"When he came rushing in here, p.i.s.sed but not furious. He hates me enough to take a swing at me if I was really touching his girl."

She grins, and then I slip on the Band-Aid before standing up.

"Well, you should be a doctor. I feel all better," she says with a playful tone while staring down at her ankle.

"I can make you feel a little better than you already do," I daringly release, making her body visibly shiver as she slowly turns to meet my eyes.

Definitely getting to her. Thank f.u.c.k.

"Um, you should probably let me change. The gravel sort of messed up my dress. I'll see you around."

She tries to sound dismissive, but she's too strained in her tone to sell it. I lean over, my body hovering over hers, as her lips tremble.

"Or, I could undress you and you could change later."

I don't give her a chance to respond. Before I realize what's going on, I've pushed her onto her back and fallen between her parted legs before sliding her farther up on the bed.

My lips press against hers, and her devilish little tongue sweeps in, surprising me. I'm suddenly so hard that it's painful. I really hope she ends this torture for me.

She moans into my mouth as her fingers tangle in my hair, a desire-ridden tug following her soft caress.

She's mine now.

Ashiara What the h.e.l.l am I doing?

Have I lost my d.a.m.n mind all of the sudden?

He's lying between my legs, and I'm wrapping them around him like some hormonal fool unable to control myself. He's nothing but bad for me, and yet I'm spiraled around him, grinding against his incredible erection meant for me.

"Ash," he whispers as he slides my dress up. "I want you so d.a.m.n bad."

My blood boils through my veins as everything within me ignites in unison. I want him, but this isn't right. I don't do this s.h.i.t. But what could it hurt to have a little fun? With a stranger I barely know? At my best friend's mother's house?

Nope. Not happening.

I moan slightly as his lips crush mine, pinning me at his mercy as he slides my dress up around my hips. Both the devil and the angel in my mind cease to sway my thoughts, as surrealism sinks in its claws, and I become a victim of my own primal needs.

The tips of his fingers finds their way under the waistband of my panties, and then I gasp as they strum over my s.e.x, finding the moisture that has gathered - thanks to his touch.

"f.u.c.k," he breathes, letting his delectable breath travel across my face as my hands tangle in his hair, and then he lets his finger slip in.

He pulls back and then jerks his pants down, before reaching up to start tugging at my underwear.

s.h.i.t. s.h.i.t. s.h.i.t.

"Stop," I squeal as I jerk my dress down and my panties up.

"What? What's wrong?" he breathlessly releases while staying half dressed.

I roll my eyes before slipping free from his clutches as I try to compose my panted, exhausted breaths.

"I can't do this. h.e.l.l, I don't even know you. The only thing I know about you is my best friend hates you."

He scrubs his face in frustration, acting as though he feels tortured - which is comforting since I feel pretty d.a.m.n tortured. I'm so glad his shirt is still on.

He sn.i.g.g.e.rs as he walks toward me in his shirt and boxers.

"I'm not worried about Bity's disapproval. I want you, and I happen to know for a fact you want me. Let's just end the suspense."

Did my knees just wobble? It had to be my imagination.

"No. We-"

"Hey, Tag. Where you at?" Wren's voice chirps from down the hallway.

"s.h.i.t," Tag groans while jerking his pants back on and tucking his shirt in as quickly as he can.

"Tag, come on, man. We've got pictures to do," Wren bellows while opening doors left and right, all of them slamming as he restlessly continues his search.

Tag ducks behind the door just as it swings open, and Wren looks me over as he fills the doorway. Right now, I'm praying my hair isn't an absolute mess to display... whatever that was.

"Hey, Wren," I murmur awkwardly.

"Hey, have you seen Tag? Mom wants us to pose for some pictures before the sun completely sets."

"Um, I haven't seen him since he bandaged me up, but I'll tell him if I do."

Tag grins lightly while relaxing out of Wren's view.

"Do... have you... um, my brother is outside with Rene. Do you want me to send him up after the pictures?"

I stifle my grin, while Tag suppresses a laugh.

"No. I'm about to come down. I just need to change, since this dress is a little messed up from the gravel. I was just about to do that when you walked in."

His body stiffens as anxiety crosses over his face. I can see the worry in his eyes for what he thinks he almost saw, but he has no clue what he almost saw. I was d.a.m.n close to caving and throwing myself at Tag.

"Yeah, I'll... see ya."

He rushes away, and the door clicks behind him as Tag walks back toward me with his predatory stalk.

"I don't know if I've ever heard Wren so rattled. Apparently I'm not the only one getting Ashed around here."

Ashed? I don't think so.

"Oh h.e.l.l no. Don't turn my name into a verb like yours," I huff while crossing my arms over my chest.

He smirks as he continues to strut toward me, and then he grips my waist in his hands as he pulls me against his lingering, d.a.m.n near irresistible erection.

"Too late. You're Tagged and I'm Ashed. Now, how do I make you comfortable enough to give up this game of cat and mouse?"

Keep looking at me like that, and it won't take long to find out.

