by L. P. Dover
“What are you interested in?” she starts typing rapidly as if she’s chatting on social media. There’s no way a six-letter word could take more than five seconds to type.
“Lambo,” I tell her.
Her eyes go wide and her fingers stop their aerobic routine. “Lamborghini?” As if saying the full word takes the sting out of the cost. Honestly, I don’t care what the price tag is, I want Sophie showing up in style, and hopefully right in front of her douche bag ex.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Okay, well we have two in stock. White or yellow?”
I think for a moment. White seems practical. Yellow sends a message. “Yellow.” I reach into my back pocket for my wallet and pull out my driver’s license and credit card. The clerk takes them from me and starts typing again, making me wonder if she ever gets tired of listening to her nails clack against the keys.
While the clerk finalizes my request, I glance at my phone, hoping to find a message from Sophie. Earlier, I asked her what she was wearing for the ball, and she sent me a picture of something red. I have no idea if it’s from her dress for tonight or what she was wearing at the time. The rest of my pleading messages went unanswered, which I’m okay with. I know she spent the afternoon with Ellie, getting her hair and nails done. I told my sister to make sure Sophie went all out. If I have my say, every woman will be jealous of her and every man of me, especially the man who thought he’d have it better with his dental hygienist.
Even though I’ve been here for ten minutes, my impatience is growing. I hate being late, even if it’s only a few minutes. I told Sophie I would be there at six to pick her up and I’m an hour plus away from her. Of course, I could’ve rented a Mustang or something similar, but no, I wanted Sophie to show up in style, to turn heads, and only a Lambo will do that.
Finally, the sweet sound of a printer echoes in the small office. The clerk slides a pen toward me, and I happily pick it up. She goes over every part of the contract, the extra insurance which I opt for, and when the car is due back. I initial, sign and give her a pint of my blood in the form of a credit card and a four-digit expense, which is worth every single penny. Once the paperwork is signed, I’m told to follow the agent out to the car.
We wind through the parking lot until we come to a large carport, where sitting pretty is the yellow sports car. Just looking at it gives me a fucking boner. The clerk presses the key fob and the door opens.
“Go ahead and sit down, I’ll show you how to operate the car.”
I do as she says and melt into the fine Italian leather. Sweet baby, I’m in love. There’s no way I could afford to own one, not after I blew my savings on my dream home, but for the next twenty-four hours, I’m going to drive this car until I can’t see straight.
The agent goes over everything, and honestly, I’m so enamored with this fine piece of machinery, I hear nothing she says. Yeah, I’m going to need a car like this in the future.
Once everything is set, she hands me the fob and sort of lingers around the car. Her hand is on the roof, preventing me from shutting the door and her hip is jutted out, totally flirting. I reach for the door and give her a smile. “My wife is waiting,” I tell her, sending the message loudly.
“She’s a lucky woman,” she replies, sounding disappointed.
“She deserves the best.”
The clerk steps away, allowing me to shut the door. I drive slowly out of the lot and through the streets until I’m on the freeway, where I tap the accelerator and let the car do half of what I know it can. This is a car you take out on the open road, where you don’t have to worry about police officers pulling you over and other people trying to cut you off, because there’s always that one guy who thinks it’s funny when he pulls in front of you, trying to slow you down.
I make it back to town, in record time, thanks to my newly adopted speed racer lifestyle. I love owning a Wrangler but going seventy-five in a Jeep is like going thirty in a Lambo. When I get to Sophie’s, I realize my one mistake—speed bumps. I have no choice but to park the car on the street and walk through her complex. Of course, her neighbors are outside, staring.
When I get to Sophie’s door, I pause before knocking. I questioned whether I should’ve brought her flowers or went totally Pretty Woman and brought her a dazzling necklace of some sort, something she can show off all night. The car is only good for when we pull up and all eyes are on who is getting out but is this enough? I raise my hand to knock but the door flies open, and I’m standing there, taking in every single inch of the woman in front of me. I don’t know where to look first. Her shoulders are bare, and the straps of her dress direct my eyes to her breasts, which are perfectly cupped by the fabric of her red dress. My eyes travel down until they land on the thigh high slit and I’m forced to swallow hard. I’m hoping to take everything off of her at the end of the night.
