More Than Anything (Broken Pieces 1)

Still, this was the chance she’d been waiting for, an opportunity to dazzle Harris with her new look. She cast another glance at her too-tight sequined dress and tried not to wince. At least her makeup and hair looked nice. The latter was upswept and elegant, with a few curly tendrils escaping to frame her face. She wore only lip gloss to make her already-pink full lips look moist and inviting and had gone for smoky eyelids to bring attention to her sea-green eyes.

She wanted Harris to see her as more than just his friend’s kid sister. Wanted him to see her as a beautiful, sexy woman. After tonight he and Greyson would be going back to school, and Tina would start her gap year. Things would change. What if he met someone in the States? This could be her last chance to make him truly see her. Make him want her. And she was a mass of nerves because she wasn’t sure she had done enough. But she had to try. Or he would be lost to her forever.

She smoothed her hands down the front of her short red dress, threw back her shoulders, and gave Libby a final grin before leaving to join the party upstairs.

Oh my God! Libby’s not going to believe this! Tina thrilled hours later as she sat up in the rumpled bed, dragging the luxurious Egyptian cotton sheet up over her naked breasts. In fact, Tina could hardly believe it herself. The way Harris had singled her out at the party, how he had danced with her, touched her, looked at her. Like she was the prettiest girl there. He had moved her out to the quiet patio and kissed her.

Her first kiss! It had been everything she’d ever imagined. They had spent half an hour in the dark, kissing, cuddling, touching. Her, Tina Jenson, finally touching beautiful Harrison Chapman, with his perfect body and velvety skin. It had been all her dreams come true and so much more.

She sighed contentedly, staring into the darkness, as she recalled his tongue sliding over her skin and her breasts. Her overly sensitized nipples tightened at the memory. He’d led her into this room, where his touches had become more insistent, more purposeful . . . until she found herself sprawled on the bed naked, Harris hovering above her, positioned between her splayed thighs.

She remembered him asking if she was on birth control, and—feeling like a sophisticated woman of the world—she’d happily told him yes. She’d started on the pill just that morning, wishing for something like this to happen but never dreaming that it actually would.

It had hurt, of course. She had known it would. But he had been gentle and considerate. It was messier and a lot quicker than she’d expected, over in less than a minute. But she didn’t mind. She knew that next time would be better. She smiled and glanced down into his sleeping face.

He was divine; his big muscular body was dark and powerful against the white bedding. Those broad shoulders looked like they could barely clear a normal doorframe; his sculpted chest and torso, along with his ridged abdomen, made him seem like a young Adonis. He was masculine perfection, and he wanted her. She lay back down, cuddling against his side and relishing the amazing warmth and wonderful scent of him. She fell asleep, happier than she could ever recall being before.

Tina didn’t know how long she’d slept, but when she woke up, he wasn’t there. His side of the bed still retained some of his body heat, so she knew he couldn’t have been gone long. She cocked her head, listening for sounds from the bathroom. Nothing. She sat up, pushing her messy hair from her face.

“Harris?”

Silence.

She got out of bed and found her clothing scattered all over the floor. She couldn’t find one of her earrings, and both of her shoes were missing. After searching impatiently for a few moments, she gave up on both the earring and her shoes and decided to walk out on her bare feet. She wasn’t particularly concerned—she would find them later—but the earrings were a graduation gift from her oldest brother, Conrad, and she would hate to lose one. Maybe Harris would help her search for it. But right now she was eager to see him again.

She left the room; it was quiet upstairs, but she could hear the thumping music downstairs, which meant the party was still going strong. She was confidently walking toward the landing, ready to face the crowds again, when she heard masculine voices and laughter. She had been in this house enough times to know that it was coming from Mr. Chapman’s study, which was situated in the room closest to the landing. The man would probably shit the proverbial brick if he knew that any of the partygoers had breached his sanctum. Wanting to keep the twins out of trouble, Tina decided she’d better usher the stray partygoers out of the room before they did any damage.