Page 72 of Had To Be You

“What?! You’re not going to fight me on this? You’re just going to allow me to insult your manhood and not say a thing? What happened to my no-strings-attached brother? Where are you hiding him?”

I laugh and shrug my shoulders. “One day you’ll understand. When you find the one, you can’t fight it. There’s no point. It’s a losing battle.”

“Man, first Parks, now you. You both need to hand over your man cards. My bros are dropping like flies.”

“Think about it this way…there’s more fish in the sea for you now,” I joke, nudging my elbow into his bicep while my eyes follow Ellie to the dance floor where she joins Olivia and two of their girlfriends. A fast song plays over the speakers and Ellie and the girls dance suggestively, rolling their hips and raising their arms in the air. Jesus hell, this woman is going to be the death of me. What a crazy wonderful way to go.

Dancing to the beat, Ellie turns and catches me staring. She smiles my way. It’s an I-love-you smile, and I flash one right back to her. Except mine is a you-are-sexy-as-hell version.

Minutes later, I feel Ellie’s arms wrap around my center and warmth zips through me. I shift her body from behind me, slipping my arms around her waist and pulling her back into my chest. My voice is in her ear. “You know what that does to me, Ellie. You dancing like that. You’re not playing fair.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she purrs, her body vibrating against mine as she laughs.

“Is something funny?” I ask.

“Nope.”

“Your body is so fucking hot. I am so turned on right now and what am I supposed to do about it?” I groan, dipping my mouth into the curve of her neck. My warm breath is next to her ear and I feel her skin tremble from my touch.

“I’m sure that filthy mind of yours can think of something,” she says, tilting her head to the side to gaze up at me.

“Do my filthy thoughts turn you on?” I ask her.

She smiles, and I feel it deep inside my soul. “Isn’t it obvious? Everything about you turns me on.”

My smile widens against her jaw and my dick is at half-mast pressed up against the curve of her back wanting a little attention. I know she’s aware she’s playing with fire, but my girl has never been afraid of getting burnt. The back and forth between the two of us feels too damn good to stop, but I know I need to put an end to this before I do something I’ll regret in the morning.

“You better go before I drag you from this tent and jump you on a pool chair.” The warning is clear. She knows all the rules that I have continuously broken for her. I will take her on that chair if she doesn’t walk away. My restraint when it comes to Ellie is nonexistent.

She laughs, turning in my arms to face me with a smile in her eyes that says I dare you. “You never stop, do you?”

“Nope, not when it comes to you,” I say as she takes a step back, dragging my hand out between us. “And I don’t plan on it either, so you better get used to it.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ellie

“Fetch, Murph!” Liam hollers, throwing the plastic chicken across the yard from where he soaks in the pool. Liam’s thick dark hair is wet and messy while beads of water drip down his bronzed skin.

It’s been three weeks since the wedding - the day Liam realized he didn’t want to lose me. We’re both tired from a dinner party last night at the beach house welcoming Parker and Olivia home from their honeymoon. Everyone who mattered was there: Liam’s parents, Miles and Jules, Kate and even Olivia’s parents who have been getting along remarkably well since Olivia’s dad returned back into their lives. It was a traditional clam bake on the beach like the ones Liam’s family used to have when he was a child, followed by after-dinner drinks and chocolate pie around a fire.

The Bennetts are really starting to feel like family, taking me in like I’m one of their own. Parker, Miles and Jules have become the siblings I’ve always wanted. Six days into my parents’ stay they told me they felt in their bones they were needed elsewhere. I told them I understood. Liam promised them he’d take care of me. Then he promised me he would make sure it was months and not years until the next time I would see them. That was that.

After sleeping in until ten and the best morning sex of my life, we are now lounging by his pool. Well, I’m lounging. Liam prefers doing laps while I lie stretched out on a lounge chair. I turn my attention back to the crossword I’m working on and shift in my chair, enjoying the warm afternoon sun on my skin.

Stumped at my next clue, I ask Liam from across the yard, “Dated American cocktail?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” He answers with a smug smile, his dimple in his left cheek catching my eye. Arrogant fucker.

“Listen, smarty pants, if it was, do you think I’d be asking you? Indulge me.”

Liam pushes up from the edge of the pool with his hands, lifting one leg over the side. He runs one hand through his wet hair once he’s standing and his other hand trails down his chest to the board shorts he’s wearing deliciously low on his hips. The sight of his bare chest and hard abs and the dusting of hair leading into his swimsuit, spikes my heart rate.

I stare at my devastatingly gorgeous man.

My pulse races.

My skin pebbles.

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