Book Boyfriends Wanted 1: His Curvy Friend

“I’m good,” she finally said to him. “Thanks for coming.”

He nodded. “Of course. Ms. Georgia was always important to you.”

The way he said it made it sound like he was there for her. Like he should be the one taking care of her. He lost that right.

I leaned closer to Blake and made sure Willie noticed me. I nodded up at him. “Good to see you again, Willie.”

The twitch in his jaw made me smile. I loved pissing him off.

“Yeah, you, too,” he replied through gritted teeth. “I seem to be seeing you everywhere with Blake these days.”

Blake stiffened next to me. I put my hand on her thigh, drawing Willie’s attention. I rubbed my thumb over the soft skin at the edge of her shorts and said, “She’s a tough woman to stay away from.”

Willie drew in a breath and stood straighter. “I see. Well, it was good to see everyone.”

I stared after him until he was at the bar and not looking our way. Then Blake shifted in her seat, dislodging my hand from her thigh. She spun around to face the rest of the table.

“I still don’t know how you stayed with him so long,” Elise said. “I guess he’s cute, but he just has no personality. No passion. No excitement.”

Blake shrugged and didn’t answer.

“We’re not here to dissect Blake’s relationship,” Finley said. “Let’s give her a break tonight.”

Blake offered her a grateful smile and relaxed a tiny bit. She was still stiff in her seat, but when her gaze strayed to the bar, she drew in another ragged breath.

Willie was watching her. Dammit. I knew what that look meant. He still wanted her.

I leaned closer to her and rested my arm on the back of her chair. She turned to look at me and smiled. I tugged her closer, and she sank against me. I kissed the top of her head and rubbed her bare arm.

The asshole in me pulled my gaze to the bar. Willie was watching us. I caught his gaze and nodded at him, a fuck you and a ~thank you for being a dumbass~ all at once. He scowled and turned away. And I just grinned.

“Why aren’t we dancing?” Karissa asked. “This is a party. We should be dancing. Who’s up to it? Eddie?”

Eddie chuckled and shook his head as Karissa stood and offered her hands to him. “No, honey. I’m going to pass on this one. Let you kids enjoy the dance floor.”

“Who’s with me?” Karissa asked, looking around the rest of the table.

Elise, Finley, Laura, and Blake all stood. They wore matching happy smiles.

Blake moved to get around her chair and lifted an eyebrow at me. “You coming?”

I didn’t have to be asked twice. I stood and followed her to the dance floor, positioning myself behind her.

The women danced in a small circle. Other friends joined us, some pairing off. Blake glanced over her shoulder more than once at me. Her hips taunted me with every shift, and her smile teased me. She was happy. Carefree. Beautiful.

The song shifted and something slow came on. Karissa went to grab Eddie’s hand, and Finley turned to another friend. Elise and Laura paired off, which left Blake and me.

“Want to dance?” I asked her from behind.

She nodded and spun to face me. Her arms went around my neck, her body close to mine. I slid a hand around her waist and pulled her closer. I brushed her hair back from her face with my other hand and smiled at her.

“You look happy.”

She smiled. “I am. It’s always fun to be out with my friends.”

I nodded, wishing I was a part of what was making her happy.

“And you,” she added softly.

I smirked. “I’m not one of your friends?”

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You know what I mean.”

I nodded and eased her closer. She didn’t fight me as our bodies touched. We shifted together, letting the music flow through us and dictate our moves. We didn’t speak, just moved as one. As the song played, we grew closer and closer until there wasn’t any space between us.

All of my attention was on Blake. The beautiful smile on her face. The happy look in her eyes. The soft feel of her skin. Then she scowled.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She forced a smile. “Nothing. Just William is watching us.”

I turned her so I could see Willie instead of her. His gaze was locked on us, his eyes straying down to where my hand rested on Blake’s lower back.

“He still wants you.”

She shook her head. “No, he doesn’t.”

I nodded. “He does. But we can end that now if you want.”

Her gaze snapped to mine. Those big, brown eyes open and trusting. “How?”

“He’ll back off if I kiss you.”

She opened her mouth to say something then shook her head and looked away. “It’s okay. You don’t have to do that.”

Every cell in my body tightened. This was my one chance. If she refused, I had to accept it and let go of her forever. I couldn’t let her say no.

I tilted her chin up. She tried to look away, but I wouldn’t let her.

“Blake, kiss me.”

“Ian, really, you don’t have to. I know how you feel about William, but I can handle him.”

