Page 48 of Perfect Together
“No!” she sputtered at him. “If you want to be hot and sweaty all night, be my guest. I was just trying to look out for you.”
“And I decided I’d rather be myself.”
“Fine.” She raised her hands in defeat. “Are you ready to go?”
He nodded and slipped his hand through hers. “Come on, hot stuff.”
He pulled her into the hall, shutting his door behind them, and started for the stairs.
Macy stopped, planting her heels and refusing to walk farther. “What’s going on? Why are you flirting with me?” she asked.
He met her gaze and shrugged. “I’m just acting naturally around you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I bring out the flirt in you?”
He couldn’t contain yet another grin. He’d smiled more in the last five minutes than in the previous six months. “Could be.”
“Well, rein it in. You’re trying to win your ex back, and tonight, we’re just killing time while she’s at Sam’s parents’ house for dinner,” she reminded him, turning away so he couldn’t see what he felt sure would be the hurt look on her face.
Even though they both knew what their time together was all about, and he appreciated her willingness to hang out with him, something was between them.
Or could be if not for Tyler’s complicated life. At least she was smart enough to remember that.
Macy was the one who’d told him why he couldn’t go out looking to run into Nicole tonight in the first place. She’d also tried to encourage him to go back to New York and not set himself up for further hurt. Or embarrassment, she’d gently added. The last thing he wanted was this woman’s pity, but he couldn’t tell her the truth: that he’d already accepted that things were over between him and Nicole before he’d been coerced into coming up here towinher back.
If he hadn’t been, seeing the new Nicole would have convinced him. What he didn’t understand was whythiswoman, who was even more outspoken than his ex-fiancée, who dressed more provocatively, and who was even more comfortable being contrary than thenewNicole, revved him up so damned much.
His mother would take one look at Macy and have Tyler committed, all the while reminding him that his feelings for this woman were inappropriate because she wouldn’t fit into his world any more than he, in his khakis and polo shirt with long rolled-up sleeves, fit into hers.
“You’re right,” he told her. “But I just want us to relax and have a good time. Isn’t that what you told me to do while I’m here?”
“Yes. Just don’t do it by flirting.”
“Fine. I’ll try to behave.” But it wouldn’t be easy because she was adorable and so easy to be around, even when she was giving him a hard time—something people in his real life rarely did. It was refreshing.Shewas refreshing. He was actually looking forward to miniature golf, of all things.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. Setting his jaw, he ignored it and promised himself he’d focus on this woman who made him feel good and try to disregard his problems, if just for this one night.
***
Sam and Nicolestill sat at his parents’ dining room table. Throughout, he hid a raging erection beneath his napkin and under the tablecloth, suffered through a dessert he didn’t taste, and barely paid attention to the conversation surrounding them. Finally,finallyhe and Nicole were the first to say their goodbyes.
He sped home, daring one of his own to pull him over, and parked in Nicole’s driveway. Once they reached her house, the polite dance they’d been doing around each other ended. She closed the door and was in his arms in an instant.
This wasn’t the smooth seduction of the first time. He sealed his lips against hers and backed her to the nearest wall, dying to be inside her again. She threaded her hands through his hair and held on as he devoured her mouth. He needed her more than he needed air to breathe, and as he wasn’t used to the feeling, he ignored it in favor of the hot sensations that were much more pleasurable.
She hooked one foot around his leg and pressed her lower body against his. Knowing exactly what she needed, he ground his hips into hers, nestling his cock into the warm vee of her legs.
A low moan escaped her throat and he trailed a wet kiss down her cheek and sucked on the flesh of her neck, so when she let out another sexy sound, he felt the vibrations against his mouth.
She slid her hands beneath his shirt, and the feel of her soft fingers trailing over his abdomen made him shudder and grow harder. He let out a curse, lifted her into his arms, and headed for the bedroom upstairs.
“You like this caveman thing.” Nicole laughed, obviously feeling playful.
“If I were a caveman, you’d be over my shoulder.”
“The carrying thing, then.”
“I like carryingyou.” This routine wasn’t something he’d done before, but she was right. With herd, he always seemed to be impatient, wanting to be naked and inside her.