One Night of Trouble (3 page)

“Final answer?” he drawled after her silence had dragged on too long.

Say no
.

Are you crazy? Say yes!

Her brain and her libido were fighting a battle inside her, and she struggled to reconcile the conflicting pleas. She really should say no. She was supposed to be making smart decisions these days—a one-night stand with a guy she knew from high school was not a smart decision. It was a reckless one.

But…damn it, he was so gorgeous she couldn’t look away. And her body still tingled from his skillful touch, his hot mouth on her neck, his intoxicating scent.

She took a breath. “Yes.”

He tipped his head. “Yes?”

“Yes, I’d like you to take me home.”

There. She’d said it. No turning back now.

She would walk the smart-decision path tomorrow. Tonight, she was taking a detour.

She was choosing reckless.

Chapter Three

The car ride was riddled with fits and spurts of conversation, which only highlighted the problem with spur-of-the-moment decisions—they rarely ever
stayed
spur of the moment, at least not unless the invitation for sex was immediately followed by said sex. But since there’d be no sexing until they reached Brett’s apartment, she had no choice but to make small talk with the man whose bones she desperately wanted to jump.

“Turn left at the next light,” she told AJ, who sat behind the wheel of his black Jeep.

The slight crease in his forehead revealed that he was sensing her nervousness, and he was right to sense it. At the moment, her palms were clammy and her heart was pounding so hard it was all she could hear.

It wasn’t a matter of not being attracted to him. Because she was. So badly her panties were soaked. But…this was
AJ Walsh
. All the girls in high school had fantasized about the guy, doodling his name in their binders, praying he’d say hi to them in the hall. Brett might have been an outcast, but she hadn’t been immune to AJ’s charms. She’d fantasized about him just as hard as everyone else, and a part of her couldn’t believe those old girlhood fantasies were about to become reality.

“You okay?”

His deep voice penetrated her thoughts. Blushing, she glanced over and nodded. “I’m good. You?”

“I’m just fine, angel.”

Angel
.

God, now that he’d given her the nickname, he didn’t seem inclined to stop using it, and each time the husky word rumbled out, a shiver rolled through her.

She rested both hands on her thighs, discreetly wiping her damp palms on the front of her jeans. Music poured out of the car speakers, the volume so low it was barely audible, but her brow wrinkled when she recognized the song.

“Is this the radio?” she asked.

“No, it’s my iPod shuffle. Why?”

“You listen to Concrete Blonde?”

“I listen to a lot of things.” He raised his eyebrows when he saw her face. “Why do you look so surprised?”

“I don’t know…I guess it just doesn’t seem like something you’d listen to.”

“There you go again, making assumptions. So, tell me, what did you expect me to listen to?”

She thought it over for a moment. “John Mayer?”

A laugh popped out of his mouth. “Nope, can’t say I’m a fan.”

“Taylor Swift?” she suggested.

That got her a sheepish grin. “I’m not gonna lie. I think I have one or two of her songs on the shuffle.”

Brett sighed. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. We all have our guilty pleasures. Mine is Miley Cyrus. I blast ‘Party in the USA’ when I’m cleaning the house.”

The song in the car faded out, then switched to the faint sounds of hip-hop, which told her that AJ hadn’t been kidding. Apparently he
did
have an eclectic taste in music.

They went quiet again, and as they got closer to her apartment, her nerves returned. AJ might have said he was okay with one-night stands, but she didn’t quite believe him. No matter how dirty he’d acted back at the club, he still had good guy written all over him. His short, perfectly styled blond hair, crisp trousers and formfitting T-shirt gave him a preppy vibe—and in her experience, preppy men were usually
all
about relationships.

Well, Brett wasn’t looking for a relationship. Her last one had been about as healthy as deep-fried pizza covered in chocolate, and now that Troy was no longer part of her life, she was beginning to question her habit of throwing herself headfirst into relationships. She invested so much of her heart and soul into them, to the point where she lost sight of the rest of the world.

But she didn’t have time to give 100 percent to a man right now, not when too many things were up in the air at work. And if she finally convinced her father to let her run the shop, her free time would become even more limited.

“Brett?” They’d reached a stop sign, and AJ was looking at her expectantly. “Where to now?”

“Oh. Turn right. There’s a shortcut on this one-way street that will take us right to my apartment.”

A few minutes later, after he’d found a free parking space in front of the Korean general store she’d directed him to, he turned to her with a skeptical expression.

“You live here?”

“Yes, AJ, I live in a grocery store,” she cracked. “I sleep near the deli section. Bathroom’s by the frozen foods.”

He flashed a sheepish smile. “I guess that was a stupid question.”

“Duh.” She gestured to the curtained windows above the store. “My apartment is up there.”

Her pulse sped up as they got out of the car and headed for the narrow entryway next to the dark storefront. The street was quiet and deserted, as it always was past ten o’clock. The silence was one of her favorite things about the neighborhood. Rent in Allston Village was usually pretty steep, but Brett had gotten a great deal because her landlords adored her. The Kims owned the family-run general store below her, and since she’d tattooed all six of their sons on the cheap, Mr. and Mrs. Kim had been happy to let her sublet their apartment during their extended visit to Korea. She had a one-year lease for now, but she was keeping her fingers crossed that they’d let her stay longer. The couple’s eldest son, Daniel, had told her the other day that his folks were considering buying a house when they returned, which meant the apartment would be hers to keep renting.

She and AJ climbed the skinny metal steps to the second floor, where he waited patiently as she unlocked her door. She flicked on the light, then bent down to unzip her boots, while AJ looked around curiously.

