Page 6 of Never Gonna Lie (Forbidden #2)
Chapter Six
JAMES
ONE YEAR AGO
O pening the door to Andrew’s house, I hear laughter and glasses clinking—the caterers must be out in full force. Making my way to his office, I find Drew slumped over his desk, deep in work.
“You know there’s more to life than work, right?” I tease as I sit in the chair opposite, crossing one leg over the other and tapping the arm with my fingertips.
Drew’s looking good. His short hair, that’s graying at the sides like the rest of us, is pushed back off his face.
His usually slim build looks bulkier than when I last saw him, though.
Must’ve put use to that home gym he’s got hiding in his basement.
Fuck, I need to start upping my game, otherwise the fuckers gonna be bigger than me and I can’t have that.
Theo’s already the giant out of the group, can’t have Drew putting me to shame as well.
He reclines in his chair with a sly grin as he responds, “What, like having a different woman in your bed every night?”
“Tell me there’s something wrong with that sentence,” I quip, a shit eating grin on my face.
“You disgust me,” Drew jokes. “You need to find a woman. Settle down.”
I choke out a laugh. “You can fuck off.”
Never heard something so ridiculous.
Drew scoffs. “Just you wait, my friend. Someday, a woman’s going to knock you off your feet, and I’ll be laughing the whole time.”
I roll my eyes at him and change the subject. “Where’s the birthday girl?”
“Emma said she was down by the docks, hiding away from the mess.”
Nodding, I stand up. “Don’t blame her. I’ll go say hi.”
Striding through the house, trying not to bump into the many people milling around, I head toward the docks, to where I know Raven is.
I haven’t seen her in a good couple of years. She was a gangly teenager back then, and if I remember correctly, she had braces, wild, untamed curls, and always had her nose stuck in a book.
Walking to the edge of the water, I spot a figure lying on the dock and instantly know I’ve found her.
Coming to a stop in front of her, casting her in shadow, I get a quick glimpse of smooth, tanned skin encased in a tight black T-shirt and denim shorts before her eyes open and she’s throwing herself at me.
“James. What are you doing here?” she squeals, excitement clear in her tone .
My hands instinctively rest on her waist, the hem of her T-shirt lifted just enough for my fingers to brush against her skin, sending a jolt of electricity up my arm.
Raven pulls back, gazing up at me, and my mouth goes dry.
She’s grown up a lot since I last saw her.
Gone is the awkward teenager, and standing in front of me is a woman who’s making my dick perk up with interest.
Shit .
“I came to see the birthday girl, of course,” I chuckle, trying my best not to stare at how beautiful she looks.
Raven pulls away first and goes to sit down on the dock, her legs dangling in the water. I sit down next to her, bringing my leg up and resting an arm on it. “You looking forward to tonight?”
“You know as well as I do, pretty boy, that these parties are just a way for my dad to network and nothing to do with my actual birthday.” She rolls her eyes at me, and I’m overcome with the need to put her over my knee.
I lift an eyebrow, forcing back a grin at the nickname she’s just given me. “Pretty boy?”
“Yeah, the pretty boy to my pretty girl.” She shrugs and looks away, the tops of her ears and cheeks turning red.
This girl—woman shouldn’t be allowed to be so adorable. It’s doing things to me I’d rather not name.
“Cute,” I chuckle. We sit, gazing out across the water for a time before I say, “Come on, pretty girl. Let’s get you back. I’ll see if I can swipe you some liquor.”
Pushing myself up, I hold my hand out to her. She looks pensive for a minute, and I wonder if she’ll take the offered hand, but she does, tripping over something and crashing into me.
Raven’s hands land on my chest, and I’m frozen in place, my heart beating rapidly as the scent of Neroli hits me and makes my dick hard. She peers up at me, and I’m lost, not even the birds’ tweeting registers as I’m locked into her gaze.
I finally come to my senses, clearing my throat as I tease, “Careful, pretty girl, don’t want you falling for me.”
“Bigheaded much?” she retorts.
I’d love to show you something big—what is wrong with me?
“Not bigheaded, just stating facts.”
She laughs. “Your level of conceitedness is showing, pretty boy.”
I squeeze her hips, her skin just as soft under my hands as I thought it would be. I shouldn’t be this close to her, but for the life of me, I can’t move away. I can feel her touch through my T-shirt, burning into my skin.
“I can’t help that I have a certain way with women,” I reply gruffly with a shrug.
She chuckles lightly, trailing a hand down my chest and walking away. “Come on, someone said something about swiping me some booze.”
I pause, my brain misfiring as I’m overcome with the thought of what life would be like if she were mine, her freely touching me like she just did. Shaking my head from the weird but not uncomfortable thought, I chase after her.
Once we get back to the house, Raven goes off to her room, and I head to one of the many guest rooms. Drew’s house is massive, bigger than mine, and I’ve got five bedrooms. One of the staff brought my bags in earlier, so my suit’s hanging in the wardrobe.
I grab it and place it on the bed before heading into the bathroom.
I turn the shower on, stepping under the spray once it’s warmed up. Raven lying on the dock suddenly pops into my head, and my dick goes painfully hard again. I ignore it and carry on, no fucking way am I jerking off to one of my best friend's daughters.
Who the fuck does that?
Turning off the water, I grab a towel and head back into the bedroom.
Getting dressed in my suit, forgoing the jacket and tie and leaving the top couple of buttons open, I head back into the bathroom and style my hair.
I’m not one for messing around, so I shove a bit of gel into my hand, rub it around the strands, and hope for the best.
Strolling into the foyer, I head toward the dining room where the majority of people have congregated. Grabbing a glass of whiskey from one of the passing waiters, I make my way over to Drew and Emma.
“James, it’s so good to see you,” Emma purrs, air kissing both of my cheeks before going back to stand next to Drew.
Those two have been disgustingly in love for the past ten years.
I mean, I’m happy for the guy. After Sophia died, he went into a depressive state.
Raven and the company were the only two things that kept him going until he met Emma at a work function.
She’s definitely brought him back to life, but there’s still a spark of the old Drew missing, like a part of him died the night Sophia did.
“Ah, there’s the birthday girl,” Drew calls, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Turning around, I stop, my mouth dropping open at the goddess standing in the doorway.
Raven’s wearing a long white dress; thin straps hold onto delicate shoulders, and a material that hugs every inch of her curves.
Her fiery red hair’s been straightened, flowing in soft waves, and her makeup is subtle, giving her an airbrushed look .
As I watch her gracefully walk toward us, my chest constricts and my breathing grows uneven.
An unsettled feeling sits on my chest as I fail to remove my gaze for even a second.
Never in my life have I ever looked at Raven as anything other than Drew’s daughter, but here she stands, looking like a complete wet dream, and all I want to do is bend her over the table and fuck her until neither one of us can remember our own names.
Fuck. I’m a dead man walking if Drew ever catches wind of where my dirty mind just went.
Guilt flashes through me as Drew clears his throat, bringing me out of my gawping. I glance out of the corner of my eye, checking to make sure he hasn’t clocked me eye fucking his daughter. Thankfully, his gaze is firmly on Raven, pride shining in his eyes.
My palms feel sweaty as I hold my glass, but when she gives me a shy look, brushing her hair behind her ear and biting her bottom lip—a bottom lip that I’m suddenly desperate to bite myself—I know I need to get the hell out of here.
Knocking back the glass of whiskey in my hand, I grit out, “Excuse me.”
I walk toward the balcony, needing air and to get the raging hard-on in my slacks to calm the fuck down because Raven Carter is completely off limits.