Impulsive (2 page)

“I know,” Tasha replied. She dropped him lightly to his feet and smiled at Emma, eager to put her at ease. “You guys can go play video games if you want.”

“Thanks,” Caleb said. Emma rolled her eyes but gave in as he gripped her hand and tugged her toward the living room. “Come on, Emma.”

“Okay, where is it? I want to see.” Tasha directed the statement to Karly. A wedding band and diamond engagement ring winked under the bright lights. The couple had married a week earlier in front of a judge at the courthouse. “Girl, it’s gorgeous.”

“Of course you would think so,” Karly replied, her round eyes brimming with excitement. “You helped pick it out.” Petite and spunky, Karly stood a few inches short of Tasha’s five-eight, but she filled the room with her personality.
 

Tasha took Karly’s small hand in hers and brushed a thumb over the intricate silver vines entwined to form the band. “Well, I might have given some input,” she replied, and bit back a smile at the memory.

“Input, my ass,” Randy interjected. He towered over them, broad shoulders blocking the light from the window, a menacing symphony of muscle and sinew. “You should’ve heard her, babe. She made me take the first ring back. Said it was fucking disgusting.”

“No. I said it was fucking distasteful. Two completely different things,” Tasha said. Her relationship with Randy had never been smooth, but they’d settled into a reluctant friendship for the sake of Karly and the rest of the group.

“It was god-awful and you know it, Randy.” This remark came from Ally, who’d slid into the apartment undetected, followed by her boyfriend, Jack. They crowded into the kitchen behind the other couple.
 

“So you were just going to let me give her a god-awful, fucking distasteful ring, Al?” Randy turned to Ally in mock anger, a teasing smile on his formidable features. “I see what kind of friend you are.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got your back, big guy.” Ally bumped her shoulder against his. He wrapped an arm around her and gave her a squeeze.
 

“Hey, don’t be hitting on my girl,” Jack interjected, but his eyes twinkled at the affection between his best friend and the love of his life. “Or you and I will have to rumble.”
 

“No fighting in the kitchen. I will beat both your asses if necessary,” Tasha interjected.

“And you know she can do it,” Luke said, smug approval in his voice. “She kicks my ass all the time.”
 

This brought a round of laughter and smiles from everyone. Jack hooked an arm around Luke’s neck and scrubbed the top of his younger brother’s head with his knuckles. The two brothers carried a striking resemblance, but where Luke was clean-cut and conservative, Jack was tousled and tatted up in a dangerous, bad boy way.

Camaraderie and affection filled the room. Times like these reminded her of her family. She missed the way they used to be, not the shattered, dysfunctional mess they’d become in the past months. A lump formed in her throat. Luke caught the emotion in her eyes. His expression sobered, then he winked at her, replacing the ache with warmth. He always knew how to make her smile and distract her from negative thoughts.

“I swear, I can’t take you anywhere,” Karly teased Randy, her hand slipping around his arm. Tasha watched with open curiosity, bewildered by their mutual affection. They seemed easy and comfortable and completely trusting of each other. Maybe Luke was right and not all relationships ended with distrust and broken hearts.
 

Maybe. Maybe not.
 

A small part of her felt disappointed at the defection of another friend into the abyss of matrimony. One by one, they were pairing off and leaving her. She gave Ally, who shared her doomsday view of marriage, a wary glance. “I suppose you two will be the next ones down the aisle.”

“Fat chance,” Ally replied, and Tasha breathed a sigh of relief, happy to know at least one of her friends remained sensible. “You know I’m not domesticated.”

“Look what I’ve got, people.” Jack reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and raised a handful of concert tickets into the air. His panty-dropping dimples deepened on either side of his mouth. “Seven Drift. Front row. Backstage passes. We’re all going.”

Karly squealed. Ally’s face lit up, and she embraced Jack in an uncharacteristic display of excitement. He wrapped one arm about her waist, accepting the rain of kisses to his cheeks with cocky aplomb, holding the tickets aloft like a flag of triumph.
 

Seven Drift was the hottest rock band in the country. The offstage shenanigans of its drummer, Elijah Crowe, kept tabloid magazines in business. The band played to sold-out venues worldwide. Tickets were hard to score. Front row with backstage passes was unheard of.

