Fireworks: A Holiday Bad Boy Romance (8 page)

"Are you staying here after the
summer or heading off to a new adventure?" I lifted my punch to my lips
and took a long drink. Maybe coming out on the porch with this guy wasn't a
good idea, after all.

"I'll be starting pre-med at Harvard
in the fall. I just wanted to get my undergrad near home." He shrugged.
"All those guys back there are my buddies from high school. We decided to
go to college together, and honestly, it was the best decision I could have
made. I'm a better man because of them."

Brody's voice caused my pulse to spike.
"That's sweet, buddy. We feel the same about you, too."

The sexy frat boy moved up on the other
side of me and leaned against the rails, breathing in deeply.

"You're like a roach." I turned
my face toward him. "I just can't get rid of you."

"Awww, come on, Cora. No need to
smash my ego." He licked at his lips subtly as his eyes moved around my
face. He was almost too close. I could hear him breathing, smell the mint on
his breath, see the promise of something wickedly insane in his eyes.

"Smash your ego? Who in the world
would have a hammer that large?" I glanced over at Daniel as my body
warmed and my nipples tightened thanks to Brody's attention. "Nice to meet
you, Daniel. See you around."

I turned and walked back toward the house,
shaking my hips just a tad bit more than I would usually.

Just because I wasn't going to bite the
hook didn't mean I didn't want to tug on it a little.

Chapter
9

Brody

"Goddammit," I grumbled as she
walked away. Every cell in my body screamed for me to follow her, force her to
see me. To hear me.

"What's up with you tonight,
man?" Daniel moved up beside me, his face filled with concern.

"I don't know." I looked over my
shoulder as she shook her hips. Her pretty ass jiggled just under her dress,
giving me confirmation that the fox had on a G-string. My cock hardened to the
point of throbbing, and yet there was nothing to do about it. She wasn't going
to relent, and I wasn't going to push.

Or was I?

"Did something happen with you and
Cora?" He pushed his shoulder against mine.

"How do you know her name?" I
turned and lifted my eyebrow as my voice dropped a little.

"Whoa." He stepped back and
lifted his hands. "I'm an innocent by-stander here."

"Yeah, sorry." I patted his
chest and rolled my shoulders. "I know it's going to sound crazy, but I
haven't had a girl deny me in years."

"First time for everything?" He
laughed and took a drink of his beer. "Come on. There are lots of women
here tonight. Let's grab a beer for you and get the fun started. No worrying
about the one that got away. She wasn't even that attractive."

I laughed loudly. "Is this your way
of making me feel better?"

"Yep. She's the hottest thing I've
ever seen in my life." He walked to the door to the house and held it
open. "She looks like one of those chicks who would rock a business suit
and rule the world, yet turn into a complete whore in the bedroom for the right
man."

I popped him in the gut as I walked in and
groaned. "Really? Fucker."

"Sorry, dude. You know I have a
problem with not being totally honest all the time." He shrugged. "It
was a hard life growing up with older brothers."

"I want her, Daniel. I haven't wanted
anyone for a long time." I glanced around, not seeing her and feeling a
sense of relief over it. She wasn't the prettiest girl I'd ever seen in my
life, but combined with her attitude and confidence? I was sold on the idea of
trying harder than I had in a long time for a girl.

"Well, it's good to want,
right?" He picked up a beer and handed it to me. "It makes us
appreciate those things we wanted if we ever get them.”

"Not now, dude. I can't handle an
in-depth discussion over the human psyche. I'm hiding a boner and my heart is
racing." I gave him a quick glare.

"Over one girl? Seems out of
character for you." He shrugged and took another drink of his beer before
patting my chest. "I'm thinking you have some repressed women issues, but
we'll talk later. Go woo the girl."

I ignored him and looked around for her.
She was standing in a group with her friends and some of mine. Perfect.

Walking over, I stopped beside Clay and
lifted my beer to my lips, looking away from the group as if searching for
someone. She wanted to play hard to get? Fine. I was down for a challenge. It
felt good. Having my heart racing and blood pumping was almost addictive. It
had been far too long.

"Let's go dance." Dedra moved
past me as she tugged on her redheaded friend's hand. Cindy? Candy? Cindy.

