SHIVER: 13 Sexy Tales of Humor and Horror (67 page)

Encouraged by the possibility that Jess might care at all about who I was kissing, I stood and picked my way through the crowd, then knelt in front of Tina. I had a decision to make.

I could give her a quick peck and move the game forward.

Or, I could kiss Tina like I wanted to kiss Jess. I could use her. I could exploit the situation and potentially push Jess out of her comfort zone, hopefully provoking some response. Something to give me a reason to hope.

Decision made, I grabbed Tina by the neck, and I kissed the hell out of her.

Pretending Tina Patterson was Jessica James was like pretending tofu was steak. Despite the disparity in quality, texture, and taste, I soldiered on. I tapped into a hell of a lot of pent-up sexual frustration and had to restrain her hands when I felt them reach for my dick. Despite all this, I ended it artfully, with lip-biting and sucking flourish.

The crowd had made noises at first, egging me on. But then they grew quiet, and I heard a few whispered,
Damn, that boy can kiss
and
I’m next
and
Remind me to use my next turn on Duane.

As soon as I finished, I lifted my eyes to Jess, and what I saw made my chest hurt. But this time, it was a good hurt.

Her glare was affixed to mine, her face was bright red. Her usual charming smirk was replaced with a deep frown. Beyond all that, she was giving me a hot look.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and stood, holding her gaze, and leaving Tina dazed on the blanket.

“It’s your turn, Duane,” Cletus’s voice broke the silence. He sounded cheerful…for Cletus. “Pick anyone you want, anyone at all.”

I nodded, my eyes never leaving Jessica’s, and gritted my teeth in preparation for what I was going to do next. It would require courage, the kind that risks public rejection.

“Jessica.” Her name on my lips sounded too loud. I had an odd thought just then, that I should only ever whisper her name, and that she should always be close enough to hear it. “Truth or dare?”

Her gaze narrowed. Even beneath the thick coat she wore, I could see her chest rise and fall with her breath. To drive my point home, I allowed my eyes to flicker meaningfully to Beau. I hoped she’d interpret the movement as an implied threat to expose her feelings for him.

For the record, I would never do that. I would have to be a complete idiot to do that. If Beau had any idea, he’d be a jackass to let her go. Also, it would be a betrayal. I didn’t want to betray Jessica. I wanted to cherish her.

“Dare,” she said, like she was daring me and not the other way around.

I kept my relief from showing but did allow myself a smirk. “Okay. Dare it is.”

Again I picked my way through the crowd, and again I knelt down on the blanket; but this time I was kneeling next to Jess, and she was adorably ruffled, unable to hide her anger.

“I dare you to come with me and go skinny dipping in Bandit Lake for the next hour.”

Her brown eyes widened, rimmed with shock, and the crowd erupted in opinions. I heard someone say,
I should have thought of that one, that’s a good one.

“Well?” I pushed, suppressing my enthusiasm under an expression of boredom. “What’s it going to be?”

Finally she sputtered, “An hour? That lake is near freezing; we’ll get hypothermia.”

“Okay, thirty minutes then.”

“Thirty minutes?”

“Fifteen. Final offer. Or else you have to choose truth.”

A wrinkle formed above her nose, and her eyes bounced between mine. Then, abruptly, she lifted her chin and said, “Fine. I accept.”

She stood, unzipped her jacket, tossed it to Cletus, then jogged out of the circle of the bonfire’s light. I was too surprised to move at first, but then Beau punched me in the shoulder.

“What are you waiting for, dumbass? Go get her!”

I stared at my brother for a beat and saw what I’d been blind to earlier. Beau wasn’t interested in Jessica, not because she wasn't beautiful or amazing. She was. She was gorgeous. She was breathtaking. She was too good for either of us.

Beau wasn't interested in Jess, because he knew how I felt. Of course he did. We were twins. He must’ve always known.

We exchanged a brotherly grin, and he punched me again. “Go on, get.”

I nodded once then stood, toeing my boots off and pulling both my sweater and shirt over my head. I left everything but my pants in a pile on the blanket then sprinted into the woods after Jessica James.

I was always running after her, but this time I wasn't going to let her get away.

END

About the Author

This is the fifth full-length novel published by Penny Reid. Her days are spent writing federal grant proposals for biomedical research; her evenings are either spent playing dress-up or mad-scientist with her two people-children (boy-7, girl-4) or knitting with her knitting group at the local coffee shop. Please feel free to drop her a line. She'd be happy to hijack your thoughts!

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Other books by Penny Reid

Knitting in the City Series

Neanderthal Seeks Human: A Smart Romance
(#1)

Neanderthal Marries Human: A Smarter Romance
(#1.5)

Friends without Benefits: An Unrequited Romance
(#2)

Love Hacked: A Reluctant Romance
(#3)

Beauty and the Mustache: A Philosophical Romance
(#4)

Happily Ever Ninja: A Married Romance
(#5 coming Fall 2015)

Book #6 - TBD

Book #7 - TBD

The Hypothesis Series

The Elements of Chemistry

(#1, coming Spring 2015; continuation of
Bunsen Burner Bingo
)

The Winston Brother’s Series

Double Dare
(#1, coming Summer 2015)

When lusty lawyers meet creepy criminals

Copyright © 2014/N.M. Silber

Proofed by Proofing Style, Inc./Marla Esposito

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Dedication

I dedicate this story to Shaggy, Scooby, Freddie, Daphne, and especially Velma, because it’s hard to be the brainy chick (even though that orange turtleneck was just awful). Thanks for the memories. I forgive you for the Scrappy years.

