Pretending She's His: A Hard Feelings Novella (8 page)

She pressed her thighs together, aggravated with her body’s response to him. He was just pretending—it wasn’t real—but the way she reacted to his touch, to his words—there was nothing pretend about it.

Lifting her chin, she looked up at him and smiled. He caught her face between his hands and crushed his lips to hers. There was nothing sweet and gentle about the way his lips moved over hers this time. He was staking his make-believe claim on her for everyone to see—and she let him.

His tongue still didn’t invade her mouth. He kept true to their ground rules, but that didn’t stop him from parting his mouth and breathing his breath into hers. It was minty, and cool, and it only intensified the need she had to taste him completely.

Planting a final kiss to the corner of her mouth, he pulled away and walked to the fridge, opening it up and grabbing the milk jug. Meagan cleared her throat, drawing Eva’s attention away from the way Trevor’s muscles moved across his back as he tilted his head back and pulled from the plastic jug.

Meagan’s brows reached her hairline and her already big, round eyes widened even more. She’d definitely caught Eva checking out her friend. Maybe she’d think it was all part of the game? Wishful thinking. Eva just turned away. Meagan was her best friend, and she could see through any lie she told—verbal or nonverbal.

“So what’s the plan for today?” Eva asked in an attempt to change the subject and distract her mind from the man she seemed unable to take her eyes from.

“Meagan wants a lazy day,” Reed responded. Meagan was a little disappointed that they couldn’t go on a honeymoon immediately following their wedding, but she couldn’t travel too far while she was pregnant. “We were just going to lie around by the pool and probably head back home later this evening.”

“You’re not staying the night here again?” Eva asked.

Meagan popped a spoonful of yogurt in her mouth and shook her head. “No, our parents are leaving after breakfast and we want to get back. We have the cabin through tomorrow though, so feel free to stay. Plus it will give you and Trevor some more time together.”

Trevor pulled a bar stool next to Eva and sat down. He looked at her and winked. “Sounds good to me.”

Chapter Six

“Hey, Trev,” Eva shouted from the pool were she was lounging on an inflatable raft. “Will you get me another beer?”

They had spent the entire day out by the pool. They had cooked stakes out on the grill and drank well into evening. The sun was setting and Eva was more than a little tipsy—but so was Trevor. He was far from sloppy drunk, but he was well past the point of sober.

“Come get it,” he hollered from the hammock that was on the deck. He heard her groan and he laughed. She was still a pain in the ass.

Stepping out of the pool, Eva crossed the deck toward Trevor. Her fit body was nothing but smooth, lean lines and tight, firm muscle. Trevor loved a woman’s body. God created one beautiful creature when he made woman. Their bodies—the way their breasts set the path for their sides to dip and curve into hips that were made to be held which led to legs that were easily his weakness. A woman’s body was something he appreciated—all shapes and sizes. Trevor loved them all. Big ass, full tits—perfect. Small tits, killer legs, no ass—perfect. It didn’t matter what combo, they were fucking beautiful.

But watching as Eva walked toward him, her body glistening from drops of water, had ruined any future woman he would set his eyes on, because this one in front of him set the bar pretty damn high. Her chest was small but the cleavage that was pushed up out of her swimsuit top made him want to run his tongue in between her breasts. The woman had abs too. Her stomach was flat and smooth, but when she moved just right—unintentionally flexing her stomach—a slight six pack would make an appearance. It was feminine, subtle, and sexy as hell. Then her legs . . . and her ass . . . nothing more needed to be said. Pure perfection.

“Beer me,” she ordered when she stepped in front of him. Reaching down, he stuck his hand into the cooler that was next to him and pulled out a beer.

“Thank you,” she said, stretching her hand out in front of her to take the beer from his hands, but he grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her down on top of him instead.

The hammock rocked and swayed with the motion of her body tumbling onto his. She laughed, and it was honest and free. “Dammit, Trev,” she murmured, feigning annoyance.

