Page 30 of Vodka And Virtue

Shit. I was helpless to resist him. He teased my lips with his, a brush, a nibble, making me starved for his kiss.

“Are you ready to finish what you started?”

I swallowed hard and, instead of answering, slid my tongue inside his mouth. His fingers tightened on my jaw, his other hand pushing against the small of my back, bringing me flush with his body. When his tongue caressed mine, I melted into him. His kiss was wet and hot and tasted so damn good. I wanted to swallow his tongue. My fingers dug into the meat of his biceps. His size and strength were so sexy. Just knowing he was capable of picking me up and tossing me around effortlessly, manhandling me in bed, made me want to join him there to see how that would feel.

He continued to ravish my mouth, and I was overcome with a wave of lust that had me moaning into his kiss like a whore.

“Fuck, Carly.” He broke apart from me to breathe, sucking a ragged breath into his lungs as he dragged his wet lips across my cheek. “I can’t get enough of you.” He fought for control of his breath, squeezing me tight as he smooshed his cheek against mine. “One day, I’m gonna show you how good it can be between us.”

I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as blood whooshed through every vein in my body. His kiss and his words were turning me inside out, and I was a dizzy mess of hormones. I couldn’t think straight. Just knew that I wanted him to prove to me how good he could make me feel.

The jealousy that had spurned me to take bold steps to make him mine had melted into a fiery passion, a liquid heat that had replaced the blood in my veins. I couldn’t stop myself from wanting more of him. I rubbed my knee into his groin, teasing his hardness. Rory inched closer, riding my thigh. His fingers dug into my back. I grabbed at the hem of his shirt, tugging at the cotton tee, desperate to feel his skin under my hands. But he stopped me, taking my hands in his.

“Carly, we can’t. Not yet. Not like this. In a fucking closet.”

I tried to focus on my breathing, to clear the fog blanketing my head. My pulse raced like I’d received a shot of epinephrine straight to my heart.

He slid his face along mine until his lips rested against my forehead. “This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.” Then a quick kiss on my forehead, and he backed out of the room, silently shutting the door behind him.

Indeed. It was just getting started.

11

RORY

The warm waterbubbled against my chest, teasing my nipples as the steam rose up to my face, clearing my sinuses, and my thoughts. I could feel my stress melting away. The moon was almost full, shining bright in the dark velvet sky.

“Pass me another beer.”

Graham handed me a frosty cold bottle from the cooler sitting next to his hot tub. I reached for the bottle opener, lying on the rim of the tub, and popped the top off. That first taste was always the best.

He continued to stare at me, and I knew he had something on his mind. I had a feeling I knew what it was, too.

“So, I heard I missed quite the show the other night.”

Yup. He knew.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I tipped the bottle to my lips, taking a deep swig.

“Really? My nephew kisses you in front of the whole bar, and you already forgot about it? I’ll be sure to let him know how forgettable he was.”

“You’ll do no such thing, old man. How do you even know about that? You weren’t even there.”

Graham chuckled. “Because everybody I know was there. My entire circle of friends witnessed it.”

“One of us needs new friends,” I grumbled.

“I warned you before, but it bears repeating. Be careful with him. He’s not like my other boys. Carlisle is… I don’t know, he shines brighter than the rest of them. I’ve always thought he had the most potential. I don’t want to see him lose that spark because of a broken heart.”

“He’s not in danger of losing anything to me. All I want to do is look out for him, protect him. I really care about him, and if he’d let me, I would treat him so good.”

“So it’s like that, huh? Are you falling for my nephew?”

My lips quirked into a half smile. “Hard and fast, like a boulder off the side of a cliff.”

“Just take it slow. Carly doesn’t know fuck-all about being with a man. Especially not one with—all of that.” He gestured to my body, the half that was sticking out of the water.

“Please,” I huffed. “I’m just a big hairy teddy bear.”

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