Better Than Friends Read Online Free PDF Page A

abandon being around him seem to inspire.
    “Thanks. That sounds cool. I’ll drive Curtis for you. What’s your address?” Jack spoke up. I heard Matt give him the Dupont-area address to his and Aaron’s condo, but I kept quiet. It was as though the combination of the gin and Jack’s intoxicating company rendered me speechless. I felt like I was floating outside my body, watching their exchange, content with letting them make plans for me. So unlike me. A glance at Matt’s shit-eating grin told me he’d figured it out without a word from me. Great. I’d never hear the end of it. I watched Matt retreat to the ballroom. The festivities were coming to a close inside, but outside, it felt like that new beginning Jack had spoken of earlier.
    “Um….” I looked up at Jack, who gave me a wide, generous grin.
    “A lawyer who can’t speak. That has got to be a first.”
    “Shut up.” I ducked my head, embarrassed.
    “Hmm. I like you, Curt. I wouldn’t mind having you to myself for a while longer if you’re game. Your friends live near me. I’ll drop you off on my way home.”
    I had to clear my throat before I could answer and decided it didn’t matter anyway, so I nodded in agreement. Jack smiled indulgently. I noticed one side of his mouth turned up more than the other. I reached out and touched his lip curiously. My sudden motion surprised him, but he didn’t move a muscle. He let me trace his soft, full lips as though I were a blind man. After a minute, he brought his hand up and gently grasped my fingers, licking them into his mouth in a move worthy of a porn star. Then he kissed my palm sweetly before lowering my hand away from his face. His eyes never left mine. I gulped and tried to refocus. Fuck, that was sexy.
    “So… where were we?” Jack closed the short distance between us and lifted my chin with his thumb before swooping down to cover his mouth over mine.
    We made out like a couple of teenagers in the semidark of the grand garden as the wedding reception came to an end around us. I was aware of fading voices, lowered music, and finally a gentle quiet broken only occasionally by someone who’d had a few too many. But I was content to remain exactly where I was—trapped between Jack’s wall of a body and the brick of the mansion’s façade as we kissed, licked, and sucked on each other’s tongues, mouths, and necks in our effort to get better acquainted.
    Jack kissed me roughly, running his fingers through my hair and holding my head in place as he ravaged my mouth. Then he would pull away and soften the connection until I was whimpering for more. More contact, more Jack. I circled my arms around his large frame and pulled him into me, bringing our chests flush. Jack tilted his hips into mine, and I could have sworn I saw stars. The first touch of our erections, even through our suit pants, was enough to take my breath away. It had been too long since I’d been with a man, I mused, and fleetingly hoped I didn’t come in my pants just from a little friction. Geez, it would be like high school all over again.
    When the overhead lights from the ballroom spilled brightly into our little garden oasis, the magic was diffused. Obviously the cleaning crew was trying to get a handle on the mess from the reception, thinking the entire party had long since gone. We both went still, waiting for someone to come outside and reprimand us as though we were a couple of naughty schoolboys.
    Jack stepped back and shot a guilty look toward the action indoors. He took a deep breath and brushed one hand through his wavy hair. He didn’t seem like the type of guy to regret making out with a stranger in the dark, even at his ex’s wedding. Maybe he needed me to steer for now.
    “You still okay to take me to Matt and Aaron’s?”
    Jack inclined his head and leaned down to press one last kiss on my swollen lips.
    “Yeah. Come on, Curtis.”
    I wanted to reprimand him for calling me by my full name—the name I