“I’d have been blind not to,” he says harshly.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say hello.”
“Yeah, it looked like you were on a date with another guy.” There is a bitter expression on his face.
“No,” I almost shout. “Not at all. He’s a colleague from work,” I explain in a jumble how about how he is from Mr. Montfort’s company and how we had to work together that day. And we were both starving so we went for a quick meal.
He’s standing there, taking it all in, looking at me earnestly with those gorgeous eyes. Then he takes a few steps towards me. “He’s just a work colleague?”
I nod vigorously. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”
He smiles. Finally. Dimples appearing. “I’m sorry I doubted you, but seeing you with that guy made my blood boil. I stopped thinking. I wanted to sprint over there and knock his teeth in. I’ve been like a bear with a sore head ever since.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t come and say hello. I wanted to. But I didn’t know if it would be weird after how I acted the other night. And with your parents there too.” I grimace, thinking about how awful it must have looked.
He takes my hand. “Want to come in for a…er…drink?”
“I’d love to come in for a…er…drink, but I’m meant to be meeting my friends,” I say, distinctly remembering Andrea’s demand for a girl’s only night, but Danny did say Feather might be going along… “You wanna join?” I ask him, sheepishly.
“I thought you’d never ask.” He lips curve upwards sexily. “But you’re forgetting something.”
“Huh?”
He tightens his hold on my hand tugs me towards him. I slam into his body and his mouth crushes my mine in a passionate kiss. Oh God, how I have missed this. I wrap my arms around his body and drink up his scent as I kiss him back deeply.
“Now we’re ready,” he says, as he pulls away, leaving me speechless and as ever, wanting more. His eyes are dark with desire. “But we better leave quickly or I’m going to have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you inside for that…er…drink.”
“You throw me over your shoulder anytime you like,” I say, “Apart from when I’m going out with my friends.”
“I suppose I could stick to those rules,” he says with a wink.
I giggle and grabbing his hand, pull him towards the steps. As much as I’d love him to drag me inside right now, I’m already so late. I figure Danny gave up waiting and went on ahead.
Hell, I feel intoxicated already. On life, on Jackson, on everything!
Chapter Thirty-Five
Jackson
So we’re in an Uber, racing towards The Green Man and Lauren is giggling as she gets thrown into my arms when we turn a corner way too fast. I look at her happy face and it feels as if a sunburst has happened somewhere inside me.
“I got you totally wrong,” I tell her, putting my arm around her and kissing her forehead, “When I saw you with that dumb grinning jock, I got so jealous.”
“He does grin a lot,” she teases.
“I’m serious. I thought you were one of those girls on Tinder. On a different date with a different guy every night.”
She laughs. “Oh, my God! I’m not like that at all. In fact, I might be an incurable introvert.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I want you all to myself.”
“That’s fine with me,” she says, smiling.
She looks so happy I make up my mind to do everything I can to keep her that way.
We turn another corner with such speed that we slide towards the other side of the car. “Take it easy, man!” I yell to the driver.
He grunts and slows down a little.
“The slower the better,” I whisper, kissing her lightly on her beautiful mouth. “I want you to myself for as long as possible. You look beautiful tonight, by the way.”
“Thanks,” she mumbles, blushing and looking away.
I love that she can’t take a compliment. She truly does look amazing, though. Her long wavy hair is tied in a high ponytail, her eyes dark and seductive. I want her more than she could ever know.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Lauren
I walk back from the Ladies slowly, relishing the scene before me. My best friends, my darling roommate, and my new beau. All getting on like a house on fire!
Andrea glances round, spots me, and waves me over impatiently. She’s looking particularly striking tonight with her normally dead straight bob fashioned into sexy waves, with a pink silk scarf tied around her neck.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I’ve got a surprise for you two!” she says, grinning at Nina and me. “Close your eyes!”
I look at Jackson and he shrugs. There is indulgence and amusement in his eyes. It makes me feel secure and I feel a flutter in my tummy as I turn to look at Danny, but he doesn’t seem to know what’s going on either.
“Ok…” I close my eyes and wait, feeling like a complete idiot.
“Guess who it is!!” a screechy voice yells out.
I instantly know exactly who it is.
“Pam!” Nina and I both cry out in unison. There are animated hugs all round. Oh, my God, this day is turning out to be perfect.
“It’s been years!” Nina says, “We thought you’d disappeared off the face of the earth!”
“Years? What the F are you talking about? You see me twice a year and I always send you all the best cat videos!” She grins, sticking her tongue out. Her hair is shorter than before, cut into a cute auburn bob, and she’s lost weight too.
“You look great, Pam,” I beam. It’s so good to see her.
“So is this the fourth member of the gang?” Jackson says, smiling. “I heard you’d gone AWOL.”
Everyone turns to look at me.
“I didn’t say that!” I protest. “Just that you’d moved away and we never see you hardly anymore.”
“Aw, I miss you guys.” Pam smiles, and then shakes Jackson’s hand. “I’m Pam by the way. And you’re obviously the sexy neighbor.”