She was running the length of him, her legs over his, her bare stomach on his, her tits pressed against his chest, and her face a mere inch from his. He had never felt her above him—on him—and she molded to him like she was cut from the same pattern. It felt. . . right.

Pretending to be with Eva was easy. And wanting to get Eva in his bed was easy for Trevor to understand. He had wanted this feisty woman since he met her. However, enjoying the easy way it felt to hold her against him, or the way it felt to touch her or kiss her was hard for him to wrap his head around. Wanting Eva this way was never something he saw coming. He didn’t realize the effect she would have on him.

“That was pretty smooth,” she acknowledged as she adjusted herself on top of him.

There wasn’t much in the way of material between them. Just knowing that all it would take was one little tug and her top would fall free did things to him that weren’t necessarily ideal given the company they were in. Oh, and the fact that this wasn’t real.

“I try.” He shrugged.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, but a smile was planted firmly in place.

Trevor’s palms lifted to her back. Her skin felt damp and smooth as his hands leisurely browsed her flesh, testing and exploring the sweet feel of her back.

He could see the white rays in her blue irises as her face hovered over his. Her eyes had always been killer—bright, crystal-clear blue eyes that stood out next to her copper-colored hair. But now that they were so close to his, just peering at him, he realized those eyes could do some damage. He felt like he was getting sucked in, or lost, or fuck, hypnotized just looking at them.

She was waiting, concentrating on his hands, which were still skimming the bare skin of her back, rubbing gentle circles and delicate patterns across it.

Then she kissed him.

And it knocked the air from his lungs.

Her lips fell to his in an urgent, desperate descent. They moved over his as if she couldn’t do anything other than kiss him. Fuck, he wanted so badly to part her lips with his tongue and sink it into the depths of her mouth so he could explore and taste her. He wanted to truly kiss her. He wanted to make her delirious with his kiss. He wanted to steal the breath from her lungs and the thoughts from her mind. But this was just part of the game. It was make-believe. And she made the rules.

His hands left her back and threaded through her wet hair, drawing her mouth tighter to his.

She moaned.

It was soft, and barely audible. But he heard it. And there was no pretending about the way that breathy little sigh sounded as it hummed from her chest.

“Get a damn room,” Finn, one of Reed’s friends, hollered from the pool. There were only a handful of people left at the cabin, and they were all good people, but Trevor was tempted to jump in the pool to give Finn a reason to shut the hell up. Because the second his voice hit their ears, Eva pulled away.

Her face was damn close to the same color as her hair. She looked mortified. Her breathing was quick and she refused to meet his eyes.

His hands rested on the side of her neck and he forced her to look at him. She didn’t say anything, just moved her eyes over his face—trying desperately not to meet his.

“Eva,” he whispered, bringing her attention to him. “It was just a kiss. And a damn good one at that. All part of the show, baby.” He raised his head off the hammock and pressed his lips to hers once more, only this time he broke the rule. This time he allowed his tongue to venture out—just slightly—and skim across her bottom lip. He felt her body relax against him for a brief moment, then her eyes opened and she separated her lips from his.

She smiled, one that was equal parts sexy and evil. She was playing the cocky card to cover her embarrassment. But this woman knew the effect she was having on him, and she was enjoying the shit out of it.

***

She’d had one too many. Okay, maybe a little more than one too many. But it was easier to deal with the shit floating around in her head when her head was fuzzy from alcohol. She’d lost a little bit of her control up on the deck. But she was a woman, and when a man—a sexy-as-hell man at that—was running his hands over her body, when she could feel his cock hardening against her, and when his eyes were looking at her like he was looking for a way in, she couldn’t help it. She kissed him. And it wasn’t for show. It wasn’t to prove some false point to her ex, it wasn’t to play the part of the smitten girlfriend, and it wasn’t to appease him. She had kissed him because at that very moment, it was the only thing she could think about.

The bed dipped down beside her. “You awake, Red?” Trevor asked as he slid in next to her. She was facing away from him, but she could easily picture him stretched out on his back, his hard chest rising and falling as he rested his hands under his head.

“Yep,” she replied.

