After We Fell (75 page)

“I'm going to,” she groans into my neck.

“I know, baby. Come for me. Right here, Tessa. Come.” I gently persuade her.

She nods, biting down on the tendon in my neck, and I feel
my cock pulsing, pressing against the front of my jeans. All of her weight rests on me as she orgasms, and I hold her up. She's panting, absolutely flushing, glowing under the lights, when she lifts her head.

“Car or bathroom?” she asks when I bring my fingers to my lips, sucking her sweetness from them.

“Car,” I reply hastily, and she downs the last of her champagne. Vance can pay for that shit; I don't have time to hunt down the bartender.

Tessa takes my hand and drags me toward the door. She's eager, and I'm hard as fuck from her seduction game at the bar.

“Is that . . . ?” Tessa stops in her tracks near the front of the club. Black hair, styled to stick up wildly, peeks through the crowd. I would have sworn my paranoia was causing me to hallucinate if she hadn't seen him, too.

“Why the fuck is
he
here? Did you tell him you were coming to the club?” I hiss. I've kept my cool all night, only to have it sabotaged by this asshole.

“No! Of course not!” Tessa exclaims, defending herself. I can tell by her wide eyes that she's being honest.

Zed spots us, and a mischievous frown takes over his face. Being the fucking instigator that he is, he walks over to where we're standing.

“What are you doing here?” I ask him as he approaches.

“Same thing as you.” He rolls his shoulders and looks at Tessa. I fight the urge to pull the top of her dress up and knock his teeth out.

“How did you know she was here?” I ask him.

Tessa tugs at my arm and looks back and forth between Zed and me.

“I didn't. I'm here to watch the band.” A man with the same tanned skin as Zed joins us.

“You should go,” I tell the two of them.

“Hardin, please,” Tessa whines behind me.

“Don't,” I whisper to her. I've had enough of Zed and his shit.

“Hey . . .” The man moves to stand between us. “They're doing another set. Let's go tell them we're here.”

“You know Soto?” Tessa asks.
Dammit, Tessa.

“Yeah, we do,” the stranger says.

I can practically see the conspiracy theories floating through her mind about how these people know each other, but just wanting to be away from Zed, I take her by the arm and guide us to the door.

“See you around,” Zed says, giving Tessa his best I'm-a-lost-fucking-puppy-and-I-want-you-to-feel-bad-for-me-and-love-me-because-I'm-a-pathetic-fuck smile before following the other guy toward the stage.

I rush out the door and into the cold air. Tessa follows closely behind, insisting, “I didn't know he was coming here! I swear.”

I unlock the car and open the passenger door for her. “I know, I know,” I say to silence her. I'm trying my best to talk myself down from going back inside. “Drop it. Please. I don't want to ruin the night.” I walk around to the other side of the car and slide in next to her.

“Okay,” she agrees, nodding.

“Thank you.” I sigh. I slip the key into the ignition, and Tessa puts her hand on my cheek to turn my head toward her.

“I really appreciate you making such an effort tonight. I know it's hard for you, but it means the world to me.” As she utters her words of praise, I smile against her palm.

“Okay.”

“I mean it. I love you, Hardin. So much.”

I tell her how much I love her while she climbs across the console and straddles my lap. Her hands are quick to undo my jeans and tug them down just enough . . . her mouth is quick against my neck, and she pulls at my shirt, popping the top two
buttons off in a rushed attempt to gain access to my chest. I push her dress up to expose her tight little body to me, and she digs into my back pocket to retrieve the condom that I suspected I would need.

“I only want you, always,” she reassures me, calming my racing mind as she slides the condom onto me. I grip her hips and help lift her body. In the small space of the car it feels closer, deeper, as she lowers herself onto me. As I fill her, completely and possessively, a low hiss escapes my mouth. She covers my lips, swallowing my moans as she moves her hips slowly, the way she did in the club.

“It's so fucking deep this way,” I say, taking her bun in my hand and tugging gently to force her to look at me.

