My other hand goes to her waist, and I grip on to her there. Her body trembles against mine, and there’s a satisfaction in knowing that her body reacts like it does to me. “Do I want to go to a Christmas Eve party with my hot next-door neighbor playing as my wife?” I release her waist and put my hand under her chin to bring her face up, forcing her to look into my eyes. “That means we’ll have to hold hands... probably kiss... act like we like each other.” I lick my lips. Fuck, it even sounds good just saying it. “Yeah, Avery honey, I’m sure I want you to go with me.”
She bites on to her lower lip, and I can tell she’s weighing her options. She wants to say yes. She’s leaning into me, her hard nipples pressed against her shirt. I release her chin and leave my hand at her neck, my finger grazing across her pulse point. I stay silent, hoping and praying she’s going to say yes.
“I can find something to wear in my closet.”
I release her neck, and with her hand in mine, I walk with her across the driveway to her house. I take the stairs, slower than normal just so I can hold her hand on the way up. When we get to the top, she’s speechless, looking at me, unsure. “What time should I be ready?”
“Ten minutes. I’ve got to let Bull out before we go.”
“Uh, I need more than ten minutes to find something to wear.”
I kiss her forehead because I can no longer resist her. She’s so sweet, innocent and just unsure about things it’s killing me. Somehow she doesn’t realize how beautiful and tempting she is. I’m going to show her though. “No, you have ten minutes before we go to the mall to go shopping.”
Instead of pulling back, she leans her head against my chest. “I can go by myself.”
I know she can probably feel the erratic beating of my heart. I feel like I’m on a roller coaster right now. “Nope. I’m going with you. Plus, we need to practice.”
She lifts her head then. “Practice?”
I nod, staring down at her perfect pink bow lips that are just so kissable looking. “Yeah, practice being husband and wife. We’re probably going to need to know a little something about each other.”
“Husband,” she whispers.
And I fuckin’ smile at her until my cheeks hurt. Husband on her lips just sounds right. I wait for the heaviness to hit me in the chest. I’ve never once thought about settling down before, but the thought of it with her doesn’t having me freaking out like it probably should. “Yeah, baby.” I stroke my finger on her cheek. “We may even have to kiss a little. You know, to practice for tonight.”
She gasps, and I shake my head. She’s way too tempting. “Nine minutes.”
“Okay, I’ll be ready.”
I release her because if I don’t, I know I’m going to be following her inside. She turns to go, and I stop her as she walks in. “Avery?”
“Yeah?” She turns with her hand on the open door.
“I owe you an apology.”
She looks confused, but then realization hits her, and she flushes, letting me know she’s remembering last night. “No, it’s okay...”
I shrug. “It’s not, though. I was just going to talk to you across the driveway. I thought it’d be cute, I was going to flirt with you a little, but I never dreamed you would be naked. I shouldn’t have watched... I should have shut the curtains, but I couldn’t do it. There’s no way I would have been able to stop looking at you.”
She swallows and nods her head. I wonder what’s going through her mind, but when she doesn’t say anything, I say it again. “I’m sorry.”
She nods and walks into the apartment, and I’m about to leave when her words stop me. “I’m not sorry.”
It’s so quick... and then the door shuts, leaving me wondering if I did in fact hear what I thought I heard. But then I think of her touching herself last night and the satisfaction I saw on her face. She liked it... and I’m going to make sure she gets her release tonight.
4
Avery
“I think your girlfriend is looking for you,” Lincoln says to the man that is standing next to me.
“Lincoln!” I exclaim, caught off guard by his rudeness.
He positions himself between me and the stranger until the other man walks away. He then comes to stand in front of me, reaches for my hand, and puts a ring on my finger. “Here. I should have put this on you before we left the house.”
His voice is gruff, and for a second, I’m speechless. The large diamond ring fits my finger perfectly. I look up into his pinched face. “Are you mad about it? You can give it to me later before the party.”