THEY AGREED NEITHERone of them should be driving, so Justin scheduled an Uber to pick them up. He watched her, standing a few feet away, at the curb outside, looking everywhere but him. The pause in conversation was enough for her to withdraw, and he struggled to bring her back into the discussion.
He and Antonio had worked late Friday night, bringing everything together in preparation for Monday. Though tonight should have been their Saturday night respite, Antonio called at the last minute and said he needed to deal with some family business.
Justin was disappointed at being blown off. However, the sexy redhead with pale green eyes, who watched him from across the bar and looked away every time he tried to catch her gaze, was a pleasant distraction. Enough to make him forget for a few moments he’d been looking forward to watching Antonio work. The way his voice dropped and his accent grew heavier when he was flirting.
Rather than lingering on that, Justin needed to draw himself and his siren back into the conversation. “What was it that changed your mind about me? The promise of a sexy best friend? No, wait—it was the comic references, wasn't it?”
It was a bonus that she let him fly his geek flag. It had been a long time since he felt like he could let that side of him show with anyone besides Antonio, and being himself felt good.
Crinkles of laughter scrunched around her eyes. “Depends. Is your friend really as attractive as you say?”
He brought his hands to his chest. “You know how to squash a guy's ego. But I did ask. Truth is I'd switch teams for him.” The casual statement snagged something in the back of his mind, but he couldn't grasp the thought. He shook it aside.
A car pulled up to the curb—blue Nissan Versa, like the app said it would be. The driver rolled down the passenger window. “You Justin?”
“That’s me.” Justin opened the back door for the woman and took the opportunity to study her legs—long and slender in something as simple as jeans—when she slid into the car. He sat next to her, grateful for a crowded back seat for the first time he could remember.
“Justin. Got it.” She shifted enough to face him but made no effort to put space between them. Her thigh pressed against his, searing hot and tempting.
He shook his head. “Sorry—what?”
“Your name. I didn’t catch it before. I’m Em.”
The driver maneuvered them into traffic, and Justin was glad he wasn’t chatty. Justin shook Em’s offered hand, letting his touch linger. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“Is it?” She was still smiling, the passing streetlights and traffic adding a mischievous glint to her eyes. “Because when we left the conversation, you were going gay for your friend. Which is a hot visual—especially that you don’t mind admitting it—but it leaves me out in the cold if I say he’s the reason I’m going home with you. My final answer is it was actually the possibility of hearing you tell stories about your trips abroad. That, and I assume you have a massive home entertainment system, for playing those horrific movies you mentioned.”
“I knew it. I need to lose that shark line in bars and start leading withHey, baby. Want to come back to my place and see my impressive equipment?”
Her laugh was light and playful. “Sure. You should do that. Can I watch next time you try?”
“Is that where the appeal is?” It wasn’t what he meant to ask next, and it took him a second for his brain to catch up to his mouth.
“The appeal in what?” she asked.
Might as well go with it, now that he brought it up. “The fantasy of two guys at once. Is the appeal in watching?” He kept his voice low, wanting this discussion to stay intimate and for their ears only.
“Thetwo guysthing was meant to be a shock-value kind of statement. It didn’t carry the impact I thought it would.” Pink dotted her cheeks, and she bit her bottom lip.
She’d meant for her confession about being with two men to deter him. Why didn’t it? “It was close enough to the front of your thoughts for you to grab it as a quick answer. You’ve considered it before.”
“I think you’re as fascinated with the idea as I am.”
“Then youarefascinated by it.” Justin was as well, on an intellectual level. The idea of kissing Antonio, making out with him, more, was enough to raise his blood pressure. Justin had never been attracted to any other man, though, and he wasn’t willing to risk what he had with Antonio for casual experimentation. He didn’t even like entertaining the thought because it was so implausible.
Justin didn’t know what was different about tonight—enough whiskey he’d lost track, the tantalizing woman next to him, or an extra kiss of humidity. The notion wouldn’t leave him alone, especially with Em as part of the vision.
“You still haven’t quite answered—what about the fantasy does it for you?” he asked. Maybe her answer would help him sort out his own curiosities, given he didn’t have another outlet for them. “Is it the multiple points of contact?” He hovered his hand millimeters from her cheek, drawing a path along her face without making contact.
“There’s some allure in that,” she said, “but you were closer the first time.” She tilted her head into his touch, and heat sparked against his fingertips, racing up his arm and igniting his pulse. Her sigh—so quiet he felt it on his palm, as much as heard it—added more fuel to the flames.
He struggled to flip back those few minutes and remember what he said. The fuzz of alcohol and all the blood rushing from his head made it a difficult task. “With what?”
“The watching. The being watched.”
Snippets blinked through his thoughts. Sitting at a distance, while she stripped down and ran her hands along her body in a private show. Making her moan, kissing along freckled skin and finding out where her sweet spots were, while someone else looked on. Being thatsomeone else. Each new scenario danced along his skin and teased, asking which was most appealing. He lowered his head to her ear, inhaling a faint perfume. “In other words, there’s a level of anticipation in knowing our driver is only a few feet away and might catch us if we misbehaved?”
“You’re making it too simple.” She rested her hand on his thigh. Did she know she traced tiny circles along the inside of his leg, making his cock twitch, or was it a subconscious tick?