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  He could only hope, too, that she and the others would have forgotten about their unanimous decision to refer to him as sweetie from now on. It wasn’t such a bad thing to have Liv and her friends rely on him, but that nickname had less than manly appeal.

  After finishing the drink, Liv exhaled a loud sigh and handed Neal the empty glass. “Go and tell Noelle that I’ll be down in a little bit,” she grumbled as she left the bed.

  Rising, Neal followed her to the master bath inside the room and stopped at the opened door. Folding his arms at his chest, Neal leaned against the frame and watched her reflection in a wall mirror, sneaking more appreciative glances at her bared legs whenever she wasn’t eyeing him.

  Knowing she waited for him to move so that she could close the door, Neal set his hands against the frame and leaned toward her. “Need any help?” he asked; her pinched face response making him want to laugh. “I can scrub your back and take care of all those hard to reach –.”

  Liv pushed his big body away from the opening. “I use a long handle puffy scrubber, thank you.”

  Neal paused in front of the slammed door. “Call me if you need anything!”

  “Go away!”

  Laughing, Neal turned and went downstairs to deliver the message to Noelle.

  ****

  The hotel manager was in the kitchen reheating one of the bacon and eggs on an English muffin that Neal had made for breakfast. After removing it from a microwave, she joined Sherry and Carmen at the kitchen table.

  “So, are they together, as in sharing a bed?” Noelle asked about Liv and Neal, her bright, blue eyes scanning the two hung-over women for any hint of acknowledgment when Neal entered the room. Noelle sat up fast, nearly choking on her first bite of the sandwich.

  “Liv is up now and taking a shower,” Neal said with a cordial smile. “She said to inform you that she’ll be down shortly.”

  Neal turned and walked out of the kitchen, and while Noelle slowly exhaled, the other two groaned and rubbed their aching heads.

  “Sexy voice with a sexy accent,” Noelle mumbled, smiling as she took another bite of her meal. After swallowing, she added, “I’ve had to extend VIP treatment a few times at the hotel, but not to anyone as exciting or hot as him. He’s freaking gorgeous. I’m surprised Liv actually knows him. What a hotty.”

  “And, Liv isn’t?”

  “What,” Noelle groaned and rolled her eyes at Carmen’s grumpy yet confusing remark, “she’s hot or a rock star?” Carmen’s nasty scowl made Noelle giggle, and after drinking some orange juice, she asked, “So, why is he here again, and what’s this about a stalker?”

  Carmen turned to glower at Sherry, who rested her head against the bent arms she’d set atop the table. “You never told her what happened?”

  Keeping her eyes closed, Sherry said, “I forgot. It was right after I got played, so we talked about the jerk and my problems instead.”

  “Hey,” Noelle said, gently kicking Sherry under the table. After Sherry sat up with a dull groan, Noelle smiled at her. “Be thankful it ended fool. We’re through talking about him, too. I want to know what’s going on with our cute recluse with a pretty singing voice. Is the hot guy a keeper, or is Liv pulling another one of her he’s just a friend routines?”

  “They weren’t all just friends,” Carmen snarled, eyeing Noelle over the rim of her coffee mug. “She’s slept with plenty of men. More than you I’ll bet.”

  Noelle laughed; ripping another piece of the sandwich and leaning back to drop it into her mouth. “I doubt it.”

  “Slut.”

  “Whore.”

  “Bitch.”

  “Hag.”

  “Hey!” Sherry extended both hands, frowning at the two bickering women. “Like Liv always says: be nice.”

  Neal entered the room while talking on his phone, inadvertently causing the three women to turn and watch his every move. The sound of his deep, smooth voice filled their ears, making them smile and evaporate the tension that had built up due to hangover’s and nosiness.

  Neal winked at them with a winning smile, and it caused their hearts to flutter and for color to rise on their cheeks. And when he turned aside to open the fridge, removing a pitcher of orange juice, the three tilted their heads for a clearer view of his behind. They then sat upright at the same time as Neal walked to a nearby counter to fix Liv another of his cocktails.