"Not happening. Believe it or not, I have a firm policy about knowing someone before I screw them. I don't even know your last name."

"That's because you never asked. I'm a little p.i.s.sed Bity has refused to mention even that much."

It's Masters. I know it, but I don't want him to know I know.

"Masters. Now, what else do you need to know before I can make you give in?"

I fight back a giggle, and then I twirl free from his clutches as I head over to the closet where my stuff has already been neatly unpacked for me.

"You forget; I just helped you carry your dates out. You're hot, but not hot enough to overcome that." Surprisingly, I manage to sound convincing. Very slowly, I start unzipping my dress. "You can go now."

I look over my shoulder to see him licking his lips with antic.i.p.ation, making my budding excitement unfurl deep within my core. But I'll never tell him that. That's like striking a match in the middle of a room full of leaking propane.

"Not undressing until you're gone, if that's what you're waiting for," I poke, my eyes seducing him while f.u.c.king with his and my head.

He swallows hard as his jaw tenses, but then he grumbles something about this being ridiculous, and never having been so hard - I don't know.

"I'll see you out there. We'll start working on getting to know each other," he says in a clearer voice.

Tag A bit of a smile and a spark of excitement flares in her eyes, but she turns away to dismiss me and hide the truth she can't wipe from her face.

This girl is getting under my skin, and I really don't like it. I've never been turned down during that sort of situation. I know she wants me, but apparently I'm going to have to work even harder.

I smirk, feigning confidence, as I head out the door. Once it shuts, I lean against it and try to catch my breath. This is insane, and I'm feeling like a fool chasing her instead of being chased.

I'm not used to someone f.u.c.king with my head. It's always the other way around. What's this girl trying to do to me?

Chapter Two.

Playing With Fire Tag It's been forever since I was between her legs - almost there. Now I'm standing out here under the moonlight, while they take their night-shots.

"Any chance we'll be done taking pictures before the wedding is over?" I gripe while loosening my tie, frustrated for so many reasons.

Wren laughs as the photographer lowers the camera without directing us to our next pose.

"That's it," she bitterly snarks before putting her camera away.

"Finally," I say, exasperated, while leaning against the pole of the canopy set up behind me.

Wren turns to me as his fiancee, Erica, walks off to start talking privately with the annoying photographer. His eyes glance over to Bity, who is grinning ear-to-ear as he joins Rene.

"So why is my brother rushing over to Rene Ballinger when he's supposed to be here with Ashiara? And how the h.e.l.l did he ever land a chick like her to begin with?"

I knew he was Ashed.

"Remember - you're getting married," I playfully quip.

"Ha," he dully releases while bringing a drink to his lips. "I was just trying to figure out when my brother got game like that."

Both of our eyes fall on the girl we're whispering about when she walks out arm-in-arm with Melanie. I haven't seen her since earlier, and I'll be d.a.m.ned if she doesn't look even better.

Her small, tight, white skirt rises high, but not too high. The flowing fabric of her cleavage-showing red shirt whips in the oceanfront wind as she tosses her long, bronze hair away from her face.

Her sleek legs are still driving me crazy, leading up to that perfect a.s.s which is displayed even better in that skirt. I grin when I see her shoes - dressy, half-boot style heels that cover up her new bandaging.

"You're drooling," Wren snickers, and my jaw claps shut as I roll my eyes.

"She's just... I don't know. Has Bity ever told you about her before?"

He shrugs as his eyes return to the beauty now laughing, her head tossing back as someone in Melanie's crowd of old crows makes a joke.

"Yeah, but I sure as h.e.l.l didn't expect her to look like that. With the way he was still fawning over Rene, I thought this girl must be hideous. d.a.m.n, was I ever wrong."

"I'll say," I grumble under my breath when I'm unable to break my eyes away from her. "I need a stronger drink," I add with a disgruntled tone, placing the empty beer bottle on the table next to me and heading toward the bar.

This place looks like something from Gatsby's era. Everything is dressed in cascading folds of white and gold, and there are enough tables and chairs to accommodate hundreds, when we've only got a gathering of fifty or more.

My eyes are poised on the beautiful girl standing high on the patio stairs as she engages in idle conversation, never looking toward me. She can't be that immune to me.

I don't know how I missed it coming on, but I'm suddenly tipping forward as my shin slams into something hard. I flail my arms like an absolute idiot as I crash and splash into the concrete fountain, which is spewing a shower of sheer humiliation.

f.u.c.king s.h.i.t.

The cold water bites at me as the faces on the coins at the bottom of the fountain ridicule me with their smiles. I jerk my face free from the knee-high water that has managed to thoroughly drench me in front of the whole d.a.m.n party.

As the laughter roars free, I play it off by taking a bow, and join in by laughing as well - though I'd rather find a place to hide for the rest of the weekend.

My eyes fall on the dark-haired, spellbinding beauty that sent me to my moment of defeat, and she lets her giggles free while shaking her head.

Great.

There goes everything else I had going for me. She's f.u.c.king impossible, and I just need to move on before I lose every bit of my confidence - a feat I never thought possible before this night.