One Night of Sin(4)

After a long pause, both women were laughing again.

“So he was perfectly cool with playing tonsil hockey in an alley but then refused to take it further?” May said.

“Pretty much.”

May looked even more bewildered. “But you, you, Skyler Thompson, wanted it to go further?”

Her friends were right. Casual hookups weren’t her style—hell, she didn’t even put out on the first date—and yet she couldn’t muster up a single regret about last night.

Gage Holt… Oh boy, everything about him turned her on. His smoldering gray eyes. That ruggedly handsome face. The dark stubble dotting his strong jaw. And his body…holy moly. He’d towered over her, every inch of him deliciously hard and rippled. Broad shoulders, muscular chest, long legs.

But she’d been attracted to more than his looks. It was also his…presence. When he’d trapped her against the wall with his massive body, the most incredible thrill had shot through her. She’d never been dominated like that before, and it embarrassed her to admit just how badly she’d liked it.

“I know, it’s totally unlike me,” she confessed.

Lacey snickered. “Big time.”

“But it was so…exciting.” She sighed. “These past couple months I started noticing how boring my life has become, and I just wanted to try something different, step out of my comfort zone, you know? And then my stranger came along and he was so…God, he was…” She couldn’t even come up with any more adjectives to describe how incredible the man was. “Honestly, in that moment? I would have gotten naked in a heartbeat. I would have done anything that man wanted.” The confession heated her cheeks, and she had to avert her eyes.

“Aw, she’s blushing,” Lacey teased. “It was that hot, huh?”

“Yes.” Skyler released a glum breath. “I think he was trying to do the ‘right thing’”—she used air quotes—“by stopping. He pretty much said I was a ‘good girl’”—air quotes again—“and that I’d end up regretting it if I did anything with him, which is pure and total bullshit.”

She punctuated the last word with more quotes, which made Lacey roll her eyes. “You have no idea how to use air quotes, babe.”

“And was he really that far off the mark?” May chimed in. “Face it, Sky. You are a good girl. And that’s not a bad thing. I mean, you’re nice, funny as hell, crazy-protective of the people you care about. You’re frickin’ awesome. But you’re not the one-night-stand type. He probably saved you a whole bunch of postcoital regrets by not doing you.”

“Just because I haven’t had a one-night stand before doesn’t mean I’m not the type for it. What if I try it and end up loving it? What if I discover I really like the whole wham-bam-thank-you-dude aspect of it?” Skyler suddenly stuck out her chin. “You know what? You guys have convinced me. I’m going back there tonight.”

May groaned. “That wasn’t what I was advising at all. I think it’s a good thing you didn’t sleep with the guy.”

“Actually…” Lacey grinned. “I’m with Sky on this. She never does anything fun. It’s always work and school, school and work. Be a little wild, babe. I fully support your decision to go out and bang your stranger.”

A laugh popped out. “Thank you. And you”—she turned to May—“I give you permission to say I told you so if it all blows up in my face.”

“Deal.” May scraped her chair back. “Okay, gals, it’s been fun, but I’ve gotta get ready for work.”

“Me too.” Lacey hopped off the stool, chugging the rest of her coffee on her way to the sink. “I’m doing a forty-eight-hour shift at the hospital, so you won’t see me for a couple days.”

Skyler glanced over in concern. “Try to squeeze in some sleep, will you? Last time you worked a shift that long, you were a zombie for weeks afterward.”

“Yes, Mom.”

A moment later, Skyler found herself alone in the kitchen. She didn’t mind it, though. Her arrangement with May and Lacey suited her just fine. They each did their own thing—Lacey had her residency at Boston General, May was finishing her art history master’s and did restorations at the museum, and Skyler was halfway through with her master’s in psychology. But despite their chaotic schedules, the friendship they’d formed during freshman year of college had remained strong.

As she went to grab another cup of coffee, her mind drifted back to Gage. The entire encounter had been exhilarating and terrifying, and she wanted to see him again, damn it. To hear his gruff voice tickling her ear, feel those big hands on her body.