He took in the mismatched furniture in the open-concept living room before shifting back to her. His seductive gaze swept over her, starting from her neon-pink socks and ending at her face.

“Want to keep making small talk?” The boyish smile he gave her was incongruous with the lust burning in his eyes.

“No.” She swallowed. “I want you to kiss me.”

An awkward note entered his voice. “You haven’t changed your mind then?”

“I just let you into my apartment—are those the actions of a woman who’s changed her mind?”

“Fair enough.”

Unease washed over her. “Have you changed yours?”

“God, no.” Without an ounce of hesitation, he moved toward her, his broad body dominating her personal space.

She was painfully aware of every hard inch of him, and the dark blond stubble slashing across his strong jaw looked so tempting she couldn’t help but reach up to touch it. The second her fingertips stroked his chin, a husky noise left his mouth.

“Yeah, we made enough small talk in the car,” he murmured. “I think it’s time we get to the fun part.”

Their gazes locked. His head dipped slightly, and Brett’s hand froze on his face, her lips parting with anticipation.

He rubbed her bottom lip with his thumb, making her shiver, and when he withdrew his hand, she noticed the flash of red on the pad of his callused thumb. The evidence of her bright crimson lipstick. Crap, it would probably get all over him if he kissed her. She was tempted to run to the bathroom to wipe it off, but AJ didn’t give her the chance.

“You’ve got the sexiest lips I’ve ever seen,” he rasped before pressing his mouth to hers.

The first kiss was gentle, just a fleeting graze and
so
not enough. Then he pulled back an inch, his breath tickling her face.

“I’m going to need a lot more than that,” she complained, barely able to hear herself over the deafening hammering of her heart.

He released another husky sound, a cross between a curse and a growl, before diving in for a second taste. This time he slanted his mouth over hers in a hungry kiss. His tongue teased the seam of her lips, demanding entry, and Brett wasted no time giving him what he wanted. She moaned when their tongues met, desperately taking everything he had to offer.

Her equilibrium left her as he kissed her like a man possessed. She clutched his shoulders, holding on tight to keep from keeling over. God, the man knew how to kiss. He was greedy but controlled, firm but not forceful. And not just his mouth—his hands were equally talented. They’d moved down to her chest, cupping her breasts through her shirt and bringing little shocks of pleasure to the tips of her nipples.

She knew her breasts were small, but the way AJ groaned as he squeezed and fondled her B-cups, you’d think she had porn-star tits.

“I need to see you. Take the shirt off. Now.” A command, low and sultry, inviting no argument.

She responded with a throaty challenge. “Do it for me.”

Without a word, he reached for the hem of her tank top and slowly dragged the material upward. He stopped before her breasts were exposed, toying with the bottom of the shirt, callused thumbs stroking her stomach for a moment. Then he slipped the shirt up and over her head, and another noise escaped his lips. Definitely a growl this time.

“No bra?” he rumbled.

“No point,” she replied silkily. “My boobs are too little. I only wear one in the winter to cover my nipples. They get really hard and pointy when I’m cold.”

“They’re hard right now,” he taunted. “Are you cold?”

A breath shuddered out. “No.”

“Are you turned on?”

“Yes.”

He smiled. Didn’t make a single move.

Brett fought an odd rush of self-consciousness as he focused on her puckered nipples. God. She was standing there topless—and his hands were resting at his sides. Why wasn’t he touching her, damn it?

“What’s that distressed look for?” he teased. “You need something from me, Brett?”

“You
know
what I need,” she blurted out. “Touch me.
Please
.”

His lips curved seductively. “But I’m not done admiring you.”

“You’re not done tormenting me, you mean.” She glared at him. “You know, you’re really not as nice as you look.”

“Isn’t that what I’ve been telling you all along?” His smile widened. “There’s nothing nice about what I’m going to do to you tonight.”

And then he touched her.

And he was right. It wasn’t nice. It was…sheer magic. He was rougher than she’d expected, squeezing her breasts hard enough to send a jolt of pleasure right down to her core. Her thighs clenched when he pinched her nipples, unleashing an uncontrollable shiver of need.

Chuckling, AJ bent down and drew one nipple in his mouth.

Sweet.

The heat of his mouth and wetness of his tongue made her see stars. Someone call the press—
because AJ Walsh was sucking on her nipple
. Never in a million years would she have dreamed that the golden boy of her high school would be doing that to her. To
her
, the screwup loner who’d attracted nothing but unwanted attention at Hawthorne High.

But there was no power imbalance tonight. They were no longer teenagers from different social groups. They were a man and a woman, capable of driving each other wild, and even though AJ was currently the one worshipping
her
body, Brett had no doubt that he was as turned on as she was.

He hissed with approval as he took deep pulls on her nipples, alternating from one to the other, sucking so hard her breasts pulsed with pleasure. When he slid a hand between her legs and cupped her mound, another shockwave hit, so intense she could barely stay upright.

Whimpering, she grabbed his hair, yanked his head up, and brought their mouths together in a violent kiss. As her hands clawed at his belt, AJ’s laughter tickled her lips.

“Someone’s feeling eager,” he murmured.

“Hell yeah.”

He intercepted her hand before she could undo his belt buckle. “Hmmm. Then maybe I should make you wait.”

“Why on earth would you do that?” she demanded.

“Maybe I want to hear you beg.”

Brett shot him a smug look. “That’s not going to happen. I don’t beg.”

“No?”

“Nope. I just take what I want.” With that, she shoved his hand away and pulled the strip of leather free from the buckle. “And what I want right now is you. Naked. Got a problem with that?”