To my surprise, I see Jackson’s cheeks darken. Wow, he too, can be embarrassed.
“Good to meet you. So, what brings you back to town?”
“Well…” she says, looking all pleased as punch. “I’ve got something to tell you all.”
We’re all looking at her expectantly, waiting for her news.
“I’m getting married!” she yells, throwing her arms up and shaking them madly.
A cacophony of ‘Wows and ‘Congratulations’ and hugs follow the announcement then all the questions start.
I, for one, am dying to know more about this mystery fiancée of hers. “You kept that one quiet, sneaky,” I scold.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, actually,” she gushes. “He totally took me by surprise. Swept me off my feet.”
“How romantic,” Nina squeals, holding her hands to her mouth.
“So, you met him in Africa while you’ve been working for this humanitarian project?” Andrea asks, as Jackson disappears off to the bar to order another round of drinks.
“Yeah, I guess I did the cliché thing. He was my boss.” She giggles. “I thought he didn’t like me to start with, but obviously, he did… To be honest, I can’t believe he asked me to marry him. I thought it was just a fling. You know, the heat gets into your blood and makes you do crazy things, but marriage? Whoa!”
“You didn’t use a love potion, did you?” Jackson asks on his return.
Everyone bursts out laughing except me.
“A love potion?” Pam echoes, looking at us all with a questioning look.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about it later,” I mutter, my cheeks burning. I guess I should just be glad Jackson could laugh about it now.
“Aww, I’ve missed so much being with you guys. I can’t wait to hear all the gossip.”
I look around to see where Danny’s got to and see him canoodling with a purple-haired girl at the bar. “That must be Feather,” I
whisper, raising my eyes in the direction of the bar.
“Yep, that’s her,” Jackson confirms.
Danny sees us staring at him and sheepishly takes Feather’s hand.
“Come and introduce us!” Andrea yells.
Then he comes over alone.
“Everything ok?” I ask.
He looks down. “Feather’s got something to tell you, apparently,” he says to me, shrugging his shoulders. “Do you mind talking to her alone?”
I’ve no idea what she’s going to say but I wander over to talk to her. She’s petite and pretty but in a very tomboyish way and I can see why Danny likes her.
“Hey, Feather, it’s so good to meet you!” I say, kissing her on the cheek. “Danny said you have something to tell me?”
When she relays her story, I’m speechless for a minute. Then I burst out laughing.
“I’m so glad you’re not mad at me!” she says.
I shake my head, grinning. “Can we tell the others?” I beg her.
She shrugs. “Sure, why not. They’re gonna think I’m a loon though.”
“They’re gonna love you!” I reassure her. I just know she’s going to fit in fine.
We join the group and Danny introduces Feather to the girls.
I take a deep breath. “So, Pam… Do you want to hear the love potion saga?” I ask her.
She nods eagerly.
We tell it together, right from the beginning, Nina starting with the story about her colleague from work. Andrea piping up about how she thought it was bullshit from the get go. Me and my horror as I realized it was too late and then returning to Zelda for the antidote which mysteriously disappeared.
“You didn’t tell me you bought an antidote,” Jackson says with a laugh.
I grimace. “Andrea bought it, actually.”
“So, what happened?” Pam asks, her eyes wide, “Did it work? When did you tell him?”
I shake my head. This was the part of the story that made me the most embarrassed—my outburst when I was upset about Draco.
Jackson then comes to my rescue and tells a mostly flattering version of the turn of events, “And then she goes crazy at me because I didn’t eat the cake! And blames me for poor Draco getting sick.”
“Aw I’m sorry,” I say, as I laugh.
He gives me a kiss on the forehead to show all is forgiven. “How can I be mad at you for wanting me to love you?” he asks.
I can see Nina practically swooning behind him. I turn to Andrea and I’m surprised she’s not making a nasty face,
“All’s well that ends well,” she says with a little laugh. “But hopefully, we’ve all learned our lesson about contacting strange old gypsy ladies in the Mission from now on.”
She looks pointedly at Nina and me, and we roll our eyes at her.
“That’s not quite the end to the story…” Feather says, smiling but shaking her head in shame at the same time. “You see when Danny and I started seeing each other, I was feeling kind of insecure. It’s silly, I know, but he told me he usually dates guys and I was worried he was going to get bored, or I wouldn’t be enough for him, or something stupid like that.”
“You didn’t waste money on that woman too, did you?” Andrea asks, horrified.
Feather crinkles her face. “Worse.”
Now she has everyone’s full attention.
“Danny told me all about the cupcakes Lauren made,” she explains. “So, when he invited me upstairs for a quick coffee that Sunday morning before sunrise yoga…”
Danny’s eyes are wide as he stares at her.
Now I realize this is the first time he is hearing the story too.
“You told me to put some in a box to take with us,” she says looking at him. “And when I saw the special one with the pink wrapper that he told me had the love potion in it, I just couldn’t help myself. I swapped the case with a regular one. And took the one with the love potion.”
“You did what?” yells Danny, and then realizes the implication. “Hang on a minute, did I eat the potion?”
