Her Way (3 page)

After getting in, he turned the key in the ignition and looked over at her. She had her head turned toward him, resting against the seat. He leaned over and pulled the seatbelt around her.

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “Whoopsie. I missed.” She reached up, grasped his cheeks and pulled until her lips met his.

Will slid the belt into place with a click and focused his attention on the kiss. Emma tentatively touched the tip of her tongue to his lips
. Oh yeah,
he thought and parted his lips, his tongue slipping forward to dance with hers. The sweet moistness of her mouth had him squirming as his already hard cock fought against the confines of his pants. Reluctantly, he pulled away. He kissed her lightly on the nose.

“Let’s get you home.”

Emma sighed and let her hands fall from his face into lap. “Okay, Will. Do you know the way?”

“Lynn gave me directions.” He grabbed the napkin he had dropped on the seat between them. “Relax, sweetheart, we’ll be there soon.”

Her house was only ten minutes out of town, and they were quiet for the duration of the drive. Will pulled into her driveway, turned the car off and glanced over at his passenger. She gave all the appearance of sleeping, eyes closed, lips slightly parted, her breathing even.

He hopped out and went to the other side of the truck. Unbuckling her, he gave her a gentle nudge. “Emma, we’re here. You ready to go in?”

Her eyes slid open and she stared at him a moment before straightening. “Already? Wow, you’re a fast driver.” She grabbed her purse from next to her and he helped her out.

He walked her to the front door and watched, amused, for a moment as she tried to unlock the door.

“Here, let me.” After unlocking the door, he dropped the key into her purse and opened the door. “There you go. Sleep well, Emma. Remember to lock back up, and call your friends”

She turned toward him. “You’re not coming in?”

Hell yeah,
he thought before his manners kicked in. He couldn’t take advantage of her when she was drunk. It went against everything in him. “Emma—”

“C’mon.” She pulled him inside and closed the door. Leaning on him slightly, she kicked her shoes off and to the side. “Isn’t this house great? Let me give you the tour.”

“Call your friends,” he repeated.

With a sigh, she dug through her purse and pulled her phone out. After dialing, she held the phone to her ear and tapped her foot.

“Hey, Lynn, I’m home now. Bye.” She snapped the phone shut and grinned at him. “Done. Now, the tour.”

She pulled him from room to room; most of them empty, talking a mile a minute. He let her lead him up the stairs and eventually into her bedroom.

“Here.” She yanked his hand until they were next to the huge bed. “Sit here. I have to change.” She dropped her phone and purse on the bedside table then pushed his chest.

Dumbly, he sat with a bounce on the mattress. He watched as she went to the dresser and pulled some clothes out. With a frustrated sigh, he shifted to alleviate the pressure on his erection. He’d wait until she came back from changing then he’d leave. He’d explain that while he couldn’t stay now, he’d love to see her again.

She stood at her dresser, her back to him, for several minutes, unmoving. He opened his mouth to ask her if everything was alright, but she moved then. Shoving the clothing back into the drawer, she turned and looked at him, bottom lip caught between her teeth. Her chest rose and fell jerkily as she inhaled deeply, then she strode across the room until she stood in front of him.

 “Emma, I should go. You need to sleep.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want you to go,” she said quietly, but firmly.

Grasping his shoulders, she pushed until he rested against the mound of pillows. She leaned over and circled her arms around his legs and pulled them up onto the mattress.

“There. That’s better. You know, Ana was right.” She nodded emphatically as she climbed beside him.

“Really? About what?” he managed to croak as she began to unbutton his shirt.

“I need to get laid. I’m glad I found you tonight, Will. ‘Cause, as Ana says, I’m picky.” She unbuttoned the last button and spread the shirt open to expose his chest.

Oh fuck.
How the hell was he supposed to respond to that? “Um, Emma, we really shouldn’t. You’ve had a bit to drink and you’re not thinking clearly.”

