Delayed Call

by Toni Aleo

  “Jack and Coke, you freak. Get your own drink,” she said, smacking him away. “You guys can go, really. I’m terrible company.”

  “Let’s change that,” Jensen said, taking the cup out of her hand and handing it to Vaughn. “Dance with me.”

  Vaughn’s mouth actually dropped open. Like, to the floor, as his best friend pulled a very reluctant Wren to the dance floor while she protested. “I’m a horrible dancer.”

  “Good, so am I.”

  Throwing his thumb up, Vaughn bounced up and down. Jensen shot him a dirty look before moving to the floor and taking Wren in his arms. She went willingly. Call him silly, but he pulled his phone out and took a picture, sending it to Wells. He answered back almost immediately.

  Wells: No. Way.

  Vaughn: Right? He just asked! Took her out there and everything.

  Wells: Way to go, Jenny!

  Vaughn: I know. I’m proud.

  Wells: They grow up so fast.

  Vaughn: Whatever will we do? Our babies aren’t babies anymore.

  He waited for Wells to text him back, a little grin on his face, but then he heard, “Texting at a party. Is your date boring?”

  Looking up from his phone, he found Brie grinning up at him.

  And he was dazzled.

  Dazzled? Could he be dazzled? He wasn’t sure, but at that moment, he was pretty fucking dazzled. If he’d thought she looked gorgeous from afar, nothing could touch how she looked up close. Her lips were so plump, her eyes so bright with the glitter and gold makeup, and Jesus, she smelled heavenly. “Hey, no. No date.”

  Her lips curled more, and he was pretty sure she was batting her eyelashes at him. “Oh, well, mine is in the bathroom.”

  Tucking his phone into his pocket, he scoffed. “Liar.”

  She shrugged. “Can’t blame me for trying.”

  “Ha, yeah.”

  Turning to face the party, she took a sip from her wineglass before looking up at him as he took a long pull of what he discovered was just Coke. Why did Wren lie? Before he could question that more, though, Brie said, “Party is nice.”

  “It is. Elli puts on one hell of a show.”

  “She does. And my goodness, how does she do it? She’s so gorgeous all the time. And five kids? Lord. It exhausts me just thinking about it.”

  “Yeah, those kids aren’t easy either, but she does it with grace,” he added with a nod.

  She smiled. “Oh, I didn’t get to thank you for stopping by earlier. I had to leave for my hair appointment, but Rodney was beyond excited. He sent me all the pictures of him, Mitch, and the girls together. That was sweet of you and Dawn.”

  His face broke into a grin. “The cake was my idea.”

  “Well, since the cake said, ‘From Nate,’ I kind of got that.”

  He laughed. “Wanted you two to know.”

  “We did, and he loved it.”

  “Good. I’m glad. I’ll let Dawn know.”

  “I already sent her screenshots of his texts to me.”

  “Cool, but yeah, he looked good. He was really peppy.”

  “Yeah, he is in good spirits, ready to go home, he says.”

  “Good,” he said with a nod. Everyone loved Rodney at NateWay, and Vaughn was so damn happy he was fitting in so well. He knew that kid was the perfect fit when he met him. He was so full of life, so funny; they needed him as much as he needed them. Clearing his throat, he said, “I noticed that his arm was really weak. He said he couldn’t move it.”

  She let out a long breath. “Yeah. After the first heart attack, he lost all feeling in his left arm. It came back, but then the second one knocked it out again. So they think that it’s just a temporary side effect.”

  “Yeah, I think Dawn wants to give him a volunteer during his recovery.”

  “That’s what she texted me. I agree.”

  “Good. I’m glad we’re all on the same page.”

  “Me too. She said she’ll go visit while we’re in California.”

  “I told her to,” he said, meeting her gaze, and she smiled.

  “Thanks.”

