Lipstick Kisses : A Sexy, Standalone Contemporary Romance (19 page)

Justin

Why does she have to look so smoking hot today in yet another barely there bikini that shows off all of her amazing attributes?

When she showed up, all of my buddies’ jaws dropped and the volleyball game ceased for a few minutes—at least until she took off her beach cover-up. Then they were literally drooling out the sides of their mouths.

My hands clenched into fists.

Not a single one of these dogs had better try anything with Sloane. She is strictly off limits to any of these bad boys.

Then Connor goes and tosses the ball in her direction, making it land right by her. I’m sure he wanted to get an up close and personal view of her incredible curves.

Pisses me off.

“Hey, come on, Connor, knock it off. Let’s play,” I call out to him from the other side of the net.

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do, bro,” Connor throws back at me with a knowing smile.

Burns me.

“Ok, come on, then. Serve the damn ball,” I reply heatedly.

As the sun goes down, Andre starts the fire and gets dinner ready for us.

I see Connor approach Sloane, and she starts flirting with him.

Why the hell is Connor making a play for her? I feel like screaming, “Back off!” to his face.

When I see him try to get her alone, I have to try and stop them, but it’s to no avail.

Then after dinner, it’s my turn to try and explain myself to her and get her alone. What am I doing? What do I want here? Last night, I thought I had decided she was off limits for me. I wasn’t going to go any further down that road once I found out she was a virgin. I’ve known Sloane for so long, since she was in her tween years.

She has morphed into a beautiful and incredibly sexy woman. I literally can’t take my eyes off her, especially when she’s in a barely-there bikini. I imagine doing all kinds of things to her body made for sin. The ironic thing is that she has saved herself, for some reason beyond me. How can a body like that still have not experienced the pleasures of the flesh? It baffles me, quite frankly.

Only this time, in the heat of the moment, what does she do?

She laughs at me while her hand is on my raging hard on. Do you know how it makes a guy feel when a girl laughs at him while she’s holding his manhood in her hand? Trust me, it’s not a good feeling. She took some of my manhood with her when she walked away from me tonight—I’ll tell you that much—but maybe I deserved it.

Let her walk away for good, Justin. You’re saving that sweet girl from heartache. She’s becoming hard to resist, but I don’t want her hooking up with Connor. He’s worse than I am when it comes to women. He would chew her up and spit her out.

I have to let the rise in my shorts go down before I walk back to where the group is gathered. When I do get back, Connor is hovering around Sloane with his phone out. I’ll be damned if he’s getting her phone number.

“Hey, Connor, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Excuse me, Sloane,” Connor says, trying to act like the gentleman he is not.

“Sure,” she says back to him with a flirtatious smile.

“You can’t take her out,” I come right out and say to Connor once we’re out of earshot.

“Oh? And why not?” he says with a sly smile, and I just about want to punch that smile off his face. What reason on earth can I give him?

“Because I’m interested in her,” I blurt out.

“Really? You never said anything before.”

“I’m telling you now—she’s off limits to you.”

“Why don’t we let her decide? She gave me her phone number, which leads me to believe if I called her, she would go out with me,” Connor says.

“Look, Sloane is special. You can’t just use her for your pleasure and then cast her aside.”

“Oh? And what were you planning on doing with her?”

Guilty as charged.

“That, my friend, is none of your business.”

“Alright, I’ll back off,” Connor agrees.

I glance over at Sloane, and she’s glaring at me. Connor says his goodbyes to everyone and walks off to his car.

“How dare you? Did you just tell Connor not to call me?” Sloane breathes fire at me.

“He’s not right for you. I know that much,” I reply.

“You have some nerve, Justin. I can’t tell you how angry that makes me. First, you don’t want me, but you won’t let anyone else have me either,” she whispers.

She looks like she is on the verge of tears.

Justin

At the office this week, I have trouble concentrating. All I can think about is Sloane and how upset and hurt she was the night we parted ways at the beach. Knowing I was the jackass to cause her to feel that way has left me riddled with guilt. I want to make it up to her. I even followed her to her place that night, but the smart girl wouldn’t let me in. I guess I’m glad. We both know what would have happened.

Why the hell can’t I stop thinking about her and her sinful curves and the sensuous way she moaned when I was feasting on her? And damn, the way she sucked and licked had me almost going over the edge.

