Ask Me Something (The Something Series Book 2) (12 page)

“You talked
yourself out of it, didn’t you?” he teased.

I took a deep
breath and, before I could lose my nerve, kicked off my sandals and pulled my
knit dress over my head. It was amazing what a little competitiveness and
challenge could do to trump my feelings of anxiety. As my therapist had pointed
out, I liked to bulldoze through some obstacles to prove I could.

I heard his
muttered curse and tossed him a triumphant smile. “I figured it wouldn’t count
unless someone could see proof.” I hadn’t bothered to put my bra back on, and observed
his eyes go wide at the vision of me topless. Stepping out of my thong, I heard
his breath hiss. I laughed, running into the water so that that he wasn’t
afforded too much of a view.

Thankfully, the
water was warm and the bottom was sandy. I waded in to my waist and crouched
down to my shoulders, enjoying the fact that I’d actually done it.

When I glanced
up toward the shore, I saw Brian whipping off his shorts and shirt and,
finally, his boxers. I wished I was closer to get a better look. Rolling my
eyes internally, I reminded myself that in fact I was an adult woman who had
seen a penis before, not some adolescent girl hoping to catch a peek.

He splashed in
and stopped a foot away from of me. “How does it feel to be a rebel?”

“If you ever
tell anyone about this, I will find a way to—”

He held up his
hands in mock surrender. “I solemnly swear that what happens on this beach
stays on this beach.”

I giggled.

He raised a
brow. “Did you, Sasha-B-Fierce, just giggle?”

I was in a fit
of them and nodded, enjoying his playful grin in return. When he moved closer,
it felt natural and comfortable. That lasted five seconds because when his
mouth met mine, my entire body ignited with desire.

His hands roamed
my nude body, sliding over my breasts and down to my hips. His tongue explored
my mouth expertly. He pulled away reluctantly. “This wasn’t a good idea. Especially
now that I’ve had a glimpse of that Brazilian wax you’re sporting.”

I wasn’t
listening. My body ached for his touch and craved release. With him naked and
touching me I couldn’t help but wrap my legs around him.

“Christ,” he
muttered, gripping my ass and grinding against me. His mouth took mine again.
We were both desperate for the skin on skin contact we’d been denying ourselves
over the last few days.

I rocked my hips
into him and gasped when his fingers worked their way inside of me. Our eyes
locked, and I lifted myself up slightly, setting down on the head of his
erection.

“I—” he started
to protest.

I didn’t let him
finish, instead kissing him with everything I had. All of the pent-up
frustration, desire, and attraction from the past few days poured into it.

He shifted me
slightly and then drove home. “Sash—”

I arched back,
stretching with his full length, loving the sound of my name on his lips. We
were frantic with our hands and mouths. There was something about taking Brian
out of his control zone that fueled me.

He withdrew a
fraction, but then slammed back into me, holding my hips in place while he
thrust, setting a frenzied rhythm. His lips traveled down the curve of my neck,
and my nails raked over his back. When his hand slipped between us and rubbed
my clit, he sent me completely over the edge within minutes. His pace
increased, and, on one last thrust, I could feel his scorching hot release deep
into my core.

As we fought to
get our breathing regulated, I sensed the moment Brian withdrew, both literally
and figuratively. He set me down on my feet abruptly and waded up toward the
beach, leaving me stunned and a little unsure what to make of it. Was he angry?

He dressed
quickly on the shoreline and looked surprised I didn’t follow. He picked up my
clothes, shook them free of sand, and waited.

After walking up
out of the water, I snagged my dress from his outstretched hands and put it on
quickly without my panties. I slipped on my sandals, and regarded him with his
tense jaw and gritted teeth. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on with you?”

He ran a hand
through his hair. “You had to—what? Prove that you could take control?”

I was stunned.
First, I’d never seen Brian this angry. Second, if anyone were to freak out
after the first time we’d had sex, my money would have been on me. But instead
I was the calm one? “You can’t be serious. I didn’t take control. We both lost
it.”

“That wasn’t the
plan. We were supposed to agree, and then we’d have time to do things
properly.”

“Do you think I prearranged
this? You practically dared me to do something spontaneous, and all of a sudden
I’m the bad guy. Why does it matter? We were leading up to this either way.”

“It matters
because I didn’t want this to get screwed up like it is right now.”

“The only thing
screwed up right now is your reaction to what just happened.”

“I told you how
I wanted this to be. This wasn’t it. This was you pushing it.”

