Smith

Lightning. That’s what it felt like, kissing Evie.

The shock of adrenaline coursed through my veins, every cell coming to life at once. Her lips were so soft, I fought the urge to clamp my teeth on that bottom one, hard.

She, on the other hand, wasn’t holding back. One second, we were both seated at the table, and the next, she’d slid from her chair half onto mine as she pressed herself tightly against me.

My hands made their way up to tangle in her silky hair, and she whimpered. The sound traveled straight to my cock, making it swell even more. I wondered briefly if the science of having literally all the blood in my body draining to my cock would kill me, but then she hitched one leg over my chair to straddle me, and I no longer gave a shit.

If I dropped dead right now, it would be with a smile on my lips.

I forced myself to release her hair, but only so I could free up my hands and push us back from the table. The maneuver opened up a whole new world of real estate, and I cupped Evie’s round ass in both hands. She gasped into my mouth, which only encouraged me to tighten my grip.

She pulled back a few inches. “Smith,” she murmured, running the tip of her finger over my mouth before crushing her lips to mine again.

Every muscle in my body was tense, primed, and ready to stand with her in my arms and carry her to my bedroom, but I still had one working brain cell, and it was bleating outraged commands.

Retreat!

Don’t go even one step further.

You made a vow.

But that vow seemed so far away, blurred by the havoc Evie Reed was wreaking in my lap. I sucked in a breath through my nose, trying to work up the discipline to pull back, when she swept her tongue along mine and simultaneously ground her pussy against my cock.

I gripped her ass tighter, working her over my shaft again until she started moving on her own, writhing against me, making desperate little whimpering sounds that tugged at the last of my self-control.

The friction we were creating sucked the air from me, and for a second, all I could hear was the pounding of my heartbeat.

“Smith. Please,” she murmured into my mouth, the break in her voice filling me with hot lust.

Vows were meant to be broken. Besides, no one could be expected to turn down an offer like this one. The woman I’d been fantasizing about for two weeks was rubbing all up on me, hot, wet, and ready for my cock.

And she’s your best friend’s sister.

The thought of Cullen—the lies I’d already told him, the lies I would continue to tell—had me freezing in place. It took Evie a second to realize I was no longer kissing her back and my questing hands had stilled, but when she did, she groaned.

“Nooo,” she muttered as she pulled away. “Smith, don’t think about him. I’m not a child anymore. I’m a grown woman, and I get to live my own life and make my own choices.” As if to prove it, she leaned in and plastered her magnificent tits against my chest.

I met her gaze and bit back my own groan of frustration. Her face was flushed with unquenched need, her hair mussed from my fingers, her lips plump and damp. I’d never wanted to fuck like I did right now. My blood sang with it. Every instinct was urging me to finish the job I’d started. To drive inside that sweet little cunt until she screamed my name and I exploded inside her.

But until I knew what this was between us? Until I knew I could offer Evie more than I’d ever managed to give a woman before? Until then, I had to resist, because sharing a dinner and a kiss with your best friend’s sister was bad. But knowingly taking her to bed without having any idea of what was going to happen after that? That was unforgivable.

In fact, if I were in Cullen’s shoes and Evie was Pam? I’d have cut Cullen’s balls off for even thinking about it.

My cock pulsed once and wept a single tear as I patted her ass lightly and slid her from my lap to stand.

“I’d love for you to stay a while longer. Have dessert. Watch a movie. But we can’t sleep together, Evie. Not now. Not yet. Once we cross that line, there’s no going back, and I need to make sure I’m worthy of the gift you want to give me.” And that the fallout will be something we can both live with.

I kept that last part to myself, though, because I didn’t want her blaming Cullen’s overprotectiveness for me backing away. The fact was, there was a part of me that needed time outside her circle of hotness to think straight. Not any part below the waist, of course, but somewhere in my cranium, I knew that Cullen was only part of the problem. My fucked-up childhood—moving from foster home to foster home before being adopted—had left a space inside me where trust used to live. Too many times, I’d let myself be lulled by a warm hug and a soft heart. I let hope in, and then just when I thought things would be all right, I’d been ripped away again. New family. New problems.

After a while, it had become more than clear that hope was the enemy. Expect the least, and you’ll never be disappointed. The Smith Hamilton human-relationships credo.

So it had been easy enough to keep a distance between myself and the women I slept with. If they opted out after a few weeks, it was fine because I’d never really opted in.

With Evie, that wasn’t an option.

I was either in or out, because I cared. A lot. A lot more than I ever expected to. And the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her.

“You’re a great guy, Smith. I’m not asking for a proposal, you know. I just want you to be my first real lover, is all,” she said softly.

The word “first” implied there would be more after me, and the thought sent a hot knife of jealousy straight through me. It was all I could do not to say fuck it and take her right there. Make her forget that any other man even existed.

That inclination alone was enough to sober me and get my mind right.

“I want to hang out with you, Evie. I want us to spend more time together, but until we’ve got some idea of what exactly this is, we have to keep it in the friend zone. Can we do that?” I asked, watching her face for clues as to whether I was asking for too much.

She nodded slowly and ran a trembling hand through her hair. “I think I’d like that. I—I had fun too. I definitely want to spend more time together. And no telling Cullen anything, agreed?”

“Agreed.”

She excused herself to the bathroom, and I was grateful for the reprieve as I cleaned up the dishes. It was going to be tough, but there was a sense of relief there too. At least I’d get to spend more time with Evie, and for now, that was enough.

• • •

Three hours later, though, as I watched her drive away, it was far from enough.

I was a man on a ledge again.

After watching a rom-com—her choice, and a drama—mine, we’d wound up snuggled together on the couch. It was long past midnight, and I’d wanted nothing more than to carry her into my bedroom and kiss her until that sleepy look disappeared. She’d been the strong one then, getting up and giving me a light peck on the mouth before gathering up her things.

“This was really nice, Smith. Thank you.” The regret on her face was almost completely concealed as I walked her to her car and she slid in.

“Text me when you get home,” I said, patting the hood of the car.

I made it all the way back into my living room before I had my pants unzipped and my cock in hand.

“Fu-uck,” I groaned, the ache in my groin making the pressure of my hand almost painful.

I dropped back onto the couch, my face just an inch from where Evie’s head had been, and breathed in the scent of her shampoo. Squeezing my eyes closed, I stroked my shaft up and down. Long, easy strokes for as long as I could stand it, and then faster. I let all the mental footage I had of Evie form a movie, filling in the gaps in my perverted imagination. What I came up with was the best porno in the world, and my heart knocked against my ribs so hard, I could hear it as I worked my cock over.

“I want you to come inside me, Smith,” she whispered as she rode me up and down, faster and faster.

She pressed two fingers to her clit and moved them in a gentle circular motion as she impaled herself all the way onto my distended cock, taking me in to the hilt. Her pussy clenched, gently at first, but then harder as her nipples went tight and she threw her head back.

“Yes, yes!”

“Yes” was fucking right, because I was right behind her. My muscles tensed and my cock went rock hard. A second later, I bellowed her name and white light shot behind my eyelids as I came on my stomach in spurts.

My breath was still sawing in and out of my lungs when my cell phone buzzed and Evie’s text lit up my screen.

 

Evie: Made it.

 

Christ, that made two of us.

My low laugh was more of a groan as I snagged a handful of tissues from the coffee table.

After I cleaned off, I thumbed out a quick reply.

 

Smith: See you soon.

 

I realized with a start that, even if it was tomorrow, it wouldn’t be soon enough. I didn’t know I was starving until I’d tasted her.