Kiss Is a Four-Letter Word (9 page)

"Eli, come on. I lost sight of her," Simon said when Mayor Johnson finally edged away.

Eli shot Simon a frustrated look. "It's not like I wanted to stand there yakking about Mitch's precious dogs, Simon. Give me a break."

"Stop talking and follow me." Simon pinched a sliver of Eli's sleeve between his fingers and unobtrusively towed him down the rest of the stairs and into the crowd. "Jesus. This thing gets worse every year. I thought we were limiting the guests this time?"

"Someone always sneaks in, you know that," Eli murmured in between nods and smiles of greeting. He grabbed a glass of champagne from a tray and gulped it down. "Is it hot in here? I'm dying."

"It's not that hot. You're just thinking of Sherry in that dress, same as me," Simon muttered.

"That's for sure." Eli smirked. When a gap appeared in the wall of people, Simon dragged him through it. On the other side Sherry stood next to a pillar, looking lost.

"Sherry," Simon breathed, not pausing. He pushed through the last knot of people. "Hi. I'm so glad you came." He pulled Eli over to her and seized her hands. "Jesus, you're freezing."

Eli smiled, running his eyes over her hair and dress. Beautiful. Next to Simon's dark hair and tux, her vivid red dress looked spectacular. She'd outlined her eyes with liner, making their deep brown depths look smoky and mysterious. Her hair was pulled back in front, highlighting the delicate bones of her face.
So fucking gorgeous.
Eli couldn't think of a damn thing to say to her that wouldn't sound stupid so he stood there gaping like a ten-year-old.

"Eli, come here, she's cold," Simon grabbed him by the sleeve again and pulled him over. Sherry's eyes laughed at them.

"Sherry," Eli managed. "You look amazing." He slid a hand down her bare arm. His cock had been hard since he'd first set eyes on her. Thank God for concealing tuxedo jackets.

"Thanks," Sherry said, eyeing his up and down. "You look pretty good yourself."

Eli smiled as he held her hand. A low murmur had started around them. "Hey, do you want to see where you're sitting?" Eli knew that people were watching and he wanted to at least let Sherry put her purse down before she had to deal with the questions that were sure to come.

She grinned. "Sure. I could use some water." She grimaced at her empty glass. "The champagne was lovely but I'm nervous enough to drink three more glasses and still be thirsty."

"That would probably be a bad idea," Simon said.

Sherry nodded. "Yeah. Considering that I'm already feeling a little lightheaded? Very, very bad idea."

Eli tugged her towards him. "Our table is up front."

Her eyes went wide. "Oh. I'm sitting with you?"

Simon frowned. "Of course! Where did you think you were sitting? We invited you."

The crowd parted as if by magic, Eli noted as they walked. Everyone wanted to see the woman who'd interested both Eli and Simon.

"There's no reason to be nervous," Simon said.

"Oh please," Sherry muttered. "Like you aren’t nervous? I can tell, you know. Everyone is staring."

Eli and Simon exchanged looks. Eli would bet a hundred bucks Sherry and Simon were the only ones who knew he felt edgy. No one else had any inkling. He'd spent years perfecting his game face.

"Here we are." Simon gestured to their table and held her chair for her.

Sherry sat down, seemingly unconcerned with the way her dress fell open, exposing her long, shapely leg. Eli began to sweat as he pulled out the chair next to her. Simon sat on her right. Eli didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He was so aroused he ached with it. Eli glanced at Sherry's nipples, obvious through the thin fabric. His cock was hard enough to pound nails. He desperately gulped some of his water.

"So, you do this shindig every year?" Sherry asked, reaching out a slim arm for her water. The diamonds at her ears twinkled prettily when she moved. She watched Eli over the rim of her glass as she sipped her water.

Eli stared at the bead of moisture that clung to her upper lip, mesmerized until she licked it away. "Yeah, every year. It's a good charity."

Sherry smiled. "Yes, a children's hospital. It's nice that you do this."