“So
good,”
she groans, taking me inside her, feeling every inch of me. One of her hands moves to my hair while the other rests at the base of my throat. She's so fucking sexy this way, when alcohol is laced with adrenaline and she's full of hunger and need—need for me, for my body, for this raw passionate connection that only we share. She couldn't find this with anyone else, and neither could I. I have everything I need here with her, and she can't ever leave me.

“Fuck, I love you,” I breathe into her mouth as she tugs at my hair and her fingers tighten on my neck. It's not uncomfortable, it's fairly light pressure, but it's driving me fucking insane.

“I love you,” she gasps when I lift my hips to meet her, thrusting harder than before. I stare at her and revel in the sensation of her flexing her hips. The slow building of pleasure begins at the base of my spine, and I can feel Tessa tensing as I continue to aid her by lifting my hips with each thrust.

She has got to get on the pill. I need to feel her skin-to-skin again.

“I can't wait to be inside you without a condom . . .” I say into her neck.

“Keep going,” she urges me. She loves my dirty mouth.

“I want you to feel me come inside you . . .” I suck at the salty skin of her collarbone, tasting the thin layer of sweat there. “You'll fucking love it, won't you? Me marking you that way?” The thought alone pushes me over the edge.

“I'm almost . . .” she moans, and with one harsh tug at my hair, we ride out our highs together, panting, and moaning, and messy, and us.

I help her off of my lap and roll down the window while she adjusts her dress.

“What are you—” she begins, and I toss the condom out the window. “You did not just throw a dirty condom out of the window! What if Christian sees it?”

I smile evilly at her. “I'm sure it won't be the only condom he finds in this lot.”

Her hands fumble with my zipper, helping me dress again so I can drive. “Maybe not.” She scrunches her nose and looks out the window as I put the car into gear.

“It smells like sex in here,” she adds and bursts into laughter.

I nod and listen to her hum along to every single fucking song on the radio as we drive back to Vance's place. I almost tease her for it, but it's actually sort of a lovely sound, especially after listening to that shitty-shitty band play.

Lovely sound?
I'm even starting to talk like her.

“I'm going to have to physically remove my eardrums after tonight,” I remark as she carries on. She sticks her tongue out at me like a child and sings even louder.

I TAKE TESSA'S HAND
in mine to steady her as we walk up to the driveway en route to the front door. The way she's acting, I'm guessing most of that champagne finally hit her liver.

“What if we're locked out?” she asks with a giggle when we reach the driveway.

“The babysitter is here,” I remind her.

“Oh yeah! Lillian . . .” She smiles. “She's so nice.”

I grin at the level of her intoxication. “I thought you didn't like her.”

“I do, now that I know she doesn't like you the way you led me to believe she did.”

I touch her lips. “Don't pout. She's a lot like you . . . only more annoying.”

“Excuse me?” She hiccups. “That wasn't very nice of you to make me jealous of her.”

“It worked, didn't it?” I reply smugly as we reach the door.

Lillian is seated alone on the couch when we enter the house. I take a moment to pull the front of Tessa's dress up a little. She rolls her eyes at me.

Seeing us, Lillian stands to her feet. “How was it?”

“It was so,
so
much fun! The band was great!” Tessa beams.

“She's wasted,” I inform Lillian.

She laughs. “I can see that.” After a pause, she says, “Smith is asleep. He almost had a conversation with me tonight.”

“Good for you,” I say and lead Tessa toward the hall.

My drunk girlfriend waves at Lillian. “It was nice seeing you!”

I don't know if I should tell Lillian to leave now or wait until Vance shows up, so I don't say anything. Besides, let her deal with that little robot kid if he wakes up.

When we get to Tessa's room, I close the door behind us, and she immediately plops onto the bed. “Can you take this off?” She points to her dress. “It's so itchy.”

“Yeah, stand up.” I help her out of her dress, and she thanks me with a kiss on the tip of my nose. It's a simple gesture, but it catches me off guard, and I smile at her.

“I'm so glad you're here with me,” she says.