“Holy fuck,” I mutter as I try to gain some form of composure. I thought I had a hard on from the car, but no—Sophie is hot and sexy as hell. “Holy fuck,” I say again because it’s the only statement my mind can formulate.
“Do I look okay?”
“Okay doesn’t even belong in the vocabulary of how you look, Sophie.” I reach for her and place my hand on her hip and kiss her lightly on the cheek. “You’re fucking gorgeous,” I whisper in her ear.
Her hand goes to my chest and I feel her cheeks rise. I know she’s smiling because of me. “You make a tuxedo look sexy, Tanner.”
I step back and look at her again. Her long hair is pulled up, exposing every inch of her tanned skin. I don’t care that she’s my sister’s best friend, I want to be with this woman in every sense of the word.
“I have a surprise for you.” I take her hand and tug her slightly. She steps out and closes the door behind us. Together, we walk through the parking lot and the people who were staring earlier are now gawking, even the men. All I can think is, I’m a lucky fucking bastard to have this gorgeous woman on my arm tonight.
We walk toward the car and when the door opens, thanks to the fob in my pocket, she gasps. “You did not.”
“Oh, I did.”
“Tanner, this is too much.”
“Says who?” I hold her hand and help her into the car. I lean down when she’s seated and say, “You need to make a grand entrance and I’m here to help you with this.” I kiss her again on the cheek, wishing like hell we were in her apartment or my house, taking our clothes off. I rush to the other side and get in. The motor purrs and we take off. In between shifting, I place my hand on her bare leg, enjoying the feel of her skin against the palm of my hand. I’m desperate to know what she’s wearing underneath, but don’t want to be crass and ask her. Mostly because if I know she has nothing on or confirms she’s wearing a thong I can’t be held responsible for my reaction.
We pull up to the Governor’s mansion and as I suspected, there are cameras everywhere. The doors open and I hand the valet my key fob before I rush to the other side and push the other valet out of the way. I’m the only one helping Sophie out of the car. I have no idea who Warren is, but by the look of the guy who arrived seconds before us, he’s standing in front of us, watching our every move.
“Fucking gorgeous,” I mutter when she stands tall. Cameras flash, and I’m sure when the pictures come out, they’ll all show me looking at Sophie instead of the crowd, and I’m more than okay with this.
Inside, Sophie gives her name to the attendant and we’re shown to our table. “How do we feel if your douche bag is at our table?” I ask her.
“Not ideal, but whatever. I’m happy you’re with me tonight, Tanner.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else, Soph.”
Once we know where we are sitting, we head to the bar. It’s time to mingle and Sophie is the best, introducing me to the movers and shakers of Raleigh. With her on my arm, I talk about my firm, my recent move back, and what my pipeline looks like. The Richie Riches ask if I’m interested in any “on the side work” which makes me ch
uckle because I don’t know one person who doesn’t hustle with side jobs.
Sophie and I make our way around the room, finally coming face to face with her ex. My hand is wrapped possessively around her waist and I take a sip of my cocktail while keeping my eyes focused on this Warren guy as he approaches with his side chick walking next to him.
“Warren,” Sophie says bluntly. Ha, she’s not happy to see him, doesn’t compliment him or even acknowledge the woman who came between them. I will though, because of her, I’m with Sophie.
“I’m Tanner,” I say as I reluctantly remove my hand from Sophie’s waist.
“Jessica,” she says, giving me a weak handshake, which lingers a bit too long. I suspect she’s a bit jealous because it’s clear Sophie has leveled up in the man department. I know I’m good looking, Warren can’t say that about himself.
“Sophie, I didn’t expect you to be here.”
She laughs. “Why? Because you started screwing your hygienist?” The words come out flippantly as if she doesn’t give a shit, and I love it.
