Chapter Twelve #2
Jo threw her hands in the air. “How would I know he’d be there? You put this together. I didn’t even want to come.”
Except to take advantage of a whole day of foreplay that would end with a win. Team orgasm, fifteen—team virginity, zero. Did baseball scores even get that high? Did orgasms?
You’ll never find out if you don’t turn things around.
“Then what’s with the dress?”
Ha! Now, the asshole notices.
Giving it one last shot, she swiveled to plant her back against the door. The slit opened wider, and the sweater slipped off one shoulder, taking the strap of her dress with it. “You don’t like it?”
“It’s a little fancy for walking around old buildings.”
“Lincoln didn’t seem to mind.” The taunt tasted bitter on her tongue, but it was as if he was deliberately trying to piss her off.
“Fucker couldn’t keep his eyes off of you.”
Straightening in her seat, Jo yanked the sweater up over her shoulder and closed the slit on her dress. “Yeah, well, I didn’t wear it for him.”
Silence thickened the air in the car, making it hard to breathe. Or maybe it was the humiliation choking her. This wasn’t going how she’d imagined, but then she’d never tried to seduce a man. Failure had never entered her mind.
Neither had trying to make Avery jealous. Playing that game didn’t feel right. It wasn’t her. It wasn’t them. They were wit and charm, snappy comebacks and sexual innuendo.
Avery pulled into the parking lot of an outdoor mall. As soon as he killed the engine, she was out of the car. If she didn’t think it was rude to ditch Lincoln, she be on the first rideshare home.
Before Jo could take two steps, Avery was in front of her, trapping her between his car and another. She glanced past him. “Lincoln’s waiting.”
The shock of strong hands gripped her just above the elbows and backed her against the side of the car. His hips pinned her to the cold metal. “He can fucking wait.”
Out of instinct, she flattened her hand on his chest inside his coat, ready to push him away. Who the fuck did he think he was? Manhandling her like that?
But his intoxicating scent stole into her mind like a drug, and those dark smoldering eyes reminded her that this was exactly what she wanted, what she’d come to instigate.
One hand cupped the side of her neck, and his thumb traced her jaw. “I like the dress.”
Jo heard the simple statement for what it was, but she let it hang between them for another moment, not quite ready to let him off the hook but not wanting to squash his apology either.
“I wore it for you.” God, she sounded out of breath, weak, pathetic, but for this, for another taste of Avery Fucking Preston, she’d sacrifice her pride.
“Why?”
The detonation of my virginity. Multiple orgasms. No attachments.
She tilted her chin higher. “I’ve forgotten now.”
His other hand joined the first, framing her face, then sliding into her hair. “Should I remind you?”
“You can try.”
His rumbling chuckle vibrated against her lips as he took them, softly, slowly. His tongue glazed the seam of her mouth, an intimate invasion of mind and body, and she opened for him, silently inviting him to take more, anything he desired.
Leaning deeper into her, he groaned and took the kiss to another level. Every rasp of his tongue against hers sent a fiery pulse to her clit, awakening another one in the heart of her core.
Too soon, he eased away, nipping at her bottom lip then resting his forehead on hers. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to taste you again after yesterday.” He lifted his head. “Are we good?”
Jo nodded through the smoky haze left behind by his kiss.
A sexy grin slid into place and gave one last tug at her belly as he stepped back and dropped his hands to his sides. “Does that mean I get past second base today?”
Trying not to melt against his car, she snorted. “Right now, you’re still in the penalty box for acting like a dick.”
“Batter’s box. Penalty box is hockey.”
“Whatever.” She pushed off the car and started across the lot, still a little unsteady. Fuck, if he could get her that hot with a kiss, sex with him would likely burn her alive.
Snagging her hand, he pulled her closer. “So, what was your plan with the dress? Were you gonna torture me all day?”
“Something like that.”
“Why?
“Isn’t it obvious?” Jo glanced another row over, where Lincoln stood waiting by the door of the empty unit, his phone to his ear.
“Yeah, but why’d you change your mind. I mean, you only said you wanted more bases, not the reason why.”
“Because you’re hot and I want someone who knows what he’s doing.”
“As opposed to Murdick?”
“You’re a dick.”
He barked out a laugh and, without missing a step, buried his nose in the hair at her temple, his whisper deep and velvety smooth, “But you think I have skills.”
“I’m assuming you do since What’s Her Name came back for seconds even when you couldn’t remember her name. But please, tell me now if I’m wasting my time.”
