13. Allie
Allie
O h God .
I went up in flames.
The kiss was all heat and hunger, tongues stroking and hands grabbing. He kissed me like he couldn’t get enough, like he had the right to do it hard and deep. Arching into him, I moaned. I bit his bottom lip, everything inside me hot and achy.
God, my pulse was throbbing between my thighs. I rubbed against him, his fingers digging into my ass.
“ Allie .” My name on his lips sounded like a curse and a plea.
“Don’t stop. Please .” I dragged my mouth over his hard jaw, then down his neck. When I found the mark my teeth had left, I laved it with my tongue.
He groaned. “You like knowing you left your mark on me.”
“Yes.”
The next kiss was even harder. He plundered my mouth. I was so close to coming.
Then I heard the sound of a throat being cleared.
Caden froze. I blinked, my nails digging into his shoulders.
I tried to get my bearings, which was damn hard when all I could feel was raging desire. Someone cleared their throat again and I glanced over his broad shoulder…
Tessa.
She was standing on the path, clipboard in hand, looking as professional as ever in her neat, fitted, navy-blue dress and jacket. Her eyes were wide and alive with curiosity.
“Um… Tessa,” I croaked out.
Caden set me down. The movement rubbed me over the large bulge in his suit pants. I bit back a moan and saw a muscle in his jaw tick.
“Damn,” he muttered. “Get that look off your face.”
I pressed my hand to the wall. I could honestly say that this day had not gone anything like I’d imagined when I’d woken up this morning.
“Hi, Tessa.” My voice was a little high-pitched. “We were just…” Hmm, I wasn’t sure exactly what to say.
My friend tilted her head. “Yes, I saw exactly what you two were doing.”
“I need to get back to the security office,” Caden said.
My head spun. He was abandoning me? “Coward,” I muttered.
He glanced at Tessa. “Yep.” Then, he touched my hand. Just the briefest brush.
Abruptly, he strode away down the path, giving Tessa a clipped nod.
I pushed off the wall. “Well, I’d better get back to?—”
“Oh no, you don’t.” She grabbed my hand and towed me down the path.
“Tessa.”
She ignored me. A second later, I spotted Sierra standing outside, talking with some of her team.
Tessa nabbed Sierra with her other hand. “Come with us.”
The tiny blonde shot me a startled look. I shrugged my shoulder, and we followed Tessa inside and through to her office.
Jazz looked up from her desk and her eyebrows winged up. Tessa pushed me into a chair, then closed the office door.
“Talk,” she demanded.
“Well…I really have work to finish up.”
She swiveled and looked at our confused friends. “I just caught her outside…with Caden.”
Sierra frowned. “Okay.”
“She had her legs wrapped around his waist and her tongue in his mouth. He looked about five seconds away from doing her against the wall of the hotel.”
Sierra gasped, and Jazz’s mouth dropped open.
“Oh, my God,” Jazz breathed.
“What happened to steering clear of him?” Sierra shot me a grin. “That you didn’t need a man?”
I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. “We… It’s… We were doing something for work…”
“Really?” Sierra said. “Something that involves kissing his brains out?”
“No, I was helping him with a security thing. And…” I trailed off.
“You really, really like him,” Tessa said.
I felt a lick of panic. I could see Tessa going into matchmaker mode. “Guys, we’re all on the clock. Don’t you have work to do?”
Tessa pulled a face. “You’re right. Cocktails at my place. Tonight.”
“I can’t. Ollie and I are making burgers. And he has some sort of craft thing I need to help him with for school.”
“Tomorrow.” Tessa got a stubborn look on her face.
I edged toward the door. “Maybe.”
“You know you aren’t getting out of this, girl,” Sierra said. “We all know you’ve had a long dry spell, and we want the details.”
“We kissed, that’s it.”
Sierra crossed her arms. “Twice, now.”
“Um…”
Tessa made a sound. “More than twice. You’ve been keeping secrets.”
“I’ve got to go.” I edged for the door.
“We’ll get them out of you over cocktails,” Sierra called out.
I escaped.
The thing was, I hadn’t worked out what was going on with Caden or how I felt. I couldn’t talk to my friends about it because I just didn’t know what to say.
As I entered the lobby, one of the receptionists waved at me. “Oh, Allie, a kid just vomited in the restaurant.”
Ah, vomit to the rescue. “I’ll get someone there ASAP.”