“Maybe I did
push it, but it wasn’t because I was against the agreement. It’s because up
until three nights ago, I didn’t know what it was like to crave sex with
anyone. You asked me who my best orgasm had ever been with, and you know what?
It was you, up against your damn basement couch. So you’ll have to excuse the
fact that when you waded in naked after me and then touched me, I lost my mind.”

He stood there
staring at me for the longest time, apparently absorbing what I’d revealed.

“You know, for
someone who didn’t want a one-night stand, you’re doing a hell of a job heading
in that direction. Goodnight.” I turned on my heel and started walking.

“Wait,” he
called after me. He finally caught up as I was about to enter the lobby.

We both froze
when we saw Brian’s mom making a beeline for us.

“Ah, shit,” he
cursed, clearly bracing himself.

Giving her a
tight smile, I was about to excuse myself from whatever she wanted with Brian
when she pointed at me.

“Oh, no, you
don’t. You’re the one I want to talk to. Did you spill wine on Rebecca tonight
and then threaten that she’d be sent home?” his mother questioned.

Fan-fucking-tastic
timing. I’d just had sex with her son minutes ago and now was being confronted
while holding my panties in my hand.

Judging from the
look on her son’s face, he was completely clueless. I squared my shoulders and
gave her my best unaffected look. She might be Brian’s mother, but I’d hit my
absolute max when it came to dealing with people today.

“I did,” I said
without further explanation.

She narrowed her
eyes. “Why are you both wet?” That fact apparently just dawning on her.

Brian answered, “We
were swimming. Now what’s this about?”

“It’s about your
brother’s wife in tears, saying that Sasha here spilled wine on her and then
threatened her,” his mother accused.

Actually, it was
Haylee who had issued the threat, but I didn’t bother to point that out. “I’d
suggest, that you inform Rebecca that if she can’t say anything nice, then not
to say anything at all.”

Brian’s mom
looked furious. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I’ve been friends and
neighbors with the Singers for almost forty years, and if you think—”

“I’m going to
stop you there. Josh and his family would do absolutely anything for Haylee.
They adore her. Do you think they’d like hearing what Rebecca said to her or,
better yet, the fact that you’re defending her? Now goodnight to you both.” It
was tempting to reiterate for Brian’s sake what was actually said, but I
realized it didn’t matter. It was my word against hers and there was no way I
was allowing either one of them to approach Haylee the night before her wedding
for confirmation.

I held my head
high and walked away with as much dignity as a woman with panties balled up in
her fist could.

The moment I entered my
room, the phone started ringing. I chose to ignore it. My adrenaline had run
its course, the alcohol had left my system, and I was left reeling at everything
that had transpired during the last hour.

After taking a hot
shower, I came back into the room in my towel and scowled at the sound of a
knock on the door. Exhaustion had set in and I refused to answer. I especially
didn’t need shit from Brian about my soft skills regarding his sister-in-law or
mother. I was too raw from what had happened at the beach and the aftermath of
him being angry about it.

Lying down on the bed,
I tried to shut my mind off. I wasn’t panicking, which was an encouraging sign.
Sometimes it was the little victories when it came to coping with anxiety. The
sound of my hotel door opening made me sit up. Brian’s profile was illuminated by
the hall light before he shut the door behind him.

“You’re breaking and
entering now?” I muttered, watching him from the bed.

“I
had to. You wouldn’t pick up the phone or answer the door.”

“Do
I even want to know how you got the key?”

“Probably
not. Look, before we get into what happened between us, I’d like to talk about
what transpired with Rebecca.” He flipped on the reading light on the
nightstand.

I
watched him sit on the bed and met his eyes. “I’m not apologizing—”

He
didn’t let me finish. “I’m embarrassed to be related to someone who would say
anything negative about someone like Haylee, and I’m glad you were there for
her tonight. I’m sorry that my mom would confront you like that.”

I
was stunned. I’d assumed he would tell me I’d been too harsh or, worse, make
excuses for their behavior. “You’re not going to lecture me on how I could have
handled it better?”

He
shook his head. “If anything, I admire the fact that you stayed calm. And I
need to—”

I
launched myself at him with a kiss, not allowing him to continue.

His
surprise turned to reciprocation quickly with his hands weaving into my hair.
He pulled back, searching my eyes. “What was that for?”

“For
believing me,” I said simply.

He
stroked my face. “I know I’ve criticized your first impressions and the ways
you communicate, but that was from a work perspective to help with clients. I understand
you well enough to know you’re not spilling wine on someone unless it’s
warranted, Sasha.”

I
couldn’t begin to tell him how much his words meant. Almost always, people
assumed I was the one being the bitch. “Thank you.”

He
placed his thumb on my bottom lip as was his habit. “The other person handling
things terribly this evening was me.”

“Agreed.
Why were you angry?”

He
took a minute to respond. “I’m used to being in control, and when I lost it, I
took it out on you.”

“Okay,
I think I get that part. But what I don’t understand is why our first time was
so important to you.”

His look was
vulnerable. “I’ve had this fantasy of how I wanted it to go if ever given a second
chance with you. I didn’t want to take any risks ruining it or blow it like in Miami.
And I screwed it up anyhow, but I won’t be able to stand another three years
waiting.”

Oh,
Jesus, he thought it was his fault in Miami. “Brian, you didn’t blow it that
night in Miami. It was—” I didn’t get the opportunity to finish.

“I
know you say that, but one minute I’m supposed to meet you in your room and the
next you were sending me a text message not to come. Obviously, I pushed it too
far, too fast.”

Shaking
my head, I murmured, “You didn’t. It wasn’t that.”

He
got up from the bed to pace. “I saw you leave the hotel. You sent me that message
about not coming up, and then twenty minutes later I saw you walk through the
lobby to get into a cab curbside. I never knew if there was another guy or
what, but you left.”

Oh,
God. I put my hands over my face and breathed deeply. “I have a confession to
make about Miami.”

He
stopped his pacing and stared at me intently. “I don’t think I want to hear
this if it was another man, even three years later.”

I
shook my head. “It wasn’t another man. But this isn’t easy. I’ve never told
anyone before. Could you please sit?”

He
must’ve sensed my unease because he was on the bed in a second, holding my hands.
“I should have left it alone. It was three years ago, and I don’t need to know
the details.”

“Yes,
you do because you’ve had the wrong impression all this time. When I went up to
my room that night, I had every intention of sleeping with you.” My stomach
tensed with the memory and tried to keep the emotion out of my voice. “But my
cell phone had died earlier, and when I charged it after getting to my room, I
had several voice messages. They were all about my mother from the police and
hospital.”

He
looked shocked and then confused. “Something happened to your mom?”

“My
birth mother,” I clarified. “She’d been beaten up and left for dead three days earlier
outside of Raleigh, completely strung out on heroin. Evidently someone dug up
my information.”

“That
must’ve been a shock for you.”

Nodding,
I recalled the full-blown panic attack into which the situation had sent me.
“It was. Anyhow, long story short, they wanted to put her into a treatment
facility. Rehab, if you will. They’d been trying to track me down for days, and
I was told that if they didn’t get the money wired to them that night for her
to enter this facility, then they’d have to release her back onto the street.
The director of the center made it clear that she’d already been clean for
three days. Time was of the essence to get her into that place.”

“That’s
why you left, to wire the money?”

I
nodded. “I had no clue that you might be in the lobby or how it might have appeared
to you.” I was tempted to tell him about the anxiety attack, but admitting I’d
been birthed by a junkie mother was enough vulnerability to expose for now.

He
looked a little hurt, but being the type of guy he was, he put my feelings
first. “Did you see her? I didn’t think you’d ever met her before.”

And
now was the hard part. “I’d met her once a long time ago. It didn’t go well.”
That was quite an understatement, but I didn’t have the emotional energy to air
all of my baggage at the moment. “The facility doesn’t allow visitors until
week four, but by the time I flew to Raleigh, she’d checked herself out. Ten
thousand dollars for nothing, and she hadn’t bothered to stick around to see
me.” My voice was small, and I rolled my neck. Recalling the mistake of being
sucked into her life three years ago made me tense.

“Why
didn’t you tell me, Sasha? You could have confided in me. You had three damn
years and plenty of opportunity. Maybe it’s selfish to ask, but if that was the
only reason you turned me down, why didn’t you make another attempt?” His eyes
searched mine.

“I
did try again, two weeks later.”

He
shook his head. “I would have known had you attempted.”

“We
were at Claudia from accounting’s wedding. Remember she invited the entire
Charlotte office down in the Outer Banks at that hotel? I was supposed to have
driven to my parents’ house that night. But after the reception, I went
upstairs and knocked on your hotel room door instead.”

Confusion
clouded his expression, and then it dawned on him. “Shit.”

I
blew out a breath. “Yeah, the cute little blonde singer for the band opened the
door. I pretended that I had the wrong room.”

“I
had no clue.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking pained at the fact
that I’d met his one-night stand.

