CHAPTER TWO
Peter kept his arm around her as he introduced her to six other men. She’d seen some of them at the gym, but had never really met them. They were all polite and gracious, one of them fetching her a drink while Mike brought over a bar stool for her, placing it between himself and Peter.
To her surprise, one of the guys was actually Mike’s younger brother, Jay. Seeing them side by side, she saw the family resemblance immediately. Both were handsome devils with wicked dark eyes and wavy chestnut hair kept short and neat. It was a military cut, but still had enough fullness to make a woman want to run her fingers through it. Preferably while he fucked her brains out.
The scandalous thought brought heat to her cheeks as she sipped her mixed drink.
“Hot in here?” Peter asked at her side. She looked up to meet his curious gaze but she wasn’t telling what had made her flush.
“A little,” she replied evasively, hoping he’d leave it at that.
“It’s a little cooler over on the dance floor. Want to take a turn?” He held out his hand and she gave in to the impulse to dance with him. She might never have another chance and she’d wanted to feel his hard body close to hers for a long time now.
Either one of them, really. She left the table with Peter, intercepting the hard look Mike sent his friend as they walked away. Peter only grinned like the cat who’d stolen the canary and Lilly got the fleeting impression that there’d been some competition between them for her attention.
That thought, of course, was ridiculous, so she dismissed it out of hand. These two guys—any of the guys at their table, in fact—could have any woman they wanted. It was highly unlikely they’d compete over someone like her. She was hardly a sexpot and she was only a year younger than them.
Old enough to be sensible and young enough to still have fun, she’d always thought, but having fun suddenly took on a whole new meaning when in Mike and Peter’s presence. A very naughty meaning.
Lilly fanned herself with one hand as Peter led her toward the empty dance floor. There was music playing softly in the background—it was louder on the dance floor—but nobody was dancing. Peter swept her into his arms and she went willingly, loving the way he handled her.
He was so much larger than she was, but they fit together nicely. His big hands were at her waist, hers resting on his shoulders as he shuffled her around the floor to the sensual beat.
“Is this better?” he asked after a moment.
“Better?” She’d been in a daze and had to shake herself out of it, much to his amusement. She could see the laughter in his sparkling eyes. “Yes, you were right. It is cooler out here.”
“Good.” His hand at her waist crept around to the small of her back, his long fingers dipping lower to rest on the swell of her butt. It felt so good, she couldn’t object. Maybe she’d been wrong about Mike. Maybe it was really Peter who was interested. She was conflicted, unsure, but she vowed to go with the flow. She liked them both. A lot. “I wouldn’t want you to get overheated,” Peter said with an unmistakably sexy grin. “At least not yet. Not here.”
His blue eyes held promises. Promises of pleasure and wicked delights she could only imagine. The big question—was she brave enough to find out?
She decided to see where his blatant flirting would lead. She’d known him a while and she’d missed him more than any other man she’d ever known when he’d been gone.
Of course, the same could be said for Mike, but it was Peter who’d asked her to dance. It was Peter who had his hand on her ass and a hot gleam in his eyes. Peter was the one, then. The one who’d stepped forward.
“Then where?” She licked her lips, meeting his gaze as boldly as she could manage.
She wasn’t the outgoing type, at least not sexually. She never had been, but she’d been involved with a few men in her lifetime. None had the effect on her that Peter—or Mike, for that matter—did, and she’d never been in a position like this before. She was playing it completely by ear, but Peter didn’t seem to mind.
“How about my place?”
There is was. He wanted her. The thought sent her stomach into somersaults of excitement. She’d wanted to know his touch for a long time now and she wouldn’t pass up this opportunity, no matter what happened tomorrow.
“I think I’d like that.” She smiled at him and he returned it full force.
They spent another hour at the bar, but Lilly didn’t remember much after agreeing to go home with Peter. He was solicitous of her, the perfect gentleman, as was Mike, though she sensed some tense moments between the two friends that she didn’t fully understand.
When they took their leave, Mike pulled her aside for a lingering kiss that was both confusing and arousing. He stared at Peter for a minute and she could’ve sworn silent messages were hidden in the firm set of his jaw. Peter nodded to his friend as they left together and ushered her to his car. They’d decided to leave her car where it was for now. It was safe enough and if she needed to get anywhere, she trusted Peter to take her.
He drove with quiet competence and they talked about mutual friends and things that had happened while he’d been away. Before she knew it, they’d arrived.
“Nice place,” Lilly observed as they were buzzed into one of the most prestigious gated communities in the area.
“Thanks, I like it.” He sent her a mischievous smile. He was playing with her. He knew darn well she had questions about how an ordinary soldier could afford to live in a place like this.
“So are you going to tell me? What gives with the mansion? I thought you were a regular guy.”
“Disappointed?”
She laughed. “Hardly.”
He pressed a button and the gate to a monster sized house opened before them. The structure was set back from the road in a lovely copse of trees. It sat on a large plot of land that was surrounded by a beautiful wrought iron fence. Another button opened one bay of a four car garage. He pulled in and parked next to a shiny new Hummer, killed the engine and turned to her.
“You’ve heard of Foster Electronics? That was my dad’s company. He was the majority shareholder. When he passed last year, I inherited it all.”
“You’re kidding.”
He stretched his arm along the back of the seat, reaching out to toy with a lock of her hair. “Afraid not. Still like me know that you know I’m rich?”
She pretended to consider his question. “I guess,” she answered playfully.
“Good.” He got out of the car and came around to her side, to open the door. She’d always liked that about him—he had excellent manners and made her feel both respected and cherished.
The house was beautifully designed. It had a big living room decorated in masculine fashion—dark hunter green softened by paler shades of green here and there. Altogether, the effect was inviting. It wasn’t spotless, but it was very neat. Peter had no doubt learned good habits in the military, she thought with hidden amusement.
“Make yourself comfortable. There’s some wine in the cooler over there if you’re interested. I just need to check on something. I’ll be back in a minute.”