  Heat started to spread across his chest as he stared into her eyes. They were so blue, so gorgeous. Everything about the girl was just exquisite. The air around them was crackling, and he felt it. Could feel her heat. He swore as her gaze moved along him he could feel it in every fiber of his body. He wanted nothing more than to close the gap between them and kiss that dark red mouth of hers. He wondered how she tasted. He wondered how she kissed. Would she be rough, sweet? God, he wanted her.

  And she must have suspected it because she looked away, a small smile pulling at her lips as she said, “You missed media.”

  “On purpose.”

  She giggled. “I figured.”

  “I hate it.”

  “I know.”

  “But if I had known you were gonna look that damn good, I might have showed.”

  Her lips curved even more as her eyes lit up. “Are you complimenting me, Mr. Johansson?”

  “Aw, call me JoHo. It’s endearing.”

  She sputtered with laughter. “Fine, are you complimenting me, JoHo?”

  His eyes held hers as his lips tipped up just slightly into a grin. “Yeah, I am.”

  “Well, thank you. You look pretty damn snazzy yourself.”

  He nodded as he ran his hands down the front of his suit. “I know.”

  Scoffing, she rolled her eyes. “You’re sickening.”

  “I know that too.”

  She looked up at him, laughing, and he grinned back down at her as the party went on around them. All he saw was her. How did this happen? Days ago, he hated her with everything inside of him. But now…now, he wanted her.

  Desperately.

  When “Bad Things” by Machine Gun Kelly started, her face changed into some pursed lip look as she started to thrust her pelvis. With his brows to his hairline, he gasped, “What are you doing?”

  “Oh, man! I love this song.”

  “Oh, you’re dancing.”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know how to dance?”

  “Yes! I’m dancing.”

  “You’re humping the air.”

  “You don’t know anything about my mad moves.”

  His brows drew in, and then he found himself setting down the glass he held. He took her hand and brought her out onto the floor. “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I’m showing you real mad moves,” he said before spinning her out and then back in against him. When she came into him with a gasp, her lips spread wide as he started to move against her, Dirty Dancing-style.

  Thank you, Wren, for making him watch that movie four times a day for a whole summer when he was twelve.

  He may not have been going exactly to the beat of the music, but he didn’t think either of them cared. They were too busy laughing and acting like complete fools as they moved along the floor, both showing moves they should have left at home. He saw Jensen watching them, shaking his head, and Vaughn didn’t care. He was having a blast. When the song changed to something slow, they both gradually stopped, looking around awkwardly. It was easy just being silly, but as people started to embrace around them, he wasn’t sure what to do.

  So he did what he did best. He didn’t think, he just grabbed her, bringing her in close, his hands sliding against her bare skin. Why hadn’t he done this sooner? She felt so fucking good. Right. So right. Looking up at him, she tried to wrap her arms around his neck. She couldn’t reach, but she did get them near his neck, at least.

  Shooting her a small smile, he whispered, “You’re short.”

  She glared. “I’m aware.”

  “Do you want me to pick you up?”

  “Sure, if you want me to knee you in the dick.”

  His brows shot up. “Rude.”

  “Douche.”

  Grinning, he moved his thumbs along her back as her lips curved and she laid her head on his chest. As they swayed, he saw her eyes drift shut. All
he could feel was her heart pounding against his stomach. Lord Jesus, she smelled damn good too. Like heaven, and he wasn’t sure how much more he could take of just holding her. He wanted to do more.

  So much more.

  When she looked up at him, he met her gaze before her eyes dropped to his lips. He almost thought she was going to try to kiss him. Though, he was pretty sure he’d have to lean down to her for that to happen. But before he could move, she said, “I like your hair better in your eyes.”

  He chuckled, a little taken aback by that. “I didn’t realize you liked anything about me.”

  “You’re growing on me.”

  “That’s good.”

  Her eyes sparkled. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, ’cause you’ve grown on me, completely.”

  Her eyes widened as her lips tipped up. “Oh, that’s a huge turn of events.”

  “I agree, not sure where to go from here, though.”

  She shrugged. “Well, once this song is over, I’m heading out.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, going to go see Rodney and then head back to my apartment.”

  “And ring in the New Year alone?”