"Sounds good to me." Derek
tugged at my shirt. "Come on, lover boy. Come show these girls how it's
done."

"Can you dance?" Emily asked me,
moving up to my left. The girl was cute, but seemed to be hiding behind her
over-sized shirt and tights. I'd seen her on the dock earlier that day without
her shirt on. There was no need for her to wear something so unattractive,
unless she wasn't looking for attention.

"I've been known to steal a few
hearts on the dance floor." I turned and reached for Cindy, pulling her
toward me and spinning her.

She laughed and pressed her hands to my
chest. "Has anyone ever told you that you look like a blond Chris
Evans?"

"Nope. Never." I chuckled, lying
to the petite thing. I spun her around the floor, taking care to keep her from
running into anyone. I could almost feel Cora's eyes on me, but I ignored the
need to turn around and show her just how interested I was in gaining her
attention. I'd been playing this fucked up game for most of my life. This
wasn't the first time a girl had given me the cold shoulder, just the first
time in a really long time. I found that after I took the others like her to
bed, the excitement died. It would be no different with her.

The thought calmed me a little. I enjoyed
the high her denial provided. To push too far, too fast would leave it over
before it started.

"Where are you from?" Cindy
asked as she pressed herself against the front of me.

"Around." I winked and glanced
up to see Derek headed our way. "I'm thinking my cowboy friend wants to
spin you around a little. You up for it?"

"Absolutely." She turned and
walked toward Derek, surprising the big guy, from what I could tell. I laughed
and walked past them, patting him on the back and joining the rest of the
group. Clay was gone, and so was Dedra, but Daniel, Emily, and Cora were
laughing about something.

"Anyone know anything about this
Clint character?" I walked up and stood beside Cora, keeping my attention
on Daniel and Emily.

"Nope. He's just the rich guy in
town. Word on the street is that his great grandparents helped found the town.
Or maybe it was great-great or maybe great-great-great," Emily responded
before giggling.

"You look like your drink is getting
empty." Daniel nodded to Emily's glass. "Let’s go fill you up."

"Hmmm...that sounds...fun?" She
laughed again as Daniel's cheeks turned pink.

"Oh Lord," Cora mumbled beside
me.

I leaned against the bar, not paying her a
bit of attention. My eyes moved out to the floor to find my friends enjoying
themselves. Everyone had a beer in their hand, which wasn't good. Someone was
supposed to be the designated driver, but from the look of things, no one
remembered who it was.

"Well, damn." I took another sip
of my half-drunken beer and tossed it.

"Beer go bad?" Her voice was
firm and non-conversational.

"Nope. My friends seemed to have
forgotten that it wasn't my night to remain sober." I shrugged and slipped
my hands in my pockets before moving up toward the dance floor, letting my eyes
scan the room.

"You like to dance?" she asked,
moving up beside me.

"Yeah, you bet. Just don't think it
means you're taking me to bed, though." I grabbed her hand before she
could correct me. Her question could have been easily misconstrued as a request
to dance. Good enough.

I slid my hands over her hips, enjoying
the feel of her under my fingers. Her dress was thin, and I could feel the elastic
that lay over her hips, connecting her panties from the small triangle that
covered her to the thin string that ran down her ass. My body hardened to the
point of pain, my chest tightening with the knowledge that I could find release
just thinking about her.

"What are you doing?" She
pressed her hands to my chest, keeping a distance between us.

I leaned down and pressed my mouth to her
ear, breathing in the sweet smell of her perfume. "You asked me to dance.
I know how to just be friends with someone, so I figured, why not."

"I did not." She lifted her
eyebrow as I moved back.

"I can't hear you." I leaned
down and turned my face from her as she leaned in, her lips brushing over my
ear.

Fuck.

"I didn't ask you to dance. I asked
if you
liked
to dance." She
moved back and glanced around.

"Oh, sorry. Shit." I tugged her
a little closer. "Our friends are all dancing. Don't leave me out here
alone. It wouldn't be very kind of you, and you're already two strikes
in."

"Two strikes? For what?" Her
large brown eyes moved around my face as she kept a firm press on my chest.

