Page 8 of My Ex-Best Men (Ex Marks the Spot #4)

***Claire***

T ime had gotten away from me and before I realized it, it was seven and I was still in the miniscule bikini.

I was red from the sun, my hair was frizzed out in every direction from the pool water, and I smelled like sunscreen and chlorine.

I wasn’t exactly at my best but Will was as prompt as he’d always been.

I grabbed a throw blanket from the bed and wrapped it around myself so I could open the door for him.

He stood on the other side of the door in a fresh t-shirt and jeans, his hair still damp from a shower. His ocean scent was stronger than earlier and he looked perfectly put together.

“I’m running late. I’m so sorry. I just need to change and brush my hair and I’ll be ready.” I let him step inside and then I noticed that he was carrying a couple of bags. “What’s that?”

He let the door shut behind him and held up the first bag. “Clothes. Just a few things I grabbed from my bag for you. And this bag has our dinner. I figured you’d feel more comfortable eating in once you saw the clothes I brought you.”

My shoulders sank from around my ears as my nerves calmed. “You’re amazing. Thank you so much, Will. Eating in sounds perfect. I was just going to throw my travel clothes back on and hope you took me somewhere dark.”

He handed me the bag of clothes and shook his head. “Not a chance. I want to see you.”

I flushed as our fingertips brushed and his words sank in. I had to clear my throat and take a big step backwards. “I’ll just get changed really quick… Actually. Would you mind waiting while I take the world’s fastest shower? I smell like the pool.”

“Go ahead. I’ll get everything set up.” He paused. “What’d you swim in, by the way?”

I stopped at the bathroom door and pulled the blanket off.

Tossing it back on the bed, I forced myself to let him look.

Then I made a humiliating squeaky noise and locked myself in the bathroom.

I took the world’s fastest shower while berating myself.

Showing Will the tiny bikini was wrong. I was going to give him the wrong message when all I really wanted was to be a good friend to Sophia.

I had no business even having dinner alone with Will. I was breaking so many rules.

That didn’t stop me from taking a few extra minutes after my shower to make sure I didn’t look awful. My makeup bag had thankfully been packed in my carryon so I put on some mascara and lip gloss before putting my wet hair up in a bun and opening the bag of clothing Will brought me.

Instantly I felt like I’d been punched in the chest. I dropped the bag on the counter and pressed my hand over my heart in an attempt to alleviate some of the ache.

There were three things in the bag. A pair of massive socks, a pair of black boxer briefs, and the t-shirt I’d always stolen from him on the rare occasions we got to spend the night together.

Worn and filled with holes around the neck and sleeves from years of wear and tear, it was one of his senior year t-shirts from school.

I knew it had to be too small for him with the way he’d filled out, but he hadn’t gotten rid of it and he’d brought it for me. When we’d dated, I hadn’t been able to keep things of his for fear of Sophia finding it. Every chance I’d gotten to wear his shirt, I’d taken it, though.

I brought it to my nose and inhaled his scent, feeling a growing desire in my gut and lower to show the man in the other room how much I appreciated his thought. I dressed in his clothes and stared at myself in the mirror, trying to find my moral compass. Jumping Will was not a good idea.

My hands shook as I opened the bathroom door and stepped into the bedroom. Will was standing on the other side of the room, the remote in his hand as he scanned the TV. He looked up and the temperature in the room went up ten degrees.

“Still looks good on you, sweetheart.” He dropped the remote and slowly moved towards me. “Hungry?”

I didn’t know. I couldn’t feel anything but my racing heart and my throbbing core. I made an unintelligent sound and fisted the hem of the shirt.

“Shit, Claire.” He stopped toe to toe with me and licked his lips. “We have a problem.”

I watched his tongue and then his throat as he swallowed and his adam’s apple moved up and down. “We do?”

“This whole ‘old friends catching up’ thing. We were never friends, Claire. From the moment I saw you in that Hooters shirt, I was crazy about you.” He watched me gasp and balled his hands into fists at his sides.

“Fuck, sweetheart. I don’t think I can sit here and keep my hands to myself.

If that’s not what you want, I need to leave. ”

The idea of him walking away from me again filled me with dread and I reacted without thought. As soon as I reached for him he was there, grabbing me up.

I lost my breath when he yanked me into his hard chest and slammed his mouth over mine. I felt every moment of time between our last kiss and that one in the way he devoured me. I gripped his thick shoulders hard and opened my mouth when his tongue stroked the seam of my lips.

The first taste of Will Callahan after so many years was as delicious as it was wrong.

He tasted minty with a slight hint of vanilla.

That was a secret of his. Tough guy Will had always secretly used a vanilla chapstick.

His lips were soft and warm against mine, a harsh contrast against the sharp hardness of his teeth as he nipped my tongue.

Once the cork popped, it felt impossible to stop the reaction between us.

He kissed down my throat and ran his hands down my back, straight into the boxer briefs.

His big hands on my ass made me go up on my toes and gasp.

He’d always been an ass man and he proved then that nothing had changed.

His fingers dug into my flesh as he squeezed and his mouth came back to mine for another earth-shattering kiss.

“God, Will, what are you doing to me?” I muttered the words even as I gripped his hair and directed his mouth back to my throat.

Will tightened his grip on my ass and picked me up, groaning when I wrapped my thighs around his waist. He turned around and lowered me to the bed with his body over mine. “So fucking pretty.”

I whimpered when he lowered his hips and ground his denim clad erection into my core.

Planting my feet on the bed, I pushed my hips back at him, needing more.

I kissed across his jaw and shivered as his short beard tickled my mouth.

That was new. I wondered what else was new and tugged at his shirt.

He got the hint and yanked his shirt off with one hand.

His chest was covered in a dusting of pale hair that thinned to just a trail leading into his jeans.

There were also tattoos. Not as many as Zane had but more than I’d expected, especially considering I was expecting none.

I wanted to explore them but he was impatient.

He lifted his hips enough to reach between us and he expertly slid his hand into my underwear. “You’re so wet, Claire. Jesus.”

Just as his fingers touched my clit I made eye contact with one of his tattoos.

It was a picture of Sophia as a little kid.

Knowing their relationship, I immediately knew he’d either lost a bet or had done it to mess with his sister since it wasn’t the most flattering picture.

There she was, though. My sweet best friend. My sweet, trusting best friend.