  “Yeah, I’m good at being alone.”

  While she said one thing, he swore she meant something totally different. Before he knew it, he was saying, “Maybe tonight can be different?”

  She held his gaze. “How?”

  “I could come with you.”

  She wasn’t the least bit surprised, and her eyes burned into his. “Oh?”

  “Yeah.”

  They stared at each other, their intentions out in the open, loud and clear. “Are you hitting on me, JoHo?”

  His lips quirked at the side. “I think I’m well past hitting on you, Ms. Soledad.”

  “So you’re…”

  “Asking if I can take you to bed at the stroke of midnight.”

  She didn’t seem affected in the least by his words, and her eyes stayed glued to his. “Is that smart?”

  “Do we care?”

  Swallowing hard, she moved out of his embrace as she looked around, her tongue gliding along her teeth. “No.”

  “No, we don’t care? Or no, you don’t want to leave with me?”

  “No, I don’t care. Yes, I want to leave with you.”

  He nodded, his heart jumping into his throat. “Meet you outside?”

  “Sounds good.”

  As they passed by each other, his hand reached out, running along her leg, then her ass. When he looked at her face, she was grinning at him, a sinful little look in her eyes.

  Holy shit. He was going to sleep with Brie Soledad.

  When he turned to look for Jensen, he ran right into him with an oomph. “Damn, dude! You came out of nowhere.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing. I don’t know. Why?”

  Jensen eyed him. “I saw you. What are you doing?”

  He just grinned. “Going home with Brie.”

  Rolling his eyes, Jensen shook his head. “Dude, come on. That’s not smart.”

  Tapping his friend’s chest, Vaughn grinned. “We don’t care.”

  “Vaughn.”

  “Jenny. See ya.”

  And with that, he turned, not wanting to listen to practical Jenny at that moment.

  Not when he had Brie Soledad waiting for him.

  Brie Fucking Soledad, what in the Sam Hill are you doing?

  She had asked herself that question at least a million times since she left the Assassins’ New Year’s bash with Vaughn Fucking Johansson. This wasn’t like her. She didn’t go home with guys like this. But was she going home with him? One look at him and she knew she was. Shit. Then she asked herself another nine million times as they visited with Rodney. Standing beside Vaughn as they looked down at her brother, she couldn’t help but think she had literally punched him in the jaw not a few days before. But yet, there she stood, a stupid grin on her face as they stayed for just a few because Rod was worn out from his visit with Dawn and his other friends. But still, it was enough time for a selfie of the three of them with New Year’s hats on before Rodney basically passed out.

  Then she found herself asking once more, “What the hell am I doing?” on the way home to their apartment complex. They were in the nice town car he had hired for the night, and neither of them said anything. No small talk, no heavy petting, nothing. Just silence. Hot, full of lust and naughty thoughts silence. Once more, about another million times up in the elevator, she asked herself if she was sure, and again about a trillion times as they walked down the hall toward their apartments. But the answer was always yes.

  Though, when they reached the hallway between their apartments, she was confused.

  Would they go to hers?

  His?

  Did she have condoms?

  Oh, shit. Had she shaved her lady bits…? Yes! Thank God.

  What if he doesn’t like it shaved? Crap!

  Were her sheets changed?

  Would his sheets be changed?

  Did she take out the trash?

  Oh, crap, this was stressful.

  She just wanted to get laid.

  By JoHo!

  Crap. She had lost her damn mind.

  What was she doing?

  “Oh, here we are,” she said like an idiot when she finally stopped, staring at their doors. She glanced over at him quickly, her heart in her throat. He looked delicious, of course, standing there cool as a cucumber while her nerves were eating her alive. She was acting like she’d never had sex before. She had. She loved sex! And he was a hot man who claimed he had a large cock, so this should be fun.

  Why was she still being weird?

  “Here we are,” he said, his voice low and suggestive and dirty, so damn dirty.

  “Yeah,” she rasped, gazing up into his wicked brown eyes. There she stayed, unable to look away.

