“Where’s your partner in crime?” asked Alison, Kimber’s petite and busty coworker, as she materialized from the crowd to relieve Kimber from her nightmare of a shift. Too many customers, not enough tips. No one was feeling lucky tonight.
“I’d rather ask where you were. You’re fifteen minutes late again.”
“You could ask me that if you want to.” Alison moved like she had all the time in the world, helping herself to a cherry. “I prefer talking about Jay Navarrete though. I miss his sexy ass. Where’s he been?”
Kimber shrugged, taking off her half-apron and feigning nonchalance. “Around. He’s a busy guy, what with school and work and all.”
“Yeah, but he always seemed to make time to linger by the bar like a love-sick puppy. You two are usually joined at the hip.” Alison waggled her perfectly sculpted eyebrows, which resembled two delicate strips of black tar. “Maybe even literally. Watch out, I might start some rumors about you two.”
Kimber rolled her eyes as she balled up her apron and stuffed it beneath the counter. “See you in thirty. Try to stay out of trouble.”
“I could say the same for you.”
After clocking out for her break, Kimber rode the escalator to the second floor, where the restaurants and shops awaited. She took a long, deep breath of the oxygen pumping through the casino to keep the risk-takers awake and her stomach twisted. So she wasn’t the only one who’d noticed Jay’s absence during the past few days. It wasn’t just her imagination. She tried to convince herself that his job kept him occupied, and he did have finals this week, but Alison was right-he’d made the effort before. The timing of his absence-hot on the heels of her rejection-also suggested this went beyond him being busy. Her shoulders slumped. She didn’t entirely blame him, but the avoidance still stung.
Then she caught sight of Jay’s broad-shouldered frame clad in his dealer’s uniform ambling toward her, rolling with the tide of gamblers and shoppers. She smiled; he always walked with a slight hop to his step, a happy-go-lucky gait, no matter what. He looked around at his surroundings, his expression neutral, betraying nothing unusual. He looked just like the boy she’d always known, with his dark, unbrushed hair curling around his ears, and she realized how happy she was to see him. He was so familiar to her, her one true constant.
Then his gaze came to rest upon her, and she noticed the startled flicker of recognition in his dark blue eyes, which subsequently clouded. Her heart plummeted. If she hadn’t thought something was wrong before, this was certainly confirmation.
But she refused to perpetuate the weirdness. Crushes came and went; it was inevitable. He’d get over this, he had to. Their friendship was too special and had endured too much to let something so fleeting ruin it.
“Hey you.” She gave a bright smile, stepping in his path and forcing him to shuffle to a halt. “How’s it going?”
“It’s going.” He shrugged, looking everywhere but at her.
Kimber noticed him trying to edge around her and swallowed hard, staying resolute in her mission and stance as she moved in front of him again. She wouldn’t let him shut her out. They could get past this. “Are you on lunch, too?”
“Yeah. I got about ten minutes left.”
“Oh. So what’d you have? An excitement sandwich?”
“Totally.” His voice was flat. “Look, I can’t talk right now.”
“Okay.” She inhaled a deep breath through her nose. “Then want to meet up after work? We can grab dinner. There’s a pizza place in the shopping plaza about fifteen seconds from my apartment. We should check it out. My treat, of course, for you helping me move.”
“Kimber.” Jay fixed his gaze on her at last and obliterated any façade of normalcy with his steely expression. “No.”
“No?” A small swell of panic rose in her chest. “Why?”
“You know why. It’s insulting that you’re pretending you don’t.”
This time, Kimber let him pass, too stunned to stop him, but Moquest did the work for her, appearing out of nowhere and charging Jay. “There you are-just the two people I was looking for.” He wrapped an arm around Jay’s neck and looked from his friend to Kimber, seemingly oblivious to the grave tension crackling in the air. “Jay, you tell her about my party yet?”
Kimber squared her shoulders and forced another grin she didn’t quite feel; Jay had every opportunity but obviously no intention of telling her about any party. “What’s the occasion?”