“No!” she says, quickly. “Don’t you remember, I was asking questions about it in the car? And then you said something about dire consequences and I didn’t want to take the risk.”
“So, what did you do?” asks Nina.
She shrugs. “I threw it out of the car window when Danny wasn’t looking.”
We all burst out with laughter.
“I’m glad I’m not the only crazy one around here,” I say, feeling less embarrassed about how stupid I’ve been. It would have made my life a lot easier if I’d known about this a bit earlier though, but with Jackson standing by my side, his arm around me, my friends all happy and reunited with Pam, I couldn’t care less. Things couldn’t be better!
“Now it’s my turn to confess,” Danny pipes in.
We all look at him in surprise.
He focuses his attention on me. “You know how we couldn’t find the antidote?”
I nod. “Yeah?”
“Well, I threw it away.”
My jaw drops. “Why?”
“Because I didn’t care if it was the love potion that had made Jackson fall for you. I knew he was a good guy, and I’d never seen you so happy.”
“Oh Danny,” I whisper as I hug him. He really is a true friend. I couldn’t have asked for a better roomie.
Our hug is cut short when Jackson pulls me to him. “That’s enough now,” he growls.
Everyone starts laughing again.
“So, ladies,” Pam yells, gathering us together and handing out tequila shots. “I’ve got something I need to ask you.”
We chug down our shots, grimacing, then laughing.
“Go on then,” I urge. “What is it? We’re not all moving to Africa, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Although I would love to come and visit,” Andrea adds.
“You should all come and visit. It’s amazing out there. But no, that’s not it… Would the three of you do me the huge honor of agreeing to be my bridesmaids?”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Lauren
Jackson closes the door and leans against it. Tyrion dashes madly around him. He leans down and gives the dog a good rub on his head. Satisfied, the hound moves away and goes to lie on his bed. He straightens and looks at me.
“Now it’s my turn,” I say with a wicked, wicked smile.
There is no answering smile. “Do you realize you messed with my head tonight?”
I widen my eyes innocently. “I did?”
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you, telling a man you’re not wearing panties while he’s out with you drives him crazy?”
I try not to smile. “Someone called Andrea might have mentioned it to me.”
“Hmm…Did Andrea also tell you what happens to such…cock teasers?”
“She might have.”
“Good. So what happens to you next might not be such a surprise.”
His eyes never break contact with mine, as I start backing away. “Well, you can’t really blame me. You’re so hot, I can’t help myself.”
He chuckles and takes a step forward. “You’ll need to come up with a better excuse than that.”
I take another step away from him. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to satisfy the ache in my cock.”
There is something very different about him tonight. I take another couple of steps and come up against the dining table. He closes the distance between us. His hand goes up my skirt and between my legs. “You’re fucking soaked,” he purrs. “Why are you so wet, Appleton?”
“I don’t know,” I lie. God, I don’t think I’ve ever been this horny. My need for him is like a throb between my legs.
“I think you do,” he drawls. “I think you are looking forward to your punishment.”
I lick my lips. “I don’t like the look in your eyes.”
“I don’t like that you haven’t opened your legs for me, yet.”
I start to squi
rm against his hand. I want more. I want his fingers inside me. Then his thick hard cock. His hand moves away. Suddenly they are in front of my chest. Before I know it, he has ripped my blouse open. Roughly, he pulls it off me and discards it.
Excitement rushes through my veins. His hands move around the back of me to unclasp my bra. It falls to his feet. He looks down at my nude breasts, his eyes possessive, primitive. As if I am something he owns. It makes my belly tighten. He makes short work of my skirt and flings it behind me. I stand pressed up against his dining table buck naked.
My breaths comes fast and shallow and my nipples are erect. From the cold or arousal, it’s hard to tell. Not that it matters. His eyes watch the way my breasts rise and fall. Instinctively, my hands come up to my chest to cover it, but he catches them and pins them behind me.
Then his other hand moves to my folds. He rubs them around and I can’t help the moan that escapes my lips. He looks at my body twisting, my breasts pushed forward and there is an expression of primitive triumph in his face.
“You’re mine,” he mutters harshly. “Tell me you’re mine.”
“I’m yours,” I say immediately. My voice sounds shaky.
His head moves as he catches a nipple in his mouth and begins to suck. Hard. Harder than he has ever done.
I gasp at the strange sensation. “Oh,” I cry as he bites down gently.
He takes the other one in his mouth and does the same.
I squirm and writhe helplessly.
Suddenly, he takes my shoulders and spins me to face the dining table. “Bend,” he commands, pushing me down firmly.
The table surface feels cold and makes me jump. His hands move to my wrists and pushes them so they are flat on the table, up above my head. He leans over me, and pushes me further up, until my hands are over the far edge of the table. He’s molding them down.
“Don’t move,” he orders, his mouth close to my ear, his breath hot and urgent.
He straightens and suddenly yanks my hips back, so I am stretched out tautly across the table and my feet leave the floor and I have to hold on to the table edge. The position makes me tremble a little. I exhale in shock as he gently kicks my feet wide apart.
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