She sat back on her heels and stared at him, tears in her eyes. “You don’t want me? Of course you don’t. You’re just a nice guy who gave a girl a ride home. God, I’m so stupid. I’m so sorry, Will. I don’t know what—”

Will cut her off by grabbing her around the waist and hauling her up his body. He took her mouth with his. There was nothing gentle about this kiss. He swept his tongue past her lips and tasted her again. He cupped her ass and pulled her hard against his cock before releasing her mouth.

“I want you, Emma. Don’t doubt that. But I don’t want to do something you’ll regret in the morning, or worse, not even remember.”

She stared at him with wide brown eyes. “I don’t think I can forget that.” She shifted and laid her head against his bare chest, her cheek cool against his skin. “Okay, you won’t stay, but don’t leave just yet, Will. I don’t want to be alone.”

Chapter Two

Thump. Thump. Thump.

With a groan, Emma rolled from her stomach to her back. God, she had the mother of all headaches.
Note to self—don’t overindulge ever again.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

What the hell was that? Who on earth would be at her door at… What time was it anyway? One hand to her head, she sat up and squinted at the clock. Shit. It was after eleven. Her friends were there to pick her up. And ready to bust the door down by the sound of things.

Emma took a deep breath, got out of bed and looked down at herself. God, she hadn’t even taken the time to change when she got home last night. She shook her head. She’d have to tell them to go on ahead of her so she could shower. They wouldn’t want to wait—once Ana had shopping on the brain, there wasn’t an ounce of patience in her. Groggily, Emma headed to the stairs, hand to her aching head. At least they’d stopped banging on the door. She made it to the third step before she stopped, stunned at the scene before her.

Oh. My. God.
It was Will. From last night. Standing inside her foyer with his back to her. He was barefoot in those yummy pants, and even from this angle, she could see his white shirt was unbuttoned and hanging open. What was he doing here? Had he spent the night? She closed her eyes in disgust.

Obviously he had, otherwise he wouldn’t be answering her door like that.

“Who the fuck are you, and where the hell is my sister?”

She groaned inwardly. Her older—and very overprotective—brother, Mark. Lovely. Just freakin’ lovely.

“Emma’s sleeping.”

Just the sound of Will’s deep voice set her clit to twitching. Which was highly inappropriate, she was certain, considering the situation.

“That doesn’t answer the first question, buddy. Who the hell are you?”

Emma hurried down the rest of the stairs and over to stand next to Will.

Mark wasn’t alone. Matt was with him, leaning against the doorframe, looking mighty entertained with the whole situation.

Embarrassment heated her neck and face—and began to flame when she saw her nieces standing behind Mark. They peeked around their dad’s legs and smiled at her.

“G’morning. What’s going on?” She forced herself to look her older brother full in the face.

“Who is this, Emma Rose?”

Oh great, he was double-naming her. Emma placed her hand on Will’s arm and moved closer, still too chicken shit to look at him.

“This is a friend of mine. And you’re acting like a jerk.”

“Does your ‘friend’ have a name?” he sneered.

Matt chose that moment to straighten, take a step forward and offer his hand to Will. “I’m Matt and this is Mark. Obviously, we’re Emma’s brothers.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Will…Emma’s friend.”

She chanced a look at him and saw his amused smile. He reached up and patted the hand that clutched his arm.

Stop it,
she mentally ordered her clit.
I will not orgasm in front of my brothers because of a look and a hot voice!

She noticed movement by the street and tilted her head to get a better look. Oh and it just kept getting better and better. Hannah, Ana and Lynn were strolling up her walk, pissed off looks on each of their faces. Emma knew it was because of her brothers’ presence.

“Well, well, what have we…” Lynn trailed off as she stepped up beside Matt and saw Will standing next to Emma. “Hey, Will. Fancy meeting you here.”

“Morning, ladies.” He grinned at her friends then down at her. Damn him, he was enjoying this!

“I take it you’re not ready for shopping?” Laughter tinged Ana’s voice.

