On the Rocks (25 page)

He stilled. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“You’re not a virgin…” He said it half as a question.

“No, but it’s been awhile.”

A look of triumph crossed his face. “If it hurts, we don’t have to.” That was Colton, willing to cut off his own pleasure if it meant giving me what I wanted. I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed that his interest had gone way beyond friendship before. Maybe I didn’t want to see it. It was easier to pretend his playful flirting was all for show.

“I want this.” I thrust my hips against him, and he immediately moved inside me again.

“I’ll give you everything you’ve ever wanted,” he whispered against my ear, keeping his movements slow.

“Don’t be so careful with me.” I pushed up against him again. “I want all of you.”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he sped up, thrusting into me faster and harder until I thought I’d completely lose control. I dug my nails into his back and used his lips to silence the scream that wanted to come out when he pushed me over the edge. I’d never felt that way before.

He reached his release but stayed inside me, keeping his weight on me as we laid there sweaty and out of breath.

“You’re amazing, Mallory. Amazing.” He rolled off me, pulling me into his arms so my head could lay on his chest.

“So are you.” I closed my eyes, letting myself fade off into the sleep of someone very drunk and completely satisfied.

Outspoken and flirtatious, Lauren Myers is more than most guys can handle. Even so, a disastrous trip to her boyfriend’s hometown in Greece leaves her reeling, forcing her to reevaluate her views on men and relationships all together.

Level-headed and reserved, Ian Mason is perfectly content with his life the way that it is—until a phone call from his mother flips his life upside down. Suddenly, everything changes and he’s forced to hold the weight of the family business all on his own.

After a chance meeting draws them together, the two will learn love often finds those who aren’t necessarily looking, and that there are moments in life that hold within them all the power to wreck you.

Every now and then, there are moments in life when we question how the universe expects us to dust ourselves off and get back up. These are the situations that help shape us into a stronger person, one who can take on the world with a whole new willpower to survive and succeed.

While that may be so, deep down every person knows it generally takes us longer than it should to realize this little truth about those particular moments. How, instead, we wallow in our self-pity with only detrimental thoughts swimming through our minds for an undetermined length of time. The most prominent of those thoughts being: how it feels as though this particular moment will completely wreck you.

A fucking sauna. Those were the only words I would use to describe my bedroom. Without opening my eyes, I rolled onto my side and bent my arm beneath my pillow. My legs kicked off the blankets and sheets that had twisted around my ankles. The AC was on. Once it hit June, that sucker never turned off in my apartment until well into September. So what the hell was the problem?

Flopping over onto my stomach, I splayed my hand out across the wrinkled sheets, searching for a cool spot. A warm wetness met my fingers, and I jerked my hand back. Opening my eyes, I used what little moonlight streamed through my bedroom window to search for anything staining the white sheets. Nothing was there. Feeling around some more, I noticed the entire right side of my bed was sopping wet with a warm substance. Something dripped from the ceiling onto my head—hot water.

I bolted across the room, thinking this was something straight out of a scary freaking movie. Flipping the light on, I glanced up at the ceiling and spotted an unattractive brown watermark I’d never noticed before. Water dripped from the center of it as I stared, landing directly on my bed.

“Great, what the hell has that stripper done now?” I muttered.

The woman who lived above me was an actual stripper at a hole-in-the-wall place on the outskirts of town. I’d never been there, but had heard a lot about it around campus. It was a popular place the frat boys took their pledges to. I’d heard stories of them forcing them to get lap dances from the largest dancers working. While I’d never cared to visit—not because I was judgmental of the women who worked there or that I thought the place was taboo, but because of the drama that always seemed to surround it.

About three weeks ago, I ran into my neighbor in the parking lot dressed in full costume—peacock feathers and all—fumbling from her car. Her face was pretty bruised up and her bottom lip was split open. When I asked if she was all right and what had happened, she’d told me one of her regular guys had been waiting by her car when she got off and tried to force himself on her. She’d fought him off, making such a racket the bouncer had come outside and ripped him off her just in time. This hadn’t been the first time something insane had happened to her while working there either.

Stripping was not a line of work I’d ever consider, for that reason among many.

Grabbing my pillow, I checked to see if it was wet before heading to the couch to sleep. Obviously, something was broken upstairs. Her bathtub. Her toilet. Something. I’d be making one pissed-off call to the landlord first thing in the morning. Curling up on my sofa with a fluffy throw blanket, I drifted back to sleep.

When my eyes finally peeled open the next morning, I called my landlord, Mrs. Tapper, first thing. She answered on the fifth ring, same as every other time I’d ever called her, making me wonder if she counted the rings just to be sure she made people wait for her to answer.

“Hello?” her crackly voice answered. Mrs. Tapper was one of those women you swore had smoked a pack a day since birth. She had the gruff voice and wrinkles around her mouth to back that theory up.

“Mrs. Tapper, hey, this is Lauren Myers from apartment two B.”

“Yeah, what’s the issue? If you’re calling to get an extension on rent, you’re out of luck. You used your get out of jail free card back in October.”

I pursed my lips together. October. That had been around the time I’d gotten fired from my hairdressing job, because I’d left some crap on a customer’s hair too long and nearly singed it all off. The poor lady, she’d come in looking halfway decent and left looking like the before picture on a makeover show.

“No, that’s not what I’m calling about,” I said.

“It’s not? Then what the hell is it? My show is getting ready to come on,” she snapped, and then burst into a coughing fit from hell.

I waited until she’d caught her breath before I spoke. “I’m calling because there’s a leak coming from the upstairs apartment.”

The distinct sound of a lighter flicking was the only thing I heard. No doubt, she was lighting another cigarette, eager to feed that emphysema of hers a little more. “A leak? No, I don’t think so. The girl above you would have called if that was the case.”

