Bedding The Best Friend (Bedding the Bachelors, Book 4)

by Virna DePaul

  “Hmm,” he said.

  “Hmm what?” Annie said. The man seemed like he had more to say and, emboldened by the drink she’d had, and probably the champagne she’d had earlier, Annie wanted to know what it was.

  “How long have you been in love with your friend there?”

  “What?” Annie tried to laugh, but it came out as just a strange little strangled sound. “He and I have been best friends for years. I’m not in love with him.”

  Clint said nothing.

  Annie furrowed her brows. “What makes you think I’m in love with him?”

  Clint smiled softly, then quietly said, “Your whole face changes when you look at him. I thought you were the prettiest girl in the room when I first saw you, but when you looked at him… There’s nothing prettier than a woman in love.”

  Annie looked at Ryan again and back at Clint. There didn’t seem to be much reason to go on denying it. Instead, she shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t feel the same.”

  “You’re wrong about that, doll.”

  “Why would you say that? Can’t you see him surrounded by women down there?”

  “Sure, he’s puttin’ on as good a show as you are. But when you’re not looking, he’s picturing himself rippin’ my head right off my shoulders.”

  Annie glanced down the bar again. Ryan, who’d been looking in her direction, quickly turned away. And back toward Blondie.

  “I honestly don’t think so,” she said. “I think he would have said something by now if he had feelings for me.”

  “You obviously haven’t said anything, so why would he? Answer me this, what prompted the two of you to come to Vegas together and then sit on separate ends of the bar?”

  Annie felt her face go hot. Clint had signaled the bartender to bring her another drink while they were talking. She picked up the fresh one and sipped it hard through the straw. Her mouth was dry as a bone.

  “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” Clint told her.

  “I’m just a little embarrassed to tell you,” she said. If not for the third cosmo, maybe she never would have said anything. But her inhibitions were just low enough that she suddenly opened her mouth and began to talk about…everything. She told him about the list and about Ryan following her to Vegas to “protect her.”

  “Has he kissed you yet?” Clint asked her. He took another long pull off of his beer.

  Annie flushed bright red as she thought about the kiss…and the phone sex.

  “So you’ve done a little more than kiss,” he teased. “Take it from a man who knows the inner workings of another man’s stupid brain, he’s into you, Annie. He just hasn’t admitted it to himself yet.”

  Maybe he was right, Annie realized. There was plenty of evidence to support what he was saying.

  Ryan had kissed her in San Francisco. And that kiss, even as brief and close-mouthed as it had been, had been so hot, so intense. Then he’d called her and had scorching, mind-boggling phone sex with her. Then he’d followed her here to Vegas. She’d initiated the kiss on the gondola, but he’d definitely kissed her back.

  Annie stole a quick glance Ryan’s way. The women still looked interested, but Ryan just looked sad. At least it was a step up from how he’d looked when she’d told him she was sticking to her plan—like she’d shoved a knife in his chest.

  What if Ryan really does have feelings beyond friendship for me?

  “God, if only it were true,” she said.

  “I’d bet my last purse on it,” Clint said.

  Annie smiled ruefully. “Please don’t. Because even if you’re right, even if we’re soul mates, I’m obviously a big chicken. And so is he.”

  “Maybe so,” Clint said. “Or maybe you can just go for it and see what happens.”

  She imagined throwing herself at Ryan. Imagined him rejecting her. Gently. With pity in his eyes. But it would be rejection nonetheless.

  “You ever hear of a guy named Lane Frost?” Clint asked her.

  “Sounds familiar,” she said.

  “Ever seen the movie 8 Seconds?”

  “Oh yeah! Luke Perry played a bull rider who got killed. That movie was so sad.”

  “Yeah, it was. I was a kid when Lane was on the rise, but he was my hero. He used to have a saying that was pretty popular with the rodeo crowd. He’d say, ‘Don’t be afraid to go after what you want to do and what you want to be. But don’t be afraid to be willing to pay the price.’”

