Chapter Eighteen
Dylan
Two weeks felt like a lifetime,but it was the earliest I could make anything happen.Three busy people with three packed schedules made hooking up feel like a game of Jenga—pull the wrong piece and the whole thing came toppling down.
Except, our game was a little more nerve-racking.And a hell of a lot more illicit.
Playing it turned me on, though.
Maybe it was the risk.If word got out, a lot more than my already shitty reputation would get ruined.
Or maybe it wasn’t the risk at all.Maybe it was the players.
I was the first to arrive, waiting in the hotel bar like we’d planned.
The Copper Ridge Resort wasn’t my usual scene.Fancy place, fancy people, the kind of bar where the bartender could tell Canadian whiskey from American by taste.But this wasn’t a usual night.It was the kind of night that would turn out to be one of the best decisions I’d ever made.Or the worst.
Either way, I figured it deserved the upgrade.
I ordered the bartender’s whiskey recommendation instead of my usual beer and tried to look like a man who belonged.The burn helped settle the doubt clawing at the back of my throat.
“You look lonely.”A tall blonde slid onto the stool beside me, her fingers playing with the stem of her wineglass.
I didn’t spare her more than a glance.“I’m not.”
“Are you sure?I can help take the edge off better than that drink can.”She batted her lashes.
“Not interested.”
“Oh, honey, a good-looking man like you shouldn’t be sitting here all alone.I promise I’m good company.”
“This isn’t a street corner.”Chantel’s voice came from behind me, low and lethal.“He said he wasn’t interested.Now get out of my seat.”
The blonde went mute and bolted.
I turned, and there she was.Myenchanté—hair down, hazel eyes sharp, dressed in something that made my mouth water.
She moved closer and slid an arm around my neck, pushing up into my space until there was nothing but a breath between us.“I’ll be the only woman making you feel anything tonight.”
The possessive heat of that promise wrapped around me, choking out the last of my doubt.
I leaned in and kissed her, my mouth molding to hers in a way that showed her—and anyone else who might be watching—I wasn’t fucking around.
“I’m happy to see you too,” I said after pulling away.
I ordered her a drink, and we settled into the kind of easy conversation we’d fallen into before.Somewhere between the orgasms and the phone sex, we’d become something more than I’d ever expected.
Friends.
Friends who wanted to rip each other’s clothes off, sure.But friends.
“I have a confession.”
She raised an eyebrow, looking like a beautiful little devil.“Another one?”
“I like you a lot more than I’ve let on.”
It was a simple sentence.Ten words.But for me, those words were more honest than I’d been with anyone in years.