The bartender who finally introduced himself as Damien continued supplying me with Cosmopolitans and his constant flirting made me giggle like a school girl. The more I drank the more I forgot and the more I turned into one of my many alter-egos. Mission accomplished.
The stool beside me became occupied and I felt the heat of the person before I saw them. Through quickening drunken eyes I turned to find Josh looking at me with a crooked grin on his face as his eyes moved between me and the empty glasses stacked in front of me.
“What are you doing pretty girl?” he asked softly, placing a hand around the half empty glass in front of me and pushing it away.
His arrival had caught me off guard, but it was welcomed.
“Your brother is ignoring me.” I cringed the moment I spoke.
“He is probably just busy.”
The reason why I refused to get drunk was on full display when I spoke next. “Josh, look what I am wearing. He hasn’t even noticed how tight this dress is. I can barely breathe it’s so tight. He hasn’t even told me I look nice. Fuck, he hasn’t even given me one of those stupid looks from across the room.”
“What if I told you how stunning you look? Because babe you are gorgeous tonight.”
“You aren’t your brother.”
Through the honesty of alcohol, I realized just how much Ky was getting to me. I was admitting the fact that it upset me that he hadn’t noticed me. For four years I had done everything in my power not to be noticed by men but here I was craving the attention of a man who had basically demanded that I spend every moment with him while I was in town. Well played, Ky fucking Crawford, you have won.
“What are you doing Eden?” Ky’s voice sounded behind me. “I think you’ve had enough.”
“I’ll leave you two alone.” Josh slid off the stool and disappeared through the crowd leaving me in the close proximity of Ky.
“What do you want Ky?” My erratic breathing rushed from my lungs while my heart smashed violently hard in my chest as the feeling of his hand gripping my arm burned through my skin.
“You have been waiting for me to tell you how fucking sexy you look tonight?” My eyes dropped from his. “Eden the thought of you in that dress has caused me to be hard all night. You think I don’t find you the most beautiful girl in the room? I’m sorry that I’ve been busy, but you and your shoot have caused a lot of excitement and people are asking about that girl. You are that girl Miss Rivers.”
“Oh.” Suddenly I felt like a complete idiot.
Being this close to him and hearing those things was dangerous and every part of me knew it. It confused me how much I wanted this man. I cringed at the way that I would lose all of my strength with a single glance from him. Ky was taking away every mask I wore, every fear I had, every promise I made to myself.
His eyes burned with lust as they met mine before the lust was shattered by a look I was becoming well accustomed to. I saw a look of confusion and remorse. His hand released my arm before grabbing my hand, and his fingers entwining with mine so perfectly. I refused to tear my gaze away from his. I would not break this time. I slid off the stool and with a strong grip, Ky pulled me toward the vacant VIP section of Delights without a word.
As we stood in the VIP section, almost chest to chest, all I could focus on was my breathing and the man standing before me. Ky’s brow furrowed as his eyes searched my face before dropping to take in my lips. My tongue licked my lips in anticipation. A deep low growl rose from his chest before he placed his open palms of either side of my face, drawing my eyes back to his. With one step, his chest collided with mine, setting off a million bolts of electricity through my body.
“Seeing you sit at the bar, talking with that guy should have made me happy because I want you to have confidence, but it didn’t. It made me feel like a jealous asshole because someone was flirting with the girl who is quickly becoming mine.”
“But you still don’t want to make love to me!” I spat out.
His eyes questioned for a moment, considering my words until realization flashed before me and a heated look spread across his face.
“You think I don’t want to make love to you?” He dropped his face dangerously close to mine and the deep breath he exhaled bounced off my lips. If he moved one more inch I’d be completely under the spell of those lips that destroyed me in so many ways. “Eden, I want to fuck you in every way you could imagine but this isn’t about me. This month is about you.”
“What if I want it though? What if I am ready for that? What if that’s the only thing I can think of? You touch me, you taste me, you kiss me but you never go further. I want you Ky, I want you to take me. I’ve never begged for this before, but with you I am.”
“You’re drunk Eden. You have no fucking clue what you are asking.”
“I know exactly what I am asking Ky. I’ve had three cocktails, that’s not enough to get me drunk.” My voice was now coming out as a plea.
He brutally shook his head. “I just can’t.”
He grabbed my chin, turning my face to the side and placed a lingering kiss on my cheek. When he looked at me, his gaze told me that he had a billion things to say to me but he didn’t. He just gave me one last look before disappearing through the crowd leaving me completely rejected.
“Are you okay?” Ashlyn grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my zone. I turned to face her; the moment I saw the concern on her face I felt myself come undone, and I shook my head in response. “Come on, let’s go and have a chat.”
I followed her through the crowd, and we made our way toward the stairs that led to the top floor that had the perfect view of the dance floor. As I crossed the crowded floor, I felt his eyes burning into me. I always knew the exact moment when his devastatingly seductive eyes were on me. My breath would hitch, the hairs on my arms would stand, and I would lick my lips in anticipation. I loved being under his gaze—I had come to crave it—but now, I felt uneasy, confused, and most heart crushingly, I felt unwanted.
I increased my pace, and Ashlyn and I made our way up the stairs and took a seat at a vacant table; the tub chairs allowed us to look over the balcony and down to the crowd.
“So what’s going on?” Ashlyn didn’t hold back, just straight to the point. I was always so hesitant to talk about anything to do with Ky with her because they were best friends. She immediately caught on to my hesitation and grabbed my hand. “Whatever is said between you and me, stays with you and me. He may be my best friend, but we have sister pride and all that bullshit.”
“I want to have sex with Ky.”
She spluttered on her drink, and her eyes bugged wide open. Yep, the exact reaction I expected. She placed her glass on the table and took me in. We sat in silence for a few long minutes.
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” she finally asked.
“I don’t understand why it’s such a shock.”
“Babe, this is a massive step for both of you. I love you both so much. You need to make sure this is everything you want. I know you might find this hard to hear, but you haven’t had good experiences with sex and I want it to be the best experience you could have, you deserve everything in this world.”
“That’s why I want to have sex with Ky. I trust him; I feel safe with him, and I’d like to believe that he would treat me right. I know it hasn’t been long, but I am beginning to believe that sometimes time doesn’t mean a thing when something is right. You’ve got to understand that this is a first for me to feel this way about someone.”
“I’ve never seen him look at a woman the way he looks at you.”