“I don’t know what I feel.”
I push off the wall slightly, and try to move away, but Brady holds his ground. With his wide shoulders and firm chest in front of me, I might as well be trapped between two brick walls. My thoughts don’t form with clarity. The alcohol makes my head fuzzy, and the water glistening off Brady’s skin makes him look sexy as hell. A few drops fall from the dark hair in front of his eyes, and land on his lips. He removes them with his tongue. I’m pissed at myself for thinking about him like this – for thinking about him at all. Heat clenches my sex, and I just want him to let me go. At the same time, I want him to keep me trapped against this wall and give me a reason to care.
Without warning, he crashes his lips to mine, and slams me into the wall. In one fluid motion he lifts me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist. He cups his hands under my ass, and holds me up against the bricks. Immediately, I open my mouth to him and our tongues meet, sweeping and stroking against each other’s, warm and wet. I taste the whiskey on his tongue and something sweet, and I moan into his mouth, running my fingers through his soft, damp hair.
I remember Liv, and push against his shoulders, breaking the kiss. He grips my face roughly between his thumb and fingers, and covers my lips again.
“Shit, Brady, stop!”
His shoulders sag and he groans. His hips push into me, and his erection presses against my core. “Christ, Tori, I don’t want to. Your mouth tastes as sweet as I always thought it would, and I want nothing more than to shove my tongue right back in it.”
Oh. My. God. Focus, Tori! Focus!
“Brady, it’s Liv. You’ve got to put me down. She’s with that guy’s friend somewhere.”
Without a second thought, he drops me and sprints back toward the club’s entrance. I run to catch up with him, and follow closely behind. Once we’re inside, he laces our hands together and tows me along behind him. I don’t object, because for some mind-boggling reason, I like that he’s holding my hand. The air conditioner is on and blows on my wet skin, covering me in goosebumps. But I’m not cold. Thoughts of Brady’s mouth on mine envelop me like a warm blanket.
We wind our way through a group of drunk frat boys, and I feel a sense of relief when I spot Liv sitting at the same table we were at before. As we approach, her eyes move from my face to my and Brady’s joined hands. I let go of his hand and dash to her side.
“Are you okay?” I ask, my eyes searching for the guy she was with.
She shrugs. “I’m fine.” I don’t miss the suspicious look she sends me. Brady and I are both drenched. “What happened to you two?”
“The douchebag you left Tor with slipped something in her drink.” I’m not sure if he sounds angry because of our poor judgment this evening or because of what happened outside. Either way, he’s clearly upset.
“Oh, my God! Tor, are you okay?” Liv starts to wrap me in a hug but takes my hand when she gets close. “You didn’t drink it, did you?”
“No. Thanks to Brady. He showed up and bloodied the guy’s face. It was crazy.” I’m glad she’s too concerned for me to ask how that turned into Brady and me getting soaked.
“Thank God. I guess that explains why I haven’t seen my guy since he left to get us drinks.” Confusion descends on her expression and she looks at Brady. “What are you doing here anyway, Brady?”
“I’m meeting some friends here. I should probably go find them before they think I flaked.” He sighs, looking back and forth between us. “Promise me you two are done with guys tonight.” We nod our heads in shame. He hugs Liv and kisses her on the cheek. His hand gently presses into the small of my back, and he leans in next to my ear. Heat fills me from the inside out, and tingles shoot up my spine. “I’m not finished with you.” He leaves with that promise still burning hot in my ear.
God, why do his words sear a path of desire through my entire body and land right in between my thighs, where they burst into flames? Brady is wrong for me, and I know it. I only wish my body knew it too. I suck in a deep breath, and silently tell myself that I’ve got to squish this thing with Brady immediately. My life is much simpler when I do hate him.
Liv’s arms are folded over her chest, and her eyes are burning holes into me. “Okay, Tor, spill. What the hell was that about?”
“It was nothing, Liv.” I hear my voice, and it’s not even slightly convincing.
Her eyes widen, and she unfolds her hands, placing them flat on the table. She leans forward and smirks. “Nice try, Tor. I know my brother and I know you, and that was definitely something.”
I swipe a few napkins from the table, and use them to dry off my arms and neck. I glance around, searching for my discarded rubber band so I can put my wet hair up. When I can’t find it, I comb my fingers
through my hair instead. I shake water from the strands, and avoid looking at Liv. Honestly, I’m stalling, wracking my brain for a somewhat believable lie. “Look, he saved me from getting my dumb ass raped tonight, but that’s all it was.”
“All right, then,” she says, but she’s definitely not buying any of it. “Let’s drink.”
Thankfully, she drops it, because I’ve never been able to lie to Liv. Keenly aware I need to drown my thoughts about Brady somehow, I decide to ignore the inconvenient fact that I’m well past my threshold for alcohol. When Liv brings over a couple of shots, I toss them back and relish the burn as the liquor coats my throat. Jake seems to have left the club, a tiny positive. At least I don’t have to see his lying, cheating-ass face again tonight.
Brady
God, I can’t get the taste of her out of my mouth or her scent off my skin. It’s like she’s still in my arms, wrapped tightly around me. When I left her, I wanted her to know I wasn’t done with her. I’m a fucking asshole. For the life of me, I don’t know what I’m doing. The only thing I’m certain of is that I refuse to risk hurting her, and if I’m with her, I’ll definitely hurt her. It’s in my genetic makeup. Just like my ass of a father.
I use whiskey to drown out the taste of her, but it isn’t working. I sweep my eyes across the crowd, and spot my friends making their way to me. Christy is with them. Christy is the type of girl who doesn’t mind giving it up and doesn’t expect any kind of a commitment in return. Perfect. She’s precisely what I need tonight to banish all thoughts of Tori.
After what happened with Tori outside, her reaction to my touch, it’s obvious she doesn’t hate me and probably never has. Kissing her was fucking incredible. I can’t stand knowing I’ll never have her. Her soft warm tongue in my mouth and her perky tits crushed against my chest were mind-blowing. I’m thankful she put a stop to things, because if she hadn’t I would have taken her right up against that wall. Tori’s worth so much more than a quick dirty fuck. The kind I usually have.
Why couldn’t I just keep my hands off her? It’s easier when she hates me. For her own good, she needs to hate me. There’s only one way to get Tori so pissed she never speaks to me again, a repeat of her last night with Jake. Using Christy isn’t cool, but she’s used me plenty. Turnabout is fair play, right?