  “In other words, if it means enough to me to be with Ryan, I’ll have to risk losing my friendship with him to make that first move?”

  “Something like that, darlin’. You want another drink or are you going to take some risks?”

  “Would you mind doing me a favor?” she said.

  “Sure. What can I do for you?”

  “Do a shot with me?” she said. “And make it sexy? I want to see how he reacts.”

  Clint grinned and asked the bartender for two tequila shots. “I reckon you’re pretty enough to get punched in the face over.”

  “Ryan wouldn’t do that,” she said.

  “Never underestimate a man in love,” Clint told her as the bartender set up their shots. “Is he watching?” he asked her.

  “Yeah, he’s watching,” she said.

  She caught Ryan’s gaze, faked a smile, and gave him a quick thumbs-up.

  Clint picked up the tequila and downed it. As he put the lime in his mouth, Annie drained her shot. Then she leaned in and slowly took the lime from his mouth. Clint resisted a bit, keeping her close for several prolonged seconds. When Annie sat back up and took the lime out of her mouth, Ryan looked pissed.

  “What’d I tell you?”

  “You should be charging for your psychic services,” she told Clint with a smile.

  “Ain’t no need for a psychic where love is concerned. You just have to know what to look for.”

  “So what now?” she said. She was really talking out loud to herself. Trying to gather some courage to make her move. “Do you mind if I tell him you shot me down?”

  Clint laughed. “You are something. You don’t need my permission for that, but if it’ll help you, you go right ahead. It will make me look awfully bad. I’d have to be crazy to walk away from someone as pretty as you.”

  Annie blushed. “You are a really nice man. You’re handsome, and you know so much about love. Why are you all alone?”

  With a smile still on his face, he said, “You have enough on your mind tonight, darlin’. I’m gonna drain this beer and walk away, leaving my reputation in the toilet. I wish you nothin’ but good.”

  Annie watched him do exactly what he’d said he was going to do—finish his drink and then turn and walk away without a backward glance. He was so nice that she had to remind herself to lose the smile and look like she’d just been rejected. She took a deep breath.

  “One more shot of tequila, please.”

  The bartender promptly poured her another, and she downed it. Then she plastered a sour look on her face, stood, and walked toward Ryan.

  She had a good buzz going, so good she had to walk slowly, paying attention to every step she took. She could feel Ryan’s eyes on her the whole way. When she got close, he excused himself from the women he was talking to and walked the rest of the way to her. “What’s wrong?”

  Annie leaned in so no one could hear and said, “I’m just not good at this. Can you help me get back to my room? You can come back down afterwards.”

  Ryan took her hand and led her out of the bar so quickly that Annie almost got dizzy. When they stepped into the elevator, Ryan asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Annie forced another sad look and shrugged. “I’m not sure what else to say. I tried so hard with that guy, but he shot me down. I’m just so humiliated.”

  “He had to be an incredible ass, crazy or gay,” Ryan said. “You were the prettiest woman there.”

  Annie still wasn’t ready to come right out and tell him how she felt
, but she needed to get him alone. She needed to know if he wanted her as badly as she wanted him.

  When they got inside her room, she turned to him and said, “You can go back down now. I’m sorry for dragging you away from your admirers.”

  “I don’t have any desire to go back down there, Annie. I want to be here with you. I want to make sure you’re okay. I don’t want you feeling bad about yourself because some brainless dick walked away from you in a bar.”

  Annie kicked off her heels and sat on the bed. “Maybe it’s not a matter of my looks. Maybe I’m boring. I have no idea how to turn a guy on. I’d probably clear a room during a game of strip poker.”

  Ryan shook his head with a shaky laugh. “Any man would be throwing his ante down on the table in a heartbeat for an offer like that. Come on, Annie. Don’t let one creep get you down.”

  “I’m not. I guess tonight just reminded me how dull I am. The phone sex with you…that was my first time doing that…ever. I’ve never played strip poker, and maybe it’s because I’m so boring no one ever thinks to suggest it.”