Moquest hooted. “Oh, you’ll see. And you better see-I don’t want either of you to miss it. You will be ever so sorry you did.” He released Jay and backed away, firing his fingers like guns at them. He blew on the tips of his index fingers and tucked them in an imaginary holster as he sauntered off.
Kimber risked a fleeting look at Jay. He chewed on the inside of his mouth and stared wide-eyed at the rug’s jellyfish-and-flowers pattern in a clash of teal, brown, coral, and moss green. He glanced at her, shrugged again by way of farewell, and turned to leave.
“Are you going to Moquest’s thing?” Kimber had to ask, hating that she grasped at straws to have a conversation with him.
“Yeah. Nicole and I are heading there around ten.”
“Cool.” She tried not to crack. This was a whole new Jay, one she didn’t know at all, one who kissed her one day then dated the leggy twenty-one-year-old who worked the cashier’s station without telling her. “Maybe I’ll see you guys there.”
“Yep.” He tossed his hand up-hardly a wave at all-and loped off like he couldn’t escape fast enough, stinging Kimber’s heart in the process.
“I should just not go.” Kimber tucked her feet under herself on Ferney’s couch later that evening. She’d gotten off work only to go to her sister’s apartment and pout, seeking comfort. However, that Ferney was the only one she now sought comfort from was hardly comforting at all; her sister’s advice was abrasive at best. “Seeing Jay there will be so painful, a thousand times worse than earlier today. He obviously hates me.”
“Who, Jay? Pff.” Ferney waved a hand, causing the wine to slosh over the rim of her glass. “He could never. He’s too, too in love with you.”
“Ferney.” Kimber shot her sister one of her famous don’t-go-there looks.
“Fine, no more talk of Jay. Besides, so what if he’s going with someone to the party? You two are allowed to pair off and go your separate ways, Journey-Perry style. You should even be happy for him. There’s something about that guy that just screams he hasn’t gotten laid in, like, a year.”
Kimber grunted a response, assaulted with images of Nicole and Jay having the kind of sweaty, innovative sex that only trained acrobats could master. To say the thoughts churned her stomach would be an understatement. It wasn’t that Jay didn’t deserve to be happy, but with Nicole? She wasn’t the type of girl she saw someone like Jay with. Then again, she’d never really given the matter much thought before; she’d never had to. If she were honest, she didn’t like having to, either.
“You need to start focusing on who you’ll be with at the party,” continued Ferney. “Isn’t Moquest one of those people who knows everybody? The guy’s a Kevin Bacon hub. Think of all the real men you’ll meet tonight, the ones who’ll put Dane to shame.”
Dane. Damn, she’d barely spared him a thought this past week, which she found slightly disturbing, considering how much she thought she’d loved him. Then again, she’d had plenty of time to get over him while they were still together.
And what better way to celebrate that than to enter an era of someone new?
“You’re right.” Kimber got to her feet. “It’s time I learn how to do a little day-seizing.”
“Ooh.” Ferney’s eyes glittered along with whatever was sparkling in her glass and on her ears as she scampered into her bedroom. “I know just the outfit to seize it in.” She returned with a topped-off drink and a short red dress with an empire waist and cap sleeves. “What do you think?”
“It’s hot,” Kimber admitted. “But we’re not the same size. You’re a stick. I’m a stick’s antithesis.”
“Don’t fret.” Ferney tossed her the dress. “It’s a few years old, left over from my fat days.”
Kimber shook her head. “How do you make being helpful sound so mean?”
“She’s good at it, isn’t she?” Paul stated in a monotone, startling Kimber. She’d almost forgotten he was there. He’d been moping beneath an afghan in the corner’s armchair for a half hour, trying to read a compilation of Iron Man comics for the duration of Kimber’s visit. However, she’d never seen him turn a page. Maybe it was Ferney’s shrill voice that wouldn’t let him.
“Paul, hush. And Kimber-” Ferney pointed a finger at her. “You go out and get good and laid tonight. You deserve it.”
Kimber laughed, but a blossom of excitement grew in her stomach as she decided her sister was right. Why not? What was she waiting for?
