by Hazel Parker
“I’m good,” he said. He hesitated. “I’ve got a party tonight at my house.”
“Oh.” Hope bloomed. “What’s the occasion?”
He smiled, and my heart fluttered. “My birthday.”
“Oh! Happy birthday!” I chirped. I winced at how bubbly and enthusiastic I sounded, but to my surprise, Doug didn’t seem to mind. He merely tilted his head, studying me.
“I was hoping you could come.”
Oh, my God. This was it.
I’d been asked out.
Well, technically asked into his house, but the point was the same.
I attempted another smile, even while I was frozen in place. “I’ll be there.” Happiness surged inside me in the span of a few seconds.
He grinned. “Cool. I’ve invited all the others, too.”
And in the span of the next few seconds, it dwindled down again.
Doug sauntered away. I stayed where I was, sliding back under the car.
I needed help. Fast.
*****
“So I got invited to this party tonight.”
I didn’t give Scott time to think it over or reject me. Instead, I plowed on as he paused from getting on his bike and stared at me.
“And I heard you guys got invited, too. And I need help with a makeover. And with more flirting. And with seducing him. And with passing first and possibly second base.”
To Scott’s credit, he didn’t interrupt. He didn’t even laugh, merely raising a brow as I went on.
“I need to look drop dead gorgeous. Irresistible. Someone he wouldn’t be able to say no to.”
The brow rose further. “Someone he wouldn’t be able to say no to?”
My cheeks turned hot, but I was determined. “Yes. I’m planning to seduce him tonight. I’ll owe you a big one if you do this for me.”
Now two brows rose. He remained silent as he kept staring at me. I lifted my chin up and stubbornly stared back.
Finally, he nodded. Then he sighed. “Fine. Hop on.”
Happiness surged back again as I snatched the helmet, something he noted down in amusement.
“What do you want in return?” I asked as I slid behind him and strapped the helmet on.
“Let me think about it. For now, we’ll concentrate on your needs.”
*****
I watched the clothes Scott laid out on my bed, eyeing them critically. There was a blue one, a white one and a black one—all of which we’d purchased together on that day we went out shopping. He’d volunteered to come to my apartment, and to my relief, Mallory was gone with Mike and wouldn’t be returning until tonight.
“The…black one?”
“Wrong,” he said. “Everyone else will be wearing black at parties like this.” He took the blue one and laid it on my lap. “Light makeup. Smoky eyes. Think you can manage that?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
Scott sat on the edge of the bed, and I studied him. My bed wasn’t small by any means, but somehow, he made it look smaller than it was. That was how…huge and manly he looked against the light pink sheets, and I had to stifle a smile. A glance at the clock indicated we only had a few hours before the party time.
“So I wear this dress and light makeup, and go there at seven.”
To my surprise, Scott laughed. “Hell, no.”
“Huh?”
He shook his head. “Sweetheart, no one cool shows up at a party that early.”
“But…isn’t that only in college?” I sat on the bed beside him.
“Not really. It’s a birthday party for an athlete. It’s pretty much the same.”
“Oh.” My eyes drifted down to the stilettos on the floor, black and very pointed. “So…eight?”
“Nine. And we’re going together.”
“What? No way—”
“Jules, you don’t want to show up there alone and be accosted by all sorts of horny, testosterone-filled men. If there’s one thing I know about Doug, it’s that he has a lot of football player friends—and they’ll be there for sure, along with lots of bunnies that want to get in his pants…you included.”
“I don’t want to get in his pants,” I protested, then amended at his staredown. “Fine, maybe in the future. But not tonight. I just want to kiss him. Or him to kiss me, whichever goes first.”
“And you think Doug will be dazzled by a kiss alone? When he could fuck anyone in an instant?”
“It’s going to be a hot kiss,” I said stubbornly. “Something he wouldn’t forget.”
Scott chuckled. I glared at him, but he didn’t seem to care.
Shit. The truth was, I didn’t even know if I could give Doug a kiss he’d never forget. I mean, I’d kissed guys before, and dating some in college had given me the leeway I needed to experiment and see what felt good for a guy. I even managed to make a guy or two come with only my hands.
But this was Doug. Freaking Doug, and he mattered more than those college boys. He was also hotter, which had me automatically assuming he had more experience.
Maybe if I actually had the chance to test it out on someone else like I did with Jay, and see if—
The light bulb clicked in my head.
Just as Scott made a move to stand up, my hand snagged his arm and pulled him back down before I could even think about it.
“I have a proposition.”
“Hmm?”
I bit my lip. “I’ll kiss you as a test.”
Scott froze. Then he turned to me fully, shock in his gaze. I guess out of all the things he expected me to say, that wasn’t one of it.
“What?”
I was determined now. In response, I sidled closer to him and looked him seriously in the eye.
“Were you serious when you said you wouldn’t mess with me? Because I’m Jack’s daughter?”
His whole expression sobered at that. He nodded. “Yes. Jack’s my friend.”
“And you’re not attracted to me.”
There was a pause. “No, I’m not. Where is all this going?”
