I laughed. My best friend was so over the top sometimes. “Ford is extra swoony—I can’t deny that. But I assure you, the only thing growing inside me is a heavy case of jet lag and a wicked need to take off these heels and find myself a pillow.”
“His pillow.” She put her arm around my shoulders and turned me toward him, saying in my ear, “Even his name is sexy.”
My eyes briefly closed. “I know.”
“Do you know what I see when I look at him?”
“I can’t wait to hear this.”
She squeezed my shoulder. “Handcuffs. Dirty sex. Waking up in the morning with his face between your legs.” She lowered her voice, finally whispering, “That man has dominance written all over him.”
I wondered if she could sense how sweaty I was getting.
How it only added to the hotness Ford had already built.
“You can tell that just by looking at him?”
“I possess that talent. You should know this by now.”
I’d only seen my best friend a handful of times over the last four years. All of our conversations had taken place over the phone—through text or FaceTime. Even then, our schedules made our time limited, so we had to squeeze in all the important details in just a few minutes.
Therefore, I’d almost forgotten she had this talent and how she came with zero filter.
“Gabs, what are you trying to tell me?”
“You need to go jump that man before he goes home with someone else.”
I looked away from him, scanning the rest of the room so I wouldn’t be so obvious. But after a few seconds, I returned to his profile, watching his lips puff out as he took a drink. That mouth had certainly been made for kissing. Surrounding his lips were short, thick, dark, well-groomed hairs that continued up his cheeks and over his chin. Even though his almond-shaped hazel eyes weren’t on me, they were striking.
The moment the glass left his mouth, his hand brushed away the wetness from his lips.
A hand with fingers that were long, thin.
Perfect.
Yum.
“I’m starting to think this time difference is messing with your ability to see how scrumptious he is.”
“Oh, I see.” As I filled my lungs, more tingles burst through my chest. I turned, now looking at my best friend. “But I’m half dead, I’m here with my girls tonight, and my life is”—I took another breath, bringing myself back down to reality—“in this weird, in-between phase, giving me no position to really get my flirt on.”
She patted my cheek like a baby’s butt. “You’re sexy as fuck. You haven’t been laid in what … years? You have every reason to get your flirt on, especially now that you’re back for good and you can once again appreciate what LA has to offer, starting with that man over there.”
“You’re relentless.”
“No, I’m your voice of reason.”
“And you’re relentless,” I repeated. I took a moment to soak in this conversation, the fact that it was happening here, in person, and not over the phone. That I was at this popular, well-known bar—a place I’d never been before because the last time I’d really had a chance to hang in Los Angeles, I wasn’t of legal age. “Regardless, it just feels really good to be home.”
She tucked one of my big curls behind my ear as she said, “I was worried that wasn’t ever going to happen. That once you left your job, you were going to stay in New York.”
I had spent months debating on where I wanted to live. Even though I’d been traveling the world, New York was where I’d come back to at the end of each trip, a city I’d become familiar with.
But a city where my best friend and family didn’t live.
“I made the right choice,” I admitted, smiling.
“Yes, you did, and now, we’re going to celebrate with shots.” She looped her arm through mine and then said to Carrie and Natasha, friends who were deep in their own conversation, “Shots, shots, shots!”
Why was I not surprised that there were already eight shot glasses on the table?
Glasses I hadn’t noticed when I sat down because I hadn’t been able to keep my eyes off Ford.
“What’s in those?” I groaned.
“Tequila,” Gabby replied, “two for each of us.” With our arms still hooked, she raised her glass into the air and said to the group, “To Sydney, who’s going to see stars tonight.”
“No.” I shook my head but still held my tequila into the air, and we clinked all our shots together. “That’s a terrible idea.”
“Remember, I’m never wrong,” Gabs replied, air-kissing me before she downed her shot.
My throat burned as I swallowed the liquor, and I immediately reached for the lime that hung on the rim of the glass, my eyes watering as I sucked on the tartness.
“One more,” Gabby ordered, grabbing a full shot. “Come on, girls.”
“We have all night,” I told her. “Shouldn’t we be pacing ourselves?”