There was no denying it: Nicole was nothing short of smokin’. Her hair fell to her waist in a sheet of brown and gold, her tight body was bronzed and aerobicized to perfection, and her legs ended somewhere in the stratosphere. Not to mention her backless dress completely exposed the orchid tattoo blooming along the length of her vertebrae. All eyes were on her as she and Jay walked through Moquest’s door, and he could tell every guy in the room racked his brain for a way to spend a few minutes with what lay underneath her thong.
Of course, Nicole’s single mortal flaw was that she was boring. Wasn’t that always the case? Even though everything inside him-and Moquest-insisted that he be into her, Jay couldn’t convince himself. Dinner had been excruciating, sitting side by side at the sushi joint, trying to find common ground. She’d apparently run out of things to say after telling him how she’d just split from a long-term relationship with a guy ten years her senior and had spent the duration of their meal asking him awkward questions he thought died with the concept of video dating. She had actually asked him what his favorite holiday was. When she inquired about his taste in music, he rattled off a few bands, many found at the low end of the dial so he wasn’t surprised she wasn’t familiar with most of them. However, he nearly fell out of his chair when she did say, without confidence, that she “might’ve heard of” Paul McCartney. Paul McCartney! No wonder he hated dating so much. What misery.
It didn’t help that Kimber was also at the party, looking beyond phenomenal in a short red number. If that wasn’t enough to drive him mad, she was giggly and happy, enjoying herself and mingling with the other partygoers. He wondered what his evening would’ve been like if he were on a date with Kimber instead of Nicole. She probably would’ve gotten the High Fidelity joke he’d cracked over shrimp rolls earlier. Hell, she probably would’ve corrected him, insisting he quoted the line wrong.
Jay took a swig from his lager, forcing himself to focus on his date. After all, everyone else was. Here he was, the envy of all the other guys at the party for being with the hottest girl there, and he was anything but happy. Talk about that grass always being greener.
Moquest staggered into him, clamping a heavy hand on his shoulder. Jay could smell the Jim Beam on his friend’s breath mingling with the scent of Axe. “Having fun?” he shouted in Jay’s ear.
“Sure, why not?”
“Exactly.” Moquest leered at Nicole, who was chattering away with Moquest’s girlfriend, Gina the Stripper. Actually, it was Gina the Ex-Stripper, though it was impossible to tell from her black mini dress with the plunging neckline and her Lucite platforms. Jay wondered what Gina and Nicole could possibly be talking about. He couldn’t imagine it being remotely interesting in any way.
Moquest’s grip turned fierce, and Jay turned to see his friend’s concerned brown eyes focused on him. “You all right?”
Before Jay could respond, Moquest’s gaze flicked across the room to where Kimber stood, surrounded by a knot of men who were likely interested in more than just hanging onto her every word. Her throaty, infectious laugh reached his ears and he looked away, taking an angry gulp of his beer. Why couldn’t she just want him the way he wanted her? Nothing made sense to him.
“Don’t worry.” Moquest clapped him on the back and drew away. “I got some things in store to switch up the atmosphere.” He bit his lip and hummed an unrecognizable tune best suited for porno background music as he danced from foot to foot, waving his hands raise-the-roof style.
Jay arched a brow. “Should I be afraid?”
“No.” A wicked grin spread over Moquest’s face. “You should be stoked. And you will be. I promise.”
One hot red dress, two cups of Moquest’s jungle juice, and more than a few head turns had Kimber feeling pretty damn good. Fuck Dane, and fuck Jay, too, seeing as he couldn’t even deign to say hello to her that evening. Fuck everybody. Why not? As far as she was concerned, the night was all about her. In fact, all nights should now be about her. It was high time.
“So how come I haven’t seen you around before?” asked Bryan, whom she’d been talking to for the past half hour. “I can’t believe Moquest never introduced us.”
“We’ll have to have a word with that boy.” She couldn’t believe Bryan seemed so interested in her; he could be a runner-up in a Jake Gyllenhaal lookalike contest. Where did Moquest ever meet this Adonis? She wasn’t used to guys this gorgeous chatting her up. Then again, she’d been tied up with Dane drama for years, so she’d never really had or been open to the opportunity.
