16

Plus One

Bryce stepped back from the doorway, mouth twisting. The last thing he wanted to see tonight was the back of his brother’s head while he fucked that pretty young thing in the bed. He took the stairs two at a time; they wouldn’t hear him, not caught up with each other like they were.

Time to get the fuck out of Dodge.

He just had to get his jacket from Kelly’s house, maybe down another beer, and then straight home.

At least it wouldn’t be an empty home; Joy waited for him there. Probably already tipsy, soon drunk. He’d picked her up in a bar, so it was no wonder she preferred to see life through the bottom of a lager. Since last Friday, he had yet to see her sober.

The tempo of the music next door had changed. Someone — either Kelly or a guest — had put on loud, rhythmic dance music. Early club scene style trance.

Maybe he wouldn’t down his beer and leave — he could listen to the track for a few minutes. As long as he was out of here before Drew arrived still glowing from whatever fantastic orgasm he’d just had.

Bryce tugged at his tie — he’d kept it up most of the night, but now it was starting to annoy him. He unbuttoned his top button too; the house was several degrees warmer than the chill night, and the sudden change in temperature was making him sweat.

He’d just grabbed a beer from the fridge when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Kelly said to tell you she’s waiting,” the woman behind him said.

Bryce turned slowly. “Excuse me?”

“Kelly.” The woman gave him a knowing smile and stabbed a thumb over her shoulder. “She’s waiting?”

The emphasis on the word was unmistakable. Bryce dipped his head and hoisted the beer bottle for the woman to see. “Just getting supplies.”

“Oh.” The woman’s smile inched up. “Take some rose bubbly for her.” She shrugged. “It’s her favorite.”

“Well, ain’t you helpful?” Bryce glanced into the fridge and retrieved a bottle of pink sparkling wine peeking out behind a six-pack of non-alcoholic beer. “This one?”

“You got it.” The woman gave him a wiggle of her fingers and disappeared onto the porch.

Bryce grabbed two champagne glasses, paused, and then scooped up a box of truffles. Whether it was his, or Drew’s, he couldn’t tell; he hadn’t bothered with a card.

The hallway was empty, but far from quiet — thumping bass notes echoed down it.

Where would her room be? He hadn’t seen kids running around, and from the brief conversation he’d had, Kelly didn’t seem the type to stay with roommates… which left the door at the end of the hall. Master bedroom if he ever saw one.

He almost opened the door without knocking; a very un-Drew-like thing to have done.

“Yes?” came Kelly’s voice — slightly unsteady — from behind the door when he knocked.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

Bryce ran a quick hand through his hair. He liked to wear it smoothed back, but Drew had this thing with wearing it to the side.

A solitary, flickering candle lit the room, and it did a poor job at it. Kelly lay on a queen-sized bed, knees up and worrying a nail with her teeth as she watched him step inside.

“Close it,” she said, sounding decidedly sexier than she had the entire night before.

“Sure thing,” he said, smiling at her.

Her eyes followed him around the room as he walked to the side of the bed and put the bubbly and chocolates on the nightstand.

The room had a surprising opulence to it, decorated as it was in vintage furniture with the age of the pieces the only cohesive thing about them. Red velvet embroidered with golden fleur-de-lis spanned a bench by the window. Behind it, heavy drapes shrouded the outside world. Her bed was a four-poster with dark bronze coverlets striped in more gold.

Bryce kicked off his shoes and curled his toes against the thick rug under his feet.

She’d looked frumpy in her earlier getup. But she’d taken down her hair and brushed it, so it lay smooth and glistening against her neck and shoulders. And her pastel blue lingerie made her milky skin seem even paler.

“Something to drink?”

“No wonder you took so long.” Kelly came into a sit, her eyes darting nervously around the room until he handed her a fizzing glass of bubbly. “I thought you’d decided against—”

Her eyes settled on him. Stuck. Widened. Her jaw slackened.

“Of course not.” Bryce drained his glass, twitching his nose when the bubbles tickled it. “It’s your birthday. You should be spoiled, not just fucked.”

A visible tremor touched the woman’s skin.

“You—” Kelly began, sitting up hurriedly.

He swiped the box of truffles from her nightstand and held it out to her. Her eyes moved between the box and his eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

He cocked his head at her, rattling the truffles inside the box with a light shake. “Keeping you company. I could leave if you want.”

“W-Where’s Drew?”

“Shacked up with his chick, where else?”

A burst of pain touched those green eyes, then she blinked hard. “Next door?”

“Yeah.” Bryce shook out his hair, grinned at her, gave her a small bow. “I’m his stunt double.”

She took a huge swallow of bubbly and reached for the box, eyes never leaving his. He snapped it closed, almost trapping her fingers inside.

“Naughty girl,” he murmured. “You didn’t say please.”

