Wes glanced at the whiskey in his hand and tipped it back with one gulp.
“Go dance with her.”
Wes glared at him.
“Every time some guy tries to grind up on her, you come half out of your seat? Ah, here comes Brian with our new nepo-baby owners.”
Brian, Trey, and Matt had joined the group of women on the dance floor. Wes recognized the second Cara realized it, and before he knew what he was doing, he was on his feet and striding toward her. He ignored Jerrod’s laughter in the background. Matt was attempting to dance with Skye, while Trey swayed at the edge of the dance floor.
Wes was a step away when Brian put his hands on Cara’s waist, and Wes didn’t think. Leveling a look at the former owner, he caught Cara’s hands and pulled her out of Brian’s reach, until she was pressed flush against his body. He knew what it looked like. Possessive. Jealous when he had no right to be… Fuck it.
Violet eyes sparkled up at him through her lashes, and he was lost. Wes knew Cara could feel him through her dress. The second he touched her, all the blood in his body had rushed straight to his cock. His pulse thundered in his ears, but all intelligent thought fled his brain.
Wes wrapped an arm around her lower back, pulling her against him as they moved with the music. Fire raced through him, and his entire world narrowed to the feel of her in his arms and the scent of honeysuckle wafting up toward him. So sweet.
He swept her long hair to the side, his free hand finding the bare skin at the nape. Cara let out a breathy moan, and his body clenched painfully. Cara looked up, a dreamy smile on her full lips. He bent his head and whispered in her ear. “Are you ready to go?”
Cara’s pupils dilated. He’d meant leave the party, but suddenly all he could see was getting her home, peeling that tight dress from her, and finding out if she tasted like honeysuckle everywhere.
Her lips curved into a wicked smile. Wes groaned. He didn’t know if they would make it all the way home.
A switch had flipped inside him. Nothing else mattered but getting Cara home, spread naked on the bed, her pink mouth… Wes sucked in a breath. He needed to get himself under control, but the flush on Cara’s chest, as it moved with her rapid breaths, told him she was as eager to be alone as he was.
They didn’t bother to find their friends before heading for the door. The cold March breeze blew stronger than it had when they arrived. Goosebumps rose on her bare shoulders, and Wes slipped off his jacket to lay it over her shoulders.
Cara, in his jacket, felt right. A sense of wholeness hit him, and the first tendrils of hesitation began to surface. He couldn’t afford to feel this way about her. Not until he spoke to Melody.
Cara must have sensed where his thoughts were going because her eyes became determined. Wes’s fingers gripped the lapels where he held the jacket closed over her. She brought her hand up and slid it behind his neck, bringing his face down to hers.
“Even if it’s just tonight.” Emotion passed over her eyes, but before he could decipher it, her hands cupped his face. “One night,” she whispered against his lips, before covering them with her own.
All doubts fled, as heat and desire consumed him once again. Cara parted her lips slightly, and she kissed him gently. When her tongue stroked over his own, his pulse skyrocketed, and he took control, slanting his mouth over hers. Using the jacket, Wes jerked Cara against him so that she couldn’t help but feel his arousal pressed against her stomach. She whimpered and opened her mouth to give him further access.
“Get a room!” someone yelled, and Cara pulled away, her cheeks red, lips swollen. Wes gripped her hand, preventing her from moving farther.
They kept their hands to themselves—mostly—during the car ride home. Before the rideshare was out of the driveway, they were entwined again. Somehow, they made their way up the steps and onto the porch. Wes’s hands fisted in her hair as she grabbed at the back of his shirt, wrenching it from his waistband.
“I need…” Cara gasped.
“I know.” His mouth descended for another fiery kiss.
Her palms smoothed over the warm, muscular ridges of his back, followed by the bite of her nails digging into his skin. Wes stroked up under her skirt to the back of her thighs and lifted her off her feet. Cara’s legs wrapped him around his waist, pushing her skirt to the top of her thighs. Wes could feel the heat of her through her thin panties, and his cock pulsed in response.
One hand gripped her ass as he turned and pushed her back against the wall next to the front door. He lifted his lips, gasping for air. “Are you sure?”
“Shhh.” She yanked his hair, bringing his mouth back to hers and her tongue… He wasn’t sure he was going to survive the night.
Wes pulled his head back. “Keys,” he rasped, and pressed a smacking kiss on her mouth when one of Cara’s hands dangled them in front of him. He didn’t know where she had been hiding them, and he didn’t care.
He slid Cara’s body down his, one arm still holding her firmly against him, as she peppered slow kisses along his jawline. Wes groaned aloud when the key finally turned, and the door swung open.
Kicking the door shut with one foot, Wes recaptured her mouth with his, pulling hard on her bottom lip. His lips moved across her cheek, tracking down her jaw as Cara moved restlessly against him, her fingers plucking at the buttons of his dress shirt, and sighing when she found the hot skin of his chest beneath.
He walked them backward, not sure where his destination was–sofa? Kitchen table? He groaned again at a sudden vision of Cara bent over—his lips sucked feverishly at the hollow where her neck met her shoulder. She panted against his ear, writhing under his mouth. They might not make the table—
Suddenly, the world upended, and they tumbled to the ground, tripping over the items scattered across their floor.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINE
