Bet Me Something (Something Series Book 3) (38 page)

The opening band
went straight into their first song while I slipped out the side of the stage,
intending to go around and take my seat next to Colby.

But he hadn’t
waited and was standing there as I exited the stage. He closed the distance,
pulling me close and burying his face in my neck, breathing unsteadily. When he
pulled back, his face betrayed more emotion than he seemed entirely comfortable
with. “I almost didn’t think you were real.”

I wasn’t sure
which of us was shaking more with the realization that we were now holding one
another in the flesh. “Were you surprised?”

“That’s a gross
understatement. And I lost a bet with my brother.”

“What bet?”

“He said I’d get
emotional tonight with the concert, and I told him no way. Asshole,” he
muttered with affection.

“Hopefully it
was worth losing.” I soaked in the sight of his face.

“It was,
definitely.” His hands worked their way down my back and then onto my ass.
“Kenz?”

“Mm?”

“Are you wearing
leather pants?”

I giggled. “I
am.” When he kissed me, I was practically desperate to get his clothes off. “Do
you think there’s a room or, uh, somewhere we can go?” This hadn’t been part of
my initial plan, but damn if I could fathom spending the next couple hours not
being able to touch him.

He chuckled.
“Not happening, sweets. We have a concert; plus I need to take you out on a
romantic date. Now let me look at you.”

I stepped back
and did a three-sixty, watching his heating gaze take me in. “You like?”

“Yes. You look
incredible and you sounded amazing up there tonight. Come here.”

He didn’t have
to ask twice as I pressed myself against him, loving the feel of his arms
pulling me even closer. His lips devoured mine, and I could feel his
ever-growing evidence of desire between us. “I’ve changed my mind about going
slow. We can find a closet and won’t be gone long, then we can have our date
later,” I reasoned.

He groaned, then
whispered, “You’re naughty, and we have company.”

Glancing over my
shoulder, I saw Brian and Sasha directly behind me. I was amused when Colby
turned me around and placed me strategically in front of himself to hide his
erection.

“Clearly, I was
mistaken about which one of you would be the bad influence,” Brian teased,
shaking his head, obviously having overheard my comment.

“I think it may
be genetic,” Sasha joked, garnering a chuckle from him.

“Sorry to
interrupt, but there’s press here to interview the both of you.”

Guess I wasn’t
going to get him in a closet anytime soon.

***

The event was
wonderful, showcasing some local LA talent, with three different bands
performing. Colby and I sat with our legs touching, hands held, both looking at
the time and waiting for the evening to come to an end. When the lights came
up, it was all I could do not to pull him out of there with me, hoping he
wouldn’t still insist on the whole date thing first.

We all made our
way out to the parking lot, and I wondered what the plan was and if Colby or my
brother would be awkward about logistics. But it turned out our brother’s
weren’t done with their agenda for this evening.

Brian stood in
front of the limo we’d arrived in. “We put your suitcase in Colby’s car, sis. I’ll
send you a text with where to meet us for brunch reservations on Sunday before
we leave, so set your alarm to remember what day it is.” He hugged me first,
then Colby, saying something in his ear.

After embracing
everyone else and watching everyone pile inside the car, Colby turned toward
me. “Huh.”

I giggled.
“Guess you’re kind of stuck with me tonight.”

His grin was
radiant in the moonlight. Taking my hand, he led me to his car parked in the
garage. “Guess I am, but that doesn’t mean we’re having sex.”

“Wanna bet,” I
whispered catching his grin that he’d heard me. “What did my brother say to you
by the way?”

He opened my
door before getting in the driver’s side, looking pensive. “He said he’d kick
my ass if you ever take off across the world again.”

“WHAT?” After
everything that had happened, I couldn’t believe it. My hand was on the door
handle, and I was ready to see if the limo was still parked when Colby’s
chuckle made me realize he was messing with me. “That was mean.”

He shook his
head and leaned over the console, framing my face in his hands. “Maybe I wanted
to see that hellcat who took on both of our older brothers in Vegas.” He met my
lips softly, then sighed while pulling away. Putting the car in reverse, he
drove out of the garage and onto the highway.

“If I remember
correctly, you love me feisty and then tied up.” I took great pleasure when he
closed his eyes, gripping the steering wheel harder with my words.

“Back to your
question: your brother told me he couldn’t think of anyone better for you than
me.”

“Oh. That was
really sweet, and it so happens I agree.”

He laughed. “He
also told me at the concert why he had to give away my surprise once he found
out you were coming home early. I think he and Josh really enjoyed putting a
plan together.”

I laughed. “I
think so too. Maybe it was their way of making up for Vegas.” I paused a moment
and then had to ask. “Are you hungry?”

The change in
subject threw him. “Sure, starving, actually.”

After looking
for all-night options on my phone, he pulled into a Jack in the Box ten minutes
later. We scarfed down fast food in a parking lot, which made me giggle.

“What’s so
funny?”

“Nothing, but I
had a really great time on our date tonight.”

He chuckled as
it dawned on him where I was going with this. He wanted to take me on a proper
date before we slept together again, and I was checking that box via Jack in
the Box.

“Is fast food
really considered a date?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Ask
Josh. Haylee told me their first date was him taking her to In-N-Out Burger.”

“My brother?”

I giggled. “Yep,
Mr. Conservative Suit and Tie himself through the drive-thru.” I reached over
and put my hand on Colby’s thigh, my fingers traveling up. “How much longer
before we’re at your place?”

“Five minutes,”
he said on a hiss when my fingers traveled up to find the outline of his ever
growing erection in his slacks.