The reminder of the time she’d been without any real happiness and attention sent a bullet of sadness through her chest, but she shook it off. There was no need to think about the past when the magic of the present was so real. She couldn’t change any of it, but anything could happen now.
Kimber tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and gave Bryan a shy smile, all the while wondering what it would be like to go to bed with him, and not just someday-tonight. Sex had always seemed so sacred to her, something she could only do with someone she loved. She couldn’t believe that sex was something that anyone could just have, at any given moment. Now she realized she had the option-and the power-to do that, too.
She could be having sex with someone in a few hours. All she had to do was say so.
And she wanted to say so. She’d wasted years being good, too good. Where had it gotten her? What was the point?
It was time to live it up a bit, but how? How did these things just happen? Despite her desire, she was nervous. Kimber had always preferred relationships to bloom organically. Judging by the past, however, that had had limited success.
Moquest’s girlfriend, who was wearing an outfit straight out of Frederick’s of Hollywood, stepped in the center of the room and clapped her hands overhead. “Okay, everybody, who wants to play a game?”
Everyone in the vicinity turned toward her; she’d delivered her announcement in a way that suggested the game she had in mind wasn’t exactly a friendly round of pinochle.
“I propose,” sang Moquest’s girlfriend, “a favorite pastime you all thought you outgrew.” She held up an empty wine bottle like a sword of victory. “Spin the Bottle, anyone?”
The partygoers whooped in response, as if they were all still teenagers. After wrestling with the nasty reminder of when Dane had taken part in the game, Kimber surrendered to the excitement at the prospect of playing. This could be the exact opportunity she’d been looking for to get closer to Bryan. Considering the way he glanced at her, his thoughts ran parallel to hers.
The guests dropped into seated positions, drawing Kimber’s attention to the few left standing, which included Moquest, who was dancing in a way more resembling humping. Jay stood beside him, slugging his beer with an unreadable expression on his face. His gaze flicked to her and she risked a smile. In response, he polished off what was left the bottle and left the room.
A sudden rush of anger replaced Kimber’s guilt and worry. If Jay wanted to rebuff her at every turn, fine. He was obviously unconcerned about repairing the rift in their friendship. She alone could only do so much, and she wasn’t going to let him ruin what she had a feeling was going to be one of the most important nights of her life.
She smoothed her borrowed dress over her hips as she lowered herself to her knees beside Bryan, who watched her do so with great interest. She sat back on her heels and took a deep breath, giving Bryan an excited grin. He smiled and leaned in, parting his lips as if to speak.
At that moment, Moquest appeared between them, wielding two red cups brimming with jungle juice. “Refreshment, anyone?”
Kimber plucked a cup from Moquest’s hand and took a sip, more grateful than she wanted to admit for the liquid courage. She had a feeling she was going to need it.
Jay inspected his damp face in the bathroom mirror, cringing at how the sick, weak light intensified the dark circles beneath his eyes. He cupped his hands beneath the running faucet and splashed more cool water over his hot skin. Still, he was unable to wash away his visible unease and the memory of Kimber settling next to some toolbox on the floor, both of them giggly and horny and inevitably bound for the bedroom. Apparently, kissing him at the park was the worst thing Kimber could possibly do, but letting drunk, meaty-pawed strangers feel her up in front of other drunk, meaty-pawed strangers was more than acceptable. Fucking wonderful. If this was what Moquest had in mind when he promised Jay a good time, then Moquest was worse than Judas himself. Jay would almost rather be nailed to a cross than witness Kimber tongue-bang someone else. He even welcomed it at this point.
He opened the door and just avoided being plowed down by an impatient brunette, who gave him the stink eye as she locked herself in the bathroom, clutching the crotch of her jeans like a four-year-old. He negotiated the crowd back to the living room, where he saw Nicole getting cozy on the couch with a guy Jay recognized as one of Airy Peak’s new upstairs bartenders. She’d apparently grown disinterested with Jay’s disinterest and moved on. Good for her; that was what smart people did when the ones they loved didn’t love them back. They shrugged and went about their lives like nothing ever made any difference at all.