“Blake, kiss me.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Wow, you really know how to hurt a guy. I’m practically begging you to kiss me and you’re refusing,” I teased.

She huffed a laugh. “It’s not that. I don’t want you to feel you have to.”

I eased closer to her, holding her chin up as I pressed my body to hers. “Blake,” I whispered, “kiss me, Blake.”

Without breaking eye contact, she nodded. Her hands tightened around my neck, drawing me down to her.

Everything moved in slow motion. The slick of her tongue over her lips. The soft inhale of her breath. The way her breasts lifted and pressed against my chest. Her fingers locking around my neck. Her curves cushioning my body.

Then my lips touched hers. Everything inside me exploded. Desire lit me up. The softest touch of her lips turned me inside out and had only one thought going through my head, the same word pulsing through my veins.

Mine.

I let Blake take the lead, holding back my desire for her. If I pushed too far too fast, I’d lose her before I even had her. Losing Blake wasn’t an option, which meant she was in charge.

She kissed me like it was her first kiss. Tentative and questioning. Her lips parted, and her soft tongue darted out, just like it did when she was tasting her beer. I tilted my head to the side and slicked my tongue alongside hers.

She groaned and her kiss grew more bold. Her hands tightened, pulling at the hair on the back of my neck. Her tongue plunged into my mouth, then retreated like she realized what she did.

I pressed my hand into the small of her back, keeping her close, and she did it again. I stroked my tongue with hers, and teased the velvet soft skin under the edge of her top.

I wanted more, but Blake pulled back and took a deep breath. She chewed on her bottom lip and took a step back. “Maybe we should sit for a minute.”

I nodded, hating that she was already pulling away from me. “Okay. If that’s what you want to do.”

She nodded and started walking toward the table. When we were halfway there, she stopped. “Um, I need to use the bathroom. I’ll meet you at the table.”

I stared after her as she rushed away. I made my way to the table and glanced back when I was at our seat. Blake was talking to a beautiful woman with spiral curls and dark brown skin. She pointed to our table, and I waved so the woman knew where Blake was pointing.

The woman grinned and nodded, then walked toward me as Blake turned toward the back where the bathrooms were.

I sat and caught a smirk from Finley. I gave her a questioning look, but she ignored me as the woman walked up.

“Hi. Blake said I should come sit here. I’m Trinity,” the woman said.

“Oh, it’s so nice to meet you,” Karissa said. “I’m Karissa. Georgia was my mom. Blake said you met her. Thanks for coming.”

Trinity grinned and waved as everyone else introduced themselves. Then she took Blake’s seat next to me.

“Hi,” she purred at me.

“Hey,” I said. “I’m Ian.”

“It’s really nice to meet you.”

I nodded. I didn’t want to make her think I was interested, but if Blake wanted her there, I wasn’t going to be rude either.

“Do you live here?”

I nodded. “Uh, yeah. I grew up here. Lived here my whole life.”

“Wow. I just moved here this week. Maybe you can show me around sometime,” Trinity said.

I forced a grin and nodded. “Maybe, but really, it’s not that big of a town. If you drive around for five minutes, you’ll see the whole town.”

Trinity laughed, her dark curls slinging over her shoulder. “You’re funny.”

“Blake,” I said, noticing she was standing at the edge of the table.

Blake just gave me a tight grin. “You guys all met Trinity.”

Everyone nodded. Blake avoided my gaze. Without a place to sit, the wheels in her head were turning. She was getting ready to bolt.

“Come here, babe,” I said, waving her over. I stood so she would think I was giving her my seat. Once she got closer, I tugged her to me and pulled her onto my lap.

“Ian,” she breathed.

I slid one hand onto her thigh and the other over her back. “Just sit with me, babe.”

“I’m too heavy,” she said quietly.

“You’re perfect,” I told her.

She didn’t fight me, but she didn’t relax either.

Finley smirked again, but she didn’t say anything. The others barely acknowledged what was happening. Except Trinity.

Trinity leaned closer to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you two were together.”

“We’re not,” Blake said quickly.

I glanced at Blake, then at Trinity. She smiled and winked at me, clearly picking up on exactly what was going on.

“Blake said you just moved here,” Finley said to Trinity. “Where did you live before?”

“I grew up in Syracuse. When I was here a year ago, Georgia told me I should move up here. It took me a year, but I finally did it,” Trinity said with a proud smile.

“I moved here a little over two years ago,” Laura said. “I love it. I lived outside Buffalo, but I can’t imagine living anywhere else now.”

