The Family Simon: Tucker Part 11

"I'm sure Beau and Cooper both know why I dragged you up here," he said roughly.

The wariness returned, and she would have stepped away but Tucker didn't let her. Instead his arm snaked around her waist and he pulled her closer until she was pretty much pressed against every inch of him.

The air was charged with that same hot and heavy something from the night before, and he knew that she felt it too. It was in the way her tongue darted out to rest against her bottom lip. The way her breath caught. It was in the way his heart beat, thrumming like a drum, his pulse racing ahead trying to keep up with his thoughts.

And there was no mistaking the hardness between his legs for anything other than what it was. Desire. Hot and heavy desire.

"That kiss last night," he began hoa.r.s.ely.

Silence.

"What about it?" she asked, voice more than a little rough.

His hand slid along her jaw until he cupped the back of her head and kept her gaze locked onto his.

"Why did you go there, Abby? Why did you kiss me like that?"

Shadows crept into her eyes and for a moment, he thought she was going to ignore all of it. Heck, in the past, it was what he would have done. Just ignore it. Put it in a little box, tie it up and forget all about it. It would have been the easy thing to do, because G.o.d knows things were getting complicated, and they were getting complicated fast.

But she surprised him. Abby always managed to surprise him.

"I wanted to kiss you," she replied.

"Why?"

A pause.

"What do you mean, why?"

Christ, she wasn't going to make this easy. But had he expected that?

"We've been friends for a while now, and I just..." G.o.d, he couldn't get out what was inside of him. "Well I just...that kiss kind of blew me away. I thought about it all night."

There. It was out in the open and the ball was in her court.

She stared up at him for a few seconds, pulse alive at her throat, eyes wide and expressive. She was thinking things. Wondering things.

"I've wanted to kiss you for a long time, Tucker. You had to have known that." Her eyes slid away, as if she was embarra.s.sed at her own candor, and something about the tremble in her bottom lip tugged at him.

Okay. Maybe he shouldn't be surprised as s.h.i.t, but holy h.e.l.l. Tucker was surprised as s.h.i.t.

He slid one hand up her body until he cupped the back of her head, his long fingers buried in her hair. Gently, he forced her eyes back up to his and-yep-there went his heart, racing like a G.o.dd.a.m.n drum. Ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom.

What. The. h.e.l.l. When was the last time he'd felt so alive? When was the last time his body and mind were in sync when it came to a woman? G.o.d, he wanted Abby, he wanted to be buried deep inside her, but it was so much more than that.

This here, what he was feeling, was already so much more than he'd thought it could be, and he decided there and then that he was going to explore the connection. As long as she was willing.

"Why did you wait so long?" he murmured, eyes locked onto hers intently.

For a few moments, there was silence and then she exhaled slowly, shaking her head. "I was afraid."

"Of what?"

"I..." She shuddered against him, and he felt something inside him crack.

"I was afraid that you wouldn't feel the same."

He groaned, one hand on her hip holding her in place while the other cupped the back of her neck. "Are you crazy? Who the h.e.l.l wouldn't want a kiss from you?"

She didn't answer and her eyes were lowered, so he couldn't see what was in them. And if anything, Abby's eyes were a direct path to what was going on inside her head.

He reached for her chin and tugged gently until she was forced to look up at him. "Hey," he said softly. He had a feeling that he knew what was going on inside her. Because it was the exact same thing that was going on inside him.

"Is it because we're friends?"

Her eyes flashed and she straightened a bit, a little of her fire back. "So I'm not just some bartender who you barely know?"

He liked the fire. h.e.l.l, he wanted to taste the fire.

His mouth found its way to the corner of hers and he whispered. "No, Abigail Mathews. You're a h.e.l.l of a lot more than just a bartender that I know."

And she was.

"You are an amazing woman, and I think that you know me better than maybe I know my own self." He thought of the endless nights he'd stayed late at The Black Dog, or the excuses he'd made to bring the endless parade of women around. He realized it was because of Abby. It had always been because of Abby.

"I'm not sure what this is or where we're going and what it could be, but I can't lie." He rested his forehead on hers. "I want you. I want you in my bed."

He was hot. On fire.

"But I don't want to f.u.c.k our friendship up because you're important to me."

Her hand was slowly creeping up his body until her nails dug into his shoulders. "Then this is going to get complicated," she murmured.

"Yeah," he managed to say when her lips grazed the skin beneath his earlobe.

Fear shot through him, and he moved so that he could see her again. "Abby, I don't...I don't think..." he took a step back and welcomed the cool air that ran across his skin. Tucker took a moment, eyes never leaving Abby. "I don't know that I can be...or..." Christ he wasn't making any kind of sense.

But Abby placed her fingers on his mouth. "Why don't we stop a.n.a.lyzing and over-thinking." She wrinkled her nose. "We always overthink you know? It's like the fail-safe for human nature. I don't want to overthink anymore. There's something here, Tucker. I'm not imagining it and neither are you, and whatever this is could be amazing. Why don't we just see where it goes?"

She glanced down at the evidence of his arousal, and the soft smile that lingered around her mouth was enough to drive him over the edge.

"I thought you weren't going to sleep with me."

Her head whipped up. "Excuse me?"

"That's what you told your roommate."

Abby smoothed her hair into place and took another step back until her hand was on the doork.n.o.b. "Well, that's the thing about women, Tucker. It's our prerogative to change our mind."

If he could have taken her right there and then, he would have. Instead, Tucker reached down for the some sort of control and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his dress pants.

He nailed her with a look that was unmistakable.

"Good to know," he said dangerously, his hand sliding over hers until he opened the door. "Because we're leaving this reception early."

He pushed her out into the hall. Bent toward her and licked up the side of her neck. "And then I'm going to take you back to our room and we're going to get naked."

He heard her breath catch and grinned.

"I'm going to kiss and lick every inch of your body, Miss Mathews."

She started down the stairs, hand shaking as it clung to the railing. "Really, Mr. Simon?" she murmured.

"Really," he answered, heart beating slow and steady. Just before Abby reached the door leading back into the reception, his hand slid over hers, electricity zipping along his forearm. "And then you're going to have the best s.e.x of your life."

She paused at that, and he could visualize the smile on her face. "That's a pretty arrogant statement."

"No, that's where you're wrong, darlin'." He opened the door, his hot gaze on her face as he waited for her to pa.s.s by. "That's not a statement. That's a promise."

Chapter Twelve.

Abby stayed away from the champagne. She didn't have one sip of wine. Didn't touch any of the beer, imported or otherwise. And she sure as h.e.l.l didn't touch any of the hard liquor.

And yet she felt as if every single cell in her body was buzzing. It was as if her equilibrium was off, and like a drunk, she was weaving through the sea of guests, trying to keep her feet planted firmly so that her a.s.s wouldn't end up on the cool, tiled floor.

Because she sure as heck was drunk.

She was drunk and high on something and that something had a name. Tucker Simon.

That's not a statement, darling. That's a promise.

A groan escaped her and she tried to smile at Aunt Virginia as the older woman threaded her arm through Abby's and led her into a dark corner.

"Are you all right, dear? You look a bit peaked."

Abby didn't have to glance up to know that Tucker's dark gaze was on her. They'd been back at the reception for nearly two hours, though almost as soon as they'd entered the large room, he'd been spirited away by his cousins. He'd taken the bride for a spin around the room and then, of course, Aunt Virginia had claimed him. After that, he'd been surrounded by family and more than few women who were a tad too...overt in their advances.

And all the time, Tucker watched her.

Abby had taken a turn on the dance floor with Cooper and then Beau. She'd done a slow waltz with an old Southerner named Briscoe, who sported a waxed mustache that would have made Custard proud and wandering hands that well, wandered.

Again, Tucker watched.

They were separated, physically, and yet she felt the weight of his gaze, as if he was next to her. Kissing her. Touching her.

"G.o.d," she said softly, pressing a hand to the damp skin behind her neck.

"Would you like some punch?" Aunt Virginia asked.

"No," Abby replied, cutting off the older woman. Alcohol would only make things worse. "I'm sorry, I just need to...I want..." She looked into the older woman's eyes and blew out a hot breath. What to say?

I want to have hot, sweaty s.e.x with your nephew, but I don't know if I should because it might ruin everything? But I've wanted him forever it seems and now...now I don't know what to do about it?

A slow smile crept over Virginia's face, and she patted Abby's hand. "I understand, honey. Trust me. Those Simon boys are hard to resist. Why my own husband d.a.m.n near swept me off my feet the night I met him." She c.o.c.ked her head and smoothed her hair back as her gaze wandered the room. A dreamy expression settled in her eyes, and her voice was husky.

"It was love at first sight, and I didn't stand a chance. He took one look at me and decided he was going to have me and well," she chuckled. "Have me he did. Right there. That night."

Abby didn't know what to say to that, so she remained quiet.

"So you and Tucker are...involved then?" Virginia's eyes were sharp as she swung her gaze back to Abby.

"I...well," she attempted a smile. She so didn't want to discuss Tucker with his aunt. A quick look to her right, and she saw his mother, Eden, headed their way. Two against one. Not fair.

Suddenly it was all too much. It was too noisy. Too hot. There were too many bodies everywhere-too many d.a.m.n Simons. And Christ, if Tucker kept looking at her the way he was right now, she was going to explode. She just might melt into an o.r.g.a.s.mic puddle.

She needed...she needed something familiar and safe. Something or rather someone who could steer her straight.

"I've got to make a phone call. Please excuse me."

Abby didn't wait for Aunt Virginia to answer. She spun on her four inch pumps and slid through the crowd, ducking to her left when she spied Cooper a few feet away. She wasn't in the mood for him. h.e.l.l, she wasn't in the mood for any of this right now.

She threaded her way across the dance floor and headed for the terrace, not stopping until the cool air hit her and the shadows in the corners covered her. If she smoked, now would be the time for a cigarette. Instead, she rifled through her small clutch bag and whipped out her cell.

Moments later, it rang and her roommate Lisa picked up immediately.

"You slept with him."

Startled, Abby pressed the volume b.u.t.ton, wincing as Lisa's voice echoed into the night. Turning slightly she whispered into the phone.

"No. Why the h.e.l.l would you say that?"

"You didn't sleep with him?"

"You sound surprised."

"I am."

Abby made a face.

"So you didn't sleep with him," Lisa repeated.