat felt like it had a baseball lodged inside of it, and I felt like I was going to lose my breakfast.

  “I think they’re waiting on you,” she said, pointing to Harper’s plane.

  “Yeah,” I nodded, running a hand through my hair. Think about something you enjoy doing. I enjoyed doing Bayler. I studied her for a moment and thought about how much I liked spending time with her this weekend. “I had a good time this weekend.”

  “Me, too,” she said, sweetly. Her green eyes sparkled in the mid-morning sunshine. “It was nice seeing you again, but there’s one thing I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

  “Shoot.”

  “On New Year’s, was that club one of yours?” she asked, curiously.

  “Do you think I’d hang out at someone else’s club?”

  “No,” she answered.

  “Exactly,” I said, stepping forward. I looked over my shoulder as I walked toward the plane and she was shaking her head at me but the smile on her face had widened. “And you better not either!” I shouted back to her.

  ***

  Once I was buckled into my seat next to Cash, I looked out the window to see Bayler still standing next to her Porsche. I usually kept the shade down whenever I flew. Having it opened usually brought on more anxiety, but I wanted to look at her for as long as I could. Just the sight of her helped ease my breathing and slow the beat of my racing heart as the plane started to move forward and my worries settled in. We were getting ready to take off, but all I wanted was to be on land with her.

  What if I never saw her again?

  What if I never got to kiss those lips or touch that soft skin of hers ever again?

  What if—

  The plane turned and Bayler was no longer in my line of sight. Pulling the window shade back down, I faced forward and f
elt Cash’s eyes on me.

  “Man, are you okay?” he asked, in a serious voice.

  “Do I look okay?” I asked, shooting him a glare.

  He shook his head and quickly turned all the air ducts on me. I was sweaty and hot and felt like I was going to pass out. I fucking hated taking off. It felt like crawling up to the top of a rollercoaster and never falling over that first, gigantic crest. The ride was bumpy and unsettling, but I felt myself relax a bit when the pilot announced over the intercom that we were free to move around the cabin.

  I stayed buckled in while everyone else unbuckled and got comfortable. Maverick and Harper got up from their seats and moved to the bedroom to go back to sleep. Paige immediately pulled out her laptop, put her headphones on, and immersed herself in something that was probably work-related. Justin opened the book he’d started reading on our flight to Dallas, and Tessa had her iPod in her lap and her headphones on, listening to music.

  Cash unbuckled next to me and stretched out his legs. “I still feel like complete shit from last night,” he laughed, propping up his footrest.

  Harper’s private plane was decked out in expensive shit. The seats were heavily cushioned and fully reclined. There was an abundance of food and drinks on hand. There were flat screen TVs that offered hundreds of movies. It all should’ve made me feel safer, should’ve distracted me from where I was, but it didn’t. Expensive or not, I was still on a plane. I was still flying.

  “How’d you feel this morning?” Cash asked.

  “All right,” I answered, loosening my grip on my armrest. “I took a couple of aspirins before I went to bed last night. That helped with my hangover.”

  “I should’ve done that,” he said, rubbing his temples. He looked like he could fall asleep but I knew he wouldn’t. He was one those people who stayed awake after he woke up. He was also used to getting up early and going to the radio station for his broadcast show.

  I nodded silently as he grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge.

  “Do you want one?”

  “No, thanks.”

  He opened his bottle, took a drink and then put it in the cup holder. “So, what’d you think of Carter’s little sister?”