“I
know, and I told myself it was my fault for screwing up Miami and not telling
you the truth.”

“Okay.
But what about later on? It’s been three years.”

I
realized I had a bevy of excuses that, when told separately, didn’t justify why
I hadn’t. “I don’t know. Pick your reason: I got cold feet, fear of rejection,
thoughts of you with the blonde two weeks later. I was ashamed of the fact that
my real mom was a druggie and that I’d been duped into losing ten grand. Or
maybe it’s the fact that you got promoted a couple months later.” I stopped and
looked at him. “I know all of those excuses by themselves sound trite, but when
I added them all together, I convinced myself that it wasn’t meant to be. That
we were better off friends. Matter of fact, I thought you were kind of
unaffected by the whole thing.” He’d moved on quickly to another woman and had appeared
to slide right back into our friendship much easier than I’d managed to do.

“Of
course, I didn’t seem to let it affect me. I had some pride. Rejection stung,
but I knew we still had to work together.”

“I
know. I had pride, too. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you the truth that night
or later on.”

“I’m
sorry, too, that I assumed something instead of asking.” He leaned in and captured
my lips softly in a kiss.

Pausing,
a smile teased his lips. “Timing hasn’t been very good to us, has it?”

“No,
it hasn’t.” I reached up and cupped his face. “I agree to the rules, and
although I was upset at the way you reacted tonight, I don’t regret what happened.”

He
let out a breath. “Remember the part about being flexible because I was bound
to mess something up at some point?”

“I
do.” I smiled, once again thinking it ironic that he’d done so first.

“I’m
really sorry. Do you think I could get a second chance?”

“Yes,
but are you going to make us wait for it?”

He
grinned wickedly. “Not with the way timing has fucked us before. Not a chance.
But first I need to take a quick shower to get the ocean off of me.”

“You
could use mine, and maybe I could join you,” I suggested.

He
shook his head, turning off the bedside lamp. “Oh, I think we’ve had enough
water sports for this evening.” He breathed in my ear, low and slow, “I want
you to lose the towel, honey, lie in the middle of the bed with your knees
apart and your pretty pussy on display for me. Put pillows under your head and
relax because when I come out, I plan on spending a lot of time down there.”

Holy
shit balls, as Catherine would say. I think it took me a full minute after he’d
closed the bathroom door to realize I hadn’t moved.

***

I
didn’t have long to wait before Brian came out of the shower with simply a
towel around his waist. The only illumination was the light coming through the
bathroom door. My gaze tracked his movements as he crossed over toward the bed.
I swallowed hard at being naked and on display for him.

His
eyes took their time soaking in my body from head to toe. “You’re unbelievably
sexy, Sasha. More beautiful than I could have ever imagined.”

I
shivered with anticipation and expelled the breath I’d been holding. There was
no panic, only an overwhelming eagerness for what was about to happen.

Brian
proceeded to drop his towel, and my mouth went dry at the sight of him. I had
known he was built in the arms and chest since he worked out regularly, but the
size of his erection—Jesus, had I really had that inside of me?

“My
face is up here,” he teased.

My
eyes rose to his, and I flushed. “Sorry, I was momentarily distracted.” I
wasn’t the least bit sorry.

“Keep
your hands above your head. Hold them together or in your hair, but do not
under any circumstances touch me or yourself. Do you understand?”

I
nodded and then complied without question, curious about this side of him.

His
body crawled up the length of mine until he braced himself on his forearms with
his knee between my legs. Then he captured my mouth like a starving man.
Pulling back momentarily, he traced my lips with his thumb. “God, these lips
are by far my favorite thing: sexy, full, sinful.” He punctuated each compliment
with a kiss.

Lost
in his words, I about bucked off the bed when his finger dipped down into my center.

“You’re
positively drenched for me.”

A
whimper fell from my lips in response.

“I’ve
dreamed about tasting you for too long.” And just like that, he shifted down
and buried his face in my cleft. His tongue was diabolical and relentless. His
fingers worked my slick entrance like magic as I tried to remember to keep my
hands above my head. He devoured me with ferocity, like he couldn’t get enough.
I’d never had a man go down on me like this in my life, but when I was about to
come, he eased back.

“Brian—”
I couldn’t believe that was my voice practically begging for release.

“Tell
me what you want.”

Was
it not obvious? “You know what I want,” I exhaled. Arching towards him, I was
on fire from his kisses teasing the inside of my thighs.

“Ask
me, Sasha. Ask me, and I’ll do it.”