Cleo righted herself, flipping her dark curls over her shoulder. “Oakley is here.”
“I know. Silas told me he was coming.”
“Well, he just pulled up in the driveway with a new car.”
“Let me guess. A white Lamborghini.”
“Yup. And a few girls legit peed their pants when they saw him get out behind the driver seat.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fucking bitches. So easy to please.”
Cheering erupted from the crowd currently dancing in the foyer, both Cleo and I looking in the direction.
Cleo stepped in close next to me. “Something tells me Oakley just walked in.”
“What the fuck, is he Jesus?”
“Might as well be. The guy is practically God around here. Guys either want to be in his circle, or they want to be him. And girls’ panties magically fall to the floor whenever he walks into a room.”
Girl squeals sliced through the music, and Cleo shrugged. “See?”
I grabbed the beer I had just placed down and emptied it in one go. I wiped my mouth. “Yeah, well—he’s not all that.”
I scanned the crowd until I spotted Oakley making his way in our direction, his black hair styled to perfection while the Gucci jacket he wore flaunted his wealth. Okay, so I could totally see what got the bitches all ramped up about him. God knows, I was one of those bitches a long time ago when getting Oakley’s attention was more important than breathing. The guy had it all. The total package. His perfect smile and sexy dimples had women swooning like he was Adonis on crack. The fact that he was six-foot-four of pure muscle and sex appeal had every girl in Atherton thinking he had the stamina to fuck until death.
It still amazed me how he could be both the sexy as fuck jock and the intelligent, proper, innocent-looking guy parents wanted their daughters to date. If only they knew how much cock this guy was packing, they’d have their female offspring wearing chastity belts twenty-four-fucking seven.
Dark orbs of seduction met my gaze from across the crowd, and I instantly felt that knife of heartbreak slice through my gut once again.
Don’t show him your pain.
“Sienna!” His voice boomed across the crowd.
“Fuck.” I glanced from left to right, deciding that squeezing my way to the front door was my best chance of escape.
“Sienna,” Cleo called after me. “Where are you—”
Her voice disappeared as I motored through the crowd in the opposite direction from Oakley. There was no way in hell I’d let him see that our recent break-up was like a gaping wound in my gut. No way. My pain would only inflate his already gigantic ego.
We had been dating for more than three years, and it sucked being the fragile ex-girlfriend to a guy I kinda sorta loved. A guy who knew how to pull out all the stops when it came to romancing a girl, yet took assholery and jealousy to a whole new fucking level.
The large double doors with lion heads carved out in solid oak came into view, and my heart thumped against my ribs, knowing I had almost made it out without having to face Oakley. I just couldn’t deal with him. Not tonight. Not while I was still licking my wounds like a goddamn dog, running the risk of showing everyone here just how vulnerable I really was by bursting into tears. Nope. In this jungle only the strongest survived. Show these animals one ounce of weakness, and you’d be torn to shreds and tossed out like yesterday’s garbage.
I sucked in a breath as I grabbed the doorknob and flung open the door, jolting when I found a man standing on the outside, his hand mid-air as if he were about to knock.
For a second, I forgot how to breathe, staring at the stranger in front of me, irises iridescent with infinite hues of blue. I never knew icy blue eyes could burn with hot fire. Not until now.
Time stood still as I regarded him, taking in his strong jaw, his five o’clock shadow well maintained and just fucking perfect. I licked my lips as I stared at his, that bottom lip fuller than the top, perfect in its asymmetrical imperfection.
He looked around and over my shoulder. “Is this the Whitlock residence?”
I glanced down at his buttoned shirt and casual cargo shorts before noticing the truck behind him, two guys grabbing beer kegs off the back. “You must be looking for Silas.” I placed my hand on my hip and felt slight disappointment settle on my expression. “The beer kegs go on the back patio.”
“Oh, I’m not—”
“Sienna!” Oakley’s voice erupted from behind me, and nerves shattered inside my brain, waking the stupid inside my head, forcing me to do, well…something stupid. I grabbed the blue-eyed stranger’s shirt and pulled him closer, lifting myself on my toes while pulling him down toward me, crashing my lips to his. I couldn’t be sure whether it was the beer I had just downed or the adrenaline of running from Oakley, but feeling this man’s warm lips against mine didn’t just stir a flicker inside my belly; it ignited a goddamn fire that blazed through my system within a single heartbeat.
Swept away in the moment, our kiss deepened. Two strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me tighter against him as he plunged his tongue inside my mouth, the tantalizing taste of peppermint and bourbon teasing my tastebuds, leaving me wanting more of it. Our tongues danced, his exploring every corner of my mouth while mine surrendered to the rhythm of our kiss. It was fucking insane. We kissed like it was something we had done a thousand times before. Our kiss was lit with chemistry that crackled around us, the softness of his lips carrying me away while his unyielding kiss kept me captive.