“Drive faster.”
I stroked him through the material, delighted when he sped up some, and we
arrived at his gate in four.

He’d barely put the
car in park and shut off the ignition before he was on me. His hands wove into
my hair while his mouth ravaged my senses with a kiss that was a contrast
between tenderness and raw heat, scorching a trail down my throat.

I moaned with
uncontrolled longing, wanting more than this cramped space in the car but not
wanting to break away from his mouth, either.

Finally he did
so, looking at me with unveiled love and lust. “What is it with you and this
garage?”

I smirked,
getting out of the car and watching him fetch my suitcase out of the back.
“It’s you that’s the common denominator.”

Stepping into
his house for the first time in over a month, nostalgia hit me. I felt his
strong arms go around me from behind, hugging me close.

“Those weeks
after the Vegas debacle, I couldn’t stand to be here because everything
reminded me of you, so I stayed at the office mostly. Of course I was useless
there too which is what I think propelled me to go visit the kids in the
hospital. From there I managed to get my shit together.”

I turned with
his confession, touching his face. I’d needed to know that his leaving me in
Vegas hadn’t only been hard on me, but on him as well. We may be willing to
leave things in the past, but learning from it was also essential. “I’m really
glad you did.”

He laughed as I
knew he would. “Me too.” Then his expression turned serious, and he took my
hand to lead me into the bedroom. There he kissed me as if he wouldn’t ever get
enough.

I wrapped my
arms around him, eagerly returning his kisses and scarcely believing we’d
survived almost three weeks without them.

“Christ. That
felt like the first time.”

I shook my head.
“Uh, more like the second time because if I recall the first time, it wasn’t—”
I didn’t get to finish before his lips took mine again.

He was smiling
when he started undressing me. “I blocked out all memory of that first kiss, so
if anyone ever asks, we start counting from the second one.”

“Sounds good.
And I won’t ever tell anyone it happened on your brother’s couch.”

He laughed out
loud. “Deal. Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t mention the Tide stain stick comment
from how wet I made you with our do-over second attempt.”

I sucked in my
breath, horrified by the memory for only a second before I laughed. This was
us. Fun, goofy, TMI moments—and I wouldn’t change a damn thing. “Okay, but if
anyone ever asks, we waited until after our five dates to have sex.”

“I’m sensing a
trend that the first times don’t go so well for us, but at least we more than
make up for it later.”

“Yeah, we do.” I
moved one of my hands down, taking a firm grip on his cock, curling my fingers
around it. The frantic noise he made matched my own level of desperation to
have him inside of me. We undressed desperately from that point on, but the
leather pants, which had been sexy as hell on, were anything but when caught
halfway down my legs.

Laughing against
my lips, he walked me towards the bed and pushed me gently onto my back. He
then pulled at the bottom of each leg to release me from my pants. “I have to
say I prefer the dresses when it comes to getting inside of you faster,
although the way those hugged your ass was hot as hell.”

I would’ve
agreed, but at the moment could only concentrate on how incredible his body
looked. One final tug on my thong, and I was finally completely naked under
him. It wasn’t until he pressed against my entrance that I finally started to
relax, knowing the delicious torture of waiting all night—hell, three weeks—was
about to end. We both groaned in unison when he filled me on one stroke.

“I’ll make it up
to you the second time,” he murmured.

I wasn’t sure
what he meant until he started moving harder and faster, lifting my hips up and
driving into me with deep, measured thrusts. My eyes rolled back, my core
clenched, and suddenly I was coming in spectacular fashion, gripping his ass to
rock him deeper into me, enjoying the sound of him reaching his own climax
shortly after. We stayed joined for the longest time, each of us unwilling to
break the connection.

When he ground
his hips, starting to drive again, I moaned with satisfaction. Was he already
hard again, or did it ever really go down? This time he pumped with slow, long,
deliberate strokes, rising above me. He captured my face in his hands, his gaze
looking intense. “I love you, Kenz.”

Dear God.
Hearing those words while he moved inside of me would be my undoing. “I love
you, too. So much.” I took his lips in a kiss, pouring all my emotion into it
and feeling him do the same until we built up to the second release for both of
us.

We lay there,
quietly entangled in one another in the wee hours of the morning, neither of us
wishing to miss a moment by sleeping.

“So, I think I
found a roommate and a place for you to live,” he said quietly in the dark.

“Oh, yeah? Is it
a house or apartment?”

“Here, I’ll let
you hear the ad.”

What was he
doing, combing Craigslist for me? “Uh, okay.”

He climbed out
of bed briefly to rifle through his nightstand drawer. “This is still in draft,
since you weren’t due home yet, so it can be amended as needed.”

I didn’t fully
understand what he was talking about until he started reading the notepad he’d
retrieved, propped up in the bed.

“Roommate
wanted: Fun, extraordinarily good looking man—” He winked before proceeding.
“—known for his panty dropping grin, in search of the one woman who not only
makes him the happiest he’s ever been, but keeps his ego in check. She must be
a combination of feisty and sweet with a wicked sense of humor. Preferences
include: a healthy dose of patience, long, sexy legs and love of food. Walking
around naked is a definite plus.”

I burst out
laughing while at the same time biting my lip to keep from tearing up. “Where
is this guy located?”

“Santa Monica,
however that can be flexible if you choose to attend a different school than
UCLA”

 “How’s a house
flexible in its location?”

“Not the house,
the roommate. He’s willing to move wherever it’s most convenient for you to
live.”

“What would the
sleeping arrangements be like?”