  Carmen grabbed her empty glass, which had contained the same tonic, and she pouted but didn’t ask Neal for a refill. When she suddenly saw Neal standing beside her to refill her glass along with Sherry’s, she offered him a warm smile.

  “Drink up,” he quietly suggested before turning to talk into the phone.

  While the interested three kept their enamored gazes fixed on Neal, Liv walked into the room. Before she reached the table, he grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her to face him. Holding up a wait finger as he set the juice back inside the fridge, he then handed her the drink, quietly ordered her to down it.

  Liv frowned but did as he asked, handing him the empty glass before she turned away and went to sit with her friends.

  Neal stood in place listening to the caller, and then he nodded and said yes a few times before leaving the room. Immediately, Noelle turned to Liv and asked about him.

  “Is he your new love interest? Has he moved in with you? How’d you two meet?”

  Giggling, Liv said, “No, no, and high school.”

  “He grabbed her in the hallway and kissed her,” Sherry offered, wide-eyed and blushing at the annoyed glance Liv shot her. “That’s what you said!”

  “No kidding,” Noelle breathed, appearing as mystified as she sounded. Dusting her hands before pouring a coffee refill, she asked, “So, he’s the romantic type, huh?”

  “There was nothing romantic about it,” Liv grumbled. “Can we talk about something else? Does anyone remember last night? Did I say or do anything stupid? I can’t remember the last time I let myself get that drunk.”

  “You mean did you do anything wild and crazy with the hunk?”

  Liv scowled at Carmen; blushing at the teasing laughter of her friends. “I wish you guys would stop calling him that. He’s probably got a big enough ego as it is.”

  Sherry reached out to hold Noelle’s hand and smiled. “He let me cry on his shoulder.”

  “No way,” Noelle cooed, glancing at Liv with a knowing smile. “So, he is the romantic type. Just what you need, I think. I saw the way he looked at you just now; like he wants to have sex this minute and doesn’t care that we’re here to watch. He’s taking mighty good care of you too, for someone who isn’t your man.”

  Groaning, Liv rested her forehead against the table and begged Noelle to be quiet.

  Neal returned to the sound of loud laughter, but when he saw Liv, he panicked and hurried to the table. Crouching beside her, he set two aspirin down and gently rubbed her back.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you going to be sick?”

  “Yes,” Liv said and sat up with a weak smile, her face red and her damp hair sticking to her flushed cheeks. “I’m sick of the conversation revolving around you and all things sex.”

  Startled, Neal stood up and offered a tight smile to the tittering females that gazed at him with their flirtatious expressions.

  “I see I’m outnumbered,” he said. “Here.” He handed Liv the aspirin. “Take these and if you need anything, I’ll be in the parlor.”

  “Why’d you let me drink that much if I already told you my limit is one?”

  Neal handed her a mug filled with coffee, smiling somewhat shyly at Liv’s angry tone. “Forgive me,” he said. “It must have slipped my mind. You seemed to be enjoying yourself, though.”

  “Making an ass of myself you mean.”

  “Hardly,” he chuckled, rubbing a sweating palm against a thigh. “Would you like me to stay so your friends won’t talk about me to you, or would you rather I leave you to their wild imaginations?”

  Liv�
�s friends laughed while she sipped the coffee to down the aspirin; pretending that it didn’t matter to her what Neal did.

  “Take a seat,” Noelle said, eyeing Neal seductively while she patted the cushion on an empty chair kitty-corner from her at the head of the table. “Liv’s being a snob, so I’ll ask you to fill me in on the details of your relationship instead.”

  “Like hell,” Liv said and gently pushed Noelle’s shoulder, making her laugh.

  “What would you like to know?”

  Neal’s question caused Liv’s eyes to widen as she gazed in shock at Carmen. She managed to latch onto his shirt as he started around the back of her chair.

