I swallow down the lump that’s formed in my throat and release my hand from the glass on the bar. My fingertips tingle at the thought of touching him, and my skin’s on fire from the heat his body’s throwing off.
“Three.”
His eyes darken, and he towers over me when we’re just inches apart. He invades my senses. The warmth of his body and the musky spice of his skin wrap themselves around me and make my head spin.
“Two.”
Fuck, we’re going to kiss. I don’t think I’ve been this nervous since Jimmy Tartaglia kissed me back in seventh grade. I lick my lips and ready myself for a quick kiss from the most handsome man in the bar.
“One. Happy New Year!” Balloons and confetti fall from the ceiling like rain, and people all around us start to hug before locking lips.
Everything around us fades, and the cheering crowd becomes distorted and indistinguishable to my ears. When Bruno wraps his hand around my neck and pulls me to him, I melt. It’s like something out of a movie. His warm breath skims across my lips, and I can’t look away, caught in his bedroom eyes as he stares at me.
I’m intoxicated by his nearness, fucking drunk on this hunk of a man who’s about to kiss me. When his lips touch mine, I close my eyes and lose myself in him. At first, the kiss is tentative and soft, but it grows hungrier and more demanding with each passing second.
My arms wrap around his neck, and my fingertips rest just below his hairline, tracing the soft skin of his neck as he pulls me closer. When his tongue sweeps across my lips, I open to him and get my first taste of him. He’s sweet with a hint of Jack on his velvet tongue as it dances with mine in the most erotic tango.
His hard chest crushes my breasts, and there’s no space between us. What I thought was going to be a simple, friendly kiss has turned into something more, and I’m not sure I can stop myself even if he pulls away.
I don’t know how long we stand there, entangled with each other as we ravage each other’s mouth. I inhale the air he feeds me and feel my already foggy brain becoming hazier. The man kisses perfectly. Just the right amount of tongue without being sloppy or careless, and his full lips press against mine with enough force that I know he wants more.
When he finally pulls back, I feel like I’ve been sucker-punched. I want to believe it’s the alcohol, but it’s him.
“Wanna get out of here?” he asks only inches from my lips.
The only thing that comes to mind is the word yes, but I’m too shaky after such an earth-shattering kiss, so I just nod my head.
“Do you need to tell your friend?”
I hold up a finger and reach for my purse, but I end up knocking it on the floor. I bend over, coming face-to-face with a bulge in his pants so big that I’m a bit scared. The man is not only built like a Greek god, but his cock is something that can’t be described, and I haven’t even seen it unleashed.
I type a quick message to Bec and let her know I’m leaving. I don’t tell her where I’m headed or whom I’m going with because she’ll freak out and make a big deal out of it. I want something just for me without having to rehash it for weeks.
“I’m ready,” I say, jamming my phone back into my purse as I stand. My heart’s beating so hard it’s trying to climb out through my throat. I don’t know if I’ve ever been so nervous.
I’m going home with Bruno… Oh my fucking god!
***
Chapter 3
Bruno
“You going to drink that?” Callie asks, pointing at the bottle of Jack on the nightstand that has about a finger’s worth left. Her words are slurred, and her eyes are tiny slits.
When we got back to my place, we continued drinking and haven’t stopped talking. It’s not what usually happens when I bring a woman back here, but Callie seems different. There’s goodness in her that I haven’t seen in others.
Reaching over and grabbing the bottle, I set it in my lap. “No, but are you sure you want it?”
“I’m sure.” She smiles lazily and reaches for the bottle.
I yank it away, putting it just out of reach. “I think maybe you’ve had enough.” I’ve lost count of the number of drinks either of us has consumed, but I know tomorrow I’m going to feel it.
She blinks, but her eyes don’t close together. “I’m a big girl.” She leans over my body and wraps her hand around the Jack. “Give it to me.”
“You shouldn’t say such things to me. I’m liable to take it the wrong way.” I smirk down at her beautiful, angelic face.
