“I don’t really think he’s gay. But I’ve had hot sex, and I guess it doesn’t matter as much when you’re picking someone to marry. Geoff is handsome. He’s stable and he’ll be a good father.”
“You mean, if you ever actually have sex with him?”
The sad look on Carla’s face belied her cheery tone. And Alana didn’t like the fact that their father was still threatening boys who came around the house. That kind of machismo got on her nerves, which is why her attraction to big, alpha Cole was vexing.
Carla and her big, open heart deserved the kind of love that Alana was sure she would never have for herself. She wanted her sister to have what their parents had.
“You don’t have to marry someone to please Daddy. God knows that Mom’s parents hated him.”
They were still like teenagers thirty-five years after they had met at a diner near the Boston University campus. They were actually kind of gross sometimes.
“I know, but Daddy built us a legacy to protect. You and Javi do it through working for HH Limited. I do it through marrying a guy who’s good for the company.”
This was so not like her sister that it made Alana want to cry but she didn’t know what to say. Carla had always been able to open herself up to new experiences; she’d even been willing to face heartbreak. When Alana hadn’t known what she wanted to do after college, she’d done the sensible thing and gone to law school. Carla had gone to Europe and taken four years to figure out that she liked interior design. And, according to her accounts, had several epic love affairs along the way.
Alana’s love affairs had never been what one would call epic. They’d been business-like and almost perfunctory. Until last night. Alana’s crushes usually ended when her would-be paramour wanted more than an occasional dinner or charity event followed with tepid sex.
Shaking her melancholy thoughts out of her head, she said, “That’s not usually your M.O. I’m supposed to be the good daughter.”
Carla laughed; the sound was rich and deep. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m evolving. I actually like him—like talking to him. And he is really interested in me, like who I am. He’s been giving me tips about my business.”
Alana brushed her sister’s hair off her forehead. “If you’re sure about choosing Geoff, then you’re doing the right thing. I support you.”
Carla stuck out her lower lip. “Thank you. That means a lot. I know you think I’m a ditz.”
“Not true. I wish I was more like you.” Alana ached at the thought of her sister feeling like she was less than her and Javi because it had taken her a little longer to get her shit together.
Carla laughed. “You wish you were the family fuck up?”
“I thought I’d already taken that title when I banged Javi’s best friend?” Alana giggled at the ridiculousness of the situation.
“True.” Carla squeezed her hand. “Enjoy it. Being a bad girl is kind of fun.”
Someone knocked on the bathroom door, and they shared a conspiratorial grin before they left.
* * * *
Cole stole glances at Alana during the rest of the party. He didn’t know how it was possible, but she was even more beautiful than he remembered from the night before. Her wavy, sable hair was even glossier. Her hazel eyes were even brighter—they were magic. And her body was just as lush and sexy. The white dress she wore was modest compared to the ones some other women at the party wore, but it hugged every curve.
He’d been surprised when Molly had moved to introduce them and he’d seen her there. And looking into her eyes was like a punch to the nuts. Her face had implored him to keep quiet about their rendezvous, and he had respected her wishes. But he loved that she’d turned bright red when she recognized him.
Cole knew one thing. Even though he wasn’t going to participate in any of her family’s schemes to get her engaged, he wanted be in between her thighs again even more now that she was off-limits. He loved women and enjoyed sex, but Alana was a whole other level of hot. Maybe it was because he’d gone over a month without sex before last night, just hadn’t been able to work up any enthusiasm for the girls who were into him because he used to be a SEAL—frog hogs were getting boring.
Maybe it was because her contrasts—the sass on one hand and the shy reserve on the other—had intrigued him more than a Special Forces groupie ever would. Even her polite smile turned his guts inside out. He couldn’t look at her tits in that dress for too long, or he would embarrass himself at a nice party. He couldn’t look at her eyes either, because then he would remember her looking up at him while she sucked his cock. He definitely shouldn’t be taking a walk down memory lane while in her parents’ backyard. Not in a linen suit.
She was a classy lady. Her mother—clearly bragging on her daughter—had told him that she was the compliance officer for the company on top of recently taking over several accounts for her father and brother. She was smart and altogether too good for him. He’d been wrong thinking that she was some empty-headed rich girl the night before.
When he’d picked up his best friend’s sister in a bar. Fuck.
He’d never been to a fancy garden party like this. People were actually having a good time—laughing, talking, and some of the women were eating. Despite the arm candy who eyed him on the front lawn, the people the Hernandez family surrounded themselves with seemed to defy the stereotypes about the wealthy. This corner of Miami society, at least, seemed to be different from the parties Beth used to drag him to. She’d always made him wear his dress whites, no matter how hot it was. He’d never felt comfortable around her family and friends, which made the way she dumped him all the more humiliating.
His gaze landed on her again when Javier approached him; she stood next to a slick guy around his age and appeared less than delighted with the conversation. He wondered if he should go over there and rescue her. “Stop looking at my little sister like that,” Javier said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, bro.” He dragged his gaze away. He didn’t like the way that other guy had ogled her cleavage. “Why does that guy look so familiar?”