“Then it’s perfect,” I declared. “I need to see if I kiss as good as I thought I did in college, and I need someone who won’t think anything much of it. Just one kiss. Then you can rate it.”
“Jesus, Jules. You shouldn’t offer kisses to guys just like that.”
“You’re not just some guy,” I pointed out. “You’re my friend.”
It was the trigger he needed. Scott regarded me quietly, looking into my eyes. Despite how piercing those blues were, I did my best to meet his gaze and look as sincere as possible, suddenly wanting this more than anything.
Finally—almost reluctantly—he nodded.
“I’m not going to make any moves on you,” he warned.
Which was perfect. I sidled even closer. “Fine. Stay where you are. I’ll take control.”
A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips before disappearing. Then he was merely waiting.
I watched his face for a long time, then focused on his mouth. He didn’t say a word, letting me do so, not pressuring me or anything like that. But I had a feeling that a part of him wasn’t even thinking I was going to go through with this—that I’d chicken out at the last second and he’d be laughing his ass off.
A surge of challenge rose up in me. Maybe I wanted to prove something to him, too.
Quietly, I reached out and took hold of his jaw, brushing it softly with my fingers. He tensed, but he still didn’t move.
Now or never.
I leaned forward and brushed my mouth against his—once, twice, smelling his faint aftershave and feeling something stirring in my belly. I waited for his mouth to open—and when it did, I let my tongue lick his lower lip, an experiment.
He tasted like chocolate—because yes, he ate chocolate earlier. But he tasted like something else beneath the chocolate—a combination of toothpaste and hot, virile man.
His mouth parted for me, and the stirring in my belly curled and formed into heat so intense, I couldn’t think straight. Taking the
opportunity, I slid my tongue in and kept tasting him, suddenly unable to get enough. He was responding, although his responses were cautious.
I didn’t want him cautious.
I wanted him out of control, as I imagined Doug would be.
And so I changed the angle of the kiss again, biting his lower lip once more and seeking his tongue out. I placed my hands on his chest, and let his taste seep into my body.
A growl of heat came out of his throat, throwing me off—at the same time, making me forget everything else. Doug disappeared from my mind as I put all my efforts into the kiss, sucking and licking and letting my fingers wander his rock-hard chest.
His breath caught and his hands fisted on my waist. A reaction—a positive reaction.
I pulled back, my breath already shallow and my heart pounding a mile a minute. Trying not to look affected, I flashed him a smile.
“Didn’t I tell you I’m a great kisser?”
I looked up. I froze.
Scott’s eyes were molten hot and darkening by the second.
“Too short,” he bit out. “I need another sample.”
His hand settled at the back of my neck, pulling me closer. Like a moth to a flame, I didn’t pull away.
Instead, I kissed him again, pouring out whatever I was feeling into this second kiss.
This time, his tongue slid out to meet mine. This time, whatever heat had settled in my body exploded into something far more erotic than I could ever have imagined, making me moan out as it assaulted my senses bit by bit. Scott used his expertise, combining mouth and tongue and hands until I was writhing against him. He pulled me closer until my front was pressed up against his, and I could fully feel those rock-hard abs that were warmer than I thought they would be.
In a few seconds, I was straddling his lap and giving as good as I got.
Another groan came out of his throat, and it spurred an ache inside me that traveled in between my legs. I was throbbing everywhere, and I wanted more. Needed more. In frustration, I pressed closer and clung on to his shoulders, helpless as he deepened the kiss and tightened his fingers around my waist. Those long fingers found skin, caressing until I was liquid. If I could just climb on his lap and alleviate the ache inside me with—
Scott broke the kiss off, but only to slide his mouth down my throat. He lavished it with kisses and sucked on the skin until my moans intensified and on the verge of begging for him to—
The door opened.
“Hey, Jules, is there any chance you’d—holy shit!”
It was like a bomb erupted.
I flew out of Scott’s touch, sliding down to the other end of the bed. My body still throbbed, but it didn’t prevent me from analyzing what I was seeing in the room with me.
Scott on the bed’s other end, his hooded eyes boring into mine.
My shirt riding up and exposing part of my stomach.
Mallory standing in the doorway and gaping at the two of us in shock.
Shit, shit, shit!
In an instant, I was standing up from the bed and yanking my shirt down. My face felt hot, and it took all of my effort to control the reaction. I gave Scott a shaky smile to prove to him that I was still unaffected.
“See? I kiss well.”
He looked at me quietly, and for the first time in a long time, I felt something in me respond just by that gaze. A sexual pull.
Scott stood up, moving closer. I resisted the urge to step back.
His hand came up…
“Good job, Jules. I’ll see you later. We’re going together. I have a plan.”
And he used that hand to pat me on the shoulder before nodding at Mallory and exiting the room.
“Nice seeing you again, Mallory,” he murmured.
Then he was gone.
I stared at his retreating back for a long time. Then I sat back on the bed and tried to calm myself, my mind working a mile a minute.
Apparently, I also forgot Mallory was still in the room.
“Holy. Shit.”
With a sigh, I shot her a look.
“You and…you and Scott? You and that hot piece of flesh?”
For some reason, the description annoyed me. Scott wasn’t just a hot piece of flesh. He was my friend.