"One for the car situation the other
day and then the lake this morning. I could have drowned, and then what?"
I moved my hands up a little, trying to keep myself from sliding them any
lower. I'd already have most women in a closet on their knees, but not this
girl. She wasn't going anywhere. Why did I want her too so damn bad?

She laughed, and the sound drove a stake
of desire through me. I wanted to make her laugh again. Even though it was a
sarcastic “suck it” laugh.

"I could care less if I strike
out." She glanced around. "You just don't take no for an answer, do
you?"

"I'm not sure what I asked you for
that has you wanting to say no. I'm pretty sure I asked you for help today and
you said no. And you asked me for a dance, and I didn't deny you. Am I missing
something?"

I spun her, pulling her back against my
chest and rocking against her as she started to relax a little. The music was
sensual and fun. A few more beers and I might get her to grind against me.

Might.

"I'm not interested in guys like you,
Brody. You're wasting your time." She pulled from me a little, and I spun
her again, pulling her flush against me.

"Well, the way I see it, our friends
are going to want to hang out. Where you and I have nothing going for us, that
doesn't mean we can't be buds." I pulled back a little, giving her space.
The light pink on her cheeks and down her neck accompanied with the fast
ticking vein in the side of her neck let me know just how
little
I affected her.

Liar.

"Buds? Like fuck buddies?" She
laughed and pulled back completely. "I don't think so, mister."

"Fuck buddies? I have plenty of
those. I just meant...aw, never mind." I turned and walked to the center
of the dance floor, turning and dancing with a large group of girls. I was done
for the night. Being overbearing wasn't my style. Teasing her back into my arms
would work out much better.

"Brody?" A feminine voice caught
my attention, and I turned to find Dina standing there in a tiny black dress.

"Wow. You look..."

"Fucking hot. I know." She moved
toward me and wrapped her arms around my neck. "You messed up yesterday.
How about you make it up to me tonight?"

"Whatcha got in mind?" I moved
us out to the edge of the floor before sliding my hands over her exposed back.
Her skin felt good against my fingers, but she wasn't the girl I wanted beneath
me for the night.

"A long night of making each other
moan?" She lifted to her toes as if to kiss me, but I spun her away,
pulling her back to my chest and pressed my hand to the front of her taunt
stomach.

"Dance with me first." I leaned
down and pressed my lips to the side of her neck, nipping softly as she rolled
her hips and massaged me with the steep curve of her ass.

"Anything you want. Just don't fuck
up again." She turned a little to line her face up with mine.

I moved back slowly and gripped her hips
tightly, dancing with the music as she worked her body against mine. She was
sexy as hell, and yet I couldn't help but glance around until I found Cora.

She turned from me the minute our eyes
met, the emotion in her gaze one I'd seen far too many times to ignore.
Jealousy.

What
do you want from me, sexy girl? You want me to woo you? To sway you to consider
me? Is it worth it? For one night?

Dina turned and ran her hands over my
chest and stomach to cup me. "I'm ready to go. I don't wanna dance
anymore."

"Alright, baby." I took her hand
and walked toward my friends. Cora and hers were nowhere in sight.

Daniel turned and glanced down at Dina as
his eyes widened. "Hey. We're taking the girls for ice cream. You guys
wanna...um, come?"

"No, but thanks." I ignored his
joke and extended my hand. "Give me the keys to the truck. I wanna get
home fast."

"Yeah, sure." Clay pulled the
keys out. "We'll leave you guys be. Have fun."

"You, too." I tugged Dina toward
the door as she jogged to keep up with me.

"Excited?" she asked as we
walked down the stairs and passed by Cora and her friends.

Emily called out to me. "Brody, are
you not coming?"

"Not yet, I'm not." I turned and
winked at her before putting my attention back on Dina. I wrapped my arm around
her shoulders and helped her into the truck.

The look on Cora's face when I rounded the
corner was almost priceless.

"That's what I was talking
about." She nodded toward the truck.

"Right, well, you don't know me at
all. Dina's my cousin and I was joking, but have fun tonight. I'm a little worn
out from being judged by someone who doesn't know me from Adam. Good night,
Cora."

I got in the truck and drove out to the
lookout point before turning off the truck and letting out a long sigh. There
were very few times in my life that I was left questioning my decisions, but
this was one of them.