“Don’t worry, my little lovebug.” She twirled a piece of my hair around her finger before we downed our second shot. “I’m going to make sure this is a night you’ll never forget.”
I had no idea how she planned to make that happen, but just as my chest was starting to settle from the tequila, I heard in a gritty, tantalizing voice, “Need another martini?”
I hadn’t seen Ford change seats, sitting in the one on the other side of me.
And for some shocking reason, I hadn’t felt him.
But as I turned, meeting those hauntingly beautiful hazel eyes, my body instantly responded. “No.” I tried to find my breath, his new position sucking all the air out of me. “I’ve barely recovered from those shots.” I nodded toward the empty glasses.
His stare dipped, but not to the table. It lowered down my face, focusing on my mouth. “Shots aren’t your thing?”
“I’m more of a sipper than a chugger.”
He laughed. “That’s cute.”
Hearing those words from his mouth, in that deep, dark voice, was far from cute. It was like a moan vibrating across me.
His gaze, like a set of hands wrapping around me, was more intense than I’d ever felt.
“Interesting …” His eyes narrowed. “That earned me a smile. Why?”
The combination of the martini and shots was slowly dropping my inhibitions, especially as I glanced toward Gabby, who had moved to the other side of the table, closer to Natasha and Carrie, her facial expression urging me on.“I don’t know.” I glanced down; all of this was too much. “I guess I like the way you sound.”“My voice?”I nodded as I was fixed on him again. “Yes.”“No one’s ever commented on that before.”I took a drink even though I didn’t need it. “It matches you—I mean, it fits your face, your …” I couldn’t think of what I wanted to say. Nothing was coming to me. I didn’t even feel like I was breathing. “Exterior.”The corner of his lips lifted, a half-smile so devilishly attractive. “Exterior, huh?”“If power had a sound, it’s you.”He was sitting between both tables but chose to lean his elbow on the one closest to me. “My voice isn’t where I hold my power, Sydney. At least, not in my personal life. But I’ll tell you, it wasn’t a bad guess.”My brain was spiraling.My
“What I’m thinking about is your mouth.” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip and then the top. “What it would taste like. What it would feel like.” His gaze was there, on the spot he was speaking about, making those same lips part. “And I don’t know how much longer I can wait to find out.”ThreeFord“You want to kiss me”—her voice was soft, breathless—“in the middle of the bar?”With my hand still on her cheek, I aimed her mouth up to mine. “It’s not just that I want to.” I lowered my face until we were only inches apart. “It’s that I have to.” The feeling inside me was so brutally overwhelming that I couldn’t leave this bar until I had her taste on my tongue. Until I was satisfied with the feel of her lips. That was why I’d moved my seat next to hers. To have this moment between us, to re-create the fire that I’d felt before. “If you don’t want this, Sydney, tell me to stop.”I waited.And just as I was about to close the space between us, she whispered, “Ford …” She swallowed. “I
“Even if I was going to consider it—which I’m not—Hannah and Everly are at my house. It’s not like Eve is staying at Mom and Dad’s for the night and I’m free.”“More Hannah talk,” Declan groaned. “I still can’t believe you let her watch your daughter.”“Ignore him,” Jenner said, referring to Declan. “Everly is being well taken care of tonight, so you do have all the freedom to do whatever you want—and I know that girl is exactly what you want.”“You guys don’t get it,” I told them. “This is one of the sacrifices you have to make when you have a kid, and being a single dad makes it even harder. I’m responsible for that little girl, and every move I make affects her.” I looked at my brothers. “When you guys were single, you could fuck whomever you wanted and never feel guilty about it. You could jump on a plane and leave at any time. You could stay out all night and not give a shit.” I chomped on the ice from Dominick’s glass and set the empty on the table. “My life isn’t like that.”“B