With her chest against mine, she moves her lips near mine, staring into my eyes. “Maybe I want you to take it that way.”
“I’m not a good guy,” I tell her because I’m not sure she really has a grasp on the truth about me.
Her blue eyes search mine. “I know. I’ve heard things about you.” There’s a playfulness to her words.
I’m resisting the urge to kiss her, and it’s driving me wild. “Don’t believe everything you hear.”
Her chest slides against mine as she crawls into my lap with a sly grin. “You’re nothing like I thought.”
My hands find her ass. “What did you think?”
“I don’t know.” She touches my bottom lip with her finger and traces the edge. “Not this.”
“We don’t have to do this.” But it’s all I want. I’ve never wanted anyone more.
“I want to.” She moves her mouth closer, hovering just out of reach. “Unless you don’t want to.”
My fingers dig into the fleshy part of her ass and pull her tightly against my hard cock. “Baby, it’s all I can think about.”
“Take me,” she whispers against my lips.
A growl sounds in my throat, and I don’t need her to repeat her demand to make it happen. My fingers tangle in her hair, and I crush my lips to hers. I’m drunk, but not just on alcohol—Callie has made everything fuzzy, and the nearness of her has my brain on the fritz.
If I were thinking clearly, I’d know this was a bad idea. But my aching cock, Jack Daniel’s, and her words make it hard not to act.
All I can do is feel.
Her softness.
Her touch.
Her breath brushing against my face with each moan.
Her warmth against my body.
There’s no room for anything else but that. Her hands slip under my shirt, and her fingernails press into my skin, sending chills everywhere.
It’s all a whirlwind. Through blurry eyes and with tingling skin, we paw at each other, losing ourselves in each kiss and touch. I lose sight of where she begins and I end. We’re that consumed in each other—lost in a haze of passion and liquor.
My mind is barely functioning, and every thought other than her vanishes.
It’s pure, animalistic pleasure driving me forward, removing her clothing, and kissing her newly exposed skin. We’re both naked before long, and she’s under me. I’m nudging her legs open and settling on top of her.
“Are you sure?” I whisper against her mouth.
“Yes,” she says in the breathiest tone that conveys nothing but the same carnal want I feel. She pulls my face down to hers and seals her mouth over mine.
Inching slowly inside of her, I wait for her body to adjust before slipping farther inside. Her legs wrap around my body, locking me against her, as if I were going to slip away.
We move together in perfect rhythm, pushing and pulling with each stroke. I’m cradling her body in my arms, one arm wrapped behind her back holding her around the waist, and the other under her shoulders as I pump into her.
Time becomes a blur, and the sound of everything but us disappears. It’s only the two of us in this moment, consumed by each other and full of so much pleasure that I feel like my entire body is on fire.
When she shatters in my arms, screaming her orgasm into my mouth, I fall too—joining her in the most electrifying release of my life. My body’s shaking, and sweat covers my skin as I rest my forehead against hers. I’m sucking in air, trying to find my breath, but it escapes me.
She’s doing the same. Lost in the abyss of pleasure, floating somewhere between nirvana and reality but unsure where one begins and the other ends.
I collapse next to her and close my eyes. She curls into my side, and for the first time in years, I feel calm and happy. I’m not sure how long we’re like this, but she crawls on top of me, rubbing her body against mine and whispering dirty things in my ear.
Like I’m on autopilot, I grip her hips and move her body in a way to bring us both crashing over the edge again, faster than before.
Both of us are too drunk to care that we just fucked twice without protection. We’re too busy trying to find our breath again and make the room stop spinning.
We whisper to each other, confessing things about ourselves that we’ve never shared with others.
“I’m not who people think,” I say, but it barely seems real.
Her hand trails down my middle until coming to a rest just above my belly button. “Who are you?”
“I’m one of the good guys. I just pretend to be Bruno.” The words slip from my lips easily with so much Jack in my system. If my mind were clear, I would never utter those words to anyone.
“I’m not such a good girl either,” she tells me. “I’m kind of a bitch sometimes.”