“Not yet,” she murmured. “I just ne—”

“Look, Em, I need a favor,” Mark interrupted. “Jeannette is at an appointment and is running late. Accident on the freeway. Matt and I are supposed to meet clients. I need you to watch the girls.”

Emma slid her eyes shut and took a deep breath. God, she really didn’t want to deal with babysitting. She wanted to find out what the hell happened last night.

Lynn snorted. “Call your clients and tell them you’re running behind. Emma has plans.”

“Butt out.” Mark barely spared her a glance, and Emma saw Matt grab Lynn’s arm, keeping her from going after their brother.

“I
did
have plans today,” she pointed out.

“It’s just for an hour. Two, tops. Please, Em. This is really important.”

Damn it. She looked at her friends and realized from the disappointment etched on their faces, they knew she’d already given in.

“Why don’t I meet you guys at Luigi’s for lunch? Say around one-thirty? You can do the shoe and purse shopping first. You know I hate that part. Please?”

“Make it Kincaid’s Place and you’re on. One-thirty. I have my cell if you need anything.” Hannah smiled and looked at the other two. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Lynn yanked her arm out of Matt’s grip and glared at him. “If you still think your family doesn’t take advantage of her, you’re so not worth it.” She turned on her heel and followed Ana and Hannah to the car.

“God, what a bitch,” Mark bit out.

“Hey!” Emma narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t you dare talk like that about my friends. And the girls are right here!”

“Fine, fine. You have Jeannette’s cell number, right?” He waited for her to nod then crouched down to talk to the girls. “Mommy’ll be here to pick you up in a little bit. Be good for Auntie Emma and I’ll see you tonight. Okay?”

Both girls nodded and raced to Emma’s side, each wrapping their arms around one of her legs.

“Thanks, Em. I’ll talk to you soon.” He headed down the walk to his car.

Matt lingered a moment, looking at her curiously, then followed Mark.

Will pulled away and shut the front door. He leaned back against it, arms crossed over his chest.

“Well, that was interesting,” he drawled. “Should we expect your father any time soon?”

Emma chuckled. “I hope not. Will… I am so sorry about all that.”

His mouth widened into a grin. “No worries. Now, who are these lovely young ladies?”

“My nieces, obviously. There’s Mia—she’s five.” She gestured to the taller of the two. “And Mandy is three.”

He knelt down before the girls and, very seriously, held a hand out. With a giggle, Mia shook it, followed by Mandy.

“Nice to meet you,” he said before straightening. He studied Emma for a moment and continued, “Why don’t you go on up and take a shower, if you want, and I’ll throw something together for breakfast.”

“Oh, you don’t have to—”

“I want to.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll just have the girls watch cartoons in my room.” She took a small hand in each of hers. “I’ll be down in a bit.”

Emma hustled the kids upstairs and got them settled on her bed, engrossed in some colorful and musical ‘toon. She grabbed some clothes and padded into the adjoining bathroom. A sigh of relief spilled from her lips as she stepped under the hot spray. The relief quickly dissipated. She racked her mind, trying to remember what happened the night before. Normally, she didn’t have to worry about having a few too many. It was a rare enough occasion, and the girls always made sure she got home and in bed. Surely, she’d remember if she’d had sex with Will, right? That wasn’t something that would slip under the radar, no matter how many drinks she’d thrown back.
And if the man could make me hum this way with just his voice and a look, sex with him would be most memorable—drunk or not,
Emma mused as she soaped up and washed her hair.

It was just damned awkward. It wasn’t like she could just ask him if they’d done it or not. Yeah, that’d look real good.
Gee, Will, did we make hot monkey love? And could you tell me if I enjoyed it?
She groaned and rinsed off. It was no-win situation. If they had, she looked like a drunken slut who didn’t remember. If they hadn’t, she’d look like a fool asking about it. But if they hadn’t—why was he still here and with his clothes thrown on like that? They must’ve. And damn it, she didn’t remember! For the first time in…well, a long time, she’d finally gotten some and the experience was lost in a drunken haze. Classy.