Despite this observed wisdom put into effect, Jay’s attention turned to the Spin the Bottle game, looking for Kimber. The aforementioned toolbox who’d been eyeing her like a desert mirage all night remained in the circle, but Kimber was noticeably absent. A moment of relief flickered through him, followed by a need to find her. Maybe she drank too much of that piss Moquest made and needed a ride home. Maybe she came to her senses and decided that making out with strangers during grade-school games was ridiculous. Maybe she was outside on the porch with the smokers, lost in her own thoughts and wondering if she should’ve given him a real chance after all.
A shrill, musical chime pierced the party atmosphere, and Gina, Moquest’s woman of the hour, scooped up her smart phone and let out a hoot. “Time’s up. Come out with your hands where we can see them!”
The game participants cheered as the coat closet swung open and out stumbled Kimber, flushed, jewel-eyed, and tittering. Behind her sauntered a guy who, amazingly, appeared to be an even bigger douche than all the other idiots who had been hovering around her like gnats circling brown bananas. He looked so smug it took everything Jay had not to bury a fist in his face, especially as he milked the moment for his audience, bringing his fingers to his nose and taking an exaggerated sniff.
Kimber moved to rejoin the game but Jay latched onto her upper arm and dragged her into the hallway, ignoring her sputters of protest. He spun her around and clamped his hands on her shoulders. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Me? What the fuck are you doing?” She batted at his grip.
“I can tell you what I’m not doing, and that’s fucking total strangers in closets for the entertainment of everyone else outside.”
“We didn’t fuck.” Kimber’s expression could’ve frozen Hell twice over. “It’s called Seven Minutes in Heaven. When you spin the bottle and it lands on the same person three times, you have to go in the closet together for seven minutes and make out. So what?”
“Can you hear what you’re saying? What are you, thirteen?”
“What are you, a cop?” Her struggles in his grasp increased in violence. “I want to have some fun for once. Why is that such a crime?” She licked her lips, swollen from kissing, her tone taking a desperate edge. “Why am I not allowed to feel good ever?”
Before Jay could respond, Moquest raced over like he’d been running for hours. “I have the greatest come-on. Ready?” He turned to a nearby waif downing the contents of her red plastic cup in one fluid motion. “If you were a pile of bricks, I’d lay you in a second.”
The waif’s cheeks puffed and she lurched forward, spit the mouthful of whatever concoction she’d just taken on the hardwood floor, and exploded with laughter. Kimber took the distraction as an opportunity to wrench from Jay’s hold and scamper back to the Spin the Bottle game.
“Oh well.” Moquest’s shoulders slumped. “Back to the drawing board.”
Jay sucked in a sharp, shaky gulp as he tore a hand through his messy hair and struggled to regain control. Then again, when it came to Kimber, maybe that was impossible.
Moquest shook off the rejection and looked from Jay to Kimber then back again, his jaw set. “That does it. Time to make things interesting.” He approached the game and grabbed Kimber’s hand, tugging her to her feet. “Everyone, this is Kimber. Kimber, this is everyone.”
“Hi, Kimber!” The majority of the guests raised their drinks in greeting, and she responded with a shy albeit happy wave as she tucked her hair behind her ears.
“She is very interested in making out with a handsome stranger.” Moquest turned to her. “Aren’t you, Kimber?”
Her eyes widened and her cheeks turned pink. She opened her mouth to reply, but Moquest added, “She’s so interested, in fact, she’s agreed to let me blindfold her, send her to my room then pick someone to be her mystery lover. Pretty sweet, right?”
“What! I never-”
Moquest silenced Kimber’s outburst with a finger to her lips as the partygoers let out shouts of bawdy encouragement. Jay surpassed astonishment as Kimber pushed Moquest’s hand away from her mouth and laughed, otherwise not protesting. Was this seriously happening?
