Hook Up (Taking Chances Book 2) Read online

  “I’m good,” Brady says. He’s not much of a beer drinker. Wine is his style. So I’m not surprised he’s milking it.

  “I’ll take one. While you’re in there, find out how much longer they need.”

  Aimee’s standing at the island cutting strawberries for the fruit salad when I step back in. The moment she glances up and her gaze meets mine, she trails it down my body before yanking her attention back to the fruit.

  “I love it when you undress me with your eyes,” I whisper for only her to hear as I open the fridge.

  She doesn’t answer me.

  Gripping the beers in one hand, I pick up a strawberry and pop it into my mouth. “I promise I’ll make it up to you,” I say around the fruit with a wide smile. The glint in her eyes tells me she knows exactly what I’m talking about.

  “I’m positive there’s no way you could.”

  “Could what?” Brooklyn breaks our banter.

  My grin swings toward her. “She wasn’t able to finish her shower. I used all the hot water.” Looking back to Aimee, I wink and shove away. “Your other halves want to know when the sides will be ready.”

  “We’re done,” Shyla answers.

  “Perfect. I’ll let them know.”

  * * *

  Dinner was hard, literally. As Aimee sat across from me, all I could think about was how sweet she tasted and it only made me want her more. She tried her best to ignore me, but I made sure she couldn’t by keeping her involved in the conversations. It didn’t take long and we were back into our love-hate-flirty banter, but now, my words had a different meaning. A promise.

  After we ate, we all took a stroll down the beach, came back and drank on the balcony, and before we knew it, eleven o’clock turned the corner and the married couples were “tired.”

  I’ve sat in the living room between mine and Aimee’s bedroom waiting for her to go to bed, but after forty-five minutes, I’ve decided I’m going in hunt for her. Easing through the house, I make my way to the main living room where the light of her phone catches my attention. She’s curled up on the outside couch, her back toward the door and her focus on her hands as I stroll out.

  She watches me as I sit, pulling her feet into my lap.

  “What are you doing?” she asks, her tone insinuating she knows exactly what I’m doing.

  “Looking for you.” I answer honestly.

  She shuts off her phone, the dark hiding us from the spotlight.

  She sighs and drops her head back when I start to massage her calves, digging my fingers into her skin as I work my way up. The couch is positioned where if someone glances out, they’d just see us sitting here and I use the angle to my advantage.

  She pulls her legs toward her, dropping a knee to the backside of the couch…opening herself for me. I slip my hand up her shorts and my dick grows at the heat of her arousal. Slipping under her panties, I drag my fingers through her slick heat and circle her clit.

  “Cody.” Her warning is weak.

  “I promise I’ll finish what I start this time.”

  “We shouldn’t do this.” The diluted way she tries to convince me does nothing.

  “I agree. We shouldn’t. Tell me to stop and I will.”

  But she doesn’t. Instead, she lifts her hips, rocking against my hand for more friction. Knowing I need to feel her, to be inside of her, I glance around looking for a secluded place when my view lands on the outside shower stall, hidden by wooden shudders.

  Grasping her hand, I jerk her off the couch and tow her behind me, pulling her into the little stall. The moment the stall door shuts, her hands begin a frantic roam under my shirt. The moonlight pours in from the open ceiling, illuminating the desire in her hooded eyes. Bending, I claim her mouth, sliding my tongue between her parted lips. I swallow her little moan, pressing my body against hers as I force her back onto the cold cement wall.

  Her hands tug at my shirt and I help pull it the rest of the way off. Her eyes flare as she drags her hands from my stomach, over my pecs, and to my neck, yanking me down for another intoxicating kiss. I dip my hand under her waistband and push through her wet folds, pressing my fingers into her. She moans quietly as she sucks on my tongue. I bite on her lower lip.

  Fire and passion. Push and pull. Desperation and need. We’re feral, carnal to feel each other. I hiss against her lips when she reaches under my shorts and pulls my dick out, squeezing as she strokes. Her thumb circles the head, spreading the drop of pre-cum over the tip.

  “I need you. Now. Please,” she begs against my mouth.