She quickly glanced at me. “We can’t go to my apartment.”“We … can’t?”She shook her head. “I just moved here, like, hours ago, remember? I don’t have a bed yet, so I’m going to be sleeping with Gabby. I can’t kick her out and have her crash on the couch. That would make me the worst bestie ever.”Fuck me.That wrecked every one of my plans.“Can’t we go to your place?” she asked.My place—a detail I didn’t want to get into.I glanced out the window, trying to come up with a plan.I could take her to a hotel; I just didn’t know how that idea would come across. I could sneak us into Dominick’s guesthouse, but Kendall was probably home, and I didn’t want to alarm her.“Sydney—” My voice cut off as our eyes connected.The hunger, the need. I didn’t know if I was gazing at my own reflection in her stare or if she felt the same way as me.Either way, I hauled her body up against me and kissed her. The warmth from her mouth, the taste of her tongue, like silent promises of what was waiting
Fuck me.I backed up a few inches, needing to take in this view.“Man”—I shook my head—“I’m one lucky motherfucker.”The dress had looked exquisite on her, but what was underneath was even better. Sydney in just her skin was a whole different level of sexy. All curves and dips and muscle. The gap between her thighs just as pronounced as I’d dreamed about at the bar.My stare dipped to her feet and slowly rose, and I moaned, “Magnificent,” as I reached her face.“You’re too much.”“Nah.” I paused, my cock fucking throbbing. “My words barely do you justice.”A flushness moved across her cheeks as she said, “Get over here.”Once I was within reach, she began to unbutton my shirt, working her way down my chest. My sports coat and shirt dropped at the same time. She didn’t stop until the only thing covering me was my boxer briefs. That was when her movements slowed, peeling the shorts down my legs until they fell.“Good God,” she whispered, gradually looking down, viewing my chest, abs. La
My cock teased her as I moved the tip around her opening. “Look at me.” I waited until she glanced over her shoulder before I gave her my crown. Just the head, nothing more. “You’re going to come again, Sydney.”“I’ve never …”She’s never had two orgasms in one night?“I’m going to change that.”I rocked my hips forward, giving her my entire shaft. She was closing in on me, tightening.“But if you keep feeling that good, you’re going to make me come.”She began to meet me in the middle, arching her hips up, adding pressure to my cock.“You like this position, don’t you?” I growled.“Yesss.”I could guess why.From here, I could reach even deeper.I could rub her clit at the same time, like I was doing now, and hit her G-spot.And every time I brushed across it, she gave me a reward.Her sounds.Fuck me, it was like music.My head leaned back as my balls tightened, and her hips began to buck against me.“Fuck, Sydney, you’re getting me far too close.”She glanced over her shoulder agai
How could only the lightest graze of his fingers, the subtlest exhale of his air cause me to quiver?But I did.In the last four years, I hadn’t had the time to explore the possibility of dating. Even if the opportunity had presented itself, I would have been in no position to act on it, far too tied up with my job.Back in LA for less than twenty-four hours, and this had already happened.Blanketed by this incredible man’s heat.As I stared at his face, I couldn’t help but wonder where this was going to take me and what this was going to look like.So many unknowns.What I did know was that I needed to fill myself with caffeine, or he would open his eyes to a side of me that was wickedly devilish.He was far too adorable to wake up, so I carefully lifted his arm a few inches and squeezed my way out, sneaking soundlessly off his bed.Rather than putting my dress on, I found his button-down on the floor and slipped my arms through the large holes, buttoning the middle as I tiptoed to h
“No, no.” I shook my head. “I took a job right after graduation, and I’ve traveled the world for the last four years. College has always been on my radar, but the timing was just never right. When it became possible, I made the move.”“But what an experience that must have been.”I tucked my unruly hair behind my ears. “I don’t regret it for a second.”“Good luck with school. I have a feeling it’s going to go great for you.”I grinned. “Thank you—and for you too. Wear that crown and show those boys at the law firm what it looks like when a girl kicks ass.”“Ohhh, yes. I plan to.”I waved good-bye and returned to Ford’s room, bringing the coffee into bed. Even though I’d been quiet, the movement of the mattress caused him to stir, his eyes gradually opening, meeting mine.God.He was perfection in the morning. Hair completely messy, beard a little thicker than it had been last night, a stare that was lusty and feral.I was ready for whatever he wanted to do to me.“Good morning,” I sai