Prologue #3
Maybe I’d been seeing things. Maybe it was all the alcohol I’d consumed in the short span of time we’d been here. Or maybe it was just that I wanted this man so goddamn much that I threw common sense aside and made a move.
“No,” I said, my voice resolute. “You’re perfect.”
I reached for him, curving my free hand around the back of his neck, bringing him forward those few precious inches until his mouth met mine.
The moment I felt the soft press of his lips, he went stock-still, but it lasted such a brief moment, not even a heartbeat, that I didn’t have time to panic that I’d made a mistake.
Archer’s tongue flirted along my lower lip, then slipped inside, and before I could even start to process…I was kissing him and he was kissing me .
A soft groan rumbled out of me, all of my pent-up desire for this man racing to the surface as I tightened my fingers at the back of his neck. I sucked on the tongue now plundering my mouth as confidently as everything else this man did and closed my eyes, never wanting this kiss to end.
This kiss that was unlike any other I’d had before.
This kiss that was obliterating any other I’d had before.
As the smooth taste of whiskey and Archer mixed into a potent blend, I swallowed it down, knowing I had no hope of fighting it.
Jesus. This was the last thing I’d expected when I was sent to track him down. He turned us in the alcove and my back hit the wall. Archer’s foot moved between mine, and I immediately shifted my legs apart.
How long had I wanted this? Too long to stop or push him away, that was for damn sure. So when his tongue rubbed against mine, my hips shot forward, and the erection he’d inspired rubbed up against his thigh.
The rational part of my brain was a distant memory now as I chased after what I’d wanted—no, craved —for years, even though I knew it was wrong. And when his hand moved between us and down over my straining pants, a throaty groan left him.
Fuck. Yes. Touch me. Please, keep touching me.
I would’ve begged him to, but that would require me to take my lips off his, and nothing short of—“Holy fuck!”—an outside voice intruding and making my world implode could’ve gotten me to stop in that moment.
Wait—what?
At the sound of my friend Travis’s shocked outburst, Archer and I froze. The realization that someone was witnessing this moment was a shock to all our systems.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuck.
Travis’s eyes ping-ponged between us as his mouth tried to form words. But I quickly extricated myself from between the wall and Archer—Mr. Carrington—before the situation could go from bad to worse.
How in the hell had I let this happen?
Oh, I know—too much alcohol, Mr. Carrington looking at my lips like he wanted to taste them, and then my giving in and offering him that taste.
I needed to get Travis the hell out of there. I needed to work out some kind of explanation for everything, and I needed to do it all quick.
Mr. Carrington’s cheeks looked flushed, and I wasn’t sure if it was from the alcohol, the kiss, or being caught. But, not about to stick around and find out, I thrust the tumbler into his hand and hurried out to Travis, his jaw practically on the floor.
When I grabbed his arm and started to tug on it, Travis stumbled back a step and then turned.
“Was that Serena’s?—”
“No.” I didn’t bother looking at him as I began to march him down the hall.
“And were you just?—”
“No.”
“Wait—does that mean you’re gay ?”
I jerked us to a stop in the foyer and turned to face my wide-eyed roommate and friend, and something in my expression had his shock turning downright devious.
“Oooh you got sooo many secrets…”
“You can’t tell anyone.”
“But—”
“No. One.”
Travis bit down on his lip and narrowed his kohl-lined eyes on me.
Fuck me. I was so screwed.
“Okay, I won’t tell anyone. But you have to tell me everything. That includes all the juicy details.”
“I—”
“ Everything , Preston. Or forget it.”
“Fine. I’ll tell you.” I let out a sigh and thought that at least I’d have someone to talk to about this. “But you have to promise not to tell anyone else.”
“Consider my lips sealed. But, um, one thing before I shut the fuck up.”
Oh God, what now?
“You might want to wait a couple of minutes before heading back to the table, or everyone might think you’re really happy to have ordered the langoustines tonight.”
His eyes dropped to the hard-on still pressing against my zipper, and I quickly covered it with my hands.
“Always figured you were packing, but damn, Preston. That’s impressive.”
“Really?”
Travis chuckled as he backed away toward the main hall. “Be nice to meee . I know your secret now, Mr. Abernathy.”
That was true, but two could play at that game, and Travis wasn’t half as good at hiding his secrets as I was.
“That might be. But I think I saw a certain photographer outside tonight. Maybe I could convince Caleb to come in and keep your mouth shut for me.”
That smug smirk fell from Travis’s lips and told me that the shot I’d fired had hit its mark.
“Low blow, asshole.”
“Just reminding you that I’m not the only one with secrets.”
Travis flipped me off and headed inside, as I looked down at my dick and willed it into submission.
I might not be the only one hiding a secret, but it was definitely the most scandalous.