Attraction: (A Temptation Series Stand-alone) (The Temptation Series Book 4) (14 page)

Holy fucking dramaville.

I shook my head and went to speak but decided just to keep
shaking my head instead. I was at a loss for words.

‘I know. It’s such a mammoth thing to fathom let alone be
around. But I’m trying. I have to. He is a big part of Bryce and Lucy’s lives,’
she said sadly.

‘Well, yes, but never ignore your gut instinct. If you are
wary of him, always be on high alert. Our senses tell us things daily, we just
don’t always listen to them.’

Smiling, Alexis shifted her position, which I’m guessing was
to make her leg more comfortable. ‘When did you become all-wise and stuff?’ she
asked.

I shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I don’t even know why or how that
came out of my mouth,’ I joked, when, in all seriousness, it was another thing
my aunty had instilled in me before she died.

Lexi and I sat and chatted for a while longer, catching up
on the minor details of each other’s lives. It was hard not to tell her about
Derek, but I’d managed to steer clear of any part of the conversation that
would inevitably lead to letting the cat out of the bag.

Stretching, Lex proceeded to awkwardly stand up. ‘Want to
come up to the apartment? The kids will be back from Rick’s soon.’

‘Na, I can’t. I’ve got some grocery shopping to do with Lib.
I’m under strict orders not to try and skip it this time. Damn she’s a ballbreaker.
I’d hate to be dating her,’ I explained, somewhat annoyed.

Lexi laughed as she hobbled out of the shop. ‘Apart from
lezzie love, you kind of already are.’

I wrinkled my nose.
Fuck, she has a point. Lib has me
under her thumb. When the hell did that happen?

‘Okay. I guess I’ll see you when I see you then,’ Alexis
said with a pouty face.

I gave her a tight squeeze. ‘Like always, love you. Take
care of yourself.’

She pulled away from me. ‘I’m trying, and you too. Go and
have sex or something. I’m guessing it has been a while because you haven’t
relayed any details.’

I groaned. ‘Don’t remind me.’

***

After I left Alexis, I quickly detoured past the City Towers
lobby to tell Liam I’d probably found him a fuck buddy.

‘Barbie! Great to see you again,’ he said boldly as I
approached his desk.

With a sassy and dramatic flick of my hair for affect, I
then propped my head in my hands and rested my elbows on the counter. ‘SpongeBob.
How’s it hangin’?’

Liam lowered his voice. ‘That’s all it does. Hang,’ he
sulked.

‘Not for long, lover boy,’ I said with excited enthusiasm.

He narrowed his eyes at me. ‘What do you mean?

I scrolled through my phone until I found the details of
Brooke’s husband’s brother. ‘Carly has found you a new play-friend. His name is
Jeremy and he’s twenty-seven. Here are his details.’ I handed my phone to Liam
and watched his face stretch into curious amusement.

‘Ooh, he has Facebook. I need a pic,’ he said excitedly as
he pulled out his phone and started transferring the information.

As Liam handed me back my phone, a young couple approached
the desk. Stepping aside, I blew him a kiss and told him to let me know how it
all went. He nodded quickly in response, then switched to his professional
front office manner, just like a chameleon would change its appearance.

***

During my drive home, the Bluetooth in Suzi activated and
answered my ringing phone. I loved my Suzi. She’s an awesome car: sexy, smart,
petite and red. Suzi was a vixen.

‘Hello,’ I answered, still bopping along to ‘Undressed’ by
Kim Cesarion, which had now been muted due to the incoming call.

‘Hey, gorgeous, been thinking ’bout me?’ Derek asked, his
voice filtering through Suzi’s speakers and exciting every pore of my body.

My car rolled to a stop at a set of lights. ‘Well, that
depends, have you been thinking about me?’ I asked, losing the battle not to
smile.

‘Constantly. I want your wet pussy on the tips of my fingers
again,’ he stated rather loudly, also informing the occupant of the car beside
me, as both our car windows were down. I gave the middle-aged dude a proud
smile.

Turning back to face my centre console, I rifled through it
and dug out my packet of mints. ‘Then, yes, I have been thinking about you,’ I
said smugly as I popped one into my mouth.

‘And ...’

‘And I would like to see if your tongue is as good as your
fingers,’ I answered, unfazed by the obvious eavesdropper next to me.

