I dipped my head and brushed my lips against his, shocked that he was so hot. His skin was on fire. And God, his lips were soft. I pressed harder against him, just learning their shape and texture, wobbling a little on my bent knee as he reached up to tangle his hands in my hair. He pulled me down and slid his tongue into my mouth, not wasting a moment.
As tentative as I was, he was bold.
The kiss lasted a few seconds. His tongue slashed over mine, driving hard as if he knew we wouldn’t have long to sink in and get to know each o
ther that way. I let him take the lead, shaky and stirred, surprised to feel the reverberations of his tongue between my tightly clenched thighs. My clit was already joining the fray.
Too soon, it was over, our mouths separated for reasons I didn’t understand. I blinked up at Emerson, realizing his fingers pinched my shoulder in an unrelenting grip.
He’d pulled me away to sit beside JC, and now he was staring down at me, his features taut with a mixture of emotions I couldn’t identify. Anger and confusion, absolutely. Maybe even some hurt, which I’d have to puzzle out later.
But there was more. His blue eyes had gone flame-hot, and I didn’t think I was imagining the lust burning there. For me.
For us?
I couldn’t analyze it. Not when I felt like my internal thermostat had fried and my skin was too tight. I had to move, to keep this going.
I grabbed Emerson’s T-shirt, clenching the damp fabric. He was sweating. I was too. God, we were all going to die of heat stroke.
“Lily,” Emerson grated, and I didn’t know if he was warning me or begging me.
I didn’t fucking care.
I used a fistful of his shirt to drag his face down to mine. His eyes were so close. Too close, seeing me inside and out. And his mouth was right there, just a whisper away.
So I bit it.
He groaned and the sound swept through me like a fever. Eyes still wide open, I tugged his full lower lip between my teeth, going with instinct because experience sure as hell had never led me down this particular path. But I saw his pupils flare, the dark obscuring the blue, and his chest heaved under my hand as my teeth skimmed flesh.
Then his tongue was stroking into my mouth, and I could only take.
He kissed me hard, harder even than JC. The stirring between my legs grew, causing me to shift and press them together to try to quell the ache. I hadn’t worn tights under my dress, and the wetness on my inner thighs brought a flush to my cheeks.
A hand skimmed up my midsection, strong fingers traveling higher to cup one of my breasts. I didn’t react. I just let Emerson work his magic on my mouth while JC palmed my flesh, not clumsily pinching and plucking like what’s-his-name had. He let me get used to having his hand on my body before he started toying with my nipple. Lightly at first, then with growing pressure until I couldn’t stifle the whimper that slipped into Emerson’s mouth along with my eager tongue.
Wrong move.
As if he’d just realized what we were doing, Emerson dragged his lips from mine. “What the fuck, Lil?”
Then he glanced down and saw JC’s hand on my breast, saw me squirming and leaning toward my other best friend, and his jaw locked. “Goddammit,” he muttered, moving away from us. “Fucking goddammit.”
I started to straighten, to try to clear the haze from my mind. Not just from the beer but from the men. My men.
“Just wait,” JC said against my ear, adding a little nip that made me moan. Damn, I just couldn’t stay quiet.
Emerson whirled around. He looked at us sitting close together, JC’s hands roaming possessively and his mouth on my skin, and something inside him broke. Just shattered right in front of my eyes.
After stalking back to us, he kneeled in front of me, then cupped my face in his hands. His gentle touch belied the wildness in his expression. I’d never seen anything like it before. My heart bumped and then his mouth was slamming down on mine, our teeth clashing as he fought his way back inside. It didn’t seem to matter that I was granting him access. He needed to drive himself back in with a force that should’ve scared me.
All it did was make my want surge higher.
JC’s hand moved from my breast down to the hem of my dress. I thought maybe he’d developed an interest in my thighs, but no, he was tugging the dress up my legs, not stopping at my hips or my waist. I had to move back for him to hike it up my torso and over my head, and when I did, I expected Emerson’s conscience or inner Lance voice or whatever stick he got up his ass to make itself known once again.
Instead, he only gazed down at me in my scarlet-red lace panties and bra and licked his lips.
Licked his lips.
“Like what you see?” JC’s voice sounded in my ear, though he wasn’t talking to me. I knew very well who he was talking to.