The next morning, her head throbbed in that unpleasant way and she stumbled to the kitchen for some coffee.
“Now I remember why I don’t do that anymore,” she groaned.
Amber whimpered, “No kidding. We are way too old for that much wine in one night.”
They sipped their hot, dark coffee together and let it chase away the sharpest edges of their hangovers.
“Are you going to work today?” Victoria asked.
“Nah, I called in too. What shall we do?”
“I guess I can unpack a little. I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but it would seem sadder if I live out of my suitcases.”
Amber rested her hand on Victoria’s. “Happy to help,” she murmured.
Still schlepping around in their tee shirts and yoga pants, they hung up her work suits, carefully folded her weekend clothes and underwear into the drawers of the dresser, and stashed the toiletries in the spare bathroom. The two cardboard boxes stacked easily into a corner of the bedroom. Victoria flopped down on her stomach on the bed and sighed.
“Is this what my life has come to? Homeless and living at my best friend’s house? Hiding out from the asshole who stole all my money and gave me this black eye?”
Amber lay down next to her and grasped her hand tightly. “You can stay as long as you need to.”
“As long as it takes to seduce that hunk next door?” Victoria grinned wryly.
“If that’s what it takes,” Amber laughed.
“The last thing I need is someone like him. I know who he is. He tosses away girls like used Kleenex after he seduces them with his motorcycle. He’ll bed anything with a pussy.”
Amber nodded, “I’ve seen more than a few girls go in and out of there since he’s lived next door, and none of them twice.”
“Yeesh, really? That’s all I need.”
“Maybe if you know the facts going in, you won’t expect more,” Amber offered hopefully.
Victoria shook her head, “While I might need a good hard pounding, all it would give me is a pounding in the head.”
Amber squeezed her eyes shut.
“What are you doing?” Victoria wondered.
“Trying not to imagine him naked and on top of me,” Amber giggled.
Victoria pulled her hand away from Amber’s and smacked her arm firmly, “Stop that!”
“I can’t help it! I haven’t had a boyfriend in forever!”
“Let me tell you, there are worse things than being single.”
Amber smiled softly, “I know. I’m just saying…”
“But you are right, he’s flipping hot! With that dark hair and those blue eyes. And the muscles…”
The women grinned at each other; there were worse things than having a hot neighbor.
Amber toed the line gently, “So… do you want to talk about it?”
Victoria sighed, “Not really. It’s not that I… I know you’ll listen and everything, but I’m tired of giving him all of my everything. My energy, my money, my body, my tears. He doesn’t deserve any of it. Not one more piece.”
Amber patted her back, “Good for you.”
Eventually they dragged themselves back to the kitchen and made an early lunch out of the leftovers. The cheese and sausage and crackers went nicely with the pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator, and they curled back up on the couch to watch bad daytime television. Watching those talk shows could make anyone feel better about their life, and these two women were no exception.
After a couple of episodes, the two stepped back onto the patio for a smoke break, and found their neighbor sunning himself, shirtless and in swim trunks. They gaped silently at him and then back at each other and bit back fits of nervous giggles. They tried to smoke silently and then fled back inside, safe from the temptations of hormones.
“So what shall we do with the rest of our Friday off?” Amber mused aloud.
“Want to hit up a happy hour? Good way to start off a weekend…”
“Ugh, more wine?”
Victoria laughed, “Fine, you can have Coke. I’m having something more potent.”
Amber closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the couch, “Sure, sounds good.”
“Where do we want to go?” Victoria asked.
They looked at each other and grinned. Simultaneously they both burst out “El Corazon!”
It had been one of their favorite hangouts before Victoria met Michael, and it was a good place to start her new chapter. The margaritas were just strong enough and the queso was unbeatable. They headed to their respective bathrooms to get ready.
The hot shower melted away the rest of Victoria’s melancholy and she emerged revitalized and ready for a night of fun with her friend. She even pulled out the cobalt blue dress that Michael had forbidden her to wear. It was cut just low enough to accentuate her generous cleavage, and hugged her hips perfectly until it stopped a couple of inches above her knees. Amber let out a wolf whistle when she saw her, and Victoria winked. It promised to be a fun night.
Chapter Three
Since Amber and Victoria arrived just before five o’clock, the restaurant was not busy quite yet. They easily got a table in the bar area, and ordered up a plate of guacamole and a bowl of queso to start, plus one margarita each.
Instead of ordering meals, they decided to just split the giant appetizer sampler. Within moments, the dips and the platter arrived. They dug in hungrily, savoring each bite of the nachos and quesadillas and fried jalapeño strips. Amber switched to Coke and Victoria ordered up another margarita.