  “Neal,” she warned, looking up with eyes that pleaded with him to spare her any further embarrassment. “First you let me get drunk, and now you’re offering to oblige the nosiest friend I have.”

  “I’d like to hear what he has to say too,” Carmen said, offering a demure smile as Liv glared at her.

  “Me too,” Sherry chimed in, smiling up at Neal and giggling when he winked at her.

  “Fine,” Liv said and rose from her chair. “Talk away.”

  She started past Neal when he caught and held her wrist, stopping her from walking away in an angry snit. Smiling, he sat in the chair Noelle had indicated and pulled Liv across his lap. It was an unexpected move and caused the others to sit up in astonishment.

  As their gentle gasps left her ears, Liv bowed her head at Neal’s chest, silently wishing she had the will to get up and leave the room. She liked being where she was, though. And regardless of the embarrassment she was bound to endure once he started filling her friends in on the details of their brief encounter eight years ago, Liv couldn’t think of a better place to be at that moment than in Neal’s lap.

  “Did you really single her out for a kiss?” Noelle asked, setting an elbow atop the table and resting her chin on a fist.

  Smiling, Neal stretched out his arms and exhaled a dull groan. Resting both hands atop his head, he nodded. “I did.”

  “Did she smack you or kick you in the nuts?” Carmen asked.

  A gentle laugh escaped Neal, and he shook his head while sliding his fingers through his hair. “She told me she wanted to but that the kiss was so amazing, she wasn’t able to think clearly.”

  “I did not!” Liv wrinkled her nose and slapped his arm. “If you’re going to make things up –.”

  Neal lowered his hands, setting one on her knees and the other against her back. The cheesy grin he offered made her blush and pout while also playing unfairly with her insides. Being both embarrassed and thrilled was a new sensation Liv wasn’t sure she liked experiencing. She certainly had no idea how to react to it or if she behaved properly as a result, but in her mind, being this close to Neal was worth looking a little stupid.

  Liv turned aside her head, unable to look at Neal without feeling those two emotions first-hand. She had to fight against a desirous shiver too, and it didn’t seem right or fair that he was capable of causing her such discomfort. Looking into those mesmerizing eyes of his wasn’t helping her to relax.

  Noelle must be intuitive to have noticed that look. It was a commanding gaze filled with sensuality and an obvious desire . . . for her. It wasn’t the first time she noticed it, either. Before each kiss she had witnessed that look and on all three occasions, he had acted on impulse yet refused to see it through. Liv was becoming frustrated, and yet the inclination to treat him bad just wasn’t strong enough for her to want to follow through.

  He’s playing me, she figured. Maybe like Sherry’s jerk of a boyfriend, Neal is testing the waters to see how far he can actually get.

  She frowned at Neal while he concentrated on her friends, explaining to them about his accent at the moment. Before her anger rose too high, Liv felt Neal’s big, warm hand slowly make its way up between her bare thighs. Heat rose on her face as slowly and intensely as that hand, as did the increased pounding of her heart.

  With the overwhelming sensation now coursing through her entire body at his intimate touch, Liv still thought about slapping him. His hand at least. It didn’t seem like a smart thing to do with her friends watching, so she sat still and gazed at the sink beyond Neal’s shoulder. Trying to prevent her leg muscles from contracting against his palm caused a slightly painful strain on her whole body, but Liv managed to remain steady. While gripping his wrist, she slowly pushed that invasive hand back down to her knees.

  The tablecloth hung low enough to hide his naughty intent, or so Liv hoped.

  Chapter 11

  There were only a few times in each year when all of Liv’s friends got together, and this was one of those times. They made it a point to clear their schedules around each other in order to be able to hang out together, and most often it ended up being at Liv’s place.

  Shortly after the conversation with Neal ended, Noelle, Sherry, and Carmen found quiet places to relax and unwind, leaving Neal to fidget and pace inside the main room of the house. Carmen was inside the parlor browsing fashion magazines, so he wasn’t able to use his room to hide or get any work done.

