Page 10 of Backup Plan

“Why not?” he murmurs. He’s close. So close. Too close. I’m no longer drunk on the wine. I’m drunk on his scent. I’m falling into an abyss I don’t want to climb out of.

Just one night.

I just want to get lost in Liam Bradley for one night.

The voice of reason prevails, the stupid bitch. “Three reasons. We’re both drunk, you're my best friend's younger brother, and you're way too young for me.” I press my hands to his chest in an effort to push him away, and my God, those muscles are hard.

What would it be like to feel him naked, to run my palms along the hard planes of his back as he hovers over me?

I want to know.

Suddenly, without reservation or fear, I need to know.

I know I’m making the absolute wrong decision here. But I can’t seem to stop myself.

“I’m not drunk,” he says, his nose still brushing mine, his lips centimeters away, his breath warm against my mouth. “And sometimes the best ideas are the bad ones.”

I close my eyes and lean into him, breathing in his scent as another kind of warmth fills my core, and I tilt my head so my lips catch his.

Oh, God. His lips are so soft, so warm, so inviting. He parts them, and it’s been a long, long time since I’ve kissed someone at all, let alone someone new, but it’s like riding a bicycle—if you were riding a bicycle with a partner in the middle of a tsunami, maybe.

Feelings rush through my chest, complicated ones and simple ones, new and old alike, as we both give into this kiss with abandon. His arms tighten around me, and it’s not my best friend’s brother kissing me, but it’s this hot NFL star whose future is unsure but who I had fun with tonight as I face my own unsure future. This man who wants to help me however he can and is nice to me and has offered me a place to stay…

Oh, right.

He offered me a place to stay.

Kissing him would complicate that.

But like he said…fuck it.

I don’t want to stop, especially not as he shifts his hips and I feel that his hardness is growing, and especially not as I rest my palms on that hard chest. I want to see the hard chest. I want to feel his muscles as they move over me. I want his mouth on my body, not just on my mouth, but everywhere.

His mouth opens to mine, his tongue moving in, exploring, sure, and confident as it brushes mine.

I want him to quell the ache that’s forming between my legs, an ache that feels so familiar yet one that’s been absent for so, so long. I want him to blow the dust out of there and give me a new experience, one I can dream about, even though we both know this isn’t realistic, that it would never work, but it would allow us both to just feel good for one godforsaken night.

His hands move along my torso, and I move mine from his chest to wrap around him, running my nails along his back and down to his sweet, tight ass, which I squeeze before I move my hands up again.

The kiss starts softly enough, innocently, but soon shifts into urgency. Needy. He shifts his hips again, this time thrusting toward me, making sure I can feel how hard he is. Making sure I can feel how big he is.

I can’t help but moan as I think about his cock inside of me, claiming me, giving me back something I didn’t think I’d ever get to have again.

“Fuck, Pen,” he mutters, dragging his lips along my neck just like I thought of earlier, and it feels even better than I imagined. He’s all scruffy jawline and hard muscle. “God, I want you.”

My answer is a moan. I know I should stop this, and maybe if I hadn’t had all the wine, I would. But my body seems to have all the answers tonight, and maybe I’ll regret it in the morning, but right now, I’m not thinking about the morning. I’m thinking about Liam Bradley’s lips on my neck. I’m thinking about kissing him some more. I’m thinking about how I have one night to myself to do whatever I want, and what I want is to do Liam Bradley. All night. Maybe twice.

I’m thinking about how he wants me.

God, I want you, he just said to me.

And God…I want him, too.

We’re crossing a line we shouldn’t cross, but at the same time, it feels inevitable.

“I want you, too,” I murmur.

He kisses me again, and he breaks apart from me suddenly, grabbing my hand and leading me back inside, through his house, up his stairs, and to his bedroom. He sets me down, and he says, “I’ll be right back.”