“He owns a club at the beach.” It was clear from the way Javier’s eyes narrowed that he didn’t believe that Cole was staring at the guy. “And he was on a reality show a few years back. You watch that shit?”
“No. Probably saw him on the cover of a magazine that a girl left at my place or something.”
“Speaking of girls at your place, stay away from my sister.”
“What?” Cole smiled, wanting to get under Javier’s skin. “You would have a problem with me dating Alana?”
Javier elbowed him in the bicep. “The whole time I’ve known you—almost four years—I’ve never seen you with the same girl twice.” Javier took a drink. “Remember, I was with you when you took the twin bartenders home. She’s not your type. She doesn’t come in a matched set.”
“That was one time. She is my type. Beautiful is my type.” He said knowing Javier glared at him. “And, there’s something about her.”
“Forget ‘something about her.’ You’re one of my best friends, but you’re not good enough for my baby sister. And when you decide that you’ve had enough, I’m the one that’s going to have to deal with the fallout.” Javier quirked up one brow. “Besides, she’d never go for a dumb lunk like you anyway. She couldn’t care less that you’re Captain America with Southern charm to spare.”
Sensing the bitterness in his friend’s voice, Cole bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from telling Javier that Alana wasn’t at all immune to his charms. And even tasting blood couldn’t stop him from remembering how it had tasted when she’d come in his mouth.
Chapter 5
Alana had almost made it out of the party without interacting with Cole again, when a hand pulled her into her father’s library, and she found herself pushed against the wooden door. Her heart beat faster, but not from fear. She could recognize his scent already. She was only sc
ared of how much she wanted him. She closed her eyes and breathed deep.
“You okay?”
She nodded and opened her eyes to a look of concern on his face. He looked almost soft, but his brow was still furrowed. He still held on to her, but his grip went slack. He probably shared her fear that she would fall down if he let her go.
During the party, one of her mother’s friends had told her that he used to be a Navy SEAL, which would definitely account for his stamina the night before. He’d told her about being in the military, but she hadn’t realized he’d been in Special Operations. Now, that friend of her mom’s was prone to exaggerating, but the notion was entirely plausible. He clearly kept in shape. She’d run her fingers all over his V-shaped torso hours before. Holding her upper arms gently, he searched her face.
Cole broke the silence. “Why’d you leave?”
The ego inherent in caring about why a hook-up left before morning galled her. “I thought that was protocol when it comes to one-night stands.”
Cole released Alana’s upper arms and backed away. She was angry for being so attracted to someone like him; she didn’t want a chest-beating, chauvinist in her life—or her bed. Not to mention, despite the fact that he’d presented a civilized front for her family, he was raw and rough around the edges. He was not a long-term kind of guy. She needed someone mild and safe. Someone who would respect her boundaries and defer to her. Someone who wasn’t going to boss her around, like Carla’s Geoff.
But, to Alana’s chagrin, his undistilled maleness turned her on more than any of the milquetoast guys that her mother tried to fix her up with. And he even had the stamp of approval. She could have him if she wanted him. He was convenient. That was something.
Fear gripped Alana. She knew dating him would mean surrendering to him. She couldn’t believe that she’d shared fantasies with him the night before. The one man who knew that she wanted to be spanked like a recalcitrant child was her brother’s friend. Dammit.
The feelings Cole aroused in Alana’s girl parts made her want to grab his and kiss him, maybe make out on her father’s leather couch for a bit. No, she wanted him to bend her over the couch and deliver on his promise to make her come.
“What do you want?” She couldn’t quiet keep the irritation out of her voice.
He said nothing, just looked at her with a smirk on his face. He shrugged.
“You’re not going to get that.” She pointed at him. “That’s not on the table.”
His lips curled up at the edges, and he stepped towards her. He wasn’t taking her seriously, just like her brother and her father didn’t take her seriously. She didn’t need that in her personal life. She had to leave. She turned around and gripped the doorknob. She would walk out of this room.
Then, she felt Cole’s hot breath on her shoulder. He placed his hands on the door, on either side of her head. She could feel the heat from his lips on her exposed skin, the barest brush of his beard. His hard length against her backside. A part of her thrilled at the fact that he wanted more. Not enough to turn around and give in. Not yet.
When his mouth touched her, her resistance melted. She’d never felt this kind of heat, and her body needed the contact. She should figure out what made him different, but she didn’t have the brain cells to do that right now. All her blood rushed to where his lips touched her skin and between her legs. Her nipples hardened and pressed against the stiff material of her dress. Her head fell back onto his shoulder, and she moaned. He put his hands on her then, brushing her collarbones with his fingertips. The combination of his obvious strength and gentle but sure touch was heady.
“Why did you run away from this?”
“I didn’t. I was done.”
“You don’t want more?”
She moaned because he started toying with the hem of her skirt.
“You do. You want me to fuck you again, just not in a bedroom lying down.”
