I guided him through the kiss and let it linger for the requisite thirty seconds before I pulled back. A self-satisfied smile bloomed on my mouth at the reactions around me. Ellie’s jaw grazed the table while Josh stared at me, his amusement from earlier locked away behind a stone-faced mask. Marshall, meanwhile, sat frozen in his chair with glassy eyes and his mouth agape.
“Sorry for springing that on you,” I said. “But you’re a great kisser. A-plus.”
“N-n-no problem,” he stuttered. “I, um, I…” His eyes darted toward Ellie, who eyed him with a smidge more interest than before.
I hid a smile. The best way to spark a woman’s interest was to introduce a little competition. “I believe that was thirty seconds?”
I directed my question at Josh, who responded with a cool, “More than thirty. You must’ve been really into it.”
“Like I said…” I toyed with my now-empty glass. “Marshall’s a great kisser.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” He flicked his eyes toward Marshall. “Marshall, my man. Your turn.”
We played another three rounds before Ellie reluctantly excused herself, citing an early flight tomorrow. Apparently, it was her grandmother’s eighty-fifth birthday, so she was flying home to Milwaukee for the celebration.
She eyed Josh like she wanted him to leave with her, but he merely wished her a good night and a safe flight home. Marshall, of course, offered to split an Uber with her since they had to go in the same direction.
And then there were two.
“Ellie has a crush on you,” I said after our coworkers left. I stole the last fry from the basket and popped it in my mouth. I wasn’t breaking girl code because I was one hundred percent sure Josh knew. Hell, he was so arrogant he probably thought every straight woman crushed on him even when they didn’t.
His lips curved. “I’m aware.”
“You interested?”
“You care?”
I chewed slowly and swallowed before I responded with a deliberate, “Not even a little bit.”
Animosity crackled between us, masking something else beneath the surface.
“Of course you don’t,” Josh said softly. He finished his drink without taking his eyes off me. “Nice show you put on with Marshall earlier.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play dumb. It’s unbecoming.”
“I’m not. You think I wouldn’t have kissed Marshall of my own accord, just because he doesn’t have a perfect face and six-pack abs?” I shot Josh a pointed stare. “Looks aren’t everything. At least Marshall is sweet.”
His smile took on a hard slant. “You don’t want or need sweet, Red. It would bore you to death.”
“Oh, really?” My voice dripped with poisonous honey. “Then please, pray tell, what do I want and need? Since you know me so well.”
Josh leaned forward until his mouth hovered near my ear, and it was all I could do not to pull back. My heart rumbled so loud in my chest I would’ve missed his reply had his voice not poured into me like dark silk, dangerous yet seductive.
“You want someone who can challenge you. Excite you. Keep you on your toes. And as for what you need…” His whiskey-scented breath gusted across my skin, peppering it with a thousand goosebumps. “You need someone to bend you over and fuck that attitude right out of you.”
My reaction was instantaneous.
My nipples pebbled into hard, painful points, and a rush of hot moisture soaked my panties. Every gust of air against my sensitized skin added to the need pulsing low in my belly.
“You think Marshall can do that?” Josh’s voice wrapped around me like a velvet embrace. “Fuck you the way you need?”
“And you can?” I managed. Oxygen. I needed oxygen. “Keep dreaming.”
“I wasn’t offering.” Josh’s hand grazed my knee for a millisecond, just long enough to set my body aflame. “But it’s nice to know that’s where your mind went.”
I was saved from having to formulate a witty response in my current lightheaded state when someone cut into our conversation.
“Jules?”
The unfamiliar voice had the same effect as a bucket of cold water.
I jerked back, heart pounding, while Josh took his time resettling in his seat with a dark, satisfied smile.
That fucking bastard.
After our interloper left, I would pay him back. Somehow.
In the meantime, I had someone else to deal with.
My eyes fell on the preppy, somewhat familiar-looking guy who’d interrupted us. He wore the unofficial D.C. men’s uniform of a blue-and-white gingham shirt and khakis, and he’d slicked back his hair in a way that did nothing for his features.
He fixed me with an expectant stare, which I returned with a blank one of my own until my memory pieces slotted into place and recognition dawned.
It was Todd…the guy who’d stood me up weeks ago.
JOSH
I’d metmy fair share of douchebags, but I could say with utmost confidence the guy standing before me was the douchiest of them all.
Maybe it was his oily smile and the way he slicked back his hair, like he was a smarmy politician running for office. Or maybe it was the way he leered at Jules, like she was a juicy steak and he hadn’t eaten in days.
Irrational loathing replaced my earlier satisfaction at successfully working Jules up.
You need someone to bend you over and fuck that attitude right out of you.
Whiskey had loosened my tongue, and Jules and Marshall’s kiss had given me the final push to say what I’d been thinking. To say what we’d both been thinking since Vermont.
Jules could hiss and snarl all she wanted, but she couldn’t hide her desire. She wanted me as much as I wanted her, and we both hated ourselves for it.
“Todd.” Jules packed a gallon of disdain into one word.
My mouth ticked up into an involuntary smile before it flattened again.
She knew this guy?
“I thought that was you, but I wasn’t sure. You look even better in person,” he told her chest.
My jaw tightened. I appreciated breasts as much as the next guy, but that was just damn rude. He hadn’t looked her in the eye since he arrived.
Part of me was grateful for the interruption, which came right as I was about to do something I would regret. Another, darker part of me wanted to gouge his eyes out for looking at her that way.
I rolled my glass between my fingers, disturbed by my violent, unwanted thoughts. Where the hell had they come from? Since when did I care whether other men looked at Jules?
I don’t. Todd has a punchable face. That’s all.
“You don’t.” Jules’s voice oozed enough sweet venom to fell an elephant. “I guess pictures can be deceiving.”
This time, I couldn’t hold back a grin despite my irritation.
She was savage. I fucking loved it.
If Todd was offended, he didn’t show it. I wasn’t even sure he heard her; he was too busy ogling her breasts, which strained against the buttons of her shirt.
“I’m sorry about our date the other day,” he said, and just like that, my grin disappeared again. “My car broke down and my phone died. I texted you a few times after, but you never responded.”
I pieced together the puzzle before Jules responded. This was the guy who’d stood her up at The Bronze Gear?
Jesus. I thought she had better taste than that.
“If by the other day, you mean almost a month ago, then apology not accepted,” Jules said coolly. “You also never texted me, but it’s okay. I suffered a massive lapse in judgment when I swiped right on you. I’m back to normal now, so you can run along.” She shooed him away with a wave of her hand. “Also, my face is up here, asshole.”
Todd’s face flushed an angry shade of purple. “I was trying to be nice because I felt bad about what happened. You don’t have to be such a bitch about it.”
A low growl rose in my throat.