Warren turns red. Jessica smiles. I chuckle.
Warren nods my way, his words thick with anger. “Is this the guy you were screwing on the phone the other day?”
We weren’t screwing, but he doesn’t need to know this. “Come on, man.” I say as I pat him on the shoulder. “You know what she looks like when she comes out of the shower. How could I resist?”
Warren is fuming and it’s fucking awesome. Most of all, I love that Sophie doesn’t care at all what I say to this moron.
“Come on, babe. I see Mr. Jensen over there. I’m going to bid on his rebuild and I want to make sure he knows who I am.” I have no idea who is at this party but by the look on Warren’s face, he doesn’t either.
“Bye, Warren.” Sophie gives him a little finger wave and clutches her hand around my arm. “I could kiss you right now,” she says quietly.
“Let’s see, there’s the coat room. The bathroom. Or we can drive out to the airport, put the doors up and you can let me fuck you in the Lambo.”
Sophie stops walking and stares at me. Her eyes are going back and forth, and I suspect she’s about to choose the airport option. At least, I know I am.
Seven
Sophie
Dammit to hell. Who am I kidding? I should’ve known Tanner would go all out for tonight which only makes it harder. I want him. Each time he touches me, I want more. And with the way he handled Warren … Dear God, I felt everything inside of me tighten.
“Why’s your face red?” Tanner asks, his lips right by my ear.
Holding onto his arm, we walk through the room. “I don’t know,” I murmur back sarcastically. “Maybe it was the mention of you fucking me in the Lamborghini.”
Tanner holds me closer. “It was an invitation. I’m game if you are.”
I’m so game it’s not even funny. Usually, I’m very logical and have my head on straight, but with Tanner all that goes out the window. I haven’t been this reckless since high school. I’ve spent years building my career and doing things right. Then again, maybe that’s the problem. I forgot what it was like to have fun. Not tonight. There’s nothing wrong with having fun for one night, right? Tomorrow it’ll all go back to the way it was. Tanner will do his own thing and I’ll do mine like nothing ever happened. No one has to know … not even Ellie.
No, Sophie. Stop thinking like that. Turning my attention back to the crowd, we walk around the room and I nod at some of my old classmates, hoping I can get my mind off Tanner and the way he makes me feel. I love how he makes me feel sexy. We’re on our fifth round about the room when Tanner stops and stands in front of me. His skin is warm as he touches my chin, lifting it so I have to look in his eyes. “Why are you not talking to me now?”
I don’t know what comes over me, but I can’t get the words out. I know what I want to do, and I just do it. Cupping his face in my hands, I lean up on my toes and kiss him. It catches him off guard for a second, but then he pulls me into his arms, deepening the kiss. I melt against him.
He breaks away first, his eyes searching mine. “That felt different.”
With a heavy sigh, I close my eyes. “Probably because it was stupid. There’s so many things I want to do right now.”
Tanner grins. “Same. How about I show you?”
Something out of the corner of my eye catches my attention and I look over to see Warren, scowling at us. I’m glad he’s pissed; he deserves it. I thought I cared about hurting him, but there’s something I care about more. I don’t think I’ll be able to rest until I get it.
I bite my lip. “Let’s get out of here.”
Tanner’s brows lift. “You taking me up on my offer?”
It’s now or never. “Might as well. We just have to keep it between us.”
Tanner drapes his arm over my shoulders. “Then what the hell are we waiting on. Let’s get out of here.”
We start for the door and I lean into him. “Your place? Sorry, but no sex in the car. I need space to move around.”
Tanner groans. “Fuck me. You’re killing me already. Don’t know if I can wait until we get back to my house.”
That makes me smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure out something.”
The valet brings the car around and Tanner holds my hand as I get in. The electricity that passes between us is undeniable. Once we’re buckled in, he speeds away from the Governor’s mansion.