  “You’re being ridiculous. You’re not boring.”

  “Have you ever played?”

  “Well…sure…but not lately.”

  “Right.”

  “Tell you what,” Ryan said as he walked to the desk. “How about we play a little game? I’ll critique your technique.” He pulled out a deck of cards.

  Annie had to really force herself not to smile now. She was better at this than she’d imagined. But since Ryan was what was motivating her, she shouldn’t be so surprised.

  “Strip poker?” she said, sounding unsure. “We’ve never seen each other naked. Won’t it be weird?”

  “I hardly think we’ll be traumatized. You’re a nurse, remember?”

  “Well, yeah. And I supposed you’ve seen so many naked women, there’s nothing I have that would make an impression.”

  “You always make an impression on me, Annie. And I’m not going to lie. You strip in front of me, and I guarantee you I’m going to get hard. I’m going to want to fuck you. But nothing will happen unless you want it to happen.”

  Do you want it to happen? she almost asked. But she held back. No sense spooking him at this point when he was virtually handing himself to her on a silver platter. Besides, his words had made lust and anticipation zing through her.

  I’m going to want to fuck you. But nothing will happen unless you want it to happen.

  Oh, she wanted, all right. And soon he’d have no doubt that was the case.

  “You won’t cheat, will you? I’ve never played before.”

  Ryan grinned and put his hand over his heart. “No cheating, you have my word.” But he held one hand behind his back as he said it.

  Annie smiled and said, “Let’s see the other hand.”

  Ryan pulled it out. His fingers were crossed. He had a silly smile on his face.

  “It’s a good thing I already know how to play poker then,” she said.

  “How many items of clothing do you have on?” he asked.

  “Do shoes count?”

  “No.”

  “Then three,” she said.

  “Damn! You’re almost there, and we haven’t even started. Let’s see, I’m wearing a shirt, pants, boxers and socks.” He bent down, kicked off his shoes, and pulled off his socks. “Now we’re even.”

  They both moved to the small dining table and sat across from each other. He started to deal the cards.

  “So for every hand you lose, you have to take something off, right?”

  “That’s the plan,” he said.

  She picked up the cards Ryan dealt her and tossed two aside, facedown. Ryan looked at his, grinned and put one facedown on the table.

  “Two?” he asked her.

  “Yes, please,” she said.

  “Okay, and dealer takes one,” he said. He had a gleam in his eye, and Annie knew he had something good. She laid down her three queens. He had a straight flush.

  “You’re sure you’re not cheating?” she said.

  “Just lucky,” he told her. “Take it off.”

  Annie stood up and pulled the little black dress over her head. She was standing in front of Ryan now in her lacy black bra and panties. He looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head.

  “Wow,” he said. “I hope my luck holds.”

  Annie giggled. She was having fun, and she was turned on, but she was nervous as heck. “This one is my hand, I can feel it,” she said.

  Ryan dealt them each another five cards. She noticed that he was having a really hard time keeping his eyes off the swells of her breasts above her bra. Her nipples were hard as pebbles, pressing against the thin material of her bra.

  “How many?” Ryan asked her.

  “I’m good,” she said with a broad grin.

  Ryan grinned back and said, “Dealer takes one.”

  Annie placed her cards down. She had an ace-high flush. Ryan had two pair.

  “Strip,” she said, feeling more confident all of a sudden.

  Ryan unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off. Annie shivered at the sight of his chiseled form. She’d seen his naked chest and muscular abs before, but she hadn’t been sitting nearly naked across from him then.

  “I think we’re going to have to make this more interesting. Slow it down a bit,” Ryan said.

  “How are we going to do that?” she asked.

  “How about the winner can either make the loser remove an article of clothing or he can ask her a personal question that she has to answer?”

  “Or he has to answer. I can handle that,” she said. “Can you?”

