Page 7 of Hardcore Vanilla
Blech. So much alone time wasn’t good for her mental health.
Deciding she'd had more than enough of her own melancholy, she poked her bestie in the side. Kate squealed, shrinking away from the finger digging into her side.
"So, when are we going to sit down and talk about your wedding?" Sharon asked, grinning. "I've got big plans for your bachelorette party."
******
It was like the woman was incapable of sitting still for more than five minutes, Jake thought grumpily, eyeing her from across the room. Considering that she was pretty much the opposite of his 'type' personality-wise, he still didn't understand why he'd always been so attracted to her. Of course, it was even worse now that he knew what she tasted like, what she sounded like when she was orgasming, and what she felt like as she writhed underneath him.
She was now having some kind of tickle war with Kate. In a freaking hospital waiting room. Uncaring about everyone else in the room and whether or not they were watching or listening. Drawing every eye to her, as usual, including several admiring eyes from the other men in the room, thanks to the low-cut shirt she was wearing. There was an awful lot of cleavage on display. Who wore a shirt like that to come see a newborn baby? He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his memories of exactly how much he'd enjoyed laving attention on that particular area of her body last night were still very clear.
A hard elbow in his side drew his gaze away from her.
"Ow," he complained to Olivia. She had sharp elbows. The Domme gave him a look that was guaranteed to shrivel any man’s balls. Jake didn’t take it too hard that he was intimidated by her – so was everyone else.
"Leave her alone," she said firmly, in a low voice that only he could hear. On the other side of her, her boyfriend and submissive, Luke Evans, was chatting away with Rick and Maria, not paying attention to Olivia's conversation with Jake. "You're way too hard on that girl."
"I wasn't doing anything," he protested. Hell, he hadn't said a word aloud about how gauche she was being.
"You're glaring at her," Olivia accused, as her grey eyes turned flinty. She could be a little bit of a mother-hen about submissives, especially those in their group of friends, and since Sharon was the only one currently unattached Jake supposed he shouldn't be surprised that Olivia was feeling protective. Still, he was a little irked that Olivia thought Sharon needed protecting from him.
As far as he could tell, Sharon didn't need protecting from anyone. Other people's stares and occasional mutters bounced off of her like she had some kind of impenetrable shield. She sure as hell hadn't ever been influenced by Jake's disapproval in the past, and he'd occasionally been pretty vocal about it.
The only times they'd gotten along were when they weren't talking. Like when they'd danced at Adam and Angel's wedding, or when they'd danced last night, which had led to... Well yeah. So, they got along well physically but that was about it.
"She's being really loud," he muttered. It bothered him that he was still attracted to her, that he couldn't stop thinking about how he hadn't minded when she'd been really loud in his bed last night, even when she was currently grating on his nerves.
Jake liked calm, quiet women. Soothing women. Women who didn't constantly need to be the center of attention. Women who smiled in understanding when he was too blunt or rude, women who were accepting of a few rough edges. Women who, in other words, weren't anything like Sharon.
"And yet somehow hurting no one," Olivia said gently but firmly. "Let it go, Jake."
Right. Not terrible advice.
If only he could let his attraction go that easily.
Chapter 2
"Oh my goodness, she's gorgeous," Ellie crooned as Adam and Angel's new baby girl yawned in her daddy's arms. The sentiment was echoed by every single person who was standing in a wide semi-circle around Adam, trying not to crowd him while simultaneously trying to get a look at the tiny new addition to their group.
They'd all cheered and gone out to lunch after Leigh came out with the news that Angel had delivered a baby girl - but that they wouldn't be able to see them until later. After eating, they'd all returned to the hospital in hopes of an introduction, and Adam had brought the snugly wrapped Miss Melody Ginevra Rawn out to meet them. Angel was asleep, as she should be after such a long night. Her parents had stayed in the room with her in case she woke up and needed anything, allowing Adam to show off the baby.
"Isn't she?" Adam asked, staring down at his daughter with an expression of mingled awe and trepidation. He was utterly enraptured by her, and seeing the normally stoic man turned all soft and melty was freaking adorable.
Still, Sharon couldn't help but lean into Kate, tilting her head so her bestie would know she wanted to say something privately. Her much taller friend bent slightly to hear whatever it was.
"Did Angel seriously manage to work in both a Doctor Who and a Harry Potter reference into her daughter's name without Adam noticing?" she murmured.
Kate snorted, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as her blue eyes went wide. Fortunately, everyone was too busy cooing at the baby to take notice of what she and Kate were doing. Well, almost everyone. Sharon saw Jake's eyes slant her way, narrowing slightly. Deciding to be mature, she didn't stick her tongue out at him. It wasn't any of his business what she said to Kate.
"Oh my God, she totally did," Kate whispered back. "When do you think he'll figure it out?"
"At least a week... he's pretty shell-shocked right now," Sharon guessed.
Andrew leaned forward around Kate so he could look at both of them, his dark eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What are you two whispering about?"
"Nothing," Sharon said immediately, at the exact same time that Kate said, "I'll tell you later."
Just then, little Melody began to make unhappy noises and Adam immediately whisked her back to Angel's room, leaving the group to disperse.