“Are you?”

She nods and undoes the remainder of the buttons left on
Christian's shirt. Her hands push the garment down my arms, and she folds it neatly before walking to the hamper. I'll never understand why she folds dirty clothes, but I'm used to it by now.

“Yes, very. Seattle isn't as great as I thought,” she finally admits.

Then come back with me,
I want to say.

“Why not?” I say instead.

“I don't know. It's just not.” She frowns, and I'm surprised that instead of wanting to hear how miserable she is here, I want to change the subject. Landon and I both suspected she felt this way; but still it makes me feel bad that it's not exactly what she'd wanted. I should take her out tomorrow during the day to cheer her up.

“You could move to England,” I say.

She glares at me with red cheeks and champagne-glazed eyes. “You won't take me there for a wedding, but you want me to move there,” she says, calling me out.

“We'll talk about it later,” I say, hoping she'll drop it right now.

“Yeah . . . yeah . . . always later.” She walks back to sit on the bed but misses completely. Her body rolls onto the floor, and she bursts into a fit of laughter.

“Christ, Tessa.” I grab hold of her hand and help her to her feet, my heart pounding in my chest.

“I'm fine.” She laughs and sits down on the bed, pulling me with her.

“I gave you too much champagne.”

“Yep, you did.” She smiles and pushes my shoulders back until I'm flat on the mattress.

“Are you okay? Do you feel sick?”

She rests her head against my chest. “Stop parenting me, I'm fine.” I bite my tongue instead of mouthing off to her.

“What do you want to do?” she asks quietly.

“What?”

“I'm bored.” She looks up at me with that look. Tessa lifts herself up and stares down at me, eyes wild.

“What would you like to do, drunk ass?”

“Pull your hair.” She grins and pulls her bottom lip between her teeth in the most sinful way.

C
an't sleep?” Christian turns on the overhead light and joins me in the kitchen.

“Tessa needed some water,” I tell him. I push the refrigerator door closed, but he stops it with his hand.

“Kim, too. The price of drinking too much champagne,” he says from behind me.

Tessa's endless giggles and insatiable appetite for pleasure have worn me out. I'm convinced she'll be vomiting soon if she doesn't drink some water. Visions of her tonight, lying back on the bed, her legs spread for me as I brought her to orgasm using both my fingers and my tongue, flash through my mind. She was amazing, as she always was when she rode my cock until I emptied myself into a condom.

“Yeah, Tessa's a mess.” I bite back a smile while remembering her tumble off the bed.

“So . . . England next weekend, then?” He changes the subject.

“Nah, I'm not going.”

“This is your mum's wedding we're talking about.”

“And? It's not her first, probably won't be the last,” I say.

To say I'm completely shocked when his hand reaches out and knocks the bottled water from my hand would be an understatement.

“What the fuck?” I exclaim and bend down to grab the bottle.

When I stand back up, Vance's eyes are focused on me, and the look in them is intense. “You have no right to speak of your mum that way.”

“What does it matter to you? I don't want to go, and I'm not going to.”

“Give me a reason, a real one,” he challenges me.

What the fuck is his problem?
“I don't need to give anyone a reason. I just don't want to go to a stupid wedding. I've already been dragged to one this season, and that was enough for me.”

“Fine. I've already sent in for Tessa's passport, so I assume you'll be fine without her while she enjoys visiting England for the first time as Kim's companion?”

I drop the bottle to the floor. It can stay there this time.

“You what?” I stare at him. He's fucking with me—he has to be.

He leans against the island and crosses his arms. “I sent in her application and paid for it the moment I found out about the wedding. She'll have to go downtown to finalize it and get her picture taken, but I've done the rest.”

I'm fuming. I can feel myself heating up. “Why would you even do that? That's not even
legal.”
Like I give a fuck if it's legal . . .

“Because I knew you'd be a stubborn asshole about the entire thing, and I also knew that she was the only shot I had to get you to go. This is important to your mum, and she's been worried that you won't go.”