She’s crawling under your skin.
Slow and steady like a creature in the wild.
When I got the call from Lex last night informing me of Amelia’s Friday night adventure into a club, it took a hell of a lot of trawling through her social media, which, thank God, was an open account. She’d posted a story with a picture of a restaurant in SOHO, and I knew precisely which club was located next door.
It was the last thing I wanted to do. I’d just flown in from Chicago after what had been an exhausting day at a business summit. I spent most of the day surrounded by every idiot and their pathetic plea for me to look at their ideas—apps that could do this or that, nothing innovative or remotely interesting, in my opinion.
And Lex is anything but patient when it comes to the so-called safety of his oldest daughter. His bark over the phone was less than pleasing, leaving me no choice but to find her and get her out of there intact.
I didn’t expect to find her drunk, assuming she’d have been more responsible. Her body swayed on the dance floor, men eyeing her with thirst in their mouth-watering stares. A few tried to touch her, slide their hands to places that would’ve compromised her innocence. Anger ripped through me as I stormed through the crowd, unapologetically, pushing people out of the way and almost into a fistfight with one fucker who wouldn’t move.
Then she yelled at me, laughed at me, and did something I didn’t expect—she placed her arms on me and rubbed herself against my body. Of course, my dick was fucking hard. What do you expect? Her tits bounced in the tight dress, and her lips looked like red candy.
Over and over again, I had to remind myself why I came to get her—Lex’s voice replaying in my head, his desperation mixed with fury.
But I shouldn’t have sat here staring at her all night listening to the tiny snores she releases and watching the way her body is spread out in my bed. Thoughts cross my mind, things I should be ashamed of. I need to control myself, act like an older sibling, and not like a man wondering what she tastes like between her legs.
Sweet, I bet.
When the morning light streams through the bedroom, I escape to the kitchen, waiting for her to wake up.
It’s just after eight when I hear feet drag through the hallway.
“Good morning,” I greet with an overbearing smile. “Has death found you yet?”
She sits on the stool, moaning. The shirt she wears pulls up, exposing her thigh, yet she doesn’t seem bothered. I quickly shift my attention, ignoring my dick hardening at the sight. Seriously, get a fucking grip on yourself.
“Remind me never to drink again.”
“Gladly, since you’re nineteen, the law can also remind you.”
“How brotherly of you…” she mumbles beneath her breath before her face cringes. “What’s that smell?”
“It’s called hangover food. A breakfast burrito.”
“Don’t say the word burrito.”
“Take it from an old-timer like myself, it works wonders.”
A smile manages to escape her lips before she takes a bite. At first, she stops mid-chew, her face turning a slight shade of green, but soon after, she swallows and begins to look somewhat normal.
“I told you, right?”
“I do feel much better,” she admits, accepting the coffee I pour for her. “You’re quite the morning host.”
I can see where she’s going with this, but as much as I’d like to put her in her place, I take the softer approach feeling somewhat sorry for her. My first drink was in high school, some party from memory and done so as a dare. Boy, did my parents give it to me the next morning. Dad, of course, laughed, but Mom grounded me. It wasn’t the best of hangovers and definitely memorable.
“Believe it or not, women don’t stay here.”
Her eyes draw up to meet mine with a curious gaze. “How is that even possible?”
“I’m quite particular about my routine and my bed.”
Letting out a small snort, she shakes her head. “I find that hard to believe. You seem to be a man who likes his women, and I assume your interest in them goes well beyond the night and into the early morning hours.”
“Did my mother, or your mother, tell you that?”
“I drew that conclusion when I forgot for a moment where I was and opened your bedside drawer to a bulk pack of condoms.”