Stop it, Justin. Now you’ve got a tent in your trousers.

“Hey, lunch today?” It’s Connor, the last person I want to see today. I’ve been purposely avoiding him.

“Yeah, sure, give me a few and we can go.” I agree to have lunch with him, but first, I need to let my tent subside. I cuss to myself under my breath.

“How goes it?” Connor asks once we’re sitting down and eating lunch at the local sandwich place, which is within walking distance of our offices in Century City.

“You know you’re breaking the
man code,
right?” I ask.

“What?” Connor plays stupid.

“Sloane,” I say in reply.

“Oh yeah, Sloane,” he says, and he gets this silly grin on his face.

“What’s so funny?”

“She called me,” Connor replies.

My fists clench under the table.

“This morning, she called my office,” he says.

“Why?”

Now I’m the one asking the stupid questions.

“Why do you think?”

“You aren’t taking her out, are you?” I ask, trying to keep my cool.

“I haven’t decided,” Connor replies, and I look away.

I’m seething.

“Look, Justin, she makes it sound like she’s not dating anyone, so what’s the harm if I take her out?”

“I told you she’s special, and I’m interested in her.”

“That’s not what she intimated.”

“What did she say?”

“Well, when she hinted about getting together this weekend, I came out and asked her if anything was going on between you two. She gave me an emphatic no. She said there was absolutely nothing going on between you. She was basically giving me the green light.”

I sit there and look off into the distance, knowing there’s not a thing I can do about it. I know for a fact that Connor is fooling around with one of the assistants at the office.

Get a grip, Justin. Find yourself a date this weekend to relieve the pressure that’s been building in your briefs all week.

“Yeah, whatever. Do what you like. But know I’m not happy about it. Like I said before, you’re breaking the
man code
.”

We finish our lunch in silence.

Once I get home from work tonight, I feel restless. I toss and turn all night.

The mere thought of her giving herself to a guy like Connor is eating me up inside. It really should be me, but it can’t be me. I know myself. It won’t last, and Sloan deserves more than Connor or I can give her.

I need to talk some sense into her.

I’ll try one more time, in person.

Sloane

Justin has now made me determined to lose it to the next guy that comes along. No more saving myself for love. That’s a pipe dream.

Justin made me feel like a freak of nature just because I’ve been saving myself. He made me feel like I wasn’t sexy enough for him or anyone else, for that matter.

Just when my confidence was at an all-time low, his hunky friend was nice enough and seemed interested in taking me out. Maybe Connor could be my first. At this point, I don’t care if I’m in love or not, even though that’s how I always dreamed it would be.

I wanted to be in love with the man I gave my first time to.

Is that such a crime?

Justin made me feel like it was, so forget it then. I’m on a mission now, and I choose Connor Love. He’s a hunk of hotness and seems ready and willing. If he listens to Justin and doesn’t call me by the end of the week, I’m calling him at work. It’s out of character for me, but thanks to Justin bruising my ego, I’ve become a girl on a mission to prove to myself that I’m desirable.

***

I just got back from the hardest business law exam, and my brain hurts. Sometimes, I wonder why I chose law, as it doesn’t come easy to me, but I’ve always dreamed of being a lawyer, so I’m determined to achieve my dream.

I’m fixing myself some Kraft macaroni and cheese from the blue box when there’s a knock at my door. It startles me. Emily isn’t home, and it makes me uneasy.

Who could that be? I wonder. I walk over to the door and peer out the peephole. Ugh, what’s he doing here?

“Justin, what are you doing here?” I ask rudely, one hand on the doorknob and one hand on my waist.

He waltzes in right past me.

“Won’t you come in?” I say sarcastically and close the door behind me.

“I came to talk some sense into you.”

He’s a little pissed and treating me like a child—like his little sister’s friend.

I don’t have a bra on, and I catch him staring at my chest. My nipples harden under his heated gaze, and my breath picks up a notch.

He’s the one I really want, not Connor. Justin fills my body with lust and desire just by the way he looks at me. He needs to leave. I notice him look away and shake his head.

“Justin, you need to leave,” I say with breathlessness to my voice. It’s all I can do to keep my hands to myself.