“Ohhh,” he groaned as she felt him flip to his side. “I’m not looking forward to the drive home tomorrow.”

She was tired. Her good buzz was wearing off, leaving her drowsy. Closing her eyes and drifting off into dreamland sounded like heaven—but it looked like she was going to have to endure some pillow talk first.

She sighed and rolled over to face Trevor. When she looked at him that stupid tickle took over her stomach again. He looked at her differently than before, which she supposed was normal considering they got a tiny glimpse of a different side of each other these last two days. But the way her body responded to this new look shocked her. It had always been easy to turn Trevor down because he was the male version of herself. Casual sex and easy relationships were their signatures and on the surface, they seemed like the perfect match. But she knew his type and how they operated because she
was
the type. She operated the same damn way. She didn’t get close and she didn’t get serious. She had no hang-ups, no heartbroken past that would cause her to shy away from the proverbial happily ever after, and no insecurities she needed to work through. She had just never felt it. She never felt the desire to want anything more than casual fun from a man. But here lay the problem: The way Trevor looked at her paired with the way it made her feel—that unfamiliar little pitter patter that had somehow crept into her chest—made her feel more than she had ever felt before. And it terrified her. It screamed heartbreak. She just didn’t know if it would be hers or his.

Trevor’s face contorted into a goofy-ass frown, his brows furrowing, causing deep wrinkles to form between his eyes. “You’ve got that look,” he said, unsure.

“What look?” she questioned, fighting back a yawn.

“Like you’re plowing through some serious shit in that confusing head of yours.”

“I’m just exhausted,” she said, refusing to admit that she was juggling the new and strange feelings she was suddenly having toward him. He was Trevor. Trevor.
Maybe it was just the alcohol.

“All right, roll back over. I’ve got this,” he teased, moving closer to her. That would have been just fine had her heart not decided to lodge in her throat at the little movement. He stretched his arm out across the mattress in front of him. “Come on,” he encouraged. “I’ll spoon ya.”

“I think you like this more than me,” she said as she rolled over to her side and rested her head on his arm. He instantly wrapped his free arm around her stomach and pulled her against him.

He laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But don’t tell anyone.”

“Heaven forbid your ladies’-man reputation gets tainted by the rumor that you like to cuddle before you fall asleep.”

“Actually, tell away. It might score me a few more points. Not that I need any.”

Shaking her head she said, “And there’s the Trevor I know and love. Thought I lost you there for a little bit while you were playing boyfriend of the year today.”

He scooted in closer to her back and fastened his grip on her a little tighter. “Nope, I’m still here.”

She laughed. “Good, I was worried.”

She felt his fingers slip beneath the hem of her tank top. The rough pads of his fingertips softly brushed the skin above her panties, causing the muscles in her stomach to tighten as the rest of her body froze. “So you didn’t like pretending with me?” he whispered. His face was buried against the back of her neck and his warm breath tickled her skin in the best possible way.

“Trevor”—she inhaled as his fingers started travelling up her stomach toward her naked breasts—“what are you doing?” Her voice sounded airy, nervous, and excited all at once, betraying her from her attempts at sounding stern.

“What does it feel like I’m doing?” he asked.
Dammit
. His voice took on a new tone, a sexy quality that she never expected or heard. It made that tickle in her stomach spread lower until it reached hot right between her thighs.

“It feels . . .” she trailed off as his hand reached the underside of her breast.

“Does it feel good?” he asked before he latched his lips onto her earlobe.

She lost all coherent thought. The leftover buzz combined with the intoxicating touch she was experiencing took all words from her mouth and shoved any resistance she was going to have out the window.

“Eva?”

“Hmm?” That was all she had in her. She was tired, and his hands and mouth tantalized her body, lulling her mind while igniting a hot spark that ran through her veins. The heat from his bare chest and the weight of his body leaning against her intensified both sensations. She felt drunk again, pixilated by his titillating touch.

His lips tightened into a smile against the side of her neck. “Should I take that as a yes?”

Her shoulders relaxed a bit more when his breath rolled across her skin. She nodded.