Page 51 of Dopplebanger

I glanced down at the crevice we’d just jumped. “Speaking of laying pipe right…” I turned to Evan and waggled my eyebrows.

He shook his head, but that smile that brought out his jawline and those sexy grooves in his cheeks broke free.

I swiped my hands together. “One barrier down, one to go.”

Evan dragged a hand over his face as I moved over to the fence and studied the grooves and notches. “Great. My first official case is going to be defending myself for breaking into a pool.”

“No it’s not, silly.” I flashed him my most syrupy-sweet smile. “It’ll be defendingmefor breaking in. I’m sure you’ll get one of those court-appointed attorneys. Maybe the judge will let him take you on as a type of community service, which will give you the experience you need to get through law school. Really, I’m doing this for you.”

“Really, you shouldn’t have,” he deadpanned. “You can still not do it, in fact.”

“Oh, we’re doing it,” I said before realizing what it sounded like. But I was hoping to do that, too, so no need to clarify. He could take it wherever he wanted to.Please be to a deliciously dirty place.

The fence quivered as I worked on my footing—these plastic fences were so damn slick, with no worn wooden grooves to find better purchase. Jeez, it was like theywantedto keep people out or something.

Finally, I managed to pull myself halfway up, but the fence wobbled more as Evan climbed up behind me. After a quick glance around, I swung myself up and over—going a bit too big and having to slow my fall by dragging my hands and body down the other side of the fence. I landed hard on my butt on the cement, my teeth jarring together, and while I’d probably feel it more tomorrow, the alcohol in my system acted as a nice numbing agent.

Naturally, Evan landed all gracefully and shit. He looked down at me, his expression equal parts amusement and concern. “You okay, Ocean’s One?”

“Don’t you mean Ocean’s Two? Don’t try to wash your hands of this.”

“I tried. I failed.” He reached down and pulled me to my feet.

I brushed off my backside, wincing and then twisting to try to see the damage. I tugged my skirt up a few inches. “Did I scrape up my butt?”

Evan didn’t answer, and when I glanced up at him, his slackened jaw and the raw hunger in his eyes sent a shock of awareness through me. Suddenly I was remembering why I’d risked fence-climbing and a scraped booty.

“You’re wearing a thong,” he said, and the heady beat of my heart pushed into the out-of-control range.

Playing up my seductive vixen side, I tugged my skirt a few inches higher and added a pinch of ditzy to my voice. “Am I?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down and, in a daze, he reached out and brushed his fingertips across the tiny triangle of fabric. Pure, physical need shivered up my core and moisture pooled between my thighs.

This was worth any risk sneaking in might bring. It was just the two of us, standing on the verge of freefalling into a whole lot more.

His palm flattened against one of my cheeks. He hooked the hem of my skirt with his thumb and then slowly dragged up, up, up, until he fisted the wad of fabric at my waist. His warm breath hit my neck, followed closely by his soft lips, and when I melted against him, his arousal lined up perfectly with the seam of my ass.

“Need help taking that off me?” I asked, or more like breathed. “I can’t skinny dip with my dress on, you know.”

“I need…” His forehead dropped against the back of my head. “You.”

Every nerve ending fired at once, each cell in my body soaring up to celebrate this moment that’d been a long timecoming. Now that it was here, I found myself slightly nervous and a lot turned on.

With shaky fingers, I reached up to the side of my dress, gripped the zipper, and tugged until the fabric folded down around my waist. Cool night air hit my skin, but with my internal temperature set to scorching, it hardly mattered.

One slow inch at a time, I pivoted to face Evan. His eyes dipped down, taking in my strapless pink bra, and the carnal gleam in his eye robbed me of what little oxygen I had left. I gripped the sides of the dress and shimmied it the rest of the way down, until it fell in a silky puddle at my feet.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a couple of seconds, I licked my lips. “Are you gonna say anything?”

“Words… they’re…” He swallowed, hard, as his eyes continued to roam over my body. “You’re the one with all the words.”

None that seemed adequate, and my heart was seriously going to beat its way out of its cage. “I don’t want to be greedy with them. I’ll let you have a few.”

The slightest hint of a smile ghosted across his lips and he took a step closer.“Damn.That pretty much encompasses what I’m thinking.”

I grinned, my nerves making it wobbly.

Evan reached out and dragged a knuckle down the center of my chest, between my breasts, over my bellybutton. Lower, lower, lower…

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