A Wrong Bed Christmas: IgnitedWhere There's Smoke Page 7

Layton regarded her with a slight smile. “Are you an all-or-nothing kind of girl?”

  Alexis stopped to think. “Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t know what kind of girl I am right now. Riker messed with my head in a big way. I thought I was in love with him. Finding out that the man you imagined building a life with is a douche kinda throws you into a tailspin.”

  “I hear ya,” he agreed easily. “I thought Julianne was the one until I found out she was screwing her boss. I’d say that threw me for a loop.”

  “How’d you find out?” she asked, intrigued. It was somehow soothing to commiserate with someone else who’d been equally screwed over by their ex. “Was it like something out of a movie?”

  “Nothing so dramatic, actually. I didn’t bust in on them during one of their trysts. I found a text message.”

  “That must’ve been a pretty incriminating text message.”

  “No, not terribly, but I sensed there was something off about it and I just asked her point-blank if she was screwing the guy. She caved pretty quickly and admitted it. Told me she’d been trying to break it off with me for months but I was such a good guy she didn’t want to hurt me. And you know what, when she said that, I was feeling pretty much the opposite of a good guy because of the things I wanted to say to her, but I didn’t say shit. I just packed my things and told her to have a nice life.”

  “You let her off easy,” Alexis said, remembering her own showdown with Riker. She was embarrassed to admit she’d gone a little loco. “I keyed Riker’s truck. Actually, I carved cheater into the hood. It’s going to cost him a bundle to fix that.”

  Layton whistled low. “Damn, girl, you went after the man’s truck? That’s cold.”

  “No, what was cold was catching him jerking off in the middle of the night on his webcam to my former sorority sister. He thought I was asleep and I caught him with his pants down. Literally. Actually, it turned my stomach. I couldn’t believe he would do something so low. But after that, I discovered that wasn’t the first, and probably wouldn’t be the last, time he cheated on me, so I bailed.”

  “After leaving him a lovely parting gift,” he supplied helpfully, and Alexis nodded. “Sounds appropriate.”

  “I thought it was.”

  He chuckled and they shared a quiet moment together. It was weird to share something so incredibly painful with a virtual stranger and yet feel relieved to let it go. Not even Erik knew the full details. At the time, Alexis had been too embarrassed to share the nitty-gritty, choosing instead to say Riker had cheated and leave it at that.

  “So, after Julianne, you jumped into the dating pool?”

  “Yeah, probably too soon. A buddy told me the best way to get over a woman was to find another one right away. I wasn’t sure that was the best advice, but I was hurting and desperate to feel better, so I went on a dating spree that mostly turned into a blur of sexual mishaps, one-night stands and unfortunate mistakes that I knew I had to stop or else I’d never stand a chance of respecting myself again.”

  Compassion softened her voice as she said, “You know, I get it...the need to feel good after hurting so bad. I went the slutty route for a little while, but when I realized that it wasn’t making me feel better I invested in a good vibrator and stopped chasing dicks.”

  “What kind of vibrator?”

  She pushed at his shoulder with mock indignation. “You never ask a lady about her toys. That’s private.”

  “Is it bad that I would give my right nut to watch you pleasure yourself?”

  Now she gasped for real and the blush heating her cheeks could warm a small country, but the fact that he wanted to watch her turned her on in a big way. “Are you a voyeur?” she ventured, curious.

  “With you, I think I’d be anything you wanted me to be.”

  “Stop it,” she said, his openness tickling her. “You’re making me blush and you’re playing me like a fiddle.”

  “I don’t know what it is about you, but everything I’ve said is true. You’re different, Alexis. I don’t know why and, trust me, I wish I could figure it out so I could put the kibosh on it. I get it, we are complicating everything, but I can’t seem to stop and I don’t want to. You turn my crank in the hottest way, and that’s saying a lot.”