“Come on, Kimmy.” Moquest draped an arm around Kimber’s shoulders and directed her toward the staircase. “Let’s get ready for your surprise.” He led her to the second floor, pausing to yell to the other guests, “Y’all fight nice over who gets to rock her world now!”
Jay leaned heavy against the wall, feeling the situation spiral further and further from him. What could he do? There were no options left, except perhaps throttling Moquest the first chance he got.
A few moments later, Moquest materialized in front of him wearing a smile most often reserved only for patron saints. “There you are,” he said with smug benevolence. “In case you haven’t heard, I got something waiting for you upstairs.”
“You’re a real asshole, you know that? Call this off.”
“I’m busy being a good host. You go call it off.” Moquest smirked. “If you’re not back in five minutes, I won’t send help.”
Jay stared daggers at his friend’s back as Moquest loped off, trying more random pick-up lines on passing female guests. He took a few deep breaths before ascending the staircase, formulating the speech he intended to deliver once he saw Kimber. This behavior was insane, dangerous, disgusting. But with every stair came the reminder of Moquest’s obvious intent in arranging this opportunity, and both his knees and resolve weakened.
No! He refused to this of it as an opportunity; it wasn’t, it couldn’t be. It’d be wrong to consider it as such-this was Kimber.
And it was that very argument against the situation that warped into his reason in favor of it as he opened the door. In the dim red light coming from the lamp on the nightstand, he saw Kimber perched on the edge of the bed, chewing her bottom lip, trembling, the blindfold in place.
Jay sucked in a breath as the magnitude of the moment slammed into him. This was unreal. She looked perfect and she was his for the taking. No one would ever have to know the truth. If this was a perfect world where consequences were unheard of, wouldn’t he take this chance? Hell yes he would, especially if he knew the chance would never come along again. It’s not like Kimber wasn’t willing; she was ready to do anything with any old fuck.
Oh God. Was he actually justifying this? Was he actually talking himself into it?
He shut the door with a soft click and turned the lock, and Kimber straightened, alert. She licked her lips and he realized that he could be doing the same in just seconds. He was the only one holding himself back.
She cleared her throat. “Hi,” she said, her voice soft.
The sound rolled through him, mixed with pity and affection. Who says hi at a time like this? She was in over her head-they both were. He couldn’t let anyone in this room to get to her; he didn’t trust them not to take advantage of her. So why didn’t he speak up and say so? Say anything?
He remained still, watching as Kimber rose and took slow, careful steps toward the door. “Where are you?” she whispered.
Jay stretched his hand out, sliding it in hers, shivering as a jolt rippled through his fingers and up his arm at her touch. She stepped closer, just inches from him, and her smell obliterated his senses, leaving the memory of their kiss in the woods and how easily that kiss could happen again if he wanted it to. And he definitely wanted it to.
Her hand left his and touched his face, and her forehead creased; he knew she was trying to figure out who he was. Confident she’d never guess, he closed his eyes as her fingers quested over his cheeks, his nose, his jaw, his lips. Why should he feel confident? Why was that a good thing? What was he actually debating on doing?
Before he could admit his intentions to himself, Kimber cupped his face and kissed him, effectively murdering his ability to think beyond the moment. Swallowing a groan, he wrapped his arms around her, tugging her closer as he deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth with his tongue, teeth, and lips. God, she tasted so fucking incredible, better than he’d imagined. Their last kiss had been good, but he’d been so focused on making it happen he hadn’t had the chance to truly experience it. Now that she was so willing, he had all the time in the world to do just that.
Kimber pulled away with a soft sigh. “Man,” she said softly, the awe in that single word weakening his willpower further.
What the fuck was he doing? This was deceitful and wrong. He couldn’t do this; she was his best friend. She trusted him. He couldn’t be like all the other horny fucktards at this party, ready to use her however they saw fit. He was in love with her, and people didn’t do this sort of thing to the one they loved.
Or did they?
Kimber gave a greedy, impatient whimper in response to his sudden detachment and wound her arms around his neck, finding his mouth with hers again. Unable to resist, he encircled her with his arms and kissed her back. Damn, she really wanted this to happen. And she felt so unbelievably good. He could feel the heat emanating from her body beneath her dress, and her skin was so soft. He could so easily get addicted to this, to her, if he wasn’t already.