Kelly’s eyes flared with incredulity. “But they’re mine.”

“Not anymore.” He tugged free his tie. “Hold out your hands.”

He knew he shouldn’t be dragging this out; Drew could be offloading into that girl this very second and then be back here to help himself to Kelly. That, and Kelly looked seconds away from bolting out of the room like a gun-shy buck.

A long, breathless moment passed before Kelly slowly put down her glass of bubbly. Her expression transformed into cautious anticipation. So, when she held out her hands, he bound them together with his tie, wrists touching, and shoved her back on the bed before she could tug away.

“Say please.”

“Please.”

“Good girl.” Bryce undid his shirt’s buttons as he climbed onto the bed with his knees.

Kelly squirmed, dropping her bound hands on her stomach. But she didn’t try and escape. Didn’t tell him to leave when he touched her knee with his fingertips.

His shirt fell to the bed.

“Open.”

Kelly hesitated for only a second before parting her lips.

“Wider.”

Her throat moved as she swallowed and then she dropped her jaw.

“Hold out your tongue.”

A slip of glistening pink flesh appeared. Bryce put a truffle on the end of it. It disappeared into her mouth before she even had the chance to begin salivating. Her eyelids fluttered closed.

“Mmm…”

Bryce smiled. And, while her eyes were still closed, while she was caught up in the taste and texture of that chocolate melting on her tongue and coating the inside of her mouth, he shoved his hand between her legs and gave her a hard squeeze.

She gasped, her eyes flying open and fixing on him in wide-eyed shock.

He grabbed his belt buckle and wrenched it open.

Kelly looked down. Her mouth fell open, and another shudder tore through her. This one he could feel; it made him want to be inside her ten minutes ago already.

“Want more?”

She didn’t look away from his dick when she nodded.

“Then open your legs and hold onto that post.”

Kelly made a noise — half begging, half protesting — and then reached behind her for the bedpost. She grabbed it, licked her lips, and slowly opened her legs for him.

It was all the invitation he needed.

Bryce came to his knees and eased his dick back into his pants. Kelly slowly lifted her knees and hugged her legs to her chest. Pink-faced. Still breathing hard. You wouldn’t think from the way she watched him that he’d given her what would have been a screaming orgasm — if that scream hadn’t been muffled by the pillow he’d shoved her face into.

“Hey… should we tidy you up quick?” He slid from the bed and tugged on his shoes, glancing at her over his shoulder. “You know, straighten the bed, put your panties back on. All you’d need to do is brush your hair, and Drew would never be the wiser.” He grinned then, and Kelly scowled at him in return.

“You’re a fucking jerk.”

He shrugged, his grin climbing higher. “A jerk who just gave you the best orgasm you’ve ever had.”

Her scowl became a glower, and she stabbed a finger at the door. “Get out!”

“Planning on it.” He paused to grab the bubbly by its neck and tipped it against his lips. A few swallows later, he lowered the bottle and gave Kelly a wink over his shoulder. “Tell you what, though. I’ll leave my card up front. For when you get tired of faking it with Drew.”

As the door closed behind him, something thumped into it. The box of chocolates, or one of her boots?

He had just buttoned up his shirt when he stepped into the kitchen. The same woman as before turned to walk inside and stopped when she saw him. A blush tainted her cheeks as her eyes raced over his disheveled clothes.

“You again,” she said, her words thick and slow. Not a blush then; she’d been dipping into the shandy.

“Me again.” Bryce turned and headed for the door. Unsteady footsteps followed him. He glanced at the woman as he slipped into his coat and straightened out his collar. “I didn’t get your name.”

“Susie. Susan.” She gave him a lopsided smile. “Leaving already?”

“Yeah.” Bryce looked past her, to the closed door at the end of the hall. “I’ve outstayed my welcome.”

Susie followed his gaze, tottering on her heels before catching herself against the wall.

“Hey, would you do me a favor, Susie?”

She turned back to him, blinking a few times before focusing on the card he held out for her. Her fingers closed around the tip, and she squinted as she tried to read it.

“Make sure Kelly gets that, would you?”

Susie pursed her lips and tapped the edge of the card against her mouth. “Course.”

He wasn’t in the least bit surprised when she caught hold of his sleeve as he made his way out of the house.

“Hey… uh…”

“Yeah?”

“Could I…” Susie bit her lip. “Could I have one too?”

“Sure thing.” Bryce smiled at her and held out another card. “Mobile’s best.”

She nodded, leaning her hip against the door. “Thanks.”

It was only when he was in his car that Susie closed the front door. He adjusted the rearview mirror, ruffled his hair back into its natural state, and twisted the mirror back into place. Then he shook a cigarette from its box, lit it, and grinned to himself as he drove off.