  What could she say in the face of such brutal honesty? It was a breath of fresh air after everything she’d been through with Riker. He was a born liar. The words that’d popped from his mouth were always peppered with half truths, a fact she’d only discovered after she’d been thoroughly humiliated. “Julianne was an idiot,” she murmured, shooting him a quick look. “If she didn’t see what a good guy you are... She was blind.”

  “Same goes for Riker. I can’t imagine letting someone like you go.”

  “What is happening between us? This can’t be natural, right?”

  “We have insane sexual chemistry,” he agreed, equally mystified. “I wonder what would’ve happened if we’d met before we both were burned.”

  “I wouldn’t have been attracted to you.”

  He did a double take. “Come again?”

  She soothed his ego. “It’s not you. It’s me. Honestly, what attracted me to Riker was his bad-boy attitude and the fact that he drove a motorcycle. I wouldn’t have been attracted to you because you have a good job and you’re a decent guy.”

  Layton relaxed and laughed. “Yeah, well, I know I would’ve looked twice your way. You have the kind of breasts I dream about.”

  Alexis giggled, loving how free he was with compliments. “Did Julianne have big boobs, too?”

  “Yeah, but I gotta say, and I’m not just saying this because we hooked up, but your breasts...damn...they’re so awesome.”

  He grinned then added, “However, hindsight being what it is, I’ve since realized that I couldn’t marry a woman that didn’t stimulate me intellectually.”

  “I know what you mean. Riker was smart but in an arrogant way. He enjoyed one-upping people. It was embarrassing at times.”

  “He sounds like a peach.”

  “A rotten one.”

  “There is that.” He shifted and as he did, the robe gaped, and she got an unobstructed view of his cock, lying semi-erect against his thigh. He tracked her gaze and grinned, allowing the robe to open farther. “See something you like?”

  “I can’t believe you’re getting hard again. You have the stamina of a horse.”

  “Not always. I’m telling you...it’s you.”

  He’d been so giving thus far, going down on her, making sure she came first. Riker had been an inordinately selfish lover, almost never seeing to her needs first. God, why had she stayed with him as long as she had? Sliding her robe down, she bared her breasts for Layton’s gaze. Interest flared in his eyes and his cock sprang to life as if given a shot of Viagra. She couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s a cool party trick in some circles.”

  Layton grinned and she was struck by how damn adorable he was. Sure, he was sexy, that was a given, but how had she missed just how sweet and cute he was? And he deserved a little selfish loving. She leaned over and slipped his cock in her mouth, delighting in the way his hand automatically went to her hair and stroked her head lightly as she sucked him. His cock held the faint taste of latex but she didn’t mind. Soon enough his touch became more urgent as she worked his cock, using her hands and tongue to tease him to his breaking point without pushing him over. She took him to the edge several times until he was practically begging her for release and then, because her jaw was getting tired, she allowed him to come.

  Layton groaned as he spurted his load down her throat and she gulped greedily, wanting to know his taste just as he’d eagerly acquainted himself with hers. He gripped the sofa cushion as he lost control, shouting her name as he came—and that was hotter than hot.

  She wasn’t sure how she was going to qui
t Layton Davis.

  In record time, he’d just become her most wicked secret vice.

  8

  THE STORM ARRIVED by midafternoon but by that time Alexis and Layton were quite comfortable to ride it out snuggled with each other. They’d even managed to bake a batch of cookies in between some serious fooling around—several orgasms—and a shower later.

  “You know, I expected to hear from Emma and Erik by now,” Alexis said, feeling slightly guilty for not even thinking about her brother and best friend until that moment. She grabbed her cell and quickly called. It rang twice and then went to voice mail. She frowned. “That’s odd. Em never turns off her phone. She’s addicted to it.”

  “They’re probably in a bad service area,” Layton said. “I wouldn’t worry. Erik will take good care of Emma.”

  “I know he will.” She settled on the sofa with the popcorn she’d just popped. “Want to know a secret?”

  “Sure,” he answered, grabbing a handful.

  “Emma has always had a raging crush on Erik since we were kids. She thinks I never noticed but it was plainly obvious.”