Do you have any idea how long I have wanted this man? Stop it, Sloane. He doesn’t want you that way.

“Not until I say what I came to say. You can’t go out with Connor. He’s a total womanizer and player. He will eat you up and be done with you in no time. He never sticks around. It’s all a conquest thing for him. I’m warning you,” he says firmly.

“Did you tell him I was a . . .?” I huff out, letting him fill in the blank.

“No, of course not. I did tell him you were special, hoping he would stay away from you, but then he told me you called him.”

“I did.”

“Why?”

“Because I needed an ego boost, alright? You left me feeling like something was wrong with me, like I couldn’t get a man to sleep with me. Well, I intend to see if I can. No more sweet virgin for me,” I say defiantly.

“And so you’re just going to give it to him—just like that?” he barks out with a snap of his fingers.

I don’t give him an answer as I walk into the kitchen to check on my pasta. “It’s none of your business what I chose to do, now is it?” I reply without looking at him as I stir the pot on the stove.

He stares at me from the living room.

“What are you eating, macaroni and cheese from a box?” he asks, picking up the box and looking at it in distaste.

“It’s all I had in the house and it’s good.”

“Go get dressed, and put a bra on, for God’s sake. I will take you out for a proper dinner,” he says, turning alpha male on me.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re bossy and demanding?” I ask, crossing my arms across my chest.

“Only my mother. Now get dressed before I reach over and squeeze your tantalizing attributes,” he teases as his eyes shift to my chest. I know I blush.

“We wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we?” I tease back, brushing past him, making my chest graze his arms.

I head into my room with a grin across my face. He makes me so mad, but I still love him. Secretly, I wish he would follow me into my bedroom and take me right now.

I walk into my closet and look across my hanging clothes for something to wear. I settle on my latest go-to outfit, skinny Joe’s jeans, an orange sleeveless blouse and a textured white fabric moto-style jacket. I don’t think I will wear a bra . . . just to annoy him.

Running a brush through my hair, I then apply some makeup and finish my look off with some plum lip-gloss. I admire myself in the mirror, reminding myself that I’m sexy and can attract a man if I really want to.

“I’m ready,” I announce, walking into the living room. Justin looks at home on my sofa, flipping through the latest issue of US magazine.

“You look nice.” He actually gives me a compliment.

He takes me to this hip and trendy upscale pizza place in downtown Brentwood.

“How’s school going?” he asks over dinner.

“I had this killer business law exam today. My brain still hurts from it. I’m exhausted from studying late last night.”

“So your passion is law?”

“Yes, I’ve always dreamed of being a lawyer.”

“You were always the smart and driven one between you and my sister.”

“Kylie is the artsy one. I’ve always been the nerdy, brainy one,” I reply.

“Sloane, my dear, you are far from nerdy.”

“Yeah, yeah, tell me more.”

“Seriously, you have it going on. Trust me on that one,” he says, eyeing me like a wolf.

“Spare me, okay?”

“Look, I’m sorry if I affected your confidence, but trust me on this one—you’re so scorching hot now. At the beach, in your bikini, didn’t you see all my friends drooling over you? They stopped playing volleyball the minute you walked up, and when you took your cover-up off, they were left speechless.”

“Justin, shut up. Now you’re going overboard. You’re so full of it.”

“I kid you not.”

I tuck my hair behind my ear, and my face heats up from his words. He’s just saying that to try and make up for rebuffing me the other night. He looks so good, sitting across from me relaxed and being his usual, charming self. I wish we could work out, but he’s fighting it. Who am I to beg him? I will never beg.

We reminisce about when we were younger and the silly things we used to do. I used to always try and get his attention during those awkward preteen years. I cringe inside when I think about how dorky I was back them.

“So, you’re not going out with Connor this weekend, right?”

“I can’t make you any promises.”

“Go out with me instead.”

“No, thank you.”

“Why not?”

“Been there, done that. You had your chance.”

His eyes penetrate mine from across the table.

“Sloane, I’m warning you to stay away from Connor.”

“I’ll do as I please.”

“Do I have to put you over my knee and spank you?”

“Now that sounds tempting,” I tease seductively, dragging my tongue across my lips as Justin watches my tongue. I see him swallow hard.

“Let’s go,” he says gruffly.