Kiss Me at Midnight (Entangled Flaunt) (2 page)

Before he saw her face, he knew.

Only one woman set him afire like that, and her name was Ashley.

And after years of being a complete asshole to her…

He’d just strolled on up and tapped on her shoulder like the fucking idiot he was.

Chapter Two

The breath slammed out of Ethan’s chest while his stomach fisted in a tight coil of need. Her bright green eyes studied his face, dropped to take in his body, and then rose to meet his gaze with an unspoken challenge. The way she looked at him, her mouth soft and her eyes boldly on his, told him she’d changed as much as he had.

She screamed of…

Confidence. Yes, that’s what it was. She was confident, hot, and sexy. That was how he would describe her now. She’d been sweet and somewhat quiet in high school—not as ultra-nerd as Ethan but certainly not the homecoming queen, either. She’d been well-liked but not a ‘notice me’ kind of girl.

Yet, there wasn’t a damn thing about her that didn’t attract notice tonight.

Everything from the tip of her head to those spiked, red heels she wore screamed for a man’s attention. And damn it all to hell, he was more than willing to be the man to provide. Her plump lips were tinted with pink gloss, begging to be kissed. And her body…

Curves once disguised underneath loose t-shirts and bulky jackets were now hugged by the soft cashmere of her dress. Teasing him, challenging him, reminding him of exactly what he’d been missing all those years in high school. Fuck, he wanted to run his hands all over those curves. A jolt of desire shot to his groin. She looked tantalizing.

And he wanted to play.

His gaze fell on the ring finger of her left hand. No ring. She wasn’t married or engaged, thank God. Maybe he could finally get that New Year’s kiss he’d hoped for back in high school. Maybe he could even get a whole lot more. Then again, maybe she’d slap him and throw her drink in his face for being such a dick.

He kind of deserved that, too.

“Hi, Ethan,” she murmured, licking her pink lips and watching him from under her lashes. “Fancy meeting you here.”

After she spoke, she bit down on her lower lip and stole a look at the woman standing next to her. He didn’t recognize her, but she was obviously Ashley’s friend.

He widened his smile, determined to bullshit his way through this conversation as if he’d known it was Ashley all along. As if he’d intentionally tapped her shoulder and now wasn’t dying to turn around and walk away from the embarrassment of how he’d acted all those years ago.

“Hi.” He rubbed his jaw and eyed her, not sure what the hell to say. “How are you?”

“Funny that you ask that, considering you didn’t bother to talk to me for the last half of senior year. Or any other time since then.” She gave him her back, glancing over her shoulder at him with a dismissive flick of her wrist. “But, hey, it was nice seeing you again.”

He rested his hand on her shoulder. Even such an innocent touch made him want nothing more than to pick her up and carry her back to his place caveman style so he could show her exactly what she’d been missing all these years. What
he’d
been missing. And judging from the surprised flare of interest he saw in her eyes, she felt the same way.

“Okay. I deserved that,” he admitted.

She spun back around and rolled her eyes at him, but they were sparkling. “How magnanimous of you to be aware of your faults. And here I thought you might be like every other man in the world and have no idea about them.”

“I’ve never been ‘one of the guys.’” He dropped his hand from her shoulder. “But then, you already knew that, didn’t you?”

“I did.” She looked him up and down, her gaze scorching over his length. “But something tells me you don’t have such a hard time fitting in anymore. Not with those muscles.”

He shrugged, his cock hardening when she zoned in on his belt buckle area as if she wanted to see if he’d grown bigger under there, too, or some shit like that. “I do okay.”

“I’m sure,” she scoffed, tearing her eyes off of his dick. “Now if you’ll excuse me…?”

He should take the hint and leave her alone. But this Ashley was so different from the girl he’d loved in high school. He didn’t know her anymore. And he was damned intrigued to find out more about the confident, sexy woman she’d become.

He’d changed. She’d changed. Perhaps that meant they could put the past to rest and start something new. “Can we talk?”

“I’m here for one reason tonight, and it’s not to talk to an asshole who wanted nothing to do with me back when he was supposed to be my best friend.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “And you’re cock-blocking me.”

Cock-blocking
? So she was here for the same reason as he was. Yet, the idea of her seeking out someone else’s cock didn’t sit well with him.

There was only one man for Ashley tonight, and it was him.

“Come on. Can’t you pretend to not hate me for five minutes? I’ll buy your drink, and then you’ll be free to walk away after I do my thing. I swear it.”

She looked down at her empty drink, then back up at him, her stunning features reflecting her skepticism. “I don’t know…”

He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, watching as she flinched a tiny bit. Her curls were silky soft. Even softer than he’d imagined, which seemed impossible. All those years, as kids, he’d wanted to do this. Touch her. And now that he had the chance to finally touch her? He’d be a fool to walk away from it. “Please?”

He should be surprised at the level of lust she brought out in him, even after all these years, but she hadn’t just been a girl from his past—she’d been
the
girl from his past. Maybe after tonight, he could finally lay his outdated obsession with her to rest.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” She chewed on the corner of her lip and studied him, then shook her head slightly. “It’s been too long for you to come up to me and act like nothing happened.”

“I know...”
Eight years and six months, to be exact
. “But what can I say? Time flies when you’re busy being an asshole.”

Ashley’s choked on a laugh. “Excuse me? Did you just call yourself an
asshole
?”

“If the shoe fits.” He held his hand out, stepping closer so his thighs brushed against her knees. She didn’t move away. “I’ll call myself worse names, too, if it’ll get you to agree to have that drink with me.”

She looked at his offered hand, but didn’t move. “Is that a promise?”