  “How’d you know?”

  “Well, for one, girls always know when a girl likes a guy. Second, it was easy to catch her mooning over him, staring at him like a starving puppy whenever he was around. It was really annoying, actually.”

  “So, has Erik ever shown an interest in Emma?”

  “God no. And I’m glad for that! How weird would that be to have my best friend shacking up with my brother? I can’t handle the imagery.”

  “It’s no weirder than what we’re doing,” he reminded her.

  “No, it’s totally different.”

  “How so?”

  “Because it is.” She left it at that. There was no way he could convince her that the situations were similar because she didn’t want them to be similar. “Besides, Emma and Erik are complete opposites. They’d never suit.”

  “Your brother is a good guy. Why wouldn’t you want your best friend to find a man worth her time?”

  “Oh, come on, don’t throw sensible arguments my way. I think we’ve already established logic and reason have no bearing on my decision-making process. They aren’t good together—end of story.”

  He laughed and tossed back some kernels. “You’re a hypocrite.”

  “Am not.”

  “You are. But you’re still cute so I forgive you.”

  “I am not a hypocrite. I just...ugh. I can’t stomach the idea of my brother getting jiggy with my best friend since grammar school. Is that so wrong?”

  “It’s a little selfish,” he said with a shrug.

  Alexis gasped. “You don’t know me well enough to pass judgment.”

  “Maybe not, but it seems to me that you’d want your best friend to end up with a good guy. I’m surprised you haven’t tried to hook them up.”

  Alexis frowned. Emma and Erik? It made her feel squicky. “Erik looks at Emma like a kid sister.”

  “Not the way I saw him looking at her.”

  “What do you mean?” Alexis stared hard at Layton, wondering what the heck he was talking about. “Erik thinks of Emma like a sister,” she repeated, stubbornly refusing to believe that her brother was thinking of Emma in any other way besides brotherly.

  “Look, it’s not a big deal, but I think Erik was seeing that Emma was all grown up. I mean, she’s hot. I can’t blame him for looking.”

  Alexis glared, feeling a tad bit jealous, and she had no right to. “I know what my friend looks like.”

  Layton leaned forward and surprised her with a kiss. “Calm down, tigress. Emma’s not my type.”

  “And I wouldn’t care if she was,” she quipped a little too quickly. Her heart rate had kicked up a notch and she realized she was being ridiculous. “Okay, I’m a little reluctant to admit that you may have a point. But there’s no sense in worrying over something that hasn’t happened, right?”

  “Right,” he agreed. “But I know what I saw.”

  “You think you know what you saw,” she returned stubbornly. “But in the meantime, I just want Emma to call so I know they’re all right.”

  Layton nodded with understanding. “So, where are your parents this holiday?”

  “Scotland,” she answered with a sigh. “Something about checking off items on their bucket list before they die. I think my mom just didn’t want to host Christmas dinner and this was a convenient way to get out of it.”

  “Scotland is pretty far to travel to get out of dinner.”

  “You don’t know my mom,” she said dryly. “She’s not your average-mom type.”

  “How’s your foot?”

  She slowly rotated it. “Not bad. It feels much better. Just a small twinge.”

  “That’s good. You should still baby it though.”

  “Yes, Doctor.”

  His gaze turned playful. “I’ll play doctor if you’ll be the naughty nurse.”

  Alexis tossed a popcorn kernel at him with a grin. “And that is not happening, so lose that idea. If anything, I’ll be the doctor and you can be the naughty nurse.”

  “Intriguing. I’m secure enough in my manhood to try a little power exchange. Are we talking spankings and bondage? Be gentle, I’m a beginner.” She barked a shocked laugh and he tackled her to the sofa cushion to kiss her hard and fast. “You’re just full of surprises, Alexis Matheson,” he said, pulling away.

  “That was not an invitation to go buy whips and chains,” she joked. “I’m mostly vanilla with a dash of chocolate on top.”

  “My favorite flavor is vanilla,” he said, smiling. “So that’s fine with me.”

