AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She hadn’t expected him to call last Friday night. She’d assumed he would need a buffer of at least a few days to assimilate what had happened. Apparently not. Pam had taken that day off so she’d stayed to cover office hours until 8 p.m. She’d only just made it home after stopping at a diner for dinner when the phone rang. And there he was, waiting for her on the other end of the line.
They didn’t jump right into the naughty stuff. They’d talked about their days first. About Junior and how the weather had turned drizzly. Normal, breaking-the-ice conversation. By the second hour, when innuendoes turned to outright suggestion, she’d been squirming and ready to go.
She’d called him the next night and since then they’d alternated. As if by mutual agreement, they’d only talked over the weekend, no nudity on either side. But by Monday night, when he’d whispered, “Are you feeling what I’m feeling?” she’d been so eager to hear his dirty commands that she’d practically come the first time he’d said the word pussy.
Rory grinned and leaned forward to slick more gloss over her lips. They looked full and pouty, and she’d added a sweep of dark blue shadow to her eyelids. She might be casually dressed but her makeup said she wanted to impress. So be it.
It had been years since she’d had a crush. The heat of it seemed to beat inside her, fluttering between her legs whenever she thought about Sam and his deep, sexy voice. She didn’t want to think about what would happen tonight after they left Loki’s but it was hard not to. He made her want in ways she never had before.
“Damn unattainable men,” she muttered, capping her gloss and slipping it into the fringed purse she slung cross-body.
Twenty minutes later she sauntered into Loki’s and glanced around, locating her usual table of pals near the pool tables in the back. She slapped hands with a few of the guys, laughed through a round of hugs, exchanged a couple hip bumps with two of the guys’ girlfriends. All the while she kept an eye out for Sam.
It wasn’t seven yet but she’d wanted to catch more of the game. She’d already missed part of it with her primping.
Guess she was more of a girl than she gave herself credit for.
“Patriots are fuckin’ killing ’em!” Josh yelled, pounding a surprisingly small fist on the table. His skinny body didn’t match his booming voice.
“Yeah and your guy’s been mugging right and left,” Pete said, leering at Rory. “You almost missed him at his sweaty best.”
Rolling her eyes at Pete, she nevertheless directed her attention at the closest TV as she grabbed a handful of popcorn from the communal bowl. She and Pete had hooked up a few times, as had she and Josh. At different times, of course. They’d been her friends for several years
and she’d never hesitated to go for the benefits part of that equation. Why not? They were just having fun. But she definitely didn’t want Sam to get the wrong idea.
“So,” Pete said a few moments later, coming up behind her and lightly resting his hands on her hips. “Haven’t seen you around this week.”
Discreetly, she tried to keep one eye on the door and one on the TV. “Yeah, been working and,” she flailed for an excuse, “uh, staying home.”
“No kiddin’.” Pete pressed closer and used his nose to push back the hair near her ear. “You been staying home alone, Ror?”
“Yes.” That at least she could answer honestly. As for any other questions, Sam and what she and Sam were about was off-limits. For one, she had no clue. Secondly she wasn’t going to gossip. Not about Sam.
“Sure about that?” One of Pete’s hands drifted up her rib cage, fingers stretching toward her breast.
“Yes,” she said again, taking a deliberate step away. To cover her need for distance, she grabbed one of the barbequed ribs dripping all over a platter in front of Josh and teasingly held it over her mouth until the sauce hovered at the end of the meat.
“Oh yeah. Lick that, baby. Don’t forget the special sauce.” Josh laughed and again she rolled her eyes, biting into the tender pork. She was used to the guys and knew they meant no harm, but she didn’t want to encourage them tonight. She didn’t want to make Sam uncomfortable.
Or make him hightail it out of here, once he thinks you’re a slut that sleeps with all your friends?
She wasn’t a slut. Far from it. In fact, she could count her lovers on two hands. Even if they’d numbered more than that, she had nothing to be ashamed about. She always used protection, kept things honest and made sure both parties had a good time. Married guys were off-limits, no exceptions, and—
And Sam’s married. Or he might as well still be.
The thought made her frown down at the rib still in her hand. Josh poured her a beer from the pitcher and shoved it toward her, sloshing a healthy amount onto her sweatshirt in the process. Two wet splotches appeared disturbingly close to her nipples and her pal Aaron chuckled and handed her some napkins. When she grabbed them, a glob of sauce joined the beer.
Great. Sam hadn’t even showed up yet and she was already a mess.
“Want me to clean you up?” Pete murmured, his light-blue eyes gleaming as he grabbed another napkin.
“No, I can handle it,” she said, dabbing futilely at the splotches.
But he wasn’t listening. He dipped his napkin in his water and went to work, smearing the sauce and managing to tweak her nipple at the same time. She immediately pulled away. Tonight wasn’t the night for games and she wasn’t about to let another guy feel up her breasts while she waited for—
The man currently standing in the doorway to Loki’s, silently watching her.
She swallowed, barely conscious of the war whoops sounding around her. Nothing registered but the utter darkness of Sam’s eyes. And when her gaze finally made its way to his mouth, that he wore a little smile and not a scowl. Her heart lurched into a frantic beat.