  Breaking our frenzied kiss, I move to suck her earlobe and bite gently. “I don’t have any condoms.”

  “I’m on birth control,” she pants.

  “You sure?” I ask, trying to rein in my restraint.

  “Yes,” she breathes.

  Restraint explodes.

  Ravenously, I yank her shorts down and she steps out of them. Digging my fingers into the skin of her ass, I lift her, pushing her back against the wall and then ease into her. I hiss and she gasps when I fill her to the hilt. Her fingers dig into my shoulder blades, spurring me on. I’ve waited so damn long to feel her…

  My thrusts are hard, powerful strokes as the need to get as deep inside of her as I can runs rampant. It’s fire and passion. Need and lust. It’s fucking mind-blowing.

  She crashes a kiss down on my mouth, whimpering as she writhes in my hands. I tighten my grip on her ass, lifting and pulling her body down my length and causing her tits to bounce as I buck into her. The sound of our pants, her little hushed moans, and our bodies molding together echo in the stall. If someone steps out of the house, they’ll know exactly what’s happening.

  But I don’t give a damn. I’ve waited to feel this heaven for far too long.

  “You feel amazing,” I rasp, licking up her neck and nipping her chin.

  Her head falls back and she moans.

  I thrust deeper feeling my orgasm crawling up my spine. “So fucking amazing, Aimee.”

  She begins to rock her hips hard as her body tenses and her pussy starts to pulse. “Yes. Yes. Cody…” she chants.

  I watch as her mouth falls slack and her eyes screw tight. She releases a silent scream as her orgasm crashes into her. Her fingernails dig into my shoulders and I pump into her, giving her begging body everything its pleading for while surrendering to my own. Silencing my groan, a growl escapes my throat as I clamp my teeth into her shoulder, burying my dick as deep as I can as her pussy milks me.

  As we slow, I kiss her while I lower her feet back to the ground and steady her with a hand on her hip. She leans against the wall trying to catch her breath.

  “We shouldn’t have done that,” she whispers keeping her eyes closed.

  I hum a chuckle and she peers up at me from under her lashes. “Scared you’re going to want more?”

  A daring brow lifts and she angles her head where she looks me dead in the eyes. “Yes.”

  Her answer splits my face into a grin and I kiss her forehead. “Good.” I tuck my dick back into my shorts. “Because after that, I’ll be insatiable for you.”

  Just in case someone decides they need a midnight snack, we make our way back through the house, keeping our hands to ourselves. That’s a fucking feat of its own, but I manage. And the smile she tosses me over her shoulder as we reach my room fuels me.

  Now that I’ve gotten her, I don’t want to let her go.

  EIGHT

  Holy crap. All those times Cody had talked himself up, telling me one night with him would leave me feeling it afterward, I’d thought he was lying. He wasn’t. I’m deliciously sore. A glorious ache acts as a damn aphrodisiac every time I move. He is big, girthy as hell, and more than I’ve ever experienced, but damn if it wasn’t the most heated sex. Our sexual chemistry was pent up, worked over for months, and it finally ruptured into a furious and greedy bliss.

  Although we crossed a line we can’t come back from or unfuck, I don’t regret it. Not one damn bit. Even
if it makes us awkward for a day or two, or if I’m unable to look him in the eyes without feeling an aftermath ripple from the mind-blowing sex. I. Do. Not. Regret. It.

  As I step out of the bathroom from a long hot shower wrapped in a towel, I slam right into Cody’s hard body. His eyes flare, darkening as he drops his gaze down my body. Immediately, I blush.

  Wait! I blush? I never blush. What the hell?

  “Sleep well?” His tone carries a seductive amusement.

  I smile. “Great actually.”

  A low hum, deep and throaty, rumbles from his chest as his left brow twitches. Swallowing the lust in my throat, I blink down and see his fingers are playing with the ends of my towel. My breath catches in my throat when he bends his head. His lips brush softly over mine before crashing into my mouth as he sinks his fingers through my wet strands.

  He pulls me into his room, kicking the door shut behind him, and tugs the corner of my towel causing it to fall. Instinctively, I jerk to grab it and cover myself back up.

