He snorted. “The hell you weren’t. You’re a damn lightweight. Let’s not pretend otherwise. You were wasted off your ass, feeling horny, and you kissed me because I was the only guy there.”
If only that was true. “It wasn’t like that.”
He snorted. “Funny. We’ve been friends for over twenty years, and you never acted like you thought about more than that until you pounded back some shots to prove a point.”
“Neither have you, yet here you are. Masturbating on my couch while…what? Imagining me naked? Or were you fantasizing about someone else completely? Someone more your type than your lame little cupcake?”
His grip on her wrist tightened, and his gaze spit fire at her. “Lauren.”
“Steven,” she snarled back at him, breathing heavily. She yanked on her wrist, and this time he let her go. She backed up a step, toward her bedroom, rubbing her wrist. Not because it hurt. She could still feel him holding on to her, even though he wasn’t. Finally, she said, “Let’s just do what you said all along, and forget this ever happened. As far as I’m concerned, none of this did happen.”
He curled his hands into fists at his sides. “The hell it didn’t.”
Oh my freaking God. The man made no sense. “You just told me a little while ago we had to pretend it never happened.”
“That was before,” he said, a muscle in his jaw ticking.
“Before what?” She wrung her hands in front of her. “You’re obviously mad at me for kissing you, so I don’t understand what your goal is here.”
“I’m not mad at you for kissing me.” He gritted his teeth together so hard it was a miracle they didn’t crack. “I’m mad at how you did it.”
She blinked at him. “What? That doesn’t even make any—”
“That’s not how our first kiss should have been. It’s not the way it was supposed to go down. It should have—” He broke off and muttered a curse. “It should’ve gone like this.”
And then she was in his arms.
His mouth was on hers, and his hands were everywhere, and all she could think was…finally. He swept her into his arms and carried her into her room, his mouth moving over hers without any hint of hesitation this time.
Earlier when he kissed her, it had been amazing.
She thought it couldn’t get any better than that, and lost herself in the moment. To top it off, he’d made her come without even really having to try. But now that he was kissing her again, and he wasn’t holding himself back from her, that kiss faded away into oblivion.
This, right here, was a kiss. And after he was finished with her, no other kiss in all of time would ever compare with his.
He dropped her onto the bed, covering his body with hers. “I’m not going to ask you again. Are you sure you want this?”
She nodded frantically, breathing fast and heavy. “Y-Yes. I’m sure.”
“By the time I’m done, you’re never going to forget what tonight felt like. What we did. For the rest of our lives, when we see each other, all we’ll think about is this one night together. The only night I made you scream my name so loud it woke up the neighbors.” He caught her hands above her head, holding them captive on her pillow. “And you’re not allowed to hate me for it afterward.”
She bit her lip. “I could never, ever, hate you.”
Something flashed across his expression, and he twisted his lips. “I hope like hell you’re right.”
Then his mouth was on hers…
And she was a goner.
Chapter Seven
With Lauren’s lips pressed against his, and her soft body underneath his, it was hard to remember why he fought against this in the first place. Hard to remember why this might very well be the worst mistake he ever made in his life. Or maybe, just maybe, it might be the best decision he ever made…
And he hadn’t even made it yet.
No pressure, or anything.
He skimmed his fingers down the outside of her bare thigh and back up the inside. All night long, she stayed on his mind. He couldn’t shut out the way she cried out his name as she came, her fingers digging into him as if she was never going to let go. And she hadn’t. Even though he sent her to bed alone, she’d been with him the whole time.
In his head.
His raging erection hadn’t let up over the past two hours, so he finally gave in and decided to take care of himself so he could get some damn sleep. All it had taken was him picturing her coming, with her back arched and her mouth parted, and he’d pretty much been there. Of course, the second he got close to orgasm, she popped in and caught him jerking off. And now nothing could help him but her.