Page 44 of Friends With Benefits

Painfully aware of Mitch in her peripheral vision, Kerri introduced Liam to her friends. He remembered Hailey and even knew Jason, Miguel’s best man, from college.

Mitch shook his hand and greeted him too, but his tight mouth and glittering eyes made her nervous. As Hailey handed out tickets and they turned to go into the ballroom where the event was being held, Mitch came up beside Kerri and murmured in her ear, “Did you invite him?”

She glanced at him, a knot of fear inside her stomach. “Yes. I thought it would be a good chance for him to connect with some old friends.”

He nodded tightly and followed the group into the ballroom.

She felt Mitch’s eyes on her, watching her and Liam. Watching Liam stick to her side like duct tape while she tried to be polite and friendly but not encourage him. While she tried to ignore the fact that she really only wanted to be with Mitch.

She tried to get into the wine tasting, learning about various types of grapes and how white wines actually ranged in color from green to yellow to brown, and red wines weren’t just red but ranged from a pale red to a deep brown red, becoming lighter in color as they aged. She learned that whereas time improves many red wines, it ruins most white wines. She carefully tried to follow the three steps of wine tasting, the first impression, the taste and the aftertaste, trying to judge the body and texture of the wines she tasted. Several wineries from the Santa Barbara area participated in the fundraiser for a new homeless shelter.

When Liam put an arm around her waist as they moved from one tasting station to another, she felt Mitch’s gaze burning into her. After a while, she wasn’t the only one who noticed. Hailey kept casting worried looks between the two of them, and Liam asked quietly, “Is he pissed off at me about something? If looks could kill, I’d be lying on the floor back there bleeding.”

She laughed shortly. “He’s always pissed off about something, lately,” she dismissed. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You twoarejust friends aren’t you?” Liam sent an uneasy glance at Mitch.

“Apparently not any more.” Her throat ached as she sipped her wine.

She smiled more warmly at Liam than she intended and he smiled back at her and took her hand. Carefully, she removed her fingers from his grasp as they moved on.

Liam thought she wanted to be with him. She only wanted to be with Mitch. And who knew what Mitch wanted, the way he kept scowling and muttering. Thank God she had brought her own car, which she so rarely drove, and could make her exit as quickly as possible.

Mitch tried to resist, but after watching Kerri with Liam all night, he couldn’t get the idea out of his head. He watched her leave, alone, and he drove to her home, drawn inexorably.

All week long he’d been wrestling with this “fuck buddies” thing. Christ, could she really be serious? She intended for them to go on being friends, just sleeping together for a little extra fun. And was she planning to keep seeing other guys, too? Apparently so, since she’d invited Liam tonight.

Throughout the week he’d gotten more and more pissed off about being “friends with benefits”, and the news today about Bob Sinclair’s death had just added to his irritation. And to top it all off, Liam had showed up.

He hadn’t been this pent up and pissed off for God knew how long.

He searched the darkness for any signs of Liam. Since no other cars were parked outside her condo, he got out of his SUV and walked up to Kerri’s door. After he rang the bell, he leaned his forehead on the door, waiting, heart thudding painfully in his chest.

She opened the door, surprise on her face. “Mitch! What are you doing here?”

He pushed inside, not hard, just determinedly, and closed the door carefully behind him. “We’re fuck buddies, right?” He set his hands on her shoulders. “What do you think I’m here for?”

Chapter Eighteen

He watched Kerri’s eyes widen, and darken. Her lips parted. He bent his head, taking her mouth in a demanding, urgent kiss, anger and frustration surging inside him. He thrust his tongue inside her warm, velvety mouth and kissed her with all the built-up frustration he’d felt all week, taking her mouth again and again.

She responded, though, after a moment of surprise. Her body softened and leaned into him and then she was kissing him back just as furiously as he was, their mouths feverish, grinding against one another in a fierce attempt to apparently devour each other.

Desire mounted in him, hardened him, ignited him. It was unstoppable, and she met him equally, both of them panting and moaning, wrapping themselves around each other.

When he finally left in the early hours of the morning, they were sated and exhausted.

And Mitch hated himself for what he’d done.

He’d never even told Kerri why he’d been in such a miserable mood to start with. And the main reason he’d wanted to see her was to talk to her, not to fuck her. She was such a good listener. Her contemplative nature, always trying to understand the deeper questions in life, often provided good insight and reassurance to him. Even though he was so cynical after all the crap he’d seen at work, she still had an optimism and powerful compassion that encouraged him and kept him going.

Instead, all he’d done was use her for sex.

Shame burned him and his gut churned with regret and remorse. Damn, he shouldn’t have done that.

He tried to justify it in his mind. That’s what she wanted, right? That’s what she’d said. She wasn’t looking for anything more, she expected their relationship to be friends with benefits.

Well, the benefits part was great, but they were still supposed to be friends. He hadn’t even talked to her, told her why he was so pissed off, apart from the fact she’d invited Liam, which he couldnottalk to her about. Not if they were supposed to go on the way they had.

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