Page 33 of Friends With Benefits

Kerri pulled back out of his arms. “I-I’m going to the washroom.” She rushed out of the room. In the hallway, she ignored people she knew and bolted into the changing room at the end of the hall. In a bathroom stall, she sat there, her face in her hands, trying to get control of herself.

What the hell was all that? Her mind was a twisted mass of confused emotions and thoughts. It had felt so good and so right to be in Mitch’s arms, and when he looked at her like that, warm and attentive, it made her feel so special. Like before, when they were friends. Okay, maybe not quite like before. She’d never felt quite like this before, ever.

What on earth was happening? Mitch had been coming on to her again, and—she had to admit it—she loved it. She wanted him on her side again, not fighting with her like they had been. She wanted him to look at her like that again, not coldly or angrily, like he had been for the last week, but warmly. And, stunningly, she wanted to press herself against his big, hard body, rub against him…God!

She pushed her hair back and sat up straight. She stared up at the ceiling.

She heard laughing voices come in and recognized Hailey and Sela. Apparently they were unaware of her in the end stall.

“What is with Kerri and Mitch?” Sela asked. “Did you talk to her?”

“I tried. Something’s going on. You should have heard them! They’re both as tense as cats in a canoe. But she wouldn’t say much.” Hailey sighed. “I wish they’d just get it over with. Everyone knows they’re crazy about each other. Except them.”

“Yeah. They’re so cute together. Except lately. I was afraid knives were going to come out or something.”

Their voices faded as the heavy washroom door closed behind them.

Kerri sat there for long moments. They were insane! She and Mitch were not crazy about each other. They werefriends.

Mitch stood there after Kerri bolted to the washroom. Shit. She was panicked and he didn’t blame her. He was terrified, too. Man, what was he thinking? Hell, he wasn’t thinking. Not with his big head, anyway.

No, blaming this on hormones wasn’t right. If he was just horny, he could have lots of girls. That had never been a problem for him. But he didn’t want any other girls. He was hot for Kerri.

Shame and embarrassment slid over him and he rubbed his face. He glanced around the room, but everyone was busy laughing and talking.

How could he have done that to his best friend? No wonder she was pissed at him. He took a deep breath.

And yet…he’d felt her response. Yeah, she’d tried to pull away, tried to pretend nothing was happening, but he’d felt it. Just like he’d felt it that afternoon when he’d kissed her. He took the blame for that, for initiating it, for acting like a sex-starved teenager, but there was no denying she had kissed him back.Reallykissed him back. She’d melted under him, held on to him, opened for him.

Jesus, he was getting hard again just thinking about it. Great. He shifted from one foot to the other. Then Hailey and Sela walked into the room, talking seriously about something. They both looked at him, then away.

Shit. They were talking about him. And since they were women, they, too, were probably pissed off at him for coming on to Kerri. He groaned. He needed another beer.

After he’d been to the bar and had been stopped by several people to talk, there was still no sign of Kerri. He checked his watch. It had been a while since she’d taken off.

He wandered out into the hall, casually looking for her, but no luck. He went to the door of her office, thinking she might have ducked out of the party for a few moments of peace and quiet. He poked his head in the door. Someone was in there, in the dark… Kerri? He started to speak, then realized a man and woman were locked in a heated embrace. What the hell? A hot wave of jealousy rushed over him.

Ah hell. It was Kerri’s parents.

He stood there for few seconds, grinning, light with relief and amusement. Whoa. Forty years of marriage and still hot for each other. He shook his head as he silently back out of the room. Amazing. It was almost enough to make him rethink his feelings about marriage. Almost.

Mitch returned to the party, wandered over to one of the armchairs that had been pushed to the perimeter of the room, and threw himself into it. From there he spotted Kerri. He watched her talk and laugh animatedly for a few minutes until she excused herself and left the room.

This time he followed her into her darkened yoga studio. He watched her walk slowly through it, stopping in the middle of the room to remove those killer high heels. Then she continued toward her office, shoes dangling from her fingertips.

He wondered if her parents were still making out in her office. Better stop her before she busted in on them.

“Hey,” he said softly. She turned.

“Mitch.”

She gazed at him, her eyes huge, questioning, fearful. They stared at each other for long, silent, heart-thumping moments.

He took a step toward her. She moved toward him. And then she was in his arms, and he wasn’t sure if she’d come to him or he’d gone to her, but their bodies were pressed together.

Chapter Thirteen

The shoes clunked to the floor and he kissed her. Hot, open-mouthed kisses, bending her back over one arm, the other fisted in her hair, and yes, thank Christ, she was kissing him back, her small hands holding on to his shoulders as if she was drowning, opening for him, her tongue stroking his as he licked into her mouth.

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