‘All my body parts work in unison, baby,’ he said with a
husky tone that held promise of what he’d just said.

I swallowed heavily. ‘I bet they do.’

Derek chuckled and the sound made me feel warm and fuzzy.
What
the fuck? He freakin’ laughed ... laughed. Carly, get a grip.

‘So, how’s Sasha?’ he asked.

The traffic light turned green, so I continued ahead. ‘She
was fine this morning, thank god. Again, thank you so much for what you did
last night.’

‘No sweat. Speaking of last night, I enjoyed our date. But
I’m curious. Did I prove to you that I wasn’t mucking around?’

I could hear the sincerity in his voice, but at the same
time, a petite brunette named Layla disturbed my thoughts. Over the course of
the night and morning thus far, I’d tried to deny the obvious. But a fool is
made by ignorance and a refusal to acknowledge what is clearly in front of
them; the evidence in this case being the blatant green-eyed monster I was
morphing into.

‘Maybe,’ I said honestly.

‘Maybe?’ he asked, his tone slightly dumbfounded.

‘Yes. I need more than one date for you to prove that you
aren’t only trying to get in my pants.’

‘But I am trying to get in your pants,’ he joked.

Sighing, I couldn’t help, but smile. ‘You know what I mean.
I still don’t know you, and you still don’t know me.’

‘What do you want to know?’

His forwardness caught me off-guard, and I stuttered, ‘I ...
I don’t know.’

‘Okay, how ’bout ... my name is Derek Ian King. I’m aptly
nicknamed Dik because I have an enormous one and know how to use it. I
want
to
use it with you.

‘I’m thirty-six years of age, never married, never engaged.
I extinguish fires, sing songs and play sports. I leave the toilet seat up and
don’t wash dishes. I snore, but will fuck you so goddamn hard that you will be
unconscious from exhaustion and won’t hear it. Anything else?’ he asked with
nonchalance as if that last piece of information didn’t just parch my mouth.

Realising that I just had to come out and say it, I closed
my eyes for the briefest of seconds, then let it roll from my tongue. ‘Are you
seeing anyone else, because although I’m not seeking commitment, I won’t be
someone’s side dish?’

‘No, Carly,’ he said with clear annoyance, ‘I’m not seeing
anyone else. Where’d that come from?’

‘What about Layla?’ I asked curiously.

‘What about Layla?’ he snapped.

The sudden angry tone in his voice warned me off. It was
clear she represented a sore spot for him.

Screwing up my face in irritation over my stupid probing, I
chose to let it go. ‘Never mind.’

‘What. About. Layla?’ he repeated again, speaking each word
slowly to enunciate the question he clearly wanted an answer to.

‘It’s nothing,’ I dismissed. ‘You just seemed close, like
you shared a past. It was obvious she wanted you.’

‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he advised,
seeming frustrated.

Derek’s blatant disregard for my justified curiosity pissed
me off. ‘You know what? You are right. I don’t know, which is why I’m fucking
asking in the first place. But seeing as you turn into a prick each time I ask
a personal question, I can’t help but get the impression you are either full of
shit, or don’t give a fat rat’s arse as to whether we take this any further or
not. So, Dik, I have to say that I agree with you. You certainly live up to
your name.’

Pressing end on the LCD panel in my car, I disconnected the
call and took a few deep breaths in order to calm my thumping heart.
Arsehole!

‘Undressed’ instantly resumed playing through my speakers,
and I mockingly laughed at the irony when, truth be told, laughing was the last
thing I wanted to do.

Derek

‘Fuck! Motherfucking fuck!’ I cursed to my phone before
throwing it on the pile of clothes on the floor by my locker. Sitting on the
bench seat with nothing but my towel wrapped around my waist, I dropped my head
in my hands and inwardly berated Carly.
Why the hell does she have to ask
the wrong fucking questions?
The woman infuriated me, but at the exact same
time managed to send my dick into a state of desperation. It, too, was
desperate to feel the warmth of her pussy, like that of my fingers.

‘Shit!’ I cursed, realising I was too harsh with her. It wasn’t
like her observations were entirely false. Layla and I had known each other for
quite some time.

‘Fucking Layla,’ I groaned as I took a deep breath.

‘Is that her name?’ Brad asked as he walked into the locker
room, ready to start his shift just as mine was finishing. ‘Nice, mate, real
fucking nice piece of arse she is.’