When his hand closed around the back of her neck and squeezed, she felt her lower belly clench, as if grabbing for his wicked promises.
“I want that too, darlin’. I was looking forward to doing some of it this morning—I would have ordered room service and tied you to one of the chairs so that you could eat your breakfast before I had mine.” The hand that wasn’t at the back of her skull was under her skirt, just inches away from where she wanted him.
She barely hung on, trying to remind herself how complicated this was.
“I can’t.”
“You can. I can feel how wet you are halfway down your thigh. Did I make you that sticky?”
She shook her head. “Last night wasn’t me. I’m not interested in short-term.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Wha—why?” She wanted to dip her knees so his hand would be flush with her center, not have a serious conversation.
“I think you were more you last night than you are today, darlin’.”
She opened her mouth to object and tell him that last night was a drunken mistake instead of something that she’d remember for a good, long time. All that came out was, “It’s not a good idea.”
His grip on her tightened, and it yanked her back to the present. He became the air in the room, and she had no choice but to pay attention.
“You know your brother told me to stay away from you?”
“He did what?” Her fingers curled against the wood of the door. Her brother deciding who she could and could not have sex with was insane. The idea that her brother would make that choice for her drove her crazy. And it made her want Cole to do everything she wanted to do but hadn’t done. Run down the whole list with him.
“Now that I know you’re not going to let me fuck you again, I’m not going to be able to stop thinking about how your tits feel up against my chest. I’ll get a hard-on every time I think about it.” He moved his hands to her hips and pulled her against him. He was still hard. “Every. Damn. Time.”
When she tried to turn around so that she could kiss him, he grasped her shoulders to stop her.
“Nope. I’m not going to be that guy. The one you use to stick it to your dad and brother. I’m not going to be your naughty little secret. At least not any more than I already am.” He kissed the back of her neck again, and it was too brief. “You should go before I lose my shit, and bend you over your father’s office chair.” He stepped back, and she got out of the room as fast as she could. But she couldn’t run away from the memory of what he’d done to her last night.
Alana had hoped to avoid her family as she made her way to the front door. She wasn’t that lucky. Her brother followed her to the entrance. “Wait up.”
“What?” she said sharply.
“Whoa.” Javi held his hands up in front of him. “What did I do?”
“Nothing.” Alana felt bad for snapping at him, but she was so worked up about what had just happened in her father’s office that she felt like she was fraying at the edges.
“Doesn’t sound like nothing. Listen, my buddy Cole—”
“You’re not trying to fix me up too?”
“Absolutely not. You need to stay away from him.”
She couldn’t believe her brother, the reason she didn’t have time to date, was going to warn her away from a guy. He was such a hypocrite. Sleeping with Cole might be a mistake, but Javi needed to look in the mirror before deciding to make personal decisions for her. And she’d never given him shit about that. Despite Javi’s generally cosmopolitan demeanor, he was a Neanderthal. And he would blow his lid if he found out that Cole had “deflowered his innocent baby sister” the night before.
“Who I date or sleep with is none of your business.”
“It is when he’s my friend.”
“No, it’s not.”
“I’ll tell Dad.” He put his hands on his hips. Like a douchebag. But he knew that their father was the trump card.
Alana saw red. Who the fuck was he trying to kid with this bullshit? She w
as an adult. This was not like the time when they were five and eight and Javi caught her playing doctor with Andy Padilla in the pool house.
Javi was so much like their father it was scary sometimes. She didn’t know whether she was going to sleep with Cole again, not after how he’d just made her feel in the library, but she didn’t want to foreclose the possibility just yet, so she said, “Don’t worry about it. I don’t even like him. He’s a little Cro-Magnon for me. I can see why the two of you are friends.”
“Good. He’s a great guy. Always been there for me.” He paused and took a sip of the beer in his hand. “But he’s hell on women.”
Of course he was. She needed to change the subject. “Have you heard from Karrie since she signed the legal separation papers?”
“No.”
“Care to elaborate?”
Javi didn’t discuss his wife very often. In fact, he only mentioned the woman when pressed these days. Alana had a feeling that he needed to be pressed. Annoying him would just be a bonus.
“I mean, she did cheat on you multiple times. Seems like you would have some feelings about that?”
“Nah. I’ve been resolving my feelings about Karrie the old-fashioned way.”
“And what way is that?”
Javier lifted his beer bottle to his lips and took a long draw. “Wine, women, and song.” He grinned. Alana rolled her eyes.
“When you’re ready to put it behind you like an adult, Mom, Carla, and I will be ready with the rom-coms and chocolate. Or I can just put you to work.” Alana turned to leave. As much as she wanted to throttle him, part of him was still the charming little boy that held Andy Padilla from a second-floor window when he told everyone at school about Alana and their little game.
“Let me at least walk you to your car.” Javi got her keys and the location of her car from the valet.
His angry-big-brother look crossed his face when he saw the side of her car. Someone had left a long mark in the side. Really, it was her fault for not putting her car in the garage, but he was going to turn it into an issue.
Stroke of Midnight Page 5