“Was it hard to find your place?” Trinity asked.

Laura shook her head. “Not really. I work at the oncology clinic so unfortunately, I met a lot of people quickly. And Georgia, of course, introduced me to these ladies who welcomed me in right away and became close friends of mine.”

“She was amazing. I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around her being gone,” Trinity said.

Blake drew in a breath, her body shifting against mine. With the height difference between us, her shoulder was against my chest. I pulled her closer to me and whispered, “Are you okay?”

She nodded and straightened, pulling away from me.

The mixed signals were killing me, but I wasn’t about to give up yet.

“Hey, what do you call a grumpy cow?” I asked just loudly enough for Blake to hear.

She glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.

“Moooo-dy.”

She snorted a laugh. “You’re so corny.”

I shrugged. “At least it made you laugh. That’s the whole point.”

She finally relaxed and leaned against me. Her arm went around my neck and her breast rested on my chest. I had to focus on my sister so my dick didn’t make an appearance against Blake’s hip.

“Let’s dance,” she said after a few minutes. “I need to move.”

I followed her and the others to the dance floor. She danced with her friends, alternating between shaking her hips with them and singing along to the song and checking that I was still there.

I watched her the whole time, my gaze rarely drifting from her. She shimmied and shook and tempted and teased. By the time a slow song came on and she moved toward me, my entire body was wound tight.

“Dance?” she asked me with a tentative eyebrow raised.

I slid my arms around her waist and pulled her close. She took a deep breath and tucked her head under my chin. From the outside, we looked like we’d been together forever. We held each other close, our bodies moving in sync. And when she leaned back and looked up at me, I couldn’t resist the urge to press my lips to hers again.

She reached up on her tiptoes to meet me halfway. Her breath tickled my face half a second before I tasted her again. I kept our kiss tame, sweeping through her mouth with my tongue but not taking things deeper. I ached to grind myself against her, to let her feel what she was doing to me, but I kept my hips shifted away, leaving a separation between us.

The song changed to something fast and Blake spun out of my arms. She danced and laughed and sang the songs at the top of her lungs. I took advantage of every opportunity I had to touch her, drawing her close to me and easing my arm around her waist as much as possible.

Blake had no clue how sexy she was. Every sway of her hips and shift of her body against mine had every inch of me tightening.

When we danced before, it was different. Her body brushed mine, but the air between us wasn’t charged with lust and desire and opportunity. At least not on both sides. I couldn’t remember not wanting Blake, but I also couldn’t remember thinking she might want me.

She looked up at me, those eyes she thought of as boring and mousy nearly bringing me to my knees. I’d do anything for the woman in my arms. Her shy smile said she was okay with the way I kissed her, the way I held her. I wanted every man in the room to know she was mine, and if they even thought about touching her, they’d have to answer to me.

But Blake wasn’t mine. Not yet. It was do or die time, and I needed to know if we had a chance. For years, I sat on the sidelines and waited for her to dump that loser, Willie, but he was the one who broke up with her. What a dumbass. He had no idea what he gave up. But he screwed me in the process. I didn’t know if she was pining over him or not. Blake didn’t tell me those things, and I couldn’t exactly ask my sister.

Her arms around my neck teased the hair at my nape. Her fingers on me turned me on in ways I never thought possible. I shouldn’t be ready to blow with all my clothes on and only a few kisses between us, but it was Blake. Everything about Blake was better, stronger, more.

“You okay?” I asked.

She nodded. “I’m perfect right now.”

Well, damn. If that didn’t give me a hard-on, nothing would. I tilted her chin up again and brought my lips down to hers. I couldn’t resist kissing her. I had my first taste, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. Sweet and sensual with a hint of trademark Blake humor underneath.

Her lips parted under mine and I slid my tongue along hers. She moaned, a sound just loud enough to reach my ears. I’d never been one for public displays of affection, but with Blake in my arms, I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her like she was the only thing keeping me alive. I sealed my body to hers, letting her feel the bulge in my shorts. She gasped again, and I thrust my tongue in deeper. She groaned and wrapped her arms tighter around my neck, bringing me closer to her.

Fucking heaven right there.

The music changed to something fast that had the other people on the dance floor jumping and moving and bumping into us. Reluctantly, I pulled back from Blake and drew in a steadying breath.

Everyone in the room was watching us, but I only cared about her. She was the only one that mattered to me, and if she was okay with me kissing her, then I was happier than a zebra mussel in the river.