Page 56 of My Temptation

“He shouldn’t be looking at you like that.” Ethan’s words were tense.

I pulled back slightly so I could see his eyes. “Like what?”

With our foreheads touching, he looked over my shoulder, and some of the tension coming from his body dissipated. “He’s dancing with Jenny.”

I didn’t care what Carl was doing. I wanted to hear Ethan’s explanation of how Carl was looking at me and why it pissed him off so much. “How did he look at me?”

Ethan’s gaze slid back to meet mine, and his hands tightened on my waist. “Like you’re available.”

“Aren’t I?” It was the wrong question to ask. I knew we were heading down a dangerous path, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself.

His lips hovered above mine, and he slid his hand lower until he could run it over my butt cheek. “As long as you’re April and I’m Joe, you aren’t available.”

With a tug, he pulled me impossibly closer. I wasn’t surprised to feel the evidence of his arousal. It was clear in his eyes before they slid down to stare at my lips. His head slowly dropped so our lips barely touched. I wondered if Ethan liked the slow burn and if the anticipation made the moment that much more satisfying for him. I never expected myself to feel that way, but at this moment, I absolutely did. The anticipation felt like small sparks that would eventually turn into a raging fire.

I wanted that fire to ignite.

His lips moved slowly over mine, and I tightened my hands on his neck, surprised he was taking it this far. But considering it was exactly what I wanted, I wasn’t about to stop him. His hand ran over my butt and slid over the top of my thigh. His fingertips danced lightly toward the inside of my thigh, and I whimpered against his lips. I wanted his fingers to keep moving, but he just rested them there while he deepened the kiss. I opened my mouth and savored the feeling of his tongue sliding against mine. If I’d known it would feel like this to kiss Ethan, I doubt I would’ve been able to keep my hands to myself all week. His hand tightened on my back and pulled me impossibly closer, his lips moving faster, intensifying the kiss, but almost immediately, he pulled back when voices sounded beside us.

“Can I cut in?”

I recognized Jenny’s laugh, but my eyes stayed locked on Ethan’s when he answered. “No.”

I wanted her to walk away so we could go back to the place we were, but the moment was over.

Ethan was the first to break our stare, and he looked over my head before I eventually forced a smile to my lips and faced Jenny.

“Since it looks like you two will be getting out of here sooner than later…” She winked, and I smiled to play along but was actually still pissed that she interrupted us. “We wanted to invite you to a party Friday night.”

“What party?”

Jenny glanced at Carl, and I spun in Ethan’s arms so I could lean my shoulder against his chest and watch them closely. He kept his hands locked on my waist either because he wanted them there or because he was very good at playing his part in this game.

I really wanted to believe the first reason was true.

“It’s a private party at a little bar outside of town. A local we met last year invited us, and it was a blast. Apparently, they party the whole weekend to kick off bike week, but we’ve only gone to the Friday night party since we always leave on Saturday.” She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “It’s by invitation only, and after what we just watched with you two, we think you’ll fit right in.”

“What does that mean?” Ethan asked.

“Just means you have to be open to all kinds of things, which you apparently are, considering we thought if we didn’t stop you, you might have sex right here.”

I smirked as if this was normal behavior for us even though my head was still spinning. “If it’s invitation only, how will we get in?”

“We’ll give you the address, and we’ll be there to vouch for you, but if you get there before us, just tell them Kevin said it was cool.”

Ethan’s body tensed against mine. “Kevin?”

“Yeah, he invited us last year. Kind of runs the whole thing.” Jenny lowered her voice again. “Between us, I think he’s a little creepy, but he throws a hell of a party.” She gestured back and forth between herself and Carl. “More our kind of party, so we put up with him.”

“What happens at the party?” I asked.

“Drinkin’, dancin’, you know the usual stuff.” She grinned. “But there’s a downstairs, and if you’re invited down there, it’s a little more, well, let’s just say, interesting.”

Ethan snorted. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Means you can do what you were gearing up to do on this dance floor, and you’d fit right in,” Carl answered while looking back and forth between us. “Any other questions?”

We needed to get into that party and get our eyes on Kevin. With any luck at all, he’d be the Kevin we’ve been looking for. Not wanting to raise any suspicion with more questions and possibly forfeit the invitation, I grinned and met Jenny’s stare. “What should I wear?”

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