He was still my friend, right?
“It was an experiment,” I snapped, harsher than I’d intended to. To rectify it, I softened my tone at my next words. “I wanted to see if I actually kiss well and he agreed to be the test dummy.”
Mallory looked at me like I was crazy.
“Obviously he thinks I did well. Now I have a better chance in seducing the man I really want,” I reasoned out.
Silence filled the room.
Finally, cautiously, Mallory sat down on the bed, right where Scott had been sitting earlier. A flash of the kiss ran through my mind again, and my knees trembled in response. I steeled them.
He kept to his word. He didn’t take advantage of the kiss, and he told me what I needed to know.
And he had a plan.
“Are you sure about this, Jules? What guy?”
“The same guy I told you about before.”
“Seriously, after that kiss? You both looked like you were enjoying it.”
“And I’ll enjoy kissing the guy I like even more,” I said firmly. Suddenly I didn’t feel like talking about it anymore. So I smiled. “Trust me, Mal. I don’t like Scott, and he doesn’t like me. And things couldn’t be any more perfect. Now I’m ready to seduce the man of my dreams.”
A flash of Scott’s face popped into my head, and I inwardly scoffed. No, he wasn’t the man of my dreams.
Not even a hot kiss could change that.
Liar.
Stubbornly, I waited until Scott’s face was replaced by Doug’s.
There, better.
“You’re crazy,” Mallory declared.
“Where’s Mike?” I asked, changing the topic. “Weren’t you going out for the day?”
“Postponed. We decided to sleep in and just go out tonight.”
“Perfect,” I said. “Now you can help me dress and put on makeup.”
“For your date with Scott tonight?”
“No. For the man of my dreams.”
Mallory still looked at me like I was crazy.
I smiled again, my thoughts already drifting to how I was going to use the same kiss on Doug.
If Scott had that kind of heated reaction, then it was safe to say I was going to do absolutely well.
No, not just well.
I was going to knock Doug’s socks off with my seduction skills.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SCOTT
The party was in full swing by the time we got there—around nine thirty, because going later would already have been an inconsiderate move. I explained all this to her as we drove through the city into the posh neighborhood where Doug lived, and she absorbed my words like a sponge. I tried my best not to let my eyes stray to her face, which had transformed from pretty to gorgeous with just a few sweeps of smoky eyeliner and red lipstick. As I parked the car in the driveway, I smiled at how her eyes widened when she took in the mansion, which was so big you could fit two mansions inside it. Yeah, Doug was extravagant in that aspect and I had to hand it to the man.
When we got to the porch, I held out my hand. “Coat.”
She hesitated.
“Come on, Jules. Show off that cleavage. You’re coming in with me and Doug’s bound to notice. Make the first impression count.”
I smiled as I watched her debate over it. I watched her steel herself. Then she nodded her head and began removing her coat, just as the door opened and one of the football players greeted us.
The smile disappeared from my face as I took her in.
She didn’t wear the blue dress, but the white dress—a halter one with a swinging skirt that played around her thighs, and strings that tied up at the back of her neck. Her entire back was bare, showing off more skin than I was accustomed to seeing from her.
Soft skin. Creamy skin.
Extremely kissable skin.
Fuck it.
“Hey, McCall! Glad to see you again.”
Hearing my name, I tore my gaze away from her enough to look at the football player. What was his name again?
“Hey, Andy.” I resisted the urge to tear his eyes out as he looked Julie from head to foot with a slight leer. Instead, I shouldered my way in and protected her in my arms, trying not to notice how her tits looked fantastic in her dress—and how they bounced with her every movement.
She wasn’t wearing a goddamn bra.
Fuck. It.
Julie was looking hot as hell tonight, and I wasn’t the only one noticing.
We bypassed the living room, where there was a bunch of already drunk athletes talking in loud voices. Some of them greeted me and gave Julie curious glances, and I knew what they had in mind—that she was my date. Others invited me over to join them on the couch, but I declined. I could tell Julie was nervous based on how stiff her shoulders were, which meant she wasn’t used to huge, rowdy, rich parties like this.
I wanted to put my hand around her shoulder, but my hands were itching too much with the want to touch her. So I placed my palm on her back instead, careful to keep it away from bare skin.
“Hey, relax,” I whispered in her ear as I steered her towards the recreation room. “This is a party, after all.”
She inhaled a breath. Then she nodded. “I know. I’m just…this is it.”
“Like I said, relax. Doug isn’t going to bite.”
She shot me an amused look at that, and I was glad to see her relax. Then she frowned. “So we’re on some pretend date now?”
I nodded. “Not really, but people will speculate. And Doug will notice.”
She looked skeptical. “But wouldn’t that make him back off?”
I shook my head. “Trust me, Jules. Men like the challenge.” I didn’t because I never went after women who were already obviously with others, but I didn’t mention that.
A few seconds later, we got inside the recreation room where some more athletes were found. Doug was there, and a woman was heavily flirting with him and giggling occasionally. She was exactly his type—blonde, slim, and hanging on to his every word. Julie’s back stiffened again, but I patted her there and quietly told her to wait.