  “What are you doing?” I hiss. “Everyone is here.”

  Amused, he smiles. “They took a walk on the beach.”

  Twisting me, he brings my back to his chest and drags his hands down my stomach, coming to a rest on my hips. Because he’s a foot taller than me, his dick presses into my lower back, but it doesn’t stop me from grinding against it.

  “You’re like a drug,” he breathes nipping across my shoulder. “One taste and I’m addicted.”

  As his fingers flex into my skin, I turn my face to meet his. At this angle, our kiss is sloppy, but so damn hot. He cups my bare pussy and I moan.

  “Breathtaking…I’ve wanted this since I first laid eyes on you.”

  He caresses my clit and my hips involuntarily rock against his hand. Bending me, he presses my chest to the bed and squats behind me, pushing my legs to spread wider. With a heavy tongue, he licks from my wet entrance to my asshole. My gasp morphs into a moan when he pushes two fingers into my pussy and dips his tongue over my clit.

  I’m still sore from last night, but the ache only adds to the pleasure.

  “Cody,” I beg, gyrating against his face and needing to feel him, to feel more.

  Thank goodness he hears my desperation. I’m all for oral sex, but I need him again. He stands, dragging the head of his dick around my wet folds before sinking in with a throaty hiss. Resting his hand at my lower back, he drags out and thrusts forward. He’s too much. Too big. Too fast. I wince, clutching the sheets with a death grip, and jerk to my tiptoes to ease the pressure. Giving my body time to adjust, he pumps a few times slowly and then twists his fingers into my hair, bringing my back to his chest.

  “I need to fuck you hard.” His growl shakes against my ear.

  Provocatively, I titter, wiggling my ass. “What are you waiting for?”

  He juts forward and I squeak. “You. Your words. Tell me,” he rasps.

  “Fuck me, Cody.”

  My words ignite him like a flash fire. He slams in, pounding viciously with exquisite and blissful thrusts, holding me hostage by my hair. Fire scalds me from the inside out as he reaches around to my clit, and my orgasm hits me out of nowhere. Crying out, he jerks my face to his and swallows my moans while I shatter in his hands.

  Releasing my hair and my mouth, he flips me over, grabs under my knees and pulls me back down on his dick. I bask in his predatory glare watching as his jaw tighten and his nostrils flare while all his muscles protrude as they flex.

  His breathing becomes labored and he delves deeper, fast and frantic, jutting forward. His head falls back and a growling groan comes from between his gritted teeth as he pumps a few more times emptying his throbbing dick inside of me.

  He pulls out and drops to his back on the bed beside me. Ripples of euphoria flow freely in my veins and limbs. Unfortunately, my dazed mind wanders into the darkest realms of my skull. With our past and the way we so easily fall into our comfort zones together, being with Cody is dangerous.

  He and I can’t have a relationship. If it goes sour, we’ll rock the entire boat and destroy our friends around us. And knowing him the way I do, all his quirks, his humor, the way he focuses on making sure I smile, if I stay I’ll set myself up to fall in love again. And I refuse to. You can’t control your heart, but you can control what it does by staying the hell away.

  “We can’t do this anymore,” I hear myself mumble.

  He rolls to the side, splaying a hand over my stomach and rubbing me. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

  Shaking my head, I squeeze my eyes shut hating the words about to leave my mouth. “This isn’t worth the destruction I know will come.” I push off the bed, grabbing my towel and covering myself up.

  He grasps my arm and twists me toward him before I can get out of the door. “Give me a good reason why.” Pain and panic swirl in his pleading eyes.

  “I’m not ready.” I answer honestly and vulnerably.

  “If you’re scared that means you’re feeling something.” He squeezes my hand and the sincerity in his eyes threatens to rip me apart. “I’m here, Aimee, right along with you and I’m not going to let you fall without catching you.”

  “If we don’t work out, our friends will feel the effects. It’ll put them in a bad spot.”

  “You keep holding onto that. Doubting our friends. Giving us an end before we even can get started.” He slams his hand through his hair. “Dammit, Aimee. Give us a chance.”