Was she crazy to chase after a man she didn’t know? A man who hadn’t even told her his name?

Yeah, probably. But she didn’t care. She’d thought she’d known what arousal felt like. She’d thought she’d known what it was like to be attracted to someone.

And last night revealed that she’d had no frickin’ clue.

Every spark of desire she’d ever experienced in her life—they were nothing compared to the wicked sensations Gage Holt had evoked in her.

If you come back, I won’t be able to control myself next time.

His deep voice rasped in her head, making a shiver dance up her spine. She really hoped he’d meant every word.

Because she was definitely holding him to that.

…

“Where’s AJ?” Gage glanced around Reed’s office, confused by AJ Walsh’s absence. Their third partner never missed a Friday night briefing.

“He took the night off,” Reed answered. “He’s got plans with the girlfriend.”

Gage rolled his eyes. “You can say her name, man. She’s not Voldemort, you know.”

“Christ. Your boy-wizard references freak me out, bro. Cage fighters aren’t allowed to read Harry Potter.”

“I’m a bouncer, not a cage fighter.” He couldn’t mask his frustration, but rerouted the subject before his friend dived into another lecture about how he was the one who’d willingly put himself in his current predicament. “Anyway, her name is Darcy, and one of these days you’re gonna have to suck it up and be nice to her.”

Reed looked hurt. “I am nice to her.” His dark blue eyes flickered with worry. “Why, did she say I wasn’t?”

“No, but I’m sure she’s noticed you never string together more than a sentence or two when she’s around.”

Reed’s body language revealed discomfort, and Gage glimpsed something in his friend’s eyes that he couldn’t quite decipher. Before he could say anything more, Reed promptly shifted gears.

“Let’s get the business shit out of the way—do you have a lead on who’s pushing E in the club?”

“Nope. You?”

Reed rounded the desk and flopped down in his leather chair, raking both hands through his messy black hair. “No clue. Are the guys keeping their eyes open?”

Gage nodded. “Nobody’s seen a thing.”

“And yet we’ve talked to dozens of people who claim they bought the stuff right here in the club.” Reed ground out an expletive. “We need to find this asshole.”

Gage shared his partner’s anger. With the number of people who packed the club on a nightly basis, it was impossible to stop customers from coming in with a few lines of coke or some tablets of E, not unless they thoroughly searched everyone at the door. Which meant they had no choice but to tolerate some drugs floating around Sin. But someone selling the stuff directly from the club was a big fat no-no. The cops would shut them down in a heartbeat, and Gage wasn’t about to lose the hefty profits the club brought in.

“I’ll tell the guys to be extra alert tonight,” he said, sinking into the armchair across from the desk. “Once we figure out who the dealer is, it’ll be easy to put him out of commission.”

“Good.” Reed grabbed a pack of Camels from the desk and lit a cigarette, then proceeded to blow a cloud of smoke in Gage’s direction.

He winced, trying not to inhale. “You just have to flaunt it in my face, don’t you? I’m trying to quit, asshole.”

“You’ve been trying to quit for two years.”

“This time it’ll stick.”

“Ha. Sure.” His friend suddenly broke out in a grin. “Hey, so when can I expect the deets about your lady friend? You know, the one you almost boned in the alley yesterday?”

He stifled a sigh. It had been too much to hope that Reed wouldn’t bring it up. “It was nothing,” he mumbled.

Reed smirked. “Didn’t look like nothing.”

“Well, it was.”

Liar.

All right, so maybe it had been the furthest thing from nothing. Maybe he’d stayed awake half the night thinking about Skyler. Maybe he’d jerked off three times before the arousal had finally dissipated, and even then, it still lingered under the surface, waiting for any opportunity to rear up again.

But he didn’t regret sending her away. If she didn’t have the word “relationship” written on her forehead in huge block letters, he might’ve given in and taken her to bed, but he got the feeling she was the kind of girl who wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less than a commitment. Well, Gage didn’t do commitments. He wasn’t cut out for relationships—past experience had proved that—and he wasn’t about to risk breaking another heart.