By the time the food was finished, Victoria was on her third drink and Amber was just trying to make sure her friend stayed respectable in their favorite Mexican restaurant.
“Do you need something else to eat?” she offered, trying to balance out the tequila flowing through her friend.
“Maybe,” Victoria giggled, “do we want more queso or more guacamole?”
“How about something a little more substantial?”
“Like what?” Victoria was only half paying attention as the cute waiter bent over at the table next to them.
Amber snapped her fingers loudly, “Stop that! Let’s get some more nachos, okay?”
“Sure, whatever,” Victoria waved her hand dismissively as she eyed the waiter.
Amber leaned across the table, “Seriously? When’s the last time you got laid?”
“Voluntarily? Over a year, since before I moved in with Michael,” she said with her lips twisted in a grimace.
Amber’s eyes widened in surprise, “What do you mean?”
“I mean, he took it whenever the mood struck him, regardless of what I said.”
“Well, shit,” Amber swore.
“Yeah, something like that. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he put on a bunch of weight after I moved in and started paying all the bills. I need a little hot fun.”
“Okay, how about we cancel the nachos and head home?” Amber was starting to worry that Victoria would do something she could not protect her from.
“Shtop raining on my parade,” Victoria slurred.
Amber laughed, “Okay, that’s it. I’m taking you home.”
“Pervert,” Victoria giggled.
“Not like that and you know it! Now come on.” Amber paid the tab in cash and dragged Victoria into the car.
They stopped for more cigarettes on the way home, and planted themselves on the patio at the apartment, Amber praying that the neighbor did not show up to witness Victoria’s hormones going wild with the tequila.
Eventually Amber felt she could leave Victoria alone, and she headed to bed. Victoria stayed on the patio, enjoying her smokes in the night air. She did pop open a Coke to take the edge off, but it might have been too late.
When she heard the glass door next to her open, she smoothed her chestnut curls and licked her lips expectantly. Sure enough, as she turned to face the neighbor’s patio, he emerged from his apartment wearing the low-slung jeans agai
n and a tight white tank top. She grinned to herself and the tequila told her there was no harm in chatting with the sexy, muscled man.
“Hey there,” she said softly.
“Hey yourself,” he answered distractedly.
She stood up, and managed an alluring swaying walk in her dress and heels. When she got to the wrought iron railing, he did a double-take when he finally noticed her.
“Oh. Hey,” his grin told her everything.
She could feel his gaze flow over her full ripe cleavage, past her trim waist, and around the curve of her hips. She popped one hip to the side and perched on the ledge of the railing.
“I’m Victoria,” she offered.
He stepped towards her like a wolf approaches a bunny. “Damian,” he replied.
“Of course that’s your name,” she chuckled, letting the sound drift warmly from her lips.
He was standing right in front of her now and she looked up into his deep blue eyes, startled by the grey storm clouds that swirled deep inside. He grazed her arm with the tip of one finger and grinned as the goosebumps trickled over her skin.
She inhaled sharply and felt a tender ache bloom in her belly. It had been ages since she had felt a welcome touch from a man, and this player seemed to know exactly what he was doing.
She cocked her head to the side, exposing her throat to the moonlight. His eyes landed on the pulse that vibrated in her neck and he felt a strong desire to taste her skin. He fought the urge with every ounce of strength and stepped back out of arm’s reach.
“Nice to meet you,” his deep voice rumbled.
To her disappointment and relief, Victoria watched his tight ass disappear back into his apartment. She drug herself back into Amber’s apartment and locked the patio door behind her.
She kicked her heels into the corner of her bedroom and dropped her dress to the floor. She fell into the bed with Damian’s touch singed into her skin, and this time the throbbing would not leave her in peace.
She pulled the sheets tightly to her chin, and let her fingers drift lightly over the damp lace of her panties. As her own touch found the source of her ache, she exhaled softly and slipped her fingers underneath the material. She moaned as she pressed tight circles against herself. As her mind filled with the sensations of Damien’s rough fingers exploring her silky skin, her tummy trembled and she shivered. When her climax hit, she gasped loudly and let the thoughts explode. Her body quaked as she imagined him plunging deeply inside her. She was vaguely embarrassed by her fantasies but she drifted off to a satisfied sleep nonetheless
Chapter Four
Saturday morning dawned brightly since Victoria forgot to close the drapes the night before. Her margaritas treated her nicer than the red wine, and she stretched her limbs before heading to the kitchen for coffee.
Amber was already in there, and grinned from ear to ear when Victoria rounded the corner.
“So… have any fun last night after I left?”