He leaned in closer, his lips only a breath away from her ear. “Yes. And you can call me anything you want, too. I’m yours to yell at…or whatever.”

“Or whatever, huh?” Her hand rested on his bicep, burning through the thin fabric. “Deal. I’ll have a glass of pinot grigio.”

He stepped back from her, his heart lurching. He had a feeling she was giving the
whatever
portion of his statement serious thought. Thank fucking God.

“Go sit at that table, and I’ll meet you over there.” He nodded at her friend. “It was nice seeing you.”

“Yes. Nice seeing you, too.” As he headed for the bar, he heard Ashley’s friend exclaim, “
That
was dorky little Ethan Pierce? Are you freaking kidding me? If
you
won’t do him,
I
will.”

He grinned and ran a hand through his hair. Interesting offer, but there was only one woman he had his eye on tonight, and she was currently spitting fire at him. But even so, deep down he knew…

One way or another, tonight was going to be epic.

…

At the table, Ashley watched Ethan make his way through the crowd, with two glasses in one hand and a whole bottle of wine in the other. How the hell did he morph from the scrawny, dorky boy she loved and remembered fondly into the built, muscular, brown haired, brown-eyed, and devastatingly handsome devil of a man coming her way? She’d always liked Ethan, but now?

Holy crap. He was freaking
hot
.

So hot all she could think about was bringing him back to her place for the night and banging him out of her system.

Literally.

Sideways, backwards, upside down.

As long as tonight ended with him inside of her, she’d be a happy girl.

She couldn’t believe she was actually entertaining the thought of taking home Ethan, of all men. If he’d come over and acted as if he’d done nothing wrong, she would have stuck to her guns and told him to fuck off. But now she wanted to hear what he had to say. To see if he’d changed
inside
as well as out. Maybe he was telling the truth about wanting to make up for his behavior back then.

Because she certainly had some ideas on ways he could make it up to her.

She had no doubt that’s what he’d meant by
whatever
.

Everything about him made her want him. His eyes, his smile, the way he carried himself when he walked. That was all the same as back in high school. Yet, he was completely different. Self assured. Cocky, even. Oozing sex appeal and ripped from head to toe.

With a newly developed sense of humor about himself.

She liked the new him.

She watched the way his muscular arms strained against the sleeves of his dress shirt. Hot damn, she needed to touch him and see if he was as solid as he looked. When Ethan got closer, she sat up straighter, watching him intently. He came to her side and inclined his head.

Holding his arm out, he said, “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” She took the proffered drink and raised it to him. “No more glasses?”

He looked at her with a raised brow. “Uh, no. I got Lasik
.”

“Oh, yeah, Lasik…” She flushed, feeling like an idiot for giving such a lame response. Being around him was throwing her off of her game. “So, what was that about you being an asshole? I’m all ears.”

He cleared his throat. “It wasn’t right, what I did to you. I should’ve talked it over with you. Should have gotten the fuck over it. And by the time I had, it was too late. We were both in different colleges...”

“That doesn’t tell me what I want to know.” She took a sip of wine and scooted closer, her knees brushing against his as she adjusted herself on the high chair. God, he was tight. She’d always liked him, even back when they’d been nothing more than kids. But
like
was an understatement for what she was feeling now.

Still…

“Why did you stop talking to me?”

He flexed his jaw and took a long sip of his wine. “It’s stupid. I don’t even want to say it, it’s that fucking stupid.”

“Let me be the judge of that.” She pursed her lips, even more intrigued to hear the reason behind the slight than ever before. “Spit it out.”

He sighed. “I saw you with Roger.”

“Roger?” She raised a brow. So he saw her with her friend—her
gay
friend. Big deal? What made him so angry about that that he didn’t talk to her ever again? “And then…?”

“You were kissing him at our spot.” He took a big gulp of wine and then set down the empty glass. “And instead of putting on my big boy panties and accepting that you didn’t want me the same way I wanted you, I twisted them in a bunch and acted like the worst friend in history. I’m truly sorry for that.”

She tightened her grip on her glass. “
That’s
why you stopped talking to me? Oh my God. You’re such an asshole.”

“I already agreed to that, so if you’re expecting an argument from me, you’re doomed to be disappointed.” He glared down at his empty glass. “I was a jerk to you, and I know you probably won’t be able to forgive me…but I had to at least apologize.”

She studied him. He
did
look sorry… “I see. And that’s supposed to make it better?”

“No. I know it doesn’t. But I felt you deserved an explanation.” He poured himself more wine. “I might be nine years late, but there you have it. The reason I’m a prick.”

She chugged the rest of hers and then held her empty glass out for more. She needed another drink after that. “You’re right. It was a stupid reason. And I was really upset.”

“I was, too. My poor little high school heart was shattered with angst and horror.”

She laughed despite herself. “Stop! It’s not funny.

He looked up sheepishly. “You’re right. Treating your friends like crap is never funny.”

“Yeah, well.” She shrugged, warming to his apology. “Coping was never your strong suit. Even back then. You’re kind of a runner.”

His brown eyes bore into hers, direct, heated, intense. “I was a boy then. I’m a man now.”

No joke.
He’d certainly manned up about his behavior.

And his body was
all
man…

He filled her glass to the rim and she frowned at him. “If I can make it up to you in some way…let me know. Anything.”

The way he said that last word… God, she wanted to climb all over him and have her way with him, once and for all. And he was here, looking at her with those eyes she’d never been able to resist, and she didn’t
want
to resist. Sure, he’d been a jerk to her, but that had been years ago when they’d both been kids.

She’d been crushing on him since freshman year, even if he’d been clueless about it. Which meant tonight was twelve years in the making. They’d both been too shy to make a move back then. She’d be damned if she was going to shy away tonight.