Page 25 of Single Malt

“Hey, I’m not asking for your birthday and social security number.” His tone was teasing but gentle, as if he’d realized why I was annoyed with him.

That didn’t make it better.

“I don’t need to eat,” I snapped.

He gave me a hard look, and then I saw a determined light come into his eyes. Before I could figure out what it meant, he leaned closer to me and pitched his voice low.

“No. You need something else.” The back of his knuckles brushed my upper arm, sending a shiver through me. “Show me where.”

I didn’t ask for clarification. I knew what he wanted because I wanted it too. It was stupid and impulsive and extremely selfish…but it didn’t change what I was going to do.

“This way.”

I set off at a brisk pace, not looking behind to see if he was following because I knew he was. He wouldn’t have made the proposition if he didn’t intend to follow through.

The supply closet where I’d made my call to my mother was small, but since this wasn’t going to be some long, leisurely sex marathon, it’d do. The door closed, and he pushed me back against it, his mouth hungry on mine. The kiss was harsh, bruising, and blew everything else out of my mind.

He managed to undo my pants with one hand while the other hand was under my shirt, squeezing my breast. He raised his lips from mine long enough to speak.

“Let yourself go. I’ve got you.”

He plunged his tongue into my mouth while his fingers found their way into my panties. I gasped as he found my clit, and I felt him smile. As his fingers played over me with brisk strokes, I closed my eyes and just let myself feel. Lost myself in the pleasure.

It didn’t take long for all of the pressure inside me to explode into sweet release.

And it would’ve been perfect…except just as my brain started working again, a voice came from the other side of the door.

“Freedom? I need to speak to you.”

Karina.

Shit.

Sixteen

Brody

The momentI heard a woman’s voice calling for Freedom, I knew I’d fucked up. We might’ve had the privacy of a closed door, but we were still in a public place, at an event she was running. We’d been careless.

Ihad been careless.

I’d wanted to take care of her, and for a brief moment when she’d come apart in my arms, I felt like I’d done just that. But then the other woman called Freedom’s name, and Freedom’s entire body went stiff. She pulled away, and not just physically. If the circumstances had been different, I would’ve talked to her, tried to apologize for getting carried away.

Then again, if circumstances had been different, what we’d done wouldn’t have been a problem in the first place.

I backed up and let Freedom fix her clothing. The fact that she wasn’t looking at me made me think she wouldn’t want me to try to help her, and the last thing I wanted was to make matters worse.

“I’m here, Karina.” Freedom’s voice was steady, without a hint of anything to indicate that she’d just come on my fingers. “Go back to the main room, and I’ll be there in a minute. I have to check something else in here.”

“Do you need help?” Karina had an accent I thought might be Spanish, though exactly what sort of Spanish, I couldn’t tell.

“No.” The word was a little sharper than necessary, and the wince on Freedom’s face told me she hadn’t intended it to be that way. “Thank you for the offer, but I’ve got it.”

“Yes, Freedom.”

Freedom shot me a quick look before shifting her gaze to just over my shoulder. “I can’t look like…I have to go…I need–”

“I’ll wait a few minutes before I leave.”