‘If you are referring to Carly from Yellow Bark Primary
School, then no, her name is not Layla.’

‘Hang on. You got two on the go? Fuck me,’ he chuckled.
‘What happened to a brother sharing?’

Brad turned his back to me and shoved his bag in his locker
just as I stood up and opened mine, reaching in for my t-shirt.

‘I haven’t got two on the go, and after the phone call I
just had I’ll be lucky to have one,’ I griped.

‘Shame, the blonde was fucking hot. And those tits? Couldn’t
keep my eyes off them while you were keeping the kiddies busy.’

Hearing him talk about Carly in that way riled me,
especially knowing he’d been staring at her tits. ‘Carly,’ I snapped at him.
‘Her name is Carly, and I’m well aware of how hot she is.’

‘So what happened?’ he asked after closing the door to his
locker.

‘She asks too many fucking questions, that’s what happened.
Questions I don’t want to answer.’

‘Ahhh,’ Brad said, drawing the word out. ‘She one of those
all-looks-no-brains types?’

I shook my head at him. Brad was a dick. He treated women
like toys to fuck and then chuck. But out in the field, in amongst flames that
licked your skin with a fierce burn, flames that wanted to incinerate you into
nothing but a pile of dust, well ... I wouldn’t want anyone else beside me.
Brad might be an arsehole where chicks are concerned, but he is one of the best
firefighters I’ve ever worked with.

‘No, she’s not that type. She’s smart and quick and feisty
as hell,’ I answered, irritated that I was even having this discussion with
him.

‘Then what’s wrong with her? Dead lay?’ he asked as he
unlaced his boots.

Stepping into my jeans, I didn’t answer him while I pulled
them on, not bothering with underwear.
Unnecessary items of clothing,
anyway.

‘That’s it, isn’t it? Bad fucking lay. Such a shame, man,
with a body like that she ought to know how to use it.’

‘Brad, shut the fuck up,’ I snapped, slamming my locker door
closed before picking up my phone and dirty uniform. ‘You don’t know shit.’

‘Easy! Dude, whatever it is that’s up with this Carly has
sure got you in a mood. Best you get that shit out of your head before next
week. You don’t want to head into training with pussy problems clouding your
brain.’

Fuck, he’s right
. That was the last thing I needed.
But trying to clear Carly out of my head was near impossible. She’s a work of
fucking art; the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

That long blonde hair that I just want to wrap around my
hand and fucking pull. If I’d been face to face with her during the spat we
just had, I would’ve been hard pressed not to tug her pretty hair while nipping
her wordy fucking tongue. And don’t get me started on that tongue.
Fuck me
.
That tongue of hers not only captured mine when we kissed, but it also captured
every fucking nerve ending I possessed. Then there were her brilliant green
eyes and smile, both of them working together like some kind of voodoo magic.

‘I’m tellin’ ya, Derek. Clear your head. You’ve four days to
rid it of big-tits blondie —’

‘Brad,’ I sternly warned him, ‘I’d be very careful what you
say about Carly, because if I hear you mention her tits again, I’ll knock you
the fuck out.’

The dickhead doesn’t even raise his head while he unlaces
his other boot. ‘Whatever. Just get your head clear,’ he advised as he stood
and made his way out of the room.

Hearing the door close behind him — and when I was alone
once more — I fisted the locker door beside me. ‘Argh!’ I growled with a
guttural roar.
What is it about her that has me so whipped?
Yeah, she
was the hottest thing I’d ever seen. And yeah, she had tits that could make a
grown man give up beer just to breastfeed, but fuck ... she got me so easily
wound up. She was feisty and mouthy. But she was also shy and sweet.
Sweet?
Fuck ... the taste of her on my finger was sweeter than fucking sugar.

I remembered back to the other night when I had her panting
and coming apart on my hand at the movies. How terrified she was watching the
movie, but then how quickly I was able to take that terror away with just the
simple twitch and slide of my fingers. Seeing how she reacted so easily to my
touch was an indescribable feeling. I’ve never had a woman comply so naturally.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my fair share of women unashamedly
throw themselves at me. I’ve also had my fair share of women come apart on my
hand, or underneath me. But not like that. Not like Carly had with her
hard-peaked nipples pressing against her shirt, begging to be licked, sucked
and bitten; not like Carly with her plump fuckable lips and hands so tense they
were tearing into the arms of the cinema seat.