 
“Hell, yeah,” Randy said in his deep, rough voice. “We’re going to turn the place upside down.”
 

She missed the rest of the conversation. Luke’s eyes locked on hers, dark and unsettling. A shiver of anticipation raced down her back. Things were about to get interesting.
 

When everyone seemed occupied, Jack jerked his head in the direction of the utility room, a wordless suggestion for Luke to follow him. They crowded into the room beside the appliances.
 

“Did you take care of everything?” Jack asked in a low voice.

“Of course.” Even though he was twenty-five years old, Jack still treated him like a kid. Sometimes it annoyed the hell out of him, like now. “You got your tickets, didn’t you?”

“I’m talking about the rest of it. Is it arranged?” Jack’s eyes narrowed. “This has to be perfect.”

Luke bit back a smile of amusement. Everyone thought he’d be the one to settle down first, but Jack had beaten him to it. Ally had done the impossible and tamed his wild brother. Now, with Luke’s help, he was going to make it official.

“I said it’s taken care of,” Luke replied. “Just chill out, man. It’ll be fine.” When Jack’s gaze narrowed, Luke frowned. “Have I ever let you down?”

Jack seemed to consider this for a second before he shrugged. “I know it’s asking a lot for you to do this.”

“Yeah, you owe me. Big time.” Sometimes Luke wondered how much Jack knew about his past relationship with Seven Drift. “You could start by giving me a raise.”

Jack snorted and fake-punched Luke in the gut. “Now that’s just crazy talk.”

“Uh, what are you guys doing?” Tasha pulled open the utility room door, eyebrows raised to the hairline. “I don’t need to tell you how weird this looks.”

“It’s a matter of national security,” Jack said as he left the tiny room. “And will be revealed on a need-to-know basis.”

Tasha’s gaze focused on Luke. If she suspected a mystery, she’d pester him later for the scoop. The ensuing battle would be a hell of a lot of fun. From over her shoulder, Jack’s eyes sparkled with mischief. He turned and gave Tasha a small nudge, knocking her off balance. She fell into Luke’s chest with an irritated grunt. Jack flipped off the lights, shut the door, and locked them in together.

“Not funny,” she shouted, but Luke heard the smile in her voice.

“I’m sorry. Did you say something?” Jack asked, his voice muffled through the door.

Luke grabbed her by the waist. Her soft breasts pillowed against his chest. They were small and perky, barely more than a handful. Standing so close, he could smell the lavender scent of her hair. She always smelled so good. He drew in a deep breath, savoring and committing her scent to memory.
 

“You’re brother’s an ass,” she said.

“Pretty much,” he replied.
 

They’d never been this close before. The stretch of her legs pressed against his thighs. He leaned back against the washing machine, taking her with him. He might be her best friend, but he was a guy, too. Being around her all the time had begun to wear down his resistance. The short skirt rode up her thighs every time she bent over, revealing her amazing legs. His hands slid over her hips and down to the curve of her ass, where he gave a little squeeze. She inhaled a sharp breath.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

“Feeling you up, Gretzky,” he said into her ear. “Nice ass.”

“Thanks for noticing.”
 

This was way beyond the invisible boundary of their friendship, but he couldn’t help himself. The last time he’d fucked Rachel, it had been Tasha’s face he’d seen in front of him, her body he’d felt beneath him, and her pussy clenched tight around him. He’d broken up with Rachel the next day. And he hadn’t looked at another girl since.

Tasha leaned forward and placed her hands on his chest. Her breath whispered against his lips. Behind the fly of his shorts, his cock began to thicken. He felt rather than saw Tasha’s smirk and wanted to kiss it off her lips.

No one was more surprised about this shift in dynamic than him. She wasn’t his type at all. He liked small, frail girls with blond hair and quiet personalities. Tasha was tall and slender, tattooed and pierced, and dyed her hair rainbow colors. Dark kohl lined her bold hazel eyes. She had a stud in her tongue, one in her left nostril, and two tiny hoops in her right eyebrow. And he had a sneaking suspicion she was smarter than him.
 