  Tears sting my eyes. I refuse to blink so they won’t spill over. I refuse to let him see me cry. “I’m sorry.”

  This time when I head for the door, he doesn’t stop me. Not that I want him to. I don’t. Well, for the most part I don’t. With how I’m already feeling—vulnerable, confused, and on the proverbial tip of the iceberg about to leap into the frozen waters—I know if he had followed me, I’d cave to anything he says.

  I needed to put my walls back up, raise my defenses, and get back into the strong mind that this—Cody and me—will never be anything.

  NINE

  Cody didn’t make himself scarce or avoid me like I had hoped. Nope. Instead, he was everywhere, making me see him act like nothing had happened. Pool—he was there. Beach walk—he went with us. Dinner—he sat across from me just like normal. Except I could see deep in the depths of his eyes, his words and flirty banter were forced. He was trying to keep it the same—not awkward—to prove a point.

  But after dinner, he disappeared for the night. He didn’t play pool or basketball with the guys. He wasn’t there when we decided to watch a movie, and he wasn’t in his room when I passed by to call it a night. No one spoke about it and I was too scared to ask. I had no right since I was the one who called off whatever it was we had going on.

  Last night, I curled into the bed for the last time and barely slept. My mind decided it was the right time to bombard me with thoughts and no matter how hard I tried to stop them, I couldn’t. Feeling things for Cody is a bad idea. It’s no secret I’ve had a crush on him since first meeting him. I love his snarky attitude, his witty comebacks, his genius brain, and his damn laugh. But the things he makes me feel—the twinge that’s kick-starting my heart back to life with a purr—I know what’s on the other side. Pain. And I’m not ready.

  Cody loves women. Although he keeps a tight lip on his private life, I know when he’s gotten laid. His demeanor changes, his smile is more loose and freer, and there’s an extra pep in his step. It sounds ridiculous, but when you spend days watching your crush, you notice the little details.

  Everyone chatted during our ride to the airport, mostly talking about how short our vacation felt, while I looked out the window trying not to make eye contact with Cody. I know he wasn’t in the house last night, and I didn’t want to see if he had any after-sex changes.

  Taking my seat next to the window, I sink into it and rest my head back as I close my eyes. My plan is to sleep until we land in Texas.

  A weight drops into the seat beside me and before I can
look, his scent hits me and butterflies tickle my stomach. Well, this is just fabulous.

  I keep my eyes closed, scared that if I see the same hurt in his from yesterday, I’ll buckle.

  As the plane starts to barrel down the runway, I grip the arm rest, white knuckling, and screwing my eyes shut tightly. I’m an okay flier, but the takeoff and landing, the rush…it scares the shit out of me.

  He covers my hand with his and squeezes.

  “I’m fine.” I try sliding my hand out from under his, but he tightens his grip.

  “I’ll let it go when we get leveled,” he says, his tone so unemotional it hurts.

  I take the comfort without fighting. Once we get to altitude and the force lets off my chest, he does as he said and lets my hand go.

  “You realize you can’t keep ignoring me,” Cody whispers, leaning closer.

  “Says the man who left…”

  “Can’t ignore me if I’m not around,” he replies.

  “I’m not ignoring you.”

  “No. You’re stonewalling. You’d think after an amazing weeke—”

  “It wasn’t amazing,” I snap and instantly I regret the stupid words.

  “Ouch,” he says with a chuckle. “So your moaning and wet pussy was all fake?”

  “Pretty much.”

  Silence swallows me whole, a black and dull ache squeezing the life out of my heart. It’s the exact reason I need distance from him. My heart shouldn’t feel hurt. I shouldn’t feel badly for him, but dammit if I do. Cracking an eye, I chance a peek at him. His brow is arched with humor dancing in his eyes. His lips are rolled between his teeth to keep from laughing.

  It pisses me off, but before I can voice it, probably something immature and bitchy, he leans closer again.

  “If our sex was bad, then your lying isn’t as good as your faking.”

  Asshole. I turn my head, looking away and into the blue skies.

  “I’m not in this to hurt you,” he says, his tone soft. “If anything, it’s the total opposite.”