Page 17 of Trick or Tease

He laughed. “What a way to wake up.”

“Yeah, but it must seem like small potatoes to you,” she said. “Our big news is a drunk doing something stupid. I guess I can see why you don’t want to go back to Greenleaf. You’ve outgrown it.”

“That’s not why I don’t like going home.”

“No?”

“Everyone is all up in your business back there. Everyone who sees me on the street has a hundred questions for me, and they always give me shit about moving to the city to make something of myself. It’s frustrating.”

“It would really mean a lot to your parents if you were there. I know you’re handling million-dollar deals⁠—”

“Billion,” I reminded her.

“Damn, right. I can’t even imagine that many zeroes. You must be crazy busy.”

“Yes, but actually, I got this last one done early and my schedule has opened up. I beat the deadline by two weeks. Maybe I could go home for a few days.”

“Yeah?” she asked. The hope in her eyes pulled at me.

But more than that, she awoke something in me.

Lust?

Desire?

“If you promise to keep me safe from answering everyone’s questions,” I added.

She grinned and held out her hand. “Deal.”

I took her hand and let myself hold on a little longer than a proper handshake. “As long as your boyfriend doesn’t get mad.”

Was it cheesy? Absolutely. But I needed to know.

“Oh, I’m not dating anyone.”

I didn’t know if it was because it had been a while since I got laid or if it was just nostalgia, but I was feeling things for this woman that I’d never felt when we were teenagers. She was gorgeous and she wasn’t even dressed up or trying.

My eyes focused on the curve of her lips as she spoke, the way they moved around her words. Shit, when had I started noticing things like that? She had always been pretty, but sitting here in the city lights with her hair catching the breeze, she looked like something out of a dream I didn’t know I’d been having.

The flannel shirt she wore was soft and faded, the kind of comfortable that only came from years of wear. It hugged her curves in all the right places without trying to, which somehow made it sexier than any designer dress I’d seen on the women in the city. Her jeans fit her perfectly, accentuating legs that I suddenly wanted wrapped around my waist.

I took another sip of scotch, trying to get my head on straight. This was Sabrina. My childhood friend. But sitting here watching her lips curve around the rim of her wine glass, all I could think about was what those lips would feel like pressed against mine. Or around my cock.

She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, and I found myself wondering what it would feel like to run my fingers through it. Would it be as soft as it looked? What kind of sounds would she make if I kissed her?

“That’s a real shame,” I said and finally released her hand. “Girl like you should have men lined up the block.”

She laughed and it felt like she was running her fingertips down my back. “You’re just saying that.”

“I’m not.” I leaned forward slightly, drawn by something I couldn’t name. “I mean it. Any guy would be lucky to have you.”

Her cheeks flushed pink. She looked down at her wine glass. When she looked back up, something had shifted between us. The air felt charged. Like I could feel a sizzling in the air.

“Garrett,” she said softly. My name on her lips sounded different than it had all night. Intimate. Like a secret.

I set my scotch glass on the small table and found myself moving closer. She didn’t pull away. Instead, her blue eyes searched my face, dropping to my mouth for just a second before meeting my gaze again. That quick glance sent fire shooting through my veins.

“Yeah?” I managed, my voice rougher than I intended.