Victoria laughed, “A little, but nothing like that. Just introduced ourselves and gave him a peek.”
“So what’s his name?”
“Damian. Can you believe that?”
“I believe it! It fits him to a T!”
“Doesn’t it though? He did seem, ah, interested.”
“Well, with that dress you had on, who wouldn’t be?”
Victoria’s pale cheeks blossomed, “I guess it’s just been a while since someone even noticed, let alone appreciated me.”
Amber patted her hand, “I know, I’m just giving you a hard time.”
“So shall we go grocery shopping today? I can’t eat out every night.”
Amber agreed, “Yeah, it’s probably a good idea. How do you want to handle all of that?”
Victoria scrunched her brows together, “I get what you mean. How about I buy the groceries to make up for the heat and water I’m using? We can figure out something else if I end up staying here longer.”
“Fair enough,” Amber smiled.
They both showered and headed out to the store. They were trying to beat the crowd of soccer moms with their screaming kids, but luckily it seemed that most of them were still at said soccer games.
They loaded up the cart with the essentials – more cheese and crackers, more Merlot, extra lemonade, and several meals worth of chicken and pasta and garlic bread. At the last minute, they decided to add all of the fixings for homemade tacos. Once they checked out, they swung by the apartment to put everything away, and then headed back out to grab lunch.
“It seems ironic to go out to lunch after the grocery store,” Victoria observed with a smirk.
“True enough, but I don’t feel like cooking,” Amber laughed.
They ended up at a small Indian restaurant that had a wonderful buffet. After filling up on raita, saag paneer and naan, they went back home and dropped themselves on the couch for a movie marathon. Luckily, Amber had some popcorn hiding in the pantry, and it turned into a quiet Saturday afternoon.
After the second movie ended, the women stretched and yawned as they realized they had not moved in over four hours. The two headed to the patio for a glimpse of sunshine and tried not to notice Damian slouched against the railing with his back to them. Even his back was muscular under his thin white tee shirt, and both women made the “O” face at each other as they eyes drank him in.
After their cigarette, they decided it was about time for dinner. As they pulled out all of the taco ingredients, Amber realized to their horror that they had forgotten guacamole. She decided that it would not be a complete meal without that piece, so she grabbed her purse to run to the store.
About five minutes after she left, Victoria started to get everything else ready so that the meal would be just about done when Amber returned. As she started pulling things out of the refrigerator, she heard a loud pounding on the front door. Her first though was that Amber had forgotten her house key, but that just did not add up. She stuck the ground beef back in the fridge, and headed to the door.
As she reached for the doorknob, another louder crash sent the door swinging into the apartment and nearly caught her in the nose. She found herself staring at her very drunk and very angry ex-boyfriend, Michael.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he bellowed, “No one walks out on me!”
She took a step back and stumbled over her purse on the floor. In that split second, Michael was in front of her, shoving her the rest of the way to the carpet. He backhanded her across the mouth, and she gasped as she tasted blood. Michael dug his fingers into her shoulders and pulled her up towards him. As he smacked her head back down into the carpet, she groaned. He pulled his balled fist backwards in preparation to slam it into her face when, to her surprise, she felt his body weight disappear from her.
She rolled to one side in case his fist returned, but as she peered from between her fingers, she saw Damian land a punch directly on Michael’s nose. Michael screeched and grabbed his face.
“What the fuck? Are you fucking my girlfriend?”
Damian’s face darkened as his thick brows knitted together, “Get the fuck out of here. Don’t let me catch you here again.”
Michael hesitated and balked, but as Damian pulled his fist back for another punch, Michael ducked and darted out of the door. Damian slammed it closed behind him.
Victoria still lay in the fetal position, the cut on her lower lip bleeding onto the carpet. Damian crouched down next to her and rested a palm on her shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
“Y-Y-Yeah,” she whimpered, “it’s been worse.”
The muscles in Damian’s strong jaw twitched in anger and he instantly felt bad when she winced at his facial display.
“Come here,” he offered as he gently helped her up to the couch.
Her face flushed in embarrassment and her eyes welled up with tears. She was mortified that this sexy guy had seen her that way, especially after the way she had been coming on to him the night before.
>
“Don’t even worry about it,” he smiled as he read her mind.
His teeth flashed white and she could not help but notice the unevenness of his two front teeth even in her state. She leaned forward until her forehead rested on his chest. She felt the solidness of the man and the softness of his rescue. If her lip was not already swelling, she would have been sorely tempted to kiss him in thanks.
Chapter Five
Taken By The Forbidden Highlander (Scottish Highlander Romance) Page 34