That didn’t make the situation less wrong. He never wanted her to want him under pretenses, and that’s exactly what this was. His mind throbbed, commanding him to let her go, but his body had a different agenda as he backed Kimber toward the bed. They both tumbled on the mattress, which squeaked in protest, and she entwined her legs around his waist, pulling him tight against her, her dress bunching around her upper thighs. The only thing separating him from entering her was their clothes, and that problem could be resolved easily enough.
“Oh fuck.” The words left him in a breathy rush before he could stop them, and his spine stiffened as he remembered he spoke aloud, giving himself away, but Kimber still didn’t seem to know it was him. Why would she? She didn’t know him like this. The reminder made him bold as he pressed his cock against the crotch of her panties, thrilling to how she broke their kiss to release a gasp. He vowed to do more than make her breath catch. That is, if he wanted to go through with what was in danger of happening.
He rocked against her, wanting to make her scream as he stroked his way up the outside of her thighs, the dress riding higher and puddling just under her belly button and revealing lacy, black boy-cut panties. The sight was one straight from his wet dreams. His control rapidly deteriorated, and his desires overruled his ethics as she reached beneath herself to untie the back of her dress, making it possible to slip it off her body with ease. He sat back for a moment, staring at her. Her blonde hair was a bird’s nest, her lips were puffy and pouting from kissing, and the black blindfold remained in place. Her bra matched her panties, and she looked so damn appetizing, he had no idea how he could just walk away now.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, suddenly sounding shy.
He cleared his throat. “Nothing.” He forced his voice to a husky, indistinguishable growl. “You’re perfect.”
Jay caressed her everywhere, taking the time to study her by the light of the one red bulb and enjoying the needy twitches of her body. He wanted to memorize her. A sprinkle of freckles of her chest reminded him of the Andromeda constellation. There was a small mole on her ribcage that he’d never noticed before. She had two white scars on her left knee, likely leftover from childhood. His breath came faster at the thought of everything else about her he had left to discover.
He unclipped her bra and peeled the fabric from her skin, and his mind clouded, seeing her small, bare breasts topped with light areolae for the first time. Unable to help himself, he lowered his head, capturing a hardened peak in his mouth, and she groaned, arching her back upward, pressing herself against him. His brain refused to comprehend what was transpiring. He turned his attention to Kimber’s other nipple, fueled by her responses and acting on instinct and want. Logic and morality had never been so foreign to him.
As he savored and kissed his way to her belly button, he tried to rationalize what he was about to do next. Kimber was going to go ahead with this anyway, right? Wouldn’t it be better if it were him than some other guy who could be crawling with diseases and might treat her as if she were disposable? He couldn’t let that happen to her, especially after all that shit she went through with Dane. She deserved to be with someone who respected her, who cared if she got off, who understood that this wasn’t just a game.
This line of thinking brought him to the waistband of her panties, and he glanced up at her, seeking signs of hesitance but saw none. She’d tilted her head back and was chewing her bottom lip as she teased her nipples with her fingers, her hips twitching slightly in anticipation. There really was no going back now.
He took a deep breath for courage, peeled aside the crotch of her panties and flicked her swollen clit with his tongue. Her whole body jerked at the sudden contact and a choked oh left her mouth. The reaction urged him on, and he batted his tongue against her clit, his efforts slowly building in speed. He couldn’t believe he had his head between Kimber’s legs, couldn’t believe he now knew how her cunt tasted, how she sounded when she groaned in pleasure. His cock throbbed to the thought of her climaxing because of him.
Jay teased her clit with his lips as he slid a finger inside her, and she released a moan in response. He worked up a rhythm with his hand and mouth. She was so wet, hot, and tight, and he pictured how her slick walls would feel around his cock.
“Oh God.” Kimber arched toward the ceiling, pushing her cunt farther against him. Her breath came in pants, and she gave a whimper every time he dipped his finger deep inside her. “Oh God, oh God.”
