Why does she have to look so fucking hot all the time?

Groaning, I knock back another shot of Jack Daniel’s. I will my brain to purge itself of her image. Get out of my goddamn head, Elle.

Slamming the small glass down on the bar, my fingers clench into fists and squeeze. I don’t have the time or energy to deal with any more of her passive aggressive bullshit. After being subjected to her company and biting remarks at last night’s rehearsal dinner and then again today at Kyle and Janny’s wedding, I’ve had enough of Elle Johnson to last me a lifetime. Her continuous need to insult me at any opportunity has worn out my last nerve. I had to put some distance between us before I snapped and did something I’d regret, like smash our lips together and never let them part.

Which is why I’m drinking shots at this very moment. I have no plan to stop any time soon - or at least until she’s no longer at the forefront of my thoughts.

“How you doin’, man?” Derek sidles up next to me at the bar and takes the vacant stool to my right. His eyes track the path of my heated stare. “When are you gonna go for it, dude? She’s yours for the taking - so take her.”

Shaking my head, I slide the rim of another shot glass between my lips and tip back the cold liquid. It teases a path down to my chest, kind of like Elle does. Only she’s not a cool burning sensation; she’s a fiery ball of destruction annihilating everything in her path. She makes my chest ache and not in a good way. Rubbing my hand over the exact spot, I try to soothe the discomfort only she can cause.

I’m sick of wanting her and longing for something that will never be.

I miss the days when we enjoyed each other’s company and things were simple - before attraction got in the way of our friendship.

Pounding the empty glass down with more force than intended, I watch as it clatters, then wobbles from side to side, before stilling.

My eyes flick to Derek. “It’s never going to happen and I’m okay with that. It’s time for me to find someone who will appreciate me.” Running a hand over my short dark blonde hair, I study Elle on the other side of the room with narrowed eyes. “She’s never going to see me clearly. She’s too stuck in her preconceived notions of who she thinks I am.”

Why can’t she see the real me?

“Ignoring the attraction you guys have, won’t be easy. It’s only going to become more difficult over time. Trust me; I know. Kenna and I danced around each other for seven years before finally doing something about it,” Derek says, before raising his bottle of beer to his lips. He takes a deep pull, swallowing it down before continuing. “We wasted a lot of time - time I wish we could get back because every minute we’re together is a fucking gift. No matter how long we have, it will never be enough.”

I don’t say anything. Instead, I flag down the bartender and gesture for another shot for myself and a beer for Derek.

It’s not like I don’t think there’s merit in what he said. I absolutely do. But all his wisdom’s wasted on Elle. She likes to date guys who use her for sex and treat her like dirt. She’s been this way for as long as I’ve known her and she’s never going to change.

I could be that guy for her...if she wanted. I could fuck her for days then ignore her every time we saw one another after. But I don’t want that with Elle. I want more, but I’m done waiting for a fantasy to come to fruition.

I smell the fruity scent of her perfume before noticing her standing beside me at the bar. My stomach rolls and clenches and I’m not sure what’s causing it.

Is it the deep seated need I feel to have her naked underneath me, screaming my name as my cock slams into her scorching hot pussy?

Or is it that I can finally admit she and I will never happen?

My head swivels in her direction and my green eyes slowly trace the delicate lines of her profile, before moving down the long, graceful length of her neck. Her dark hair is up in some fancy arrangement on the top of her head, exposing the sharp lines of her collarbones. The black strapless dress she’s wearing leaves little to the imagination. The top is fitted to her body like a second skin, leaving her full tits on display for my hungry eyes. I can see the deep valley between them and imagining my cock buried there has my teeth clenching.

Forcing my eyes away from her chest, I notice her narrow waist, the luscious curves of her hips and fullness of her ass beneath the shiny black material. I want to tug that dress up, bend her over the nearest stool and spank her ass until all the disdainful barbs she enjoys slinging my way have disappeared. Then I’d be showing her just how ‘nice’ I can be.

I find myself powerless to resist the tempting lure of her five-foot six frame. She’s everything I find attractive from the top of her long, dark brown hair all the way down to her red toenails, revealed in her sexy as fuck high heels.

If I could custom order a woman for myself she’d look exactly like Elle. Every single inch of her is perfection.

Sensing the heat of my stare she turns to face me. Our eyes lock and both of us are trapped by the invisible tethers of the attraction we feel for each other. When I inch closer, our shoulders almost touching, her eyes flare with desire.

Resting my forearms on the bar, I focus on her shiny red lips, skimming over their full shape before my gaze raises to meet her warm chocolate brown one. “What’s your poison?” I ask.

Her pink tongue peeks out to lick the inside edge of her bottom lip. “You...I mean…you want to buy me a drink?” She closes her eyes for a moment and when she opens them they immediately lock on mine.

“I want to give you whatever you want, Elle.” I say my voice suddenly husky.

She pauses and then visibly swallows. “What if I’m not sure what I want?”

“I can help you figure it out.”

She nervously chews on her bottom lip while her deep brown eyes stare intently into mine.

“Let’s start with a drink, Elle. What’ll you have?”

She glances down at my empty shot glasses on the bar. “What are you drinking?”

“Whiskey. Jack Daniel’s.” I raise an eyebrow. “You want to join me?”

She presses her lips together and gives a slight nod of her head. Flagging down the bartender, I gesture for a refill and hold up five fingers - three for me and two for Elle.

This is the first time my eyes have left her since she sat down next to me and I realize Derek has vacated the spot on the other side of me. Scanning the dance floor, I find him with his wife, Kenna. The two of them are focused only on each other, lost in their private moment in the middle of a crowded room.

What’s it like to be so in tune with someone? To care so deeply for another person the rest of the world could fall away without you noticing?

I’ll probably never know because I went and fell in love with the one girl who’s completely unattainable. The last thing she’s looking for is an emotional connection.

The bartender places the shots down in front of us and I tuck a folded twenty inside his tip cup. Sliding a shot in Elle’s direction, I grab one for myself. Tapping her glass with mine I say, “Cheers,” and watch as she downs the golden liquid. Aside from squeezing her eyes shut, she takes it like a champ.

Smiling at her, I knock mine back. Tipping the empty glass over I slam it down on the bar, adding to the rapidly increasing line of them.

“What do you think? Have you got one more in you?” Pushing her next shot toward her with the tip of my index finger, I study her beautiful face. Her slightly parted, shiny lips remind me of the one time I gave into temptation and kissed her. Alcohol, anger and Elle are a lethal combination.

Four months have passed and I can still remember how sweet her mouth tasted. Her lips were so soft and full under mine. At the first touch of our tongues she moaned so sexily it was all I could do not to fuck her against the night club wall.

I’ve tried to erase that particular night from my mind - goddamn I’ve tried. Unfortunately, my thoughts are more often than not occupied with Elle. Wondering what she’s doing and who she’s doing it with, I drive myself insane.

“It’s not bad. I kind of like the taste.” She licks her lips, removing the leftover traces of whiskey.

“Are you ready for another?” Picking up my next shot, I wait for her to do the same. She nods and we both tip them back. Placing my empty on the rim, I slide it toward the rest. “There’s one more. Do you want it?” I ask, enjoying this mellow version of Elle. I’m surprised she hasn’t insulted me yet. Must be the alcohol.

“No, you have it. Two is good for me.” She smiles and smooths a hand over her hair.

“Come on. Go ahead.” I lean toward her, holding the glass in front of her lips. I’m not ready for our time together to end.

Her eyes catch my yearning ones above the golden liquid. Can she see how much I want her? Never one to back down, she closes her fingers over the back of my hand. One simple touch from her makes me desire so much more. Does she feel it too?

When her lips close over the edge of the glass, my other hand slides up the back of her neck to cradle her head, holding it in place. The fine hairs on the nape of her neck tickle my palm as I tip the glass back. Watching the alcohol slide into her mouth is the most fascinating thing I’ve seen all day. I swallow with her, imagining the burning warmth of the whiskey on my tongue. When I pull the rim away a drop temptingly balances on her bottom lip. I release the glass and it falls to the bar with a bang. My hand cups her cheek as my lips crash down on hers. My tongue licks up all the remnants of whiskey before thrusting to meet hers. When our tongues collide, she moans into my mouth making my cock solid as fucking steel.

Her fingernails dig into my shoulders through the material of my tux, pulling me closer. I want them raking into my bare skin as I fuck her senseless.

My hand leaves the nape of her neck, caressing down the middle of her back, urging her chest tighter to mine. I want to fuse our bodies together permanently. She’s already in my head and my heart.

My lips leave hers trailing across her warm, flushed cheek to graze the unblemished skin of her neck. Sucking and biting my way down to her collarbone, I dance kisses across the delicate length, then run my nose up the front of her neck, inhaling her delicious fruity scent. I pause when our lips are only a hair’s breadth apart, our passion filled gazes locked. “What do you want, Elle?” I question, her rapid breaths fanning across my lips. “I want to give you whatever you want.” My eyes implore her to say the answer I want to hear...the answer I need to hear, but I’m afraid to hope for.