Placing his hand on my thigh, he begins a slow, torturous path to the inside of my leg. “Spread your legs,” he murmurs, his voice deep and sexy. It’s like my body moves of its own accord. The heat from his hand seeps into my body, making me hot from the inside out.
“What are you doing?” I ask, releasing a shaky breath.
He chuckles low. “Torturing you.”
His hand moves higher and when he feels that I’m not wearing underwear, his eyes darken with need as he looks at me. “You’ve got to be shitting me. This is so fucking hot.”
I shrug. “Couldn’t have underwear lines, now could I?”
Turning his focus back to the road, he pushes his fingers inside me. I grip the handle on the door and suck in a breath. It’s been so long since I’ve been touched like that. My hand tightens around the handle and Tanner groans. “You’re getting so tight. I love it. Just let go.” Never have I ever gotten an orgasm while riding down the road. Just the thought turns me on. My clit tightens and there’s no way I can hold back any longer. Tanner picks up the pace and I slam my head against the seat as my orgasm rocks me from the inside out. He carefully pulls his hand away and chuckles. “Now that was fucking hot.”
I sighed heavily. “Oh yeah?” Looking at his triumphant smile, I can’t get over how sexy he looks all dressed in his tux. I also can’t get over the bulge in his pants.
“Undo your pants,” I say firmly.
His devilish grin grows wider. “Seriously?”
I unbuckle my seat belt. “Very. Now do it.”
Tanner does as I ask and undoes his pants. His cock springs free and I bite my lip. Tonight, is going to be a good night.
“Am I sensing payback?” he teases, eyes twinkling from the passing streetlights.
“Not payback,” I reply. “More like a thank you. I haven’t felt this good in a long time.”
Wrapping my hand firmly around him, I massage him, gliding slowly up and down. He grips the steering wheel tight and his body tenses. “That feels so damn good right now.” Sighing, he lets his head fall back against the head rest, but he keeps his eyes on the road. Moving his hips with my strokes, I can feel him getting harder and pulsating beneath my fingers. Tanner sucks in a breath. “We’re not far from the house.”
Grinning, I lower my head to his lap. “And what does that mean?”
The second my lips close over him, he accelerates the gas. “It means I’m about to rip that dress off of you.”
Swirling my tongue around his tip, I smile because his torturous groans are music to my ea
rs. “Can’t wait,” I whisper, sucking him harder. “I want to feel you inside me.”
I know he’s close to losing control, but he doesn’t. We pull into his driveway and he slams on the brakes. Giggling, I sit up and his eyes are so raw with passion it makes me tremble. He grips the back of my neck and pulls me to him, his mouth feverishly searching mine.
“Is this really what you want?” he asks, nipping my bottom lip.
His eyes search mine and I nod. “Only for tonight.”
The car doors open and the next thing I know I’m in Tanner’s arms as he carries me into his house, his lips on mine the entire time. There’s no time to think about the consequences of our actions. I don’t want to think of them. Just one night. That’s all I want. Then, I’ll never have to think of it again.
Tanner takes me upstairs to his room and tosses me down on his bed, covering me with his body as he kisses me. His lips trail down my neck down to the tops of my breasts. He slides my dress down and bites down on my nipple, suckling it hard.
“I want you so bad right now,” he growls.
His hungered eyes meet mine and I smile. “Help me out of my dress then.” Starting at my hem, he lifts my dress slowly up my body and tosses it onto the floor. The insides of my thighs are drenched and he can see it. I spread my legs to give him more of a view.
Tanner rips off his jacket and pulls at his bowtie. “Dammit, Soph. You really are going to kill me.” Once his tux is off, I tremble at the sight of him.
He starts to settle between my legs, but I shake my head and sit up. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you sit against the headboard?”
Tanner bites his bottom lip. “O-kay. What are you going to do?”
I wink. “You’ll see.”
He does as I say, and I crawl up his legs. Wrapping my hand around his length, I pump him hard and slowly straddle his waist. I’m dying to feel him inside of me. I lower down on top of him, letting just the tip enter me. His hands tighten around my waist.