The sound of her had him embarrassingly close to coming himself. He added a second finger with his next thrust, wanting nothing more than to fuck her-really fuck her, in a way he was pretty sure Dane never had. Kimber’s oohs and “oh Gods” grew in frequency and pitch, and he was determined to see this through to her satisfaction. He maintained a steady rhythm until Kimber shuddered and the muscles of her cunt clenched and unclenched his fingers.
Jay rose, kissing his way up her stomach, his body heavy with unsatiated lust. When he arrived at her mouth, she gave him a greedy kiss. Then she broke away.
“Do you want to fuck me?” she murmured against his lips.
He could hear himself swallow and his mouth went dry. He tried to respond but no words escaped. How could he answer that honestly? Wasn’t that taking it a bit too far?
“Because I really want you to fuck me.” She punctuated her request with a kiss, and he kissed her back, distracted beyond comprehension. Every nerve in his body screamed warring decisions.
“You sure?” he finally whispered, his voice scratchy and low.
“Mmm-hmm.” She tightened her legs around him, emphasizing her decision.
He drew away, his heart hammering as he fumbled in his jeans pocket for the condom Moquest had given him earlier when he’d found out Jay was bringing Nicole-the sure thing-to the party. Nicole-he’d forgotten about her. He’d forgotten a lot of things in the past half hour, it seemed.
As he unzipped his pants and rolled on the condom, he thought of how much shit he was in. Prior to this everything could be blamed on the heat of the moment, albeit barely. What was about to transpire seemed different-premeditated. If he was honest with himself, wasn’t this whole evening premeditated? Hadn’t he known all along what would happen and he did nothing to stop it?
He glanced at Kimber, pulling her knees up to her chest to more easily slip off her panties. There she was, offering herself to him on a silver platter. Was he really too polite not to dig in? She was completely bereft of clothes and brimming with want-for him.
On the other hand, how could he do this to her? He was forsaking their friendship for one moment of insanity. But he couldn’t imagine leaving now, conscience be damned. Something about that option, no matter if it was the moral high road, didn’t feel right for so many reasons.
Unable to resist, Jay returned to the space between her legs, wondering if she could hear his heart. He bit his lip, feeling her skin brush the hardness of his cock. How could any of this be real? She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close. Knowing what was true in his own heart, he positioned himself at her entrance and pushed inside.
He couldn’t prevent the groan at the feel of her encompassing him so completely; he couldn’t have imagined it any better. She moaned at the initial contact, locking her ankles at the small of his back as he withdrew and returned to her. The moment was surreal but better than a dream. His thrusts were slow, deep, and measured, intended to build and bring her pleasure and stave off his own orgasm, which drew closer every second.
Kimber wasn’t making it any easier for him, with her breathy whimpers in his ear, the way her body felt against and moved in time with his, and how she clutched his back, nicking his skin with her fingernails. He buried his face in the side of her neck, trying to hold onto his last scrap of control, but her scent and her voice and her entire entity consumed him, making it impossible to do much more than speed up the rhythm he created.
“Oh God.” Kimber was definitely an Oh God kind of girl. She bucked into him. “Oh God. More…”
He gritted his teeth, not knowing if he could handle much more. But he obliged, slamming in and out of her, trying his best not to think about her “oh Gods” in his ear and how slick and tight she was and how her cunt was clenching around his cock, wringing the rest of his control from his body. Jay stifled his groans in her hair as he came in response to her second climax of the evening. Then he squeezed his eyes shut as reality pushed back to him, replacing the peace following his orgasm, and he reluctantly withdrew from her, already missing her touch.
Jay dressed quickly, hating himself for so many reasons as she struggled to a sitting position.
“Where are you going?” she asked. “Are you leaving just like that?” She moved to take off the blindfold.
“No!” He hit the light switch, plunging them into complete darkness, and zipped his pants. “I’m sorry,” he croaked and darted from the room, ducking inside the bathroom to get rid of the condom and regain both his composure and his sense of self.
Back there, he could’ve been anybody to Kimber. What’s worse was that he’d treated her like he was.