  He found Liv up in her room and knocked at the ajar door before gently pushing it open a bit more. Seeing her pacing beside the bed made him smile, and he took another moment to watch her before making his presence known.

  “Liv, I –.”

  She hurried to him and then stopped abruptly, eyeing him with an upset look that worried and confused him. Then she grabbed a fist-full of his shirt, surprising him.

  “What’s . . . wrong?” His voice wavered with concern, and he tried not to smile, sensing there was definitely something she intended to get off her chest when she rose up on her toes and pressed her lips against his.

  Neal’s immediate response was to set his hands on her waist and return the kiss. Then he pressed both hands against her bottom, smiling against her warm, malleable mouth as he squeezed each taut mound.

  She broke away abruptly, leaving him to stand still with his lips still puckered. Before he could ask if she was game, Liv slid her fingers inside the waistband of his jeans, making him gasp. A gentle laugh escaped him as he latched onto her wrists, but his eyes searched her angry expression with a hint of worry in them.

  “Liv,” he cooed, reaching up to set a hand against the side of her flushed face. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” she lied while unbuttoning his shirt. “Everything,” she added, pausing to gaze up at him with her angry eyes. “I don’t get you, Neal. What are you doing here, and why are you teasing me? Even after everything I heard you tell my friends about us, I still don’t see how I did anything to make you want to get your revenge.”

  “Revenge?” he laughed. “What are you talking about? I came here because I want to be with you. I rearranged my schedule and can use my phone to take care of anything that comes up at work. What gave you the impression I’m seeking revenge?”

  “Forget it,” Liv grumbled, pushing against his solid chest and turning her back on him. “I like you and I hate you. I want you and I don’t. I’m anxious to see you naked, and I wish you’d just leave me alone. I –.”

  Neal set a hand on her shoulder and spun her roughly so that she faced him again. His glowing eyes scanned her for any sign of regret before he smiled.

  “Naked?”

  “Don’t start,” she warned, punching his arm that time and turning to walk away. Neal grabbed her by the wrist, gently yanking her against him so that he could hug her. “I’m serious,” she warned him, setting both hands against the arm that he had wrapped about the front of her, her back pressed against his chest. “If you touch me again; kiss me and then stomp off, I’ll find something heavy to bash over your head.”

  His soft laughter made her blush, and then he pressed his lips against the top of her head, gently rocking her side to side in front of him. “I’d rather you didn’t, Liv. And I didn’t stomp off because I was teasing you. More like escaping in the knick of time, before anything I’d promised not to
do occurred.”

  Liv turned and looked up at him, and now it was her turn to search his face for any signs of being a liar. “Then,” she breathed. “You do want to?”

  His smile and weak bit of laughter made her skin chill with excitement, and suddenly he was looking at her with those aroused eyes of his, making her tremble.

  “Liv,” he breathed, kissing her that time. His hands held the sides of her head, and Liv rose up on her toes again, tingling with need and anxious to move ahead in their strange, new relationship. “How can you not know how bad I want you?”

  His husky voice near her ear gave Liv another thrill, and she smiled as she pressed her body against his. A second later, she grabbed another fist-full of his shirt and led him to her bed.

  Neal’s shirt was undone, and Liv finally had the chance to see him in the light of day. While she gazed in awe at his tanned, tight flesh and smoothed a palm across his bulging pecs, Neal offered a shy smile and tossed his shirt onto a nearby chair. His hands gently squeezed her arms, and Liv tore her gaze from his body to look into his eyes. Once more, his pupils dilated and a hunger overshadowed his normal, confident look.

  “I want you now more than ever,” he groaned, pressing his lips against hers. That time, his tongue pried her mouth open, and the duel began. Neal’s need and Liv’s desire blended to create a passion that had them both naked in just a few seconds.