9. Lara
What a colossal mistake that was!
How could I let Dylan kiss me like that? In front of everyone! But especially Parker?
And, oh God, that kiss… that kiss melted me. It was a drip-right-into-a-puddle kind of kiss.
Then Parker had to ruin it.
It isn”t like Dylan didn”t have it coming, though. For sure. I barely had time to react. Parker punched Dylan”s lights out…
Coco is loaded for home, but I”m not ready. I can”t stop thinking about the kiss, and my lips tingle.
A cleaner opens the door to the men”s room and steps outside. ”You waiting for someone, hun?”
I stand straight and smile at him. ”Oh. Uh, no. Well… yes. Sort of.”
”Might want to give him a second. That nose looked pretty bad.” The cleaner winks at me and walks away, letting the door swing behind him.
I stare at the door, thinking about Dylan. What if he”s hurt? I mean… it”s Dylan. I”ve seen him get beat up before. He”s probably not hurt. But I should check. Without thinking, I open the door and step in.
Dylan leans back against the sink. ”You know this is the men”s room, right?”
”Shut up.” I walk over to get a better look. ”Parker beat the shit out of you.”
He raises his brow. ”Guess I made him mad.”
”You think? You can”t just kiss me like that in front of everyone.”
”We had a bet.” Dylan crosses his arms in front of his chest.
I let out an annoyed sigh. ”You can”t… you can”t kiss me like that. Ever. I have a boyfriend.”
”What if I said I don”t care?”
”He”s my boyfriend. How would you feel if someone kissed your girlfriend?”
Dylan wipes his nose on a paper towel. ”Never happen.”
”Oh? And why”s that?”
He steps toward me. ”If I had a girlfriend, she”d never dream of kissing anyone else.”
”You saying I dream about you?” I shake my head. ”You”re quite delusional. Did I ever say I even wanted to kiss you? You were the one who came up with the bet.”
”You didn”t have to say it.”
”I have a boyfriend,” I say again. ”And… there”s Sloan. She”s really into you, you know. Kiss her.”
He wraps his arm around my waist. I should push him away, but suddenly, I can”t move.
”I don”t want Sloan.” He tips his hat back. ”You know who I want.”
His lips are so close to mine that his warm breath tickles my skin. Shivers bounce through my entire body and stop right between my legs. I place my hand around his neck and pull his lips to mine.
This is wrong. So wrong.
But it”s so, so right.
It”s like Dylan is the person I should be kissing.
”Hmm,” he says, licking his busted lip.
I pull back suddenly. ”Oh shit. Are you okay? Maybe we shouldn”t.”
”Fuck it.” He pulls me against him again. I let out a giggle as he squeezes my ass with one hand. I still can”t get over the fact that this is happening. It”s Dylan. And he”s grabbing my ass, and I”m sticking my tongue down his throat. It should feel weird, but it doesn”t. It”s the exact opposite.
He spins me, props me up on the sink, and pushes my legs apart so he stands in between them.
”What if someone comes in?” I squeak as he whispers warm air on my neck.
”The place is empty,” he says gruffly. ”No one”s coming.”
”We can”t get carried away.” I tip his head up to mine. ”They”ll come looking.”
He runs his thumb over my lip. ”Who?”
”Parker,” I screech. ”He”s going to break your neck if he finds you kissing me again.”
”Don”t care,” Dylan says breathlessly.
I don”t say anything, even though I share the same sentiment. But I can”t think about that. I can hardly think about anything except the hard body pressing against my thighs and beneath my palms.
This is so bad.
We shouldn”t be doing this. We should be on our way home to our ranches. Separately. And then we should stay as far away from each other as possible.
After a cold shower.
”Fuck, Lara. I can”t stop.”
”You should, though.” I close my eyes and lean back, letting out a moan as he bites my bottom lip.
”You want me to stop? For real?”
”No!” I wrap my arms around his neck and slip my tongue in his mouth. I find the same heat-stirring rhythm from before, and I”ve never wanted anything more in my life… it”s a desperate yearning. It”s like drinking a tall glass of water after a long day or sinking my teeth into a giant cheeseburger when I”m starving.
I can”t get enough, and I want him closer. I want every part of him.
”You”re driving me crazy,” he whispers, giving me goosebumps.
”Feeling is mutual.” I nibble his lip, making sure to avoid the tender bruising part.
With a rattling breath, he draws back and looks at me.
Then immediately looks horrified.
Okay… I”m not expecting that.
”What?” I reach to my face, thinking I have something hanging out of my nose, but then I feel wetness and glance at my fingers to see blood.
I turn to the mirror, and blood is streaked across my cheeks and a little on my neck. ”Holy shit. Is that yours?”
Dylan wets a paper towel. ”I”m sorry. Thought I was done bleeding.” He cleans my face and then kisses me again.
I try my best to protest. But I fail miserably when he nibbles the shell of my ear. I let out a moan and fall against him. He catches me and holds me.
”I can”t control myself when it comes to you,” he says, stroking my back.
I let out a sigh and hop down from the sink. ”We better go. My parents are going to be wondering where I am.”
”They”re probably wondering about us,” Dylan says with a smirk.
”Quit.” I hit him on the arm. ”Parker is planning your murder as we speak. I should smooth things over.” I don”t feel invested even as the words come from my mouth.
Parker is okay, and we have fun. Sometimes. But deep down… it isn”t going to be some lifelong love.
I”m too young for all of that anyhow.
I should be having fun?—
”At least the asshole didn”t break my nose,” Dylan says.
”Your jaw, though.” I turn his chin gently. ”It”s all swollen. And your lips are all puffed out.”
He smirks. ”From your kisses.”
”Not that aggressive,” I tell him, feeling a rush of heat run through me. I flip my ponytail behind my shoulder.
He winks and offers his hand. ”If you say so, Your Majesty.”
”I”m not holding your hand while walking out of the bathroom.” I brush past him to the door. ”People will think we did something in here.”
”We did,” he says, coming up behind me.
”This was just because you won a bet.” I blush as I say the words.
”I won a bet, and we had an amazing kiss. Or, should I say… kisses?”
I roll my eyes. ”This can”t happen again. Okay? And you—” I swallow hard and elbow him in the ribs. ”You should talk to Sloan. She wants you. Badly.”
”Is that what you want?” Instead of backing away, he bumps my back with his chest and leans close to my ear. ”Get with Sloan so I can make you jealous?”
”You”re insane.” My fingers tangle in his shirt as I push him back. ”Now get away from me. I have to get Coco home.”
”Kiss goodbye?”
I ignore his last words and shut the bathroom door in his face. But what I want is to throw myself into his arms.
He chuckles behind me. ”See you at the pig roast tomorrow.”