“We’ll see what you have to say after I eat that juicy little peach.” He straightened just in time to shake hands with Lincoln, leaving her mouth hanging open. “What brings you out of your cave?”
“Showing Jo the sites.” Lincoln met her gaze, and she wanted to crawl in a hole.
He might not have heard Avery’s vulgar but very enticing challenge, but he could probably guess by the hot blush that stained every inch of her skin.
“What do you think? A bridal shop on one side.” He pointed next door to the window showcasing several wedding dresses, then to the unit on the other side with wedding bouquets and a multitude of vases filled with various flowers. “A florist on the other.”
Still reeling from Avery’s vulgar euphemism, she couldn’t find her voice but managed a mute nod.
The walk through proved to be a different kind of challenge.
She tried to pay attention as Lincoln listed the unit’s features, but all she could think about was her peach and that it was getting juicier by the minute.
Avery didn’t help, letting his hands wander every chance he got and whispering naughty inferences in her ear.
Lincoln walked ahead, his back to them. “The facade is new, a combination of stucco and brick.”
As she considered the fact she hadn’t even noticed the storefront, Avery moved in close and growled, “I’ve got a brick for you.”
She shushed him and tried to hide a smile. He was so bad.
“Don’t let the size fool you,” Lincoln went on.
Avery winked. “Don’t worry, Legs. It’ll fit.”
Her eyes went wide, but her pussy contracted around his imaginary dick. She mouthed, “Stop it.”
Lincoln ran through the square footage. “The space is narrow but deep.”
Avery nuzzled her ear. “Just like I like it.”
Lincoln waved a hand at the farthest door. “Lots of room for storage in the back.”
Avery slid a hand to her ass. “Hmm, we haven’t discussed fifth base. Is that an option?”
Jo’s jaw dropped again, and he had the audacity to chuckle.
If he hadn’t thrown such a fit about Lincoln being here, she’d swear they scripted the entire conversation and rehearsed it ahead of time just to shock her.
Not that anal was shocking. Chase had tried several times to talk her into it, saying it was the perfect solution to keeping her virginity intact.
With an elbow to Avery’s ribs, she broke free and caught up with Lincoln.
After that, he hung back, and though she was aware of his heated gaze following her, a different excitement bubbled inside her as she became caught up in the possibilities, verbally laying out where everything would go—display cases, the front counter, the kitchen.
The walls were already up, separating the spaces, as if someone had plucked a vision from her dream then abandoned it to pursue their own.
At some point during her imaginings, Lincoln’s phone rang, and he excused himself.
A minute later, he called Avery to the front of the unit.
Avery seemed intent on whatever it was Lincoln showed him on his phone, which was none of her business, so she wandered into the storeroom before they caught her being nosy.
It was empty except for half a sawhorse, a step ladder propped against the wall, and an extension cord strewn across the floor—and fell back into the fantasy.
Shelves for packaging would line one wall.
More shelves for dry goods against the other.
Bins of flour and sugar there. She’d add a closet for cleaning supplies in the opposite corner.
“What do you think?” Avery asked from behind her.
She’d wanted this for so long, could see it so vividly. She was so close. Could almost touch it. And yet…
“It’s perfect.” For someone else.
It was the wrong time. She wasn’t ready. She was wasting her time and theirs. She could hear her grandma now. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. You’ll be disappointed.”
“Linc had to go but he gave me the codes to the other properties. Do you want to look at one more before we break for lunch?”
The weight of an unrealized dream settled heavy in her chest, but she forced a smile and spun to face the fantasy within reach.
“No.” She leaned into him, her hands gliding up the wool lapels of his suit jacket. “I want something else.”
Rising on tiptoe, she pressed her lips to his, but his hands wrapped around her upper arms to stop her ascent. “Wait.”
Rejection lowered her heels to the ground with a click. Not ten minutes ago, he’d whispered erotic things in her ear and couldn’t keep his hands off her. “Is something wrong?”
He fished his phone from his pocket and swiped several times until a black and white video appeared, his face frozen on the screen. “This is the reason Linc was here today. It’s the footage from Saturday night at Pulse, showing my every move from arrival to departure.”
“Okay.” She met his gaze, solemn, resigned. He was making her nervous. “Why didn’t he just send it to you?”
“I don’t know. He’s weird about privacy. But he thought it would help shut down gossip if leaked to the paparazzi.”
“Are you going to use it?”