NOTICE: This is an adult contemporary romance novel and contains
EXPLICIT
descriptions of sexual acts and mature language. It is intended for readers over the age of eighteen.

“So, how’s it going, honey?” my best friend, Jess, asked as soon as I answered my cell phone. I watched as a sheriff escorted a six-foot-five leprechaun away in handcuffs.

“How’s it going? I’m in Night Court in Philly. That’s a nightmare under the best of circumstances. Throw in the fact that it’s Halloween and there’s a full moon tonight, and you have the makings of a bad horror movie. Part sixteen.”

“At least your hottie hubby is there with you, and you two only have one case.”

“Correction, we only had one case. Judge Epstein appointed us to several other cases, because the place is hopping, and she didn’t want us to feel left out. By the way, that one case we were here for, do you remember the charge?”

“Disorderly Conduct? What about him?”

“He admitted to being in the U.S. without a visa.”

“Oh no, an illegal alien …”

“He’s originally from the planet Nebulon Six.”

“Is that anywhere near Tijuana?”

“One galaxy over.”

“What are the other cases like?”

“Would you rather hear about the guy whose file says he died in 1905, or the guy who I think might be a vampire?”

“They’re two different people? Is anyone on your caseload human?”

“Mr. Harris, the shoplifter is back. This time they caught him with three bags of candy corn, a gallon of spiced cider and about 500 miniature Snickers bars in his pants.”

“Well, it is Halloween, honey.” She sighed. “I suppose this means you and Braden won’t be joining the party anytime soon. I’ll send someone else out for ice.”

“Probably a good idea.” I looked up at that moment and saw my tall blonde husband stalking across the courtroom to question a witness, and it made me shiver in a good way. “You know, I have to admit, that even though this is like punishment for doing something bad in a former life, seeing Braden being commanding in a courtroom again, makes it much more bearable.”

“Uh oh, there will be no sexy deliberations in the jury room for old time’s sake. The quicker you get out of there, the quicker you can find a more private place to examine his briefs. Besides, nobody wants to make an ice run.”

“I’m overwhelmed by your sympathy.”

“Have fun! Say ‘hi’ to Mr. Harris for me, and thank him for helping me to stick to my diet.”

“Later.” I clicked my phone off and took a deep breath, steeling my nerves. Before my husband and I had founded our own legal non-profit, I'd been a public defender here in the City of Brotherly Love, so this wasn’t my first time at the rodeo. Nevertheless,  tonight was already shaping up to be a whole new level of crazy.

“Mrs. Pierce,” Judge Debra Epstein, originally of Bayonne, New Jersey, shouted across the courtroom, “what’s going awn with Mowrk from Owrk?” She was such a delicate snowflake.

“Mr. Smith went to get a drink of water. He isn’t feeling well, Your Honor,” I explained.

“Well, go get him and tell him it’s time to take him to your leader, counselor!”

“Yes, Your Honor,” I replied as my husband caught my eye and gave me an amused, but sympathetic, look. Even amused sympathy looked sexy on Braden. I headed for the hall, but before I exited the courtroom, Mr. Smith, my interstellar client, returned.

“I need to get out of here,” he said with a desperate look.

“We all do, Mr. Smith.”

“No! You don’t understand!  This atmosphere is toxic.”

“I do understand. I had to work this courtroom for a whole month once.”

“Counselor!” Judge Epstein bellowed, in case I'd forgotten.

“Coming Your Honor!” I bellowed back. I was from New York. I could bellow. “We are not helping your case by keeping her waiting. Let’s go.” I turned and headed to the bench with E.T. right behind me.

“Mr. Brenner, what are the charges?”  Judge Epstein glared at the handsome dark-haired, young prosecutor standing next to me. She was an equal opportunity Gorgon.

“Disorderly Conduct, Your Honor. However, since the defendant confessed to being in this country illegally, we were obligated to inform the INS. We’re still waiting for an agent to arrive.” He sighed and shifted his weight to the other foot. Poor Mr. Brenner. He had obviously pissed off somebody in his office. Assigning a young guy, barely out of law school, to Night Court on Halloween had to be a malicious act.

“Ha! You’re waiting for a federal employee to show up in Night Court on Halloween! That’s rich.  I hope you brought a snack. Call the next case!”

“Judge!” Mr. Smith broke in. “The gravity …”

“I’m glad you realize this is serious.  Now go sit down and contemplate.” She banged her gavel and gave him a gaze that would have withered a lesser alien.

“You don’t understand,” he tried again undaunted, clearly unfamiliar with Judge Epstein’s species. “The level of gravity where I come from is significantly lower. If I don’t get out of here, I may implode.”