Page 144 of Meet Me in the Valley
“I’ve heard so much about you,” she replies sweetly. “All of you.” Caroline gestures to our little group with a smile. Wyatt tightens his hold around her waist, a look of pride on his face.
“So … sparklers?” Wyatt asks again, jerking his thumb toward the servers handing them out.
I glance at Tia. If she wants to stay, we’ll stay. But the way her eyebrows raise and the sly curve of her lips tell me exactly what she’s thinking.
She wants to leave.
Perfect.
“We’re actually gonna head out,” I answer for both of us, sliding my hand down to hers.
“Shit. I dropped my phone somewhere, and I still need to grab my clutch from the office,” Tia says, scanning the ground automatically.
Audrey reveals Tia’s phone and her clutch in her hands like the best friend she is. I grab them from her, throwing her a wink.
“You’re the best,” Tia beams.
“I know,” Audrey answers playfully, shrugging her shoulders like it’s no big deal.
It hasn’t fully hit me yet that I’m back on home soil. Leaving Texas was the easiest decision I’ve ever made. I knew the minute I booked a flight to see Tia in Vegas, I would follow her anywhere.
Yeah, there were plenty of bumps along the way. Okay, maybe bigger than bumps. More like giant boulders. These last few months apart tested me—tested us—and the relationship we always knew, before it became something bigger.
And now, surrounded by the California air I’ve been dying to breathe in with my best friends around me, and my girl in my arms? What a fucking ride.
“Well, it was a hell of an entrance you made, man. Now go on. Get outta here. We’ll party when you two …resurface.” Donovan smirks. He claps a firm hand on my shoulder.
Isabel leans in and whispers something into Tia’s ear that makes them both giggle. Tia wraps her in a tight hug, then Audrey.
The group gives us a final round of goodbyes and a loud, overlapping“Happy New Year!”as they make their way back into the thrum of the party.
“Hey!” I call after them. “Don’t let Kerry near the sparklers—he’s a walking insurance claim!”
Kerry turns, still walking backward, and flashes me a big grin withbothmiddle fingers in the air.
Tia and I laugh as we watch our friends disappear into the crowd. Her eyes return to me, scanning every inch of my face like she’s memorizing it all over again. Then she leans in, brushing her lips against mine in a featherlight kiss.
“You missed them,” she whispers.
With our hips pressed together, I subtly rock into her, letting her feelexactlywhat I’ve been holding back.
“Not as much as I missed you.”
Her breath catches when she feels just how much I missed her. She bites her lip in that sexy way she does, and it takes all of my restraint to not claim her right here in front of everyone.
Ah,but my minx isn’t shy to play in front of a crowd. Memories of us dancing at that club in Vegas rush the rest of my blood straight between my legs, and I’m pulling her tighter against me to hide my arousal.
I shield the growing tension in my pants with her body, needing just a few more seconds of control. This isn’t the time or place—not with Donovan’s family around. But that key Audrey slipped into my pocket earlier is burning a hole straight through the fabric, and I’m antsy to get my girl out of here and all to myself.
“Wanna go for a ride?”
“On what?” she asks breathlessly.
I chuckle darkly. My girl is so worked up, I can see it in the flush on her cheeks and the way her chest moves with want. Her breaths are heavy, her eyes swimming with untamed desire.
My hands glide down the curve of her ass, gripping her just enough to make her gasp. “First on my bike,” I growl against her lips, voice thick with need. “Then on my cock—slow and deep.”
Then she moans softly in my ear.Moans. And I’m dragging her by the hand to leave the party so I can worship her all night the way she deserves.