  So Ryan dealt, and again, Annie had the winning hand. “I have lots of questions, but I think I’d feel much more comfortable if you were in your underwear with me. Can you take off the jeans, please?”

  Ryan stood up and unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. He looked Annie in the eye as he said, “You know, sometimes I go commando. You caught me on a good laundry day.”

  Annie laughed and said, “For the sake of the game, I’m glad.”

  When Ryan won the next hand, Annie felt a tickle of anticipation in her belly. He looked over her almost-naked body and licked his lips. “Have you ever been tied up?”

  “Like…been busy?” she said with a sly grin.

  “Like with leather or silk,” Ryan said in a sexy, husky voice.

  “Not in real life,” Annie said. She was flirting, trying her best to entice him. From the look on his face, it was working.

  “So, you fantasize about it, do you? In these fantasies, who’s the one tying you up?”

  “Huh uh,” she said. “You got one question, asked and answered. Deal.”

  Ryan shuffled the cards and dealt. Annie knew from his smile that she was in trouble. He had another straight.

  “Hmm…” he said, staring at her breasts. Annie could almost feel the heat from his stare. “Who’s the one tying you up in your fantasies? Kyle?”

  Kyle? Who was— Oh. Right. “There is no Kyle. I made him up.”

  “Why?”

  “Don’t you know?”

  “I’m hoping I do. But I need to hear you say it.”

  Annie looked up at him. For the first time since she’d fallen in love with him all those years ago, she was going to admit to him that he was the object of her fantasies. Her pulse was racing, and she could hardly breathe as she said, “Because when you asked me who my fantasy man was, I was too scared to admit it’s you.”

  He swallowed hard enough to hear. “So you want me?”

  “For years. Since we first met.”

  He inhaled sharply. “That long? How come you never told me?”

  She glanced away. “For the same reason you didn’t tell me you’d thought of having sex with me. I was too afraid it would mess up our friendship.” She took a deep breath and met his gaze. “But now I’m willing to take the risk. Because I don’t really think it’s much of a risk at all. Not anymore.”

>   “You don’t?”

  She shook her head. “We mean too much to each other. No matter what happens, we’ll always be friends. You’ll always be a part of my life.”

  He was breathing faster now and his eyes glittered with some fiery emotion that was more than lust. “But there’s always a rink, Annie. We made a pact in high school, remember? To never let sexual chemistry jeopardize our friendship. What about that?”

  Was that all it was between them as far as he was concerned? Sexual chemistry? She felt her confidence leaving her. “I didn’t want to make that promise. You’re the one who asked for it.”

  He stared at the deck in his hand before he began shuffling the cards.

  “Do you remember what happened before I asked you to make that promise?” he asked.

  “We were studying. And talking about that other couple…friends who were no longer friends…”

  “Right. And you said you understood why Suzanne Miller took the chance with Peter Horace. That he was handsome. Smart. That he had it all.” He finally looked up at her. “I thought you were telling me you wanted a shot at him.”

  She sucked in a breath. Oh God. How could he have thought? Hadn’t he been able to tell how much she was into him? “He was all those things. But I didn’t mean I wanted to go for him. I guess…in my own lame way…I was telling you that I’d take the chance with you. Ryan, I wanted so badly for you to notice me as more than a friend. Why couldn’t you see that?”

  His mouth twisted. “I guess it was hard to believe you’d really be interested in me like that. I’m not smart. Not like Peter Horace. Not like your ex, Daniel. Not like you.”

  “That’s not true, Ryan Hennessey.”

  He shrugged. “I’m not a rocket scientist. I’m okay. But I’d never get into med school.”

  She swiftly stood, then just as swiftly sat down, her face flaming, when she remembered she was in her underwear. Ryan smirked.

  “Neither would I. I’m a nurse, not a doctor, remember? You’re the most incredible guy I know. You’re very smart. You’re stunningly handsome. You’re everything.”

  “Careful or you’ll have my head as big as a house.”

  “I wouldn’t care. Besides, you’re huge all over.”