Eli shrugged, looking at Simon. Simon's wavy hair fell over his forehead as he drank from his wine glass. Eli wanted to touch it, push it out of the way. Simon licked his lips and put his champagne glass down. Looking at Simon instead of Sherry didn't help Eli's arousal fade one bit. Damn. It was a wonder he could carry on a conversation at all. There certainly wasn't any blood in his brain.

"Well, Eli's father started it before he passed away and we didn't see any reason to discontinue it," Simon explained.

How in the hell is Simon managing to speak in complete sentences?
Eli thought.

"Oh, so, Eli inherited all this?" Sherry gestured with her hand, indicating the glittering people and band and food all around them.

Eli nodded. "Yeah, but I made Simon my equal partner in the business." He pursed his lips. Was it possible she didn't know his background? When she tilted her head inquisitively, he decided to explain things in a way that no magazine interview ever had. "I had no idea who my dad was growing up. When he died, a bunch of lawyers came to our apartment." He jerked his head at Simon. "And they told me my dad was John Ellis Blackwood the third and that he'd left everything to me. I was shocked. I had no idea."

Sherry blinked. "You didn't know your father growing up at all?"

Eli shook his head. "Nope."

"Jesus," she breathed. "And then you inherited, what, everything? That must have been overwhelming."

"Yeah, kind of. I was only twenty-two. If I hadn't had Simon around to help out I think I would've gone insane."

Sherry pursed her lips. "My sister-in-law explained about your money, but she didn't mention the part about not knowing your father."

Eli swallowed, looking away. "No one except my close friends and family know. My dad was a very private man, or so I'm told. He never gave interviews to the press. No one really questioned him about his family. He and my mother knew each other from elementary school and kept in touch. When she wanted a child, he offered to help. I didn’t really think much about not having a father." He jumped when he felt a gentle touch on the back of his hand. He looked down, not surprised to see Sherry's fingers slide around his.

"I'm sorry. That must have been difficult to handle." She took a deep breath. "My dad was an alcoholic. And a total bastard. He died a few years ago. Sometimes I think I would've been better off if he'd just left us alone when I was little."

Eli frowned. "Was he abusive?"

Sherry chewed on her lip. "Well, sort of. My older brother Zeke took the brunt of it, and my mom. The last time he freaked out and tried to beat up my brother and his lover. He went to jail for that."

Wait, what?
Eli thought.
Lover?
"Your brother has a lover? I thought he was married."

Sherry blushed and looked away. "Um, well, he kinda has both."

"Both? Both what?" Simon asked, his voice low.

Sherry took a quick swig of her water. When she put it back down her fingers traced designs across the glass with the condensation. "Well, he's technically not actually married. He and his best friend Eric met Carrie and they both fell in love with her. So, now the three of them live together. They had a kid together, my nephew Jake."

Eli tried to understand what she'd just said. "Wait, she's with both of them?" For some reason his damn hard-on was still going strong.

"Well, they're with each other, too." Sherry smiled wryly. "That's why I thought it might work with you and Simon." She glanced at both of them before continuing. "You know, dating both of you? Because I know it can work."

Eli tried to clear his throat and speak. Simon beat him to it.

"Um, yeah, except for the part where Eli and I aren't together." Simon sounded like someone was trying to strangle him.

Eli's heart lurched as he remembered the kiss they shared upstairs just a little while ago. Was Simon going back on what he said earlier? If so, Eli was personally going to rearrange his face. He tried not to look at his friend for fear he'd give away his growing anger, but failed. How could Simon say that? He glared at his friend and Simon met his eyes for a split second before looking away. Hmm. Was he afraid Sherry would freak out? Eli wanted to shake him.
Hello? Remember Sherry watching us kiss?
It was a good thing he knew Simon so well or he'd have popped him one before he figured out what the hell was going on in Simon's head. At least his prick had finally calmed the fuck down.

"Oh." Sherry said. She bit her lip again, driving Eli insane. "Um, well, from the way you two kissed I thought—" She broke off.