The biggest attraction? He genuinely liked her. She laughed at all his jokes, even the stupid ones. When he had food poisoning, she’d put him up in her spare room, stayed awake all night with him, and spoiled him so much he never wanted to leave. She was the first woman besides his mother who didn’t want to date him, fuck him, or marry him.

The closet door opened, and they sprang apart. Ally flipped on the light. They both blinked against the sudden brightness.
 

“Sorry,” Ally said. “You know how Jack is.”

“Yeah, we know,” Luke said. Tasha walked out while he hung back until his erection faded.
 

“Last week he bought a second remote for the TV, and he would stand in the other room and change the channels while I was watching it. I thought there was some kind of glitch with the cable or something,” Ally said as they walked down the hall to the kitchen. Her affection for his brother spilled over into her voice. “I never know what he’s going to do next.”

“Try living with him for fifteen years,” Luke offered. “I slept with one eye open until he moved out.”

Tasha bent over to open the oven door as Luke walked into the kitchen. He drew in a deep breath and dropped his eyes to the kitchen island in front of him. Ogling women wasn’t his style. A few weeks ago, Tasha would’ve had his nuts for looking at her ass, but he’d caught her watching him from beneath her lashes every time he came out of her shower wrapped in a towel. Things were changing between them in the most interesting way.

A month ago, he would never have considered sleeping with his best friend. After the last few weeks, he couldn’t think of anything else.

Chapter 3

Tasha’s cell phone rang as she placed the last serving dish on the table. Her mother’s name flashed on the caller ID screen. She stared at the display, wondering if she could ignore the call. If she did, her mother would leave a voice mail, hang up, and call back.

“It’s my mom. I’ve got to take this,” she said to the group. “Go ahead and start without me.” She gave an apologetic smile to their understanding faces and moved into the hallway for a bit of privacy.

“Hi, Tasha. It’s your mother.” Even after twenty years of living in the Midwest, her mother’s Brooklyn accent was as thick as ever. From the roughness of her voice, she’d been crying again. She’d been crying for months since the day her father had moved out.

“Hi, Mom.” Tasha settled against the wall. She might as well get comfortable. Her mother had turned telephone conversation into an art form and could stretch a single call into a marathon. “How are you?”

“Honey, I need you to call your father and tell him the bathroom sink is leaking. And tell him to come pick up his stuff. I’m tired of looking at it.” The drag of a cigarette followed a tearful sniff.

“I’m not getting in the middle of this.” Tension bloomed between her temples. She hadn’t spoken to her father since the separation. If she did, she’d tell him how much she hated him for hurting her mother, destroying their family, and for being so selfish.
 

“Well, I can’t call him. He’s moved in with that Carlisle woman. You know the one? From the grocery checkout? Can you believe it? My heart is broken, I tell you. Just broken. I’ll never be able to show my face in this town again.” Her mother paused for another pull on her cigarette. “The day he left me, my life ended. Thirty years together. I gave my best years to that man, I’ll have you know, and this is the repayment I get. Thank goodness, I have you and your sisters to pull me through.”

“Mom, you’re getting divorced. He’s got a right to date anyone he wants. So do you. Maybe you should think about getting out of the house and meeting new people.” She rubbed the space between her eyebrows with two fingers. “It’s not good to sit at home and cry all the time.”

“I’m too old to date. The thought gives me the creeps, you know?” Tasha heard the flick of a lighter and the flare of a flame as her mother lit another cigarette. “And your poor sister. Have you spoken with her? She’s a mess.”

Heartache and failed relationships haunted all the Gretzky women. Katia’s husband had left her and their two toddlers for his secretary. Portia’s boyfriend had knocked her down the stairs and broken out her front teeth. And Lena’s husband hadn’t held a job in two years, preferring beer and poker to employment.

“Which one?” Tasha asked, sudden dread clenching her stomach.
 

When her father had chosen to confess his indiscretion, she’d felt just as betrayed and hurt as her mother. She realized how fragile and unpredictable life was and how impossible it was to ever really know someone. If she couldn’t trust her father, she couldn’t trust any man. Her sisters were living proof.

“Lena,” her mom stated flatly. “That bastard husband of hers spent their rent money on the ponies again.”

Tasha closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall, feeling helpless. “Fucker.”