Page 74 of The Very Naughty List

“You know I didn’t bring a pair of backup panties,” I point out, biting back a grin as I adjust my dress, letting the skirt fall back down around my legs. “I won’t have anything on under this.”

“Oh, baby…” He palms the back of my head and kisses me again, his lips moving against mine as he murmurs, “That’s the idea.”

I laugh breathlessly against his lips, and after Sebastian tucks himself away and gets his pants zipped up, he helps me tame my mussed hair in the dim light of the closet. My eyes have adjusted enough that I can see the flash of tenderness in his eyes as he tucks a lock of hair behind my ear, his fingers brushing my cheek. I don’t know what these men are doing to my heart, but I feel powerless to stop the feelings building inside me. And as foolhardy as it might be, I’m not sure I want to.

“You ready to head back out there?” Sebastian asks, trailing his knuckles along my jaw.

“Yes.” I smile and nod, even though part of me wants to tell him ‘no.’

Part of me wants to just call Reid and Nick and have them join us in here so that we can keep therealparty going, away from Dylan and his family and the probing eyes of small-town neighbors. Where the four of us can just enjoy whatever this thing between us is, without having to think about playing our parts for our fake dating ruse or worry about what people would think if they found out the truth.

Where we could justbe.

But I don’t say any of that. Instead, I steal one last kiss from Sebastian’s addictive lips and then whisper, “You go first. I’ll slip out after you.”

25

HAILEY

Sebastianand I stagger our entrances, and when it’s my turn to slip back into the main room where the party is being held, I work hard to temper my giddy smile, hoping I don’t look as freshly fucked as I feel. He headed in before me, and I glance quickly at where he is standing off on the other side of the room by the bar where he’s ordering a drink.

My head is filled with thoughts of him, thoughts about how much I liked the possessive way that he kissed me and talked to me. I liked how he whisked me off as if I was his without question.

And now it’s not only my head that’s filled with him.

I swallow hard, my thighs clenching as I feel a bit more of his cum leak out of me and coat my inner thighs. I can still taste him on my tongue, and it takes a bit of effort to bring myself back down to earth as I scan the large room, searching for Nick.

When I left the gruff, bearded Cooper brother, he was standing at the edge of the open space in the middle of the room where some people are dancing, but now I don’t see him there anymore. He probably went to get a drink in order to tolerate listening to the gaggle of pretentious assholes while I was gone.

As I turn to head toward the bar, I spot Reid out of the corner of my eye.

He’s not alone, and at first I think he’s talking to Addison, who was standing near him earlier.

But it’s not Addison.

It’s Sutton.

His ex-girlfriend laughs at something he said, the sound light and airy, and my stomach twists with a sudden, uncomfortable rush of jealousy.

Sutton is beautiful. Stunning, really. Not only that, but she has a graceful air about her, almost like a ballerina, that always makes her seem elegant and ethereal. I don’t know if they stayed friends after they broke up, and I guess it’s not all that unusual for two people who used to date to say hi to each other at an event like this. But it’s the way they’re standing so close together, tucked away a little from the rest of the crowd, that makes me feel as if needles are prickling under my skin.

Sutton is standing a bit too close to him, her hand gently resting on the side of his arm as she leans in to speak in his ear. If I didn’t already know that they aren’t together anymore, I might even think they were a couple.

My footsteps slow, tension gathering in my shoulders.

It doesn’t matter,I remind myself.You’re not even supposed to be here as his date tonight. And even if you were, none of this is real. So he can talk to whoever he wants.

The words make logical sense, but my heart—and even my mind—refuse to fully process them. I know I can’t look at them without my emotions being stamped all over my face, so I clench my jaw and quickly turn away, pretending I didn’t even notice them.

Still, an ache spreads through my chest as I make my way across the room, deflating the balloon of post-orgasm bliss.

When I spot Nick in the crowd, towering over the people around him, relief surges through me. I pick up my pace, slipping through the well-dressed guests and stopping to say a quick hello to my family. I already said hi to the Montgomerys, grateful for Nick’s steady presence at my back as I did. It felt awful having to look his mother in the eye and smile, but if it helps my family’s business, I’ll act nice with whoever I have to.

“There you are.” Nick wraps his arm around my waist the second I stop beside him. “I thought I lost you.”

He sounds genuinely concerned, and I wince. I know he wouldn’t be upset about what happened between me and Sebastian, because the friends with benefits deal is between me and all three of the brothers. But I didn’t mean to make him worry.

“Sorry,” I tell him, leaning into his large frame. “I saw some girls bullying Iris on my way back from the restroom and stopped to help. And then Sebastian caught me and… wanted a moment alone.”

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