Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
POPPY
“Ican’t get drunk!” I insist to Autumn as we take our coats off and hand them over to the cloak room.
“Mhmm.” She giggles, taking my arm as we walk into the bar area.
“No, I mean it. I’m not going home with Landon to spend the night with him holding my hair up while I’m hugging the toilet bowl,” I say loudly enough that she will hear me.
She stops and freezes in the middle of the room, spinning around and grabbing me by the shoulders. “Back the truck back up. What do you mean you are staying the night with Landon? Have you been holding out on me?” Autumn’s death stare tells me she’s about to go ballistic.
I didn’t mean to tell her, for this exact reason.
“You knew the boys were having a sleepover at Mom’s house, they told you at least ten times over dinner,” I say, trying to deflect from me.
“Yes, but in no part of that conversation was it mentioned that you were also having a sexy sleepover with L—” Her voice is getting louder, and just as she is about to say Landon’s name, I slap my hand over her mouth.
“Don’t you dare say his name. This man has been fending off the women in this bar for the last few years with success.
We don’t want to give them any ideas that he is now on the market.
” Although technically he is, just not until I leave.
If I only get one shot of being with him, then he is off limits for anyone else tonight.
I can feel her lips moving into a smile under my hand. Removing it, I look at her with this huge grin.
“Protective much? Are you sure this isn’t more than a bit of fun?” Autumn knows she’s pushing my buttons, but she doesn’t care. “It’s okay to admit that you have a thing for that man on the other side of the bar who hasn’t taken his eyes off you since you stepped into the room.”
“Even if I did, there is no point to it. We both know that. Now, it’s my birthday, and you were the one who insisted we come out and celebrate, so let’s get on with doing that.
” Giving her a quick hug, we head to the bar and stand in line to be served.
As soon as a gap appears in front of the bar and we step into it, one of the young bartenders is about to take our order, when a gruff voice yells to him.
“Jasper, they’re with me, I’ve got it.” As Landon finishes making the drinks in front of him and makes his way to us, Charlene walks past and smirks at us.
“Thought you weren’t ever coming back to this bar. Amazing how things can change so quickly.” She winks at me, placing two glasses down in front of the two people next to us. “Oh, and happy birthday. Have a great night, and remember, drinks are on me.”
“Like hell they are. Go and do your job and stop annoying the guests.” Landon comes to a stop in front of us, shooing her away.
“Guests now, not just customers. Interesting,” she calls over her shoulder to him and then keeps going about her job.
I can’t help but crack up laughing. I understand why he gets along so well with Charlene. She doesn’t take his crap, but you can also see she cares about her friend.
“Don’t encourage her.” He rolls his eyes and then slides his hand across the bar, taking hold of mine and pulling me toward him as he leans forward.
“Happy birthday, Poppy, I’m looking forward to helping you celebrate.” His eyes fall to the very low V in the top that I wore deliberately for him. My body starts vibrating with that tingle that it seems to get when Landon is around. And then he does something that shocks the hell out of me.
Closing that last few inches between us, he very softly kisses me on the cheek and then whispers in my ear, “By fucking you senseless, and if you’re lucky, I might even let you come, just because it’s your birthday.
” That low growl is his weapon against me.
He knows I can’t do anything to stop my walls from falling the moment he opens his mouth and speaks like that.
Even though the music is loud, he still manages to hear me when I gasp.
“You like the thought of that, don’t you, temptress.
” And then he is gone, and I can feel the change of the air around me.
Putting distance between us again, he has the cockiest grin on his face as he pulls a bottle of Moet champagne from under the bar, pops the cork, and pours two glasses.
Pushing them toward us, he says, “Happy thirtieth birthday. May it be as special as you, Poppy.” He puts the bottle on ice behind the counter and walks off to serve more people.
“Holy fucksticks, if you don’t go home, pack your boxes, and move back to Boston, then I will be sending you for a brain scan. Because I orgasmed just watching you two together. That is seriously fucking hot.” And while Autumn is talking with no filter like normal, my body is having a meltdown.
“I can’t… I just… Fucking hell.” I lift the glass of Moet to my mouth and chug it. Because otherwise, I’m not going to survive this night, or this man.
I already knew that, yet here I am, ready and willing.
