More than Once

8

I pulled back to study his face, to make sure he was okay with this. If he wasn’t interested, I sure as hell wasn’t going to take advantage of him. Though judging from the way he kissed and the way his fingers dug into my hips, that wasn’t a problem.

“That was…unexpected,” he said, his voice husky.

“In a bad way or a good way?”

“Good. Definitely good.”

“Want to do it again?”

“God, yes.”

With something like a growl, he yanked me toward him, pulling me onto his lap. His mouth was rough against mine, demanding more, making me moan. He took my bottom lip between his teeth, and I could taste the need on his tongue.

When he deepened the kiss, it was easy to pretend the rest of the club didn’t exist, that there was nothing but this moment between us, and it was such a relief to not think anymore. I tugged at the buttons on his shirt, undoing the top ones, while his hands slid down my hips to my ass. He gave a little squeeze and I gasped, and then his mouth was covering mine again, greedy, desperate, hard.

Oh, yes. Definitely hard.

When we finally broke apart, I felt dazed, like I’d been suddenly woken from a really good dream. The rest of the world had completely disappeared when Andy’s mouth was on mine, and now it rushed back in: loud karaoke music, the smell of cheap alcohol, the vibrations from hundreds of people dancing. And Andy, looking at me like he was just as surprised as I was by how right that felt.

I glanced over and saw Tara and Hector—and everyone else at the table—staring at us. “They’re watching,” I murmured in Andy’s ear.

“Are they?” he asked, burying his face in my neck, leaving a trail of kisses along it that made me shudder with desire.

“I think everyone in this club is.”

“Good.” He tugged at my earlobe with his teeth. “Still want to get out of here?”

I didn’t know what I’d done to unleash this nice guy’s inner bad boy, but I liked it. I couldn’t wait to see what he’d do when I got him alone. “Let’s go.”

Screw it, I could start being good tomorrow.

CHAPTER FIVE

ANDY - FIVE MONTHS AGO

We took the Comic-Con shuttle back to my hotel room, lips locked the entire time, hands roaming across each other’s skin. I’d never done anything like this before, but what better time to have your first one-night stand than right after your first failed marriage proposal, eh?

Becca’s kiss had been the only thing that had make me forget the pain of losing Tara for even a second. Even now, the little black box with the diamond ring was like a hundred-pound weight in my pocket. First thing I did when I walked into my hotel room was pull it out and leave it in the bathroom, where I couldn’t see it. Then I returned to the bedroom—and to Becca.

She wasn’t the type of girl I usually went for, but I was feeling reckless tonight. And good god, she was hot. She radiated trouble with her dark-rimmed eyes, short platinum hair, and bright red lips. She wasn’t wearing much, other than her amusing (and very tiny) tank top—just black combat boots and ripped-up shorts held together by safety pins. Silver piercings ran up and down each of her earlobes, and I had the strongest desire to tease each of them with my tongue. I wanted to find out if she had more piercings under her clothes.

She studied the mini-bar, but when she turned toward me, I was hit with a second of hesitation and doubt. Tara’s face rushed back into my mind, and with it, the crushing blow of rejection. The sadness and heartbreak washed over me again, too.

But then came the anger.

It had only been days since we’d broken up and she’d already moved on to screwing Hector, like our year together had meant nothing to her. It made me suspect the two of them had been secretly together the whole time we’d been dating, even though she’d always claimed they were only friends. Had it been a lie every time she’d told me she loved me? Had she been thinking about Hector every time we’d had s*x?

Screw it. If Tara could move on that fast, then so could I. And Becca was perfect—because she was absolutely nothing like my ex.

Becca must have seen my hesitation because a flicker of concern crossed her face. “We don’t have to do this, Andy. We can go grab a bite to eat or…”

“No.” I strode over to Becca and tangled my fingers in the back of her hair, sliding my other arm around her waist and yanking her against me. She let out a little gasp, but her dark eyes flashed with pleasure. She liked that. Good.

I kissed Becca hard, forcing her mouth open, holding her tight against me. Her hands slipped around my waist to my ass, cupping it, pulling me closer. Her body fitted against mine, molding to me like we’d been made as a perfect match. All thoughts of Tara and my broken heart were forgotten; all that existed was this girl, this kiss, this moment.

Tonight I was done being hesitant. Done with the sadness and the doubt and the pain. And above all else, I was done being the nice guy. We devoured each other, our kisses hungry and desperate. My mouth and my hands were rough, exploring her body, but she gripped me just as tightly and moaned with each touch. I found her breasts, so soft and full, and rubbed them through her thin top. With each squeeze and pinch, she moaned even louder.