  She sobered. “What are we doing?”

  “Whatever we want,” he answered.

  “Will it be weird to see each other socially like nothing happened?”

  “Yes.”

  She frowned then groaned. “I wish you would lie to me a little.”

  “No you don’t.”

  “You’re right. I hate liars.”

  He brushed a soft kiss across her lips. “I don’t know what’s in store, all I know is that right now you are the center of my universe, the storm is going to knock out the power at some point and all I care about is spending whatever available moment with you. I’m not even thinking beyond this weekend.”

  “Me neither,” she admitted, looping her arms around his neck. “Is it bad that I don’t want to think about tomorrow?”

  “If it’s bad, I’m right there with you.”

  “It’s strange, don’t you think, that we have this connection? I’ve never felt so comfortable with another person I just met, especially a guy.”

  “I can’t explain it, either. Maybe it’s fate.”

  “Do you believe in fate?”

  He hedged with a guilty smile. “Not exactly, but I am a closet romantic and I like the idea that fate exists.”

  “Me, too.”

  Too bad it wasn’t as black-and-white as I like you, you like me. Erik had always been her champion, always seeing the best in her. How would he react to knowing that she’d gleefully seduced his best friend? She couldn’t stand the idea of suffering Erik’s disappointment in her behavior. She should’ve kept her hands to herself and just white-knuckled her attraction to Layton.

  But even as she knew they’d both jumped feet first into the pool without caring if there was water beneath them, a part of her wasn’t sorry and maybe that was a problem.

  Maybe the worst part was knowing she’d do it again.

  * * *

  LAYTON KNEW HE was playing with fire, but the more time he spent with Alexis the more he wanted. He had an insatiable need to know her more deeply, to touch and feel, and he was a little disconcerted by how easy they slipped into an e
ffortless familiarity with one another. Would they be able to pull off a nonchalance among other people? Erik would know right away. Hell, maybe he ought to just spill his guts and hope for mercy.

  He sat up and pulled Alexis with him. “How’s this for an idea...let’s just tell Erik that we hooked up and let the chips fall where they may.”

  “That would go over like a lead balloon. I don’t recommend it.”

  Clearly, Alexis didn’t find as much merit in the idea as he did. “Don’t you think Erik would respect our decision to come to him instead of letting him find out by accident?”

  “No. A big fat no. My brother is very protective of me, and ever since I broke up with Riker, he’s been superprotective.”

  “I’m not like Riker,” he pointed out, trying not to suffer a ruffled ego at any accidental comparisons. “And your brother knows I’m not a bad guy.”

  “Of course not but just because he thinks you’re a swell guy to go fishing with doesn’t mean he wants you hooking up with his little sister. Besides, what’s the point of sharing? We’re not planning to be a couple anytime soon, so why rock the boat unnecessarily.”

  Ah, there was the heart of the matter, right? Maybe he wanted to explore the possibility of a relationship with Alexis. But did she want that? He decided to test the waters. “And what if that changed?”

  “What if what changed?” she asked, confused.

  “What if...we wanted to try out a relationship?”

  For a split second he caught a sliver of yearning in her gaze, as if she might like to try a relationship on for size, but she shut it down quickly. “You know that’s not going to work between us. Let me just tell you... I’m a mess right now. I’m smashed against deadlines, midterms, impossible classloads and I’m moody as hell, to boot. I am not girlfriend material.”

  “Usually people list the pro points instead of just jumping straight to the con list.”

  “Yeah, well, maybe if more people were starkly honest there’d be a whole helluva lot less heartache. I think people should just put it all out on the table and let people decide if it’s something they can handle. I mean, I wish Riker had admitted to me on our first date that he was a serial cheater without a loyal or faithful bone in his body because then I could’ve decided right then and there that I didn’t want to take that on. But instead, I had to find out the hard—and painful—way.” She drew a deep breath before asking, “Don’t you think you would’ve liked to know that Julianne was a cheater before you took a chance on her?”