Dropping my head back, I clenched my jaw tight. “There’s water dripping from the ceiling in my bedroom. My entire bed was soaked last night, and I had to sleep on my couch. There’s a leak.”

“I’ll send my grandson over to look at it later this afternoon, then,” she said in a clipped tone. “I’m sure it will be a wasted trip. I know how you girls are nowadays—nitpicky as hell and with such high standards.”

I bit my tongue and prayed she would hurry up and get this shit fixed. If not, she’d be paying to have my comforter dry-cleaned and my furniture replaced.

“Thank you, Mrs. Tapper. Please have him call me before he comes,” I insisted.

Timothy, her grandson, was nothing short of a skuzzy pervert. There had been times when he’d come in my apartment to change the air filter while I was in the shower. I’d never seen him actually enter the bathroom, but I’d heard the door close and noises coming from the hall where the furnace was. Anytime I called out, he always answered with a, “Just changing the air filter. I’ll be on my way now.” He was creepy as hell.

“Yeah, yeah,” Mrs. Tapper muttered. She hung up on me before I could say another word.

With a loud sigh, I chucked my phone onto my couch. If I could find something else within the same price range as this place, I’d be out of here in a heartbeat.

Standing, I walked to the kitchen for some Chex cereal and almond milk. I was attempting to get healthier. It was harder than I’d initially thought it would be, but I was sure the payoff would be great in the end. A healthier, slimmer me.

My cell chimed as a text came through. Rushing over, I scooped it up and glanced at the screen. It was a message from Jimmy, my on again/off again guy. Jimmy was sexy as hell—dark hair, incredible eyes, and a smexy European accent. He was like a freaking exotic stallion I enjoyed riding from time to time. I was fine with this and so was he.

I tapped on my screen and read his message.

How have you been, my love?

I smiled at his words, able to hear them in my head said in his thick accent.

Not too bad, I guess. ~ Lauren

There was a long pause before he answered. I took a few bites of my cereal and turned on the TV. I still had a good forty minutes before I had to be at work.

Doesn’t sound like a confident answer to me. Let me cheer you up.

My mind raced with ways Jimmy had been known to cheer me up—all of them involving mind-blowing sex.

And just what do you have in mind? ~ Lauren

Setting my bowl of cereal down, I bit at my bottom lip as I waited for his response.

Let me come by. I’ll make sweet love to you, and then tell you about my latest surprise.

Tempting. Oh so tempting. What I would give for him to touch me the way he did every time he mentioned stopping by to make sweet love to me.

I don’t have time. I’ve got to be to work in forty. ~ Lauren

God, sometimes being a grown-up sucked. Teenage me didn’t know how good she’d had it—no true responsibilities, skip school and there were no consequences like power getting shut off or insurance lapsing.

Oh, too bad. I guess I could still tell you my surprise.

I waited for him to tell me, cramming another large spoonful of cereal into my mouth. When he never continued, I asked.

What is it? ~ Lauren

I’m taking you away with me.

What the hell? Taking me away with him? Where was he going?

To? ~ Lauren

The pause that came before his response lasted a bit too long for me, causing my heart to hammer from the anticipation.

To Greece.

Holy hell! A wide grin sprang onto my face. I bolted from where I’d been sitting, nearly spilling the remainder of my cereal down the front of me. Greece? I’d always wanted to travel.

Are you for real? ~ Lauren

Absolutely. It’s your birthday present from me.

I was breathless. No one had ever bought me a trip to Greece, or anywhere equally awesome, for my birthday. This was going to be the best birthday ever.

How can you afford this? ~ Lauren

I hated to ask, but Jimmy was by no means wealthy. He lived in a tiny apartment and was a student at the college. He didn’t even have a job that I knew of.

My parents sent me the tickets.

Was this a good thing? Did he tell his parents about me, and they wanted to meet? My stomach knotted as the thoughts swam through my mind. Taking in a deep breath, I exhaled and decided to just go with the flow. I was going to Greece! That was all that mattered, not the how or why.

That’s awesome! Thank you for taking me with you! When do we leave? ~ Lauren

I’d have to let Paige know I wouldn’t be to work on those days. If it was a long enough trip, which I prayed it would at least be longer than a weekend—although I would settle for that—I’d need my mom or sister to stop by my apartment and make sure things were okay every so often.

The seventeenth and we’ll get back on the twenty-first.

My mind was blown. I darted to the calendar on my fridge and searched for the dates he’d said. That was nearly five days in paradise! We were leaving on the day before my birthday and coming home three days after. Also, I had about a week and a half before we left.

Four days! That’s amazing! ~ Lauren

I thought you’d be happy.

I can show you just how happy I am later tonight, if you want. Wink, wink. ~ Lauren

After finishing the last few spoonfuls of my cereal, I set the bowl in the sink.

I’ll be by at seven.

See you then. XO ~ Lauren

I was going to Greece for my flipping twenty-second birthday! Rushing to my soggy and sweltering hot bedroom, I rummaged through my dresser for something to wear to work today. Paige was going to die when she found out where I’d be celebrating my birthday this year.

Hell, everyone would die when they found out.
I
was dying a little because of it.

As always, this book would not have been possible without the support of my family. Grant, I can’t imagine taking this journey without you.

Thank you to Whitney Perry, Melanie Genanatti, and Katy Austin for your beta reading, and to Jennifer Snyder and T.A. Foster for being such fantastic writing partners. A special thanks to T.A. for sharing your bartending expertise. Thanks to Nicole Stephenson for the editing, and to Kristina Scheid for the proofreading. Thanks to Stephanie Nelson of Once Upon a Time Covers for the beautiful cover. Thanks also to Kelly Simmon of Inkslinger PR for your continued support.