Aly's cheeks looked as though they'd never return to their usual color. "It's just Aly, actually."
I nodded, still smiling. "I'll remember that."
"A tip, Jackson. Maybe try whipped potatoes next time," Dad cut back in, frowning as he swallowed his food. "I apologize, everyone, it seems the potatoes are a bit hard."
Looking at Aly through part of my glass as I took another sip, I mumbled, "They're not the only things," just loud enough for her to hear me. At the moment, I was having a difficult time keeping my raging hard-on to myself. Every time I tried to distract myself, my mind always seemed to wonder back to Aly's creamy thighs and her heavenly scent and taste. Her sweet pussy was like drinking nectar from the gods. Nectar that I needed desperately to bury my cock inside of.
"Son, you amaze me sometimes the way you manage to throw back your wine. You're in the company of a prestigious somm, in the heart of wine country. Savor, my boy, savor!" Dad said, swilling around his own wine glass. "Besides, what else is hard on your plate? Or are you just giving Jackson a hard time because of poker night?" His quick wink made me roll my eyes.
The news that I had lost $10,000 at my brother’s house last week had spread like wildfire. I was practically legendary for my biggest mistake.
"The carrots," I murmured, as I stared directly at Aly across the table from me.
She chewed on her lip and looked back down at her plate, unblinking.
ALY
I need to get the hell over this, stat. I'm a professional and he's just some man in his twenties, still living like a college student. He probably still lives at home too, I mean why wouldn't he when he's richer than God? Sure, he's hot as hell, but this is just insane. What happened earlier today was a fluke—those things don't just happen. I need to let all of this go and move on…
It was easy enough to tell myself all these things, but every time I glanced up, I saw Liam's icy blue eyes staring me down, a playful smirk on his face. That damn dimple in the corner was driving me crazy. Maybe I was going crazy, especially for letting him, a stranger, go down on me in a public place. What in the world had I been thinking?
I knew he had to be a man-child, one of those guys that did whatever the heck they wanted to, everyone else be damned. But it didn't really explain why he was working at his father's spa. If he could get away with doing very little and still have money to easily tide him over, why was he employed there to begin with?
My mind was working overtime, wondering what made Liam tick, but my body was a different story. Chills ran across my skin when I saw the way the tendons in his hand flexed as he used his fork and knife on the roast lamb. The way they jumped under his tanned skin, running along the muscular length of his forearm, only to disappear under the sleeve of his shirt… it reminded me of how perfect his hand looked on the cusp of my hip.
I bit at my lip again, desperate to wring the dirty thoughts from my brain. I'd always wanted more passion, and Josh had never really shown it to me. Now, as Liam sat across from me, I could feel myself getting wetter each time he caught my eye. Where was all this coming from?
I took in a deep breath and forced myself not to look at Liam anymore, my eyes focused only on the gourmet spread on my plate. As flushed as the wine had made me, I drank very little of it and instead tried to cool off with my glass of ice water.
"Are you sure you're not coming down with a fever, sis?" Sage asked me once I finished my sautéed vegetables.
I steadied myself. "Nah, I'm fine," I whispered back to her. She simply shrugged and downed the rest of her wine, pushing the glass aside.
If I thought I was going to make it out of the dinner unscathed, I was wrong. Liam had every intention of toying with me at every turn.
Picking up a rather sturdy piece of asparagus, Liam eyed it and nudged his father. "These are some thick, long spears. I've never seen asparagus like this. Where did it come from?"
"Oh that," Mom chuckled, helping herself to more wine. "Aly has this amazing little garden out back she's been tending to ever since we've been here. That's where we pulled those from."
Liam's eyes lit up with the sexiest, most mischievous look he could manage. I was sure I was going to die in a fit of embarrassment. "This huge thing came from your garden, Aly? They must have been hard to handle."
I shrugged, but I felt so naked out in the open that all I wanted to do was sink under the table. And maybe get a good look at the hard… carrots Liam was referring to.
"It's not difficult, ripe asparagus like those are pretty easy to pry. Randy, Jackson, where do you usually buy your produce from?" Mom evenly replied, obviously not getting any of the entendre.
"We have a local farm that supplies us for now. You look mighty satisfied over there, bro. Was it good?" Jackson replied as Liam leaned back in his seat, still looking cheeky as ever.
"I certainly think so! This lamb is so soft and lush; the sauce is splendid," Mom said.
"Mm, yes. It practically melts in your mouth. I could eat it all day. Tender, juicy… I’d lick the sauce off the very plate." The wicked look in Liam's eyes made me squirm in my chair.
My insides were aching, blazing from all the torture of having Liam and his magic fingers and mouth so close to me. And he knew it, too.
Everyone laughed as Liam picked up the plate, pretending to take a bite, before setting it back down, his eyes never leaving my face. I closed mine momentarily, images of Liam's tongue darting out against my core flooding my mind.
"Surely not in the company of ladies, Liam! Such theatrics!" Randy laughed and rolled his eyes playfully at his son. "I tell you, we've been all over the world, stayed at the grandest of hotels, and my boys still act like they were raised in a barn… Speaking of traveling," he began, glancing over at Mom, who was pink in the cheeks too. "Aly, Sage, Liam… Kay and I have a surprise for you tomorrow. We're all heading to our winter home in Vail in the morning for a little weekend getaway. Jackson will join us Sunday morning, after his weekend shifts."
Next to me, Sage squealed, clapping her hands over her mouth. "Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing! It's so gorgeous there this time of year!"
Forcing myself not to check for Liam's reaction, I plastered on an excited smile. But deep down, something else was stirring. A whole weekend pent up in the same house as Liam Satterwhite?
How was I going to make it until Monday?
Chapter 5
ALY
* * *
Slipping off my shoes, I sighed as I shut the door behind me. It was so nice to be back in my own surroundings for the moment, even though as much as I knew I needed sleep, I was going to have a hard t
ime getting my mind to stop reeling from the day’s events.
Dinner had been one uncomfortable yet sinful accord, and now I was going to have to try and get plenty of sleep before waking up at the crack of dawn in order to get ready for our trip to Vail.
What exactly were the chances I was playing with here? How utterly ironic was it that the deliciously sexy masseuse from earlier found me naked and alone in the sauna, and felt it necessary to eat my pussy as though it were a gourmet meal, taking his sweet time? And then not only does that same masseuse show up at my mother's house later for an actual gourmet meal, but he's Mom's rich boyfriend's son? The same son who will be joining us this weekend in a place known for its romantic winter cabins…
It was all too much. I flopped down on my bed, my head spinning. It seemed impossible that all of these things had happened in that exact order, and that I was going to be face-to-face with my dirty little secret all weekend long.
Curling up under my covers, I stared at the wall across from me until my eyelids grew heavier and heavier…
The flurries rushed around my face, the wooden lodge barely visible as I pushed my way through the thick drifts of freezing cold snow. All I could hear was the sound of the wind roaring with all its might. I knew if I didn't hurry up and reach the lodge, I'd be a goner.
Only a few more steps…
The lodge door flew open as I stepped inside, the snow pushing me over the threshold, and I turned to quickly shut it behind me. Brushing the fat flakes of snow from out of my hair and off my coat, I threw my hood back and hung the coat up on the hook on the wall, taking a good look at my new haven.
It was small, small enough to really only serve two people. The loveseat that sat in front of the TV was covered with a thick quilt that I pulled over and around my shoulders as I took a seat in front of the fireplace. The flames licked at the logs, the fire already blazing for me. I let the chill dissolve into warmth and sat there waiting expectantly.