“It’s my birthday, yet I’m the one making sure you get your drunk ass home safely.” With my arm around Autumn’s waist, I walk her to her front door and help her get the key in the lock.
Landon drove her home and is sitting in the car in her driveway as I get her inside.
“Well, your boyfriend, I mean fuck friend, kept giving me free drinks. It would’ve been rude not to accept them,” she mumbles as I get her down the hallway and into her bedroom.
“That’s not quite how the night went, but you won’t remember it tomorrow anyway.
Now you’re on your own. Get your sorry ass into bed, and I’ll call you in the morning.
” Autumn drops onto her bed, and I bet she will be out cold in about ten minutes, probably in the clothes she’s still wearing.
And although I could spend the next twenty minutes wrestling with her to get her changed, take some Tylenol, and drink water, she will still be smarting from a hangover in the morning.
And to be honest, I have somewhere to be.
It's my birthday, and I want to get every single minute I can from this night.
“When it’s my thirtieth birthday, can you order me a big hunky man to take home as my present too?”
I just laugh as I pull off her shoes. I throw the blanket over her, turn the light off on the way out, and lock the front door as I head back to the car. She’ll be snoring before we even make it out of her street.
“Is she all sorted in bed?” Landon asks as I settle back in my seat and he reverses out of the driveway.
“Yeah, and blaming you for getting her drunk because you were being nice and letting her drink whatever she wanted.”
His deep chuckle fills the car. “I was about to cut her off, when I saw it was time to close up anyway. I wasn’t worried what she was drinking, I only cared about you.
Because we both know if you were drunk, I would be tucking you into the spare bed in my house, taking a shower, and fucking my hand trying to forget what I missed out on. ”
“You love to talk dirty, don’t you?” And I’m not going to admit how much I love it too.
“Only with you, and that’s the truth.” He looks sideways at me, holding my concentration for five seconds, and then looks back to the road.
Autumn’s house is about ten minutes from Landon’s, so my apprehension is starting to build, because unlike the first time, this isn’t a spontaneous thing. We know the moment we walk in the door, the plan is to be naked and continue where we left off.
“Is it hot in here or is it just me?” I ask as I undo my jacket to let some air in.
“Do your jacket up,” he demands, glancing sideways at me.
“Why?” I reply.
“Because if you don’t, we won’t make it home.” His stare is fixated on my thighs and my short skirt that bunched up a bit when I sat back in the car and is now barely covering anything.
I can’t help playing with him.
I place my left hand between my legs and run slowly up my inner thigh until I’m just on the edge of the hem.
“Poppy,” he growls at me as he pushes his hand into his crotch. And the tension in the car just rose another notch.
“I’ll make you a deal. You keep driving, otherwise I’ll make you sit there and watch but not touch.” My fingers inch under my skirt. “So, what’s worse, five minutes of being turned on while you drive or having to suffer the same pain from the other night of just being a spectator for the show?”
The noise of the engine accelerating tells me my answer.
“That’s what I thought,” I voice as I continue to run my hand up and down my thigh ever so slowly, torturing him and me at the same time.
Pulling into his garage, the roller door closes behind us, and my heart is racing at such a rapid speed.
“Is this what you want?” His voice breaks the silence.
“Yes. But if you have changed your mind, it’s okay. I don’t want to push you.” I hold my breath waiting for his reply because I know this is such a big decision for him.
“I want this,” he says with not a moment of hesitation. Leaning across the center console, his hand slides around the back of my neck as he pulls me to him. “Desperately.” He smashes his lips to mine, and his hunger for me is evident in the heat of the kiss.
I’m panting as he pulls back and looks at me like I’m his next meal. “I want you in my bedroom, naked, in the same position from that night, waiting for me as I shower. And you better have those damn candy-cane socks on,” he commands, and my head is spinning.
Leaning forward, I start to pull down the zipper on my knee-high boots, and as he sees the first peek of the socks he has a strange obsession with, the groan that leaves him is deep and guttural. My body reacts in satisfaction that I’ve done this to him.
Walking into his room, I didn’t think it was possible to feel any more turned on than I was that first night, but I was wrong. It’s like we have been edging each other for a week, and it all comes down to this night.