Eli looked up to find Simon studiously ignoring him.

"Well, I thought you two might be at least bisexual," Sherry finished in a whisper.

Eli sighed noisily, hating that tone in her voice.
Simon, you're such a fucking idiot
, he thought. Aloud he said, "Simon is an idiot. We would very much like to date you." He shot Simon a dirty look. "And yeah, we're not at all averse to kissing each other, either."

Simon blushed when Sherry turned to him, the fucking moron. Eli wished he could smack him upside the head.

"Uh, yeah. What Eli said," Simon mumbled.

Sherry smiled so brilliantly that Eli's dick immediately sprung back to life. Hell.

"Oh. Good. Thank goodness," Sherry laughed. "For a moment I thought you regretted asking me here."

"No, never," Simon said fervently. He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it like a total fool. "We're delighted to have you here with us." He looked up at her from beneath his lashes and Eli felt her shiver in his own body. Wow. Simon's blue eyes were lethal weapons. His cock throbbed.

"Yes, well, dinner's arrived," Eli said, trying to convey both his adoration of Sherry and disgust with Simon. Simon flashed him a smile that melted his anger. Eli sighed and unfolded his napkin. Maybe the cloth would hide his erection. When he looked around the table he realized that the other guests had sit down during the conversation and were watching avidly. Shit.

"Hi folks, thanks for coming to the benefit," Eli said heartily. He caught several knowing looks from the state senator and a confused glance from the mayor's wife. Eli had a feeling the dinner was going to be endless.

****

This dinner is interminable
, Sherry thought. And so was the music and schmoozing that came afterwards. Normally she enjoyed dancing, but for some reason neither Eli nor Simon asked her to dance. Instead she ended up on the floor with a succession of older men: the mayor, politicians, and bankers. Each and every one of them tried to pry information about Eli and Simon out of her. Sherry just smiled and changed the subject. She didn't think she'd ever talked about the weather so much in her life. She glanced over the shoulder of the elderly man trying to lead her through a waltz and sighed in relief when the music stopped. She nodded her thanks to him and fled. She needed a drink. Preferably one with vodka in it.

"Having fun yet?" Eli asked her when she finally sat down, martini in hand.

"Um, well," she prevaricated, taking a sip.
Whoa. Lots of alcohol in there
. The bartender must have taken pity on her.

Simon laughed. "Yeah, I hate these things too. But I'm still really glad you came."

Sherry smiled. "So, why didn't either of you ask me to dance?" She watched Eli and Simon exchange looks. "Well?" She prodded Eli's knee.

He smiled and the look in his eyes took her breath away. "If I'd touched you, I wouldn't have made it through dinner and the speeches and any of the dancing. And I owe it to my company and the kids to at least pretend to enjoy myself at these things."

Sherry frowned. "Why wouldn't you have made it through dinner?"

Eli’s green eyes darkened with arousal. "You're so gorgeous. I want to drag you upstairs and kiss you senseless."

Sherry's body prickled. She opened her mouth, trying to think of something to say, but Simon grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet before she could come up with anything.

"And that’s it for me. I can’t take it anymore. Come on," he said. The look on his face was intense. Dominant.

Her spine quivered. Sherry didn't argue. She didn't say a word. She grabbed her purse and followed him as he led her through the crowd. The lighting had been dimmed after the meal so most of the people were dancing and drinking. Even so, Sherry knew many eyes followed them. "Where are we going?"

Simon paused at the edge of the dance floor and gestured away from the ballroom. "I can't wait any longer. If I don’t kiss you soon, I'm going to lose my mind."

Sherry let him drag her down the hallway to a bank of elevators. She leaned against the wall. The luxurious wallpaper was cool on her bare back. Lust danced through her.

"Sherry, can I kiss you?" Eli asked.

She nodded, not surprised that he'd followed Simon's mad dash through the crowd, but surprised that he was asking. Of course she'd let him kiss her. She darted a look back from where they came. A few people milled near the ballroom, but they weren't watching.