Chapter Seven

It was official—I was f**king wasted. Swaying on the bar stool, I licked the remaining salt off my upper lip as my last shot of tequila burned its way down my stomach. When I glanced over at Allison, my dick jerked in my pants. Damn, she was so f**king sexy. The feel of her tongue on my skin had lit me up like I had never imagined possible. If she could do that just touching my neck, what would it feel like for her to have her hands and mouth on the rest of my body? I shuddered at the pleasurable thought.

Not only had her tongue felt good on me, but her skin had felt satiny smooth under my own tongue. I could have spent days kissing and licking up her neck and face. More than anything, I wanted to kiss those lips that parted each and every time my mouth came close to hers.

Staring at Allison was getting to be too much, so I turned my gaze to the pool. “I think we should swim,” I blurted out of nowhere. Considering how we were both looking at each other like we were in heat, it would probably be a good idea to cool the f**k off before things got out of hand.

Allison stared at me in surprise. “Seriously?”

“Mmm, hmm.” Without another word to her, I fell off the stool and staggered over to the pool. The water appeared so cool and inviting. Beads of sweat had popped out all over my body from the tequila while itchy warmth had spread its way over my skin. I didn’t give it another thought—I just dove right into the deep end.

The coolness of the night made the water chillier than normal. Gliding through the water felt like I had tiny pelts of ice nicking my skin. When I surfaced, Allison stood at the edge of the pool, staring down at me with a worried expression. “What the hell are you doing?”

Treading water, I replied, “Swimming.”

“In your tux top and kilt?”

“Fuck the tux. I wanted to swim.” I grinned up at her. “Come in. It feels wonderful.”

Allison’s brows lined as she gazed down at her dress. When I thought she would just jump in and join me, I was wrong. Her hands went around her back, and I soon realized she was unzipping her dress. Mesmerized, I watched as the top slid down her body. Blinking rapidly, I licked my lips as she shimmied the dress off her hips. When it lay in a puddle of satin on the floor, she stepped out of it, standing before me in nothing but a strapless bra and panties. Oh f**king hell, I was in trouble. Allison had the body of goddess—a goddess made for sex.

“Quite a little strip tease you have going on,” I said, trying to distract myself for the moment. Although as drunk as I was, I could have been yelling at her to take it all off.

With a shy smile, her arms crisscrossed over her waist. “It’s just like a bikini,” she protested. Instead of jumping in, she went to the stairs. Slowly, she took them one by one, the water enveloping her body in a teasingly sensual way. I couldn’t have kept my eyes off of her even if I wanted to. She was too f**king sexy. And what was totally endearing is she had no idea what kind of effect she had on me.

She swam to me in long strokes, her body causing delicate ripples as it cut through the water. But when she reached me, she kept right on swimming. Eventually, she dipped under the waterfall and disappeared from my view. Weighed down by my clothes, I kicked hard in the water to swim after her. As the waterfall cascaded over my head, I searched for her. She rested back against the man-made rock formation. Her eyes tracked my movements toward her.

Allison seemed so far away. I knew what I had to do once I got to her—I had to f**king devour her. I had spent the last two weeks playing the gentleman by keeping my f**king perverted thoughts at bay. I had also kept reminding myself that she was just a friend, and more importantly, she was Jake’s sister. But I’d spent way too much time denying myself someone I truly desired, which was Allison. There was no way I was letting this night end without making her body mine.

When I reached her at the rocks, I tugged her to me. Her slick body fused against mine, causing my c**k to twitch with anticipation. “What have you done to me?” I asked, as I stared into her eyes.

Allison’s brow lined in confusion. “I haven’t done anything.”

I shook my head. “You’ve done something to change me—to make me want you.”

“Maybe you wanted me all along and didn’t realize it,” she challenged softly.

“You mean these past few weeks?”

“I mean for a long, long time. Longer than you would like to admit.”

Blinking several times, I tried processing her words in my inebriated state. Through the haze, I wondered if Allison was right. Had there been something between us for a long time? And what the f**k did she mean by longer than I would want to admit? She had been just a kid—a teenager—for most of the years I’d known her, and I sure as hell wasn’t some pervy dude who got off on young girls. “I don’t know about that. But I do know I want to kiss you again.”

“Then kiss me.”

For a few seconds, my mouth hovered over hers. I felt her quick pants of breath feather across my cheek. Then without another moment of delay, I pressed my lips to hers. The cold water seemed to have doused the intensity we had before when we were doing the shots. This time Allison was tentative at first, letting me take what I wanted. But then the silk warmth of her tongue flicked across my bottom lip. A groan left my mouth almost instantaneously.

Pulling away, I stared into her face. “Damn, you’re so f**king beautiful,” I murmured.

She fluttered her eyelashes prettily at me. “Do you really mean that?”

“I would say it was the tequila talking, but I think my wood would prove me wrong.”

As her arms came to encircle my neck, she pressed herself against me. “I don’t want it to be the tequila talking. I want it to be what you feel deep down inside.”

I stared into her eyes, which held such vulnerability. That look caused a feeling of protection to come over me. I didn’t want anyone to hurt her, least of all me, and in that moment, I was completely dangerous to her. I knew that she wanted me as much as I wanted her. But, I couldn’t see how I could take from her. Through the haze of alcohol and being somewhat tongue-tied, I knew I had to get clarification from her before we went any further. “You like me, Allison? You mean, you really like me?”

With a solemn expression, she nodded her head. “I always have, and I always will,” she whispered.

At the time, I didn’t understand the enormity of her statement. All I knew was my dick liked her very, very much, but in my hazy state, I tried to decipher what I felt about her deep down inside. There was so much about her to like—her sweetness, her smile, her sense of humor, her gentle, caring spirit, her artistic talent, and also her friendship. Without even trying, she’d found a way to break down my walls and strip my soul bare. If I was truly honest with myself, I should have been able to see how much I liked her…maybe even was in love with her. But it was impossible to process all of that tonight.