  “Yeah,” he whispered, taking a step toward her, to which she stepped back into her door.

  She was talking with her hands, and they moved between them as she asked, “So do you wanna go to my apartment or yours—”

  But then his mouth had hers.

  Holy mother of God, he could kiss. She wasn’t one to give anything to him, but she’d give him the fact that he could kiss. Like a fucking dream. His hands held her face tenderly, his lips so soft yet so firm against hers. She went to her tippy-toes just to keep up because he was going in for the kill. When his hands slid down her neck, her ribs, and to her ass, lifting her up against the wall, she gasped into his mouth while she wrapped her legs around his waist. Opening her mouth, she deepened the kiss as he pressed into her. Then she felt it.

  His cock.

  The cock.

  Holy. Fuck.

  It was hard, so fucking hard and long against her throbbing center and stomach. As his hands glided over her thighs and under her dress, he smiled against her lips. “No panties?”

  She grinned. “Nope.”

  “You are wicked, Ms. Soledad.”

  “Can’t wear panties with a dress like this.”

  He only nodded as his lips caught hers again before lifting her up and carrying her across the hall to his apartment. As her mouth worked his, he somehow got the door open before carrying her inside and kicking it shut. Tricksie went nuts, barking and jumping at them, but Vaughn never stopped kissing Brie, just ushered Tricksie away as he carried Brie into the bedroom. As he laid her on the bed, Tricksie attacked her and Brie dissolved into giggles.

  “Hello, sweet baby.”

  “No, don’t let her distract you.” Sitting up, he reached for Tricksie, and she wiggled against him, trying to get to Brie, who was smiling from ear to ear.

  As she shook off her wristlet and dropped it to the floor, she looked over at him while he took the dog to the door. “But she’s sweet.”

  “I know, but you’re mine tonight.”

  Mine.

  He said it with such importance.

  Until the moment, sh
e hadn’t realized how much she wanted to be Vaughn’s.

  What the hell? Was she living in an alternate universe?

  As she watched Vaughn carry Tricksie out, she sat up, leaning back on her elbows while he shut the door and locked it. Looking back at her, he smiled sheepishly. “She’ll probably be really annoying, barking and shit. She’s needy.” Brie shrugged, though she didn’t think he saw her as he went to his sound dock and plugged his phone in. When “Nobody” by Keith Sweat filled the room, her eyes lit up.

  “Taking it back to the nineties.”

  Undoing the tie to the ridiculous and over-the-top gold suit that was totally him, he nodded. “I only fuck to nineties music.”

  She tried. She tried so hard not to shriek with laughter, but she couldn’t help it. His lips curved as he pushed his jacket off his arms before folding it over the chair in the corner. He started to unbutton his shirt. He looked so incredibly sexy standing there, watching her as she fell over laughing. Rolling off the bed, she came over to him, slowly grinding to the music, at which he really laughed.

  “You can’t dance for shit.”

  “And you’re slow as hell with these buttons.” Smacking his hands away, she undid his buttons, feeling the ripple of skin under her fingers as his lips trailed down her jaw. “You know, I have a shirt that says ‘I Only Want to Make Love to ’90s R&B.’”

  He chuckled lightly against her ear. “Of course you do.”

  His words sent chills down her back as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders, running her hands down the thick muscle of his shoulders and biceps before the fabric landed on the floor. He met her gaze, and she slid her hands over his chest to his pants. But his hands stopped her, tipping her chin up to look at him. “You are so fucking sexy.”

  Her lips parted when he took them, his mouth hard against hers as he grasped the top of her dress and pulled it down her arms, her breasts hitting his chest, and both of them gasping at the contact. Pulling back, he took her bare left breast in his hand and shook his head. “And no bra? Brianna, did you want this to happen?”

  Pulling her lip between her teeth, she shook her head. “No way.”

  He grinned, his eyes bright with desire. “Yes.”

  “No,” she somehow got out as his other hand pushed her dress over her hips before it landed in a pool at her feet, leaving her completely naked.