Page 16 of Rule Number One

I kicked off my flip-flops and pulled out my phone.

Me: Home safe.

Alec: Thank God. Really appreciate this. Just don’t do anything with that girl.

Me: Dude. I won’t. I’m just going to get her to sleep.

Alec: I’ll text when I close.

Me: Sounds good.

I put my phone away as Ivy flopped down on my couch. She laid on her side and put her head on her hand as she stared up at me seductively.

“I’m ready,” she whispered in a tone that would have been sultry if she wasn’t so drunk. I had to stop myself from laughing at her awkward position.

“Wow. That you are.” I crossed my arms across my chest.

“Come here, Evan.” She crooked a finger that gestured for me to come.

“Ethan.” I laughed.

“Oh, yeah. Come here, Ethan. I’m ready.” She gave me an exaggerated wink that made me burst into laughter this time.

Words could never describe how cute Ivy looked at the moment. She naturally radiated innocence and seeing her try to encompass her inner sex goddess while completely inebriated swelled my heart to bursting. Adorable. The girl sprawled out on my couch was totally and completely adorable.

“I’m waaaaaiting,” she crooned.

“I think you should just take a little nap, and we’ll do the sex stuff later,” I lied.

Her sexy look dissolved into a frown. “If you aren’t going to do the sex with me, I’m going back to the bar to find someone who will. Ineedto know if I’m bad in bed.”

“Whoa! Okay, okay.” I lifted my hands and walked toward her.

“Okay,” she whispered, her sultry eyes returning. “But only if we’re going to do this.”

Before I could utter a lie as a response, she reached down and pulled her sundress over her head.

“Holy shit.” I clasped a hand over my mouth as her body appeared. A lacy, pink matching bra and underwear set were the only things covering up her impressive assets.

My cock leaped at the sight of her, and I was grateful for my loose board shorts as he rose to give her his full attention. But I internally scolded him as I diverted my eyes from soaking in every inch of her toned body.

After struggling to get her head out of the hole, she finally managed to tug the dress off, tossing it at me and covering my face.

“Okay,nowI’m ready,” she said as I stood wearing her dress on my head, grateful for something to block my view so I didn’t have to struggle to keep from staring at her.

When I didn’t respond, she cleared her throat. “Are we doing this, or do I need to go find someone else?”

“We are. We definitely are,” I answered, feeling a little bad about my outright lies for her own good. I tugged her dress off my head and kept my gaze fixated on her face as I moved toward her. I knelt beside her and pushed a piece of hair from her face. “You’re not going anywhere. Okay?”

Her eyes sparkled as she stared back at me. “Okay then. Kiss me, Evan.”

“Ethan,” I said again as she leaned toward me.

As her lips inched closer and closer to mine, my heart hammered against my chest, speeding up with each pounding beat. God, did I want to kiss her. I couldn’t remember anything I’d ever wanted more than to lean down and capture her lips with mine. But I wanted one thing more than her kiss, and that was to not wake up in the morning knowing I’d taken advantage of her ... knowing I was the kind of creep I’d vowed to keep her away from.

“Close your eyes,” I said to her as she continued inching toward me until I could feel her breath on my lips. “Close your eyes and lay back on the couch. I want to draw this out.”

When she froze with just a paper-thin separation between our lips, my breath hitched in my chest. I held it fast as I hovered there, my sanity shredding as I fought the urge to slip my tongue inside her mouth and crush her lips with my kiss.

---