“You...I want you.”

Slipping off the stool, I take her wrist and gently guide her down from her perch. My hands move to her upper arms holding her close. “Let’s go up to my room.” Leaning down, I rub my nose against hers.

“Yes,” she whispers, staring up at me with those bottomless brown eyes. My fingers slide down her arms to clasp both her hands. I raise them to my lips one at a time, kissing the back of each, before releasing one.

“Come on.” Tugging on the hand I’m still holding I take a step backward and let my eyes drink their fill of her in her short black dress. I raise our joined hands above her head and slowly spin her around. She giggles as she turns and my eyes immediately slide down to her heart shaped ass.

“Hey, you look so beautiful I needed the three hundred sixty-degree view,” I say as she faces me once more.

“Thank you. That’s sweet of you to say.”

I step forward, closing in until we’re chest to chest. “There’s nothing sweet about what I want to do to you.” Turning, I walk with purpose, her palm clasped against mine, clearing a path through the crowd of people gathered around the bar. We don’t stop to say goodbye to the bride and groom or anyone else. Both of us are focused on what we know is about to go down.

Things are about to get ugly in the best of ways.

When we enter the elevator, I press the button for the tenth floor. I don’t dare look at Elle standing beside me. If I do I won’t be able to control myself. As it is, seeing her reflection in the stainless-steel doors is difficult enough. My eyes glance at the red flashing numbers, eight...nine...ten and the doors slide open. We move down the hall side by side, our hands joined even as I slide in the key card and turn the handle.

I gesture for her to enter first and I’m close on her heels. We’ve barely cleared the jamb when I kick the door closed and use our connected hands to pull her back against the front of my body. My free hand wraps around her waist and my fingers spread out over her lower stomach. Moving my lips down, I place kisses across the top of her shoulder and up her graceful neck. Both hands raise to her shoulders, spinning her around to face me. Slamming my lips down on hers, I swallow her gasp of surprise with my mouth and scoop her up in my arms. Legs wrapped around my waist, she presses her pussy into my cock while my hands cradle her ass.

When my legs hit the end of the mattress I place her down on the white sheet then tear off my tuxedo jacket, dropping it to the floor. I unbutton my shirt, my eyes never leaving the perfection of Elle as I remove it. Tugging my t-shirt over my head, it drops to the floor before I remove my shoes and socks.

Placing a knee on the mattress, my hands slide up the inside of her long legs, pushing them open. I crawl between them, slowly lifting her dress higher until her skirt is raised above her waist. The sight of her tiny, black panties makes my mouth dry. Lowering down to my stomach I push her knees up toward her chest and run my nose along her slit, gently biting her clit through the lacy material.

“Josh,” she moans my name, raising her hips toward my mouth. Tugging her panties down her lean legs, I once again push her knees to her chest. Swiping my tongue along her hot, wet slit, I suck her clit between my lips. Taking my time, my tongue wiggles and flicks drawing out her pleasure. My mouth remains focused on that precise spot until she comes with my name on her lips and her fingers buried in my hair. I smile, my lips still pressed against her clit and then use my tongue to lick up all traces of her orgasm.

Gripping both her wrists, I raise them above her head, one on top of the other. “Don’t move,” I order. Slipping my hand in my pants pocket I pull out the unknotted bow tie I removed at the wedding reception as soon as pictures were done. I hated wearing it, but it’ll be put to good use now. I wrap it under her slim wrists and secure a knot. “Are you okay with this?” I ask meeting her eyes.

“Yes, you can do anything you want,” she answers. In my mind, I hear the unspoken part of her reply - because this will never happen again.

I reach under her, pulling the long zipper down and then slip the dress lower and lower until she’s naked in front of me. Fuck. I wasn’t expecting her tits to be bare. I suck a nipple between my lips and then rake the tip between my teeth.

“Yes,” she cries out. I smile as my lips move to the other side. My tongue circles around the taut tip while my fingers quickly unfasten my pants. Grabbing the condom I’d tucked in my back pocket earlier during a moment of optimism, I slide the material down my hips and kick them off, along with my boxer briefs. Tearing open the wrapper, I roll the condom on. I don’t think my cock has ever been this hard. Lowering my chest down over hers, I brush a kiss over her lips as the tip of my dick teases her entrance.

“I’m going to fuck you now, Elle,” I say, thrusting inside her. Oh shit. The sensation of her pussy wrapped all around me is fucking phenomenal. She’s unbelievably wet and tight. I start to move, slow and deep. I can’t take my eyes off her, tied up and at my mercy.

“Your pussy is fucking perfection,” I groan.

Rising to my knees, I flip her over. Her ass is up, hands tied together in front of her. She’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. Slamming my cock inside her, my hands grip her hips hard enough to leave bruises. With every thrust of my hips I pull her back on my cock. The sound of our bodies slapping faster and louder combined with our harsh breaths drives us on. All the frustration and anger she makes me feel, all the tension we share is coming out as I fuck her relentlessly. I’m caught between wanting to come and never wanting this moment to end.

Sliding a hand around her I reach down, circling her clit. She moans, pushing her ass back against me. My fingers move faster as the pace of my thrusts increase until I feel her orgasm clenching down on my cock and I come buried inside her.

I collapse, leaning on her back and kiss the nape of her neck. Slipping to the side, I roll over and pull her down in my arms and untie her hands. “Why did we wait so long to do this?” I question with a smile, my fingers drawing patterns on her back.

“I’m not sure.”

“How do you feel about breakfast in bed?”

“Is that code for morning sex?”

“No, it’s not a code at all. Great sex makes me hungry and I want to order room service.”

She giggles. “I’m a big fan of breakfast in bed and room service.”

Thirty minutes later we’re both sitting propped against the headboard, plates of bacon and eggs piled high watching my new sci-fi obsession, Dark Matter.

“I’ve missed this,” Elle says.

“Missed what?”

“This. You and me, watching sci-fi shows together. I don’t have anyone to do this with anymore.”

“None of your other friends are sci-fi geeks?” I don’t know any of her friends besides Janny. And the guys she spends time with aren’t interested in sticking around long enough for her to find out.

She shakes her head. “Not even one of them.”

“Maybe, you need to spend more time with me.” I can’t keep the words from tumbling out of my mouth.

“Maybe, I do. Why did we stop spending time together?” She asks, surprising me with her frankness. There’s a frown line between her eyebrows I want to erase.

“I’m not really sure. Janny was the reason we first became friends and when she moved in with Kyle things changed for us all.”

“Isn’t that the truth. I’m more than happy for them, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the good old days.”

“I hear you. We had some great times.” My eyes flick to meet hers. We stare at one another in silence. “There’s no reason why you and I can’t spend time together without Janny.”

“You want to hang out with me?” She tips her head to the side lowering her chin, our gazes still connected.

“Yes. Does this surprise you?”

“Maybe. We have this love - hate relationship, now.”

“Yeah, but I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be in this tug of war with than you.”

She smiles. “Good point.”

Once our plates are empty, I place them both on the small table by the large window. As I slip back under the covers beside Elle, I realize how tired I am. It’s been a long few days and I’m more than ready to fall asleep with her in my arms. When we wake up in the morning, making love will be the top priority - and convincing her to go on a date with me. I can’t wait to show her what it’s like to be spoiled and cherished by someone. She has no idea what she’s in for.

Rolling over to my side, I pull her into my arms. Her face against my neck, I can feel every little puff of warm air she expels. Our legs tangle while my hand wanders down to caress over the curve of her ass in her black lace panties. She threw one of my white t-shirts on and she looks hotter than any other woman would look in the sexiest lingerie.

Her arm wraps around my waist when she moves closer to me. There’s no way she can miss my hard on digging into her thigh. My dick is definitely ready to go again, but there will be plenty of time for that later. All I want now is to hold her in my arms for the night and wake with her still there.

Kissing the top of her head, I whisper, “goodnight, Elle. I’m glad you’re here with me.”

“Me too. Night,” she murmurs, sleepily.

The mattress dips, waking me from a satisfying sleep. Raising my head, I notice Elle rolling over. Swinging her legs to the floor, she climbs off the bed. She tugs my t-shirt off and wiggles her dress back on while I sit up on the edge of the mattress still half asleep. Walking around the bed, she pauses in front of me, smiling. “Thanks. I had a great time.” Leaning over, she places a chaste kiss on my cheek. “This can be our little secret, right?” she questions with a raised brow.

Anger begins to course through my veins.

How can she do this?

After last night, how can she act like it meant nothing to her?

Fuck her.

“It was only a fuck between friends, Elle. It would have to mean something for me to want to tell anyone.”

A look of sadness washes over her face. She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “See you whenever,” she says, before sauntering to the door.

Once it closes behind her, I fall to my back on the bed, staring up at the stark white ceiling. I’m one dumb motherfucker, for letting this happen. Scrubbing my hands over my face, I remind myself this is why Elle isn’t the girl for me.

Sometimes, we must learn our lessons the hard way.