"Tag, what's wrong with you tonight, bro?" Wren chuckles as I try wringing my shirt out.

My eyes glance back up at the girl who gives me a playful wink before returning to her previous conversation that was only briefly interrupted by my embarra.s.sing flop.

"I wish I f.u.c.king knew," I gripe under my breath while slipping off the drenched jacket. "Obviously, I need to go change now. See you when the fireworks start up."

Wren continues his taunting laughter as I head up the steps where my pretty little distraction is still engaged in meaningless conversation. Rene runs up to me before I top the steps, a small giggle exuding from her throat.

"Tag, what happened?"

I couldn't walk and gawk at the same time.

"A fountain jumped out in front of me. I gotta get changed."

Ashiara It's obvious Rene has a bigger crush on Tag than she does on Billy. For some odd reason, I feel a little pang of jealously as she flirts with him. He doesn't seem to reciprocate, thankfully.

"Well, come find us for the fireworks," Rene says as Billy walks up behind her, his eyes narrowing at Tag.

"Sure," Tag says as his eyes find mine.

I smile as I see the water still dripping heavily from him.

"Tag Masters, you better not leak puddles all over my floors," Melanie playfully chimes in.

"I'll strip down in the foyer, if you like," he jokes, offering her a wink.

Melanie laughs, shaking her head as she does so. I don't mean to, but I blush. I'm hoping the night sky is enough to shadow my red tale.

He walks away, water trailing him to show all of his leaking humiliation, but I commend him for handling it with such grace. If I had crashed into a fountain in front of everyone, I would have gone home.

"So, dear," Melanie murmurs softly while tugging me away from her group of friends. "What do you think about Tag?"

The daring devil in her eyes isn't lost on me. I don't know how, but she has seen the l.u.s.t teeming inside me.

"I think he's hot, but not really my type. Besides, I'm with Billy."

She gives me a condescending glare accompanied by a knowing grin, before shaking her head.

"Puh-lease. You had me fooled for maybe ten minutes. Tops. It's rather obvious now what my son was up to. That girl is never going to love him," she sighs while glancing over at the duo. "She wants Tag, but he's not into her. She'll never give up though."

Can't say I blame her.

It's taking all my strength not to chase after him. I'm just smart enough to see a disastrous end without dealing with the heartbreak firsthand.

"Ah," I murmur softly, trying not to squirm.

"If you ask me, I'd say Tag is rather taken with you. I don't know if I've ever seen him act like such a fool because of a girl. I've certainly never seen him clumsy enough to fall into the fountain that's ten-feet wide with an eight-foot mermaid in the middle. It's like he didn't even see it."

My laughter falls through my lips before I cover my mouth with my hand to m.u.f.fle the roar. She joins me with a more ladylike giggle, and then we both look toward the house where Tag has already disappeared inside.

I shiver a little as the nighttime ocean breeze reminds me I'm underdressed, and she rubs my arm with her hand.

"Go grab a blanket before the fireworks. It'll only get chillier," she prompts before turning back to her group of old croons.

I head toward the house, and smile when I see the several drips of water the maids are grumbling about as they dry the marble floor. Walking around them, I head up the stairs, trying to suppress my laughter as I stumble, feeling slightly tipsy.

The champagne here is so good - and strong. I should have slowed down sooner. Now these heels are wobbling beneath me.

A cracked door lets soft music cloak the hallway, and I follow the wonderful melody to find out whose room it belongs to. The violins in the background are almost sad, as the rest of the orchestra blares a dramatic burn that finds its way to my soul.

Wow.

I peek through to see the room belongs to Tag, and my breath catches in my throat. Through the crack, I can see his perfectly chiseled upper body - each line of definition exquisitely mouthwatering.

Oh my d.a.m.n.

His body glistens from the shower he has apparently taken to rid him of the fountain water. I want to go run my hands over his glorious ripples, feel his firmness against me, and press my lips to his perfectly modeled ones.

I watch as he pulls the dresser drawer open and pulls out a shirt. It slides over his dampened head and then covers his body - that I can't seem to stop staring at - before resting just past the waistband of his dark jeans.

He walks out of sight, and I rock back and forth to see more through the crack in hopes of finding him again, when the door suddenly swings open and he almost runs over me.

"Oh," he chuckles in surprise as my face beams red. "Hey."

Way to get busted, stalker b.i.t.c.h.

"Um, hey. Sorry, I heard the music, and I was... curious?"

One eyebrow arches as he looks down to meet my eyes, his towering body no longer such a mystery. Now that I've seen his upper half, I want to see the rest.

"Come in," he murmurs while grabbing my hand and tugging me.

Without any real thought process, I follow too willingly into the room where his bed stares me in the face.

"Um, I should... um... this is probably... I shouldn't-"

His laughter interrupts my unintelligible ramble, and he shakes his head just as the first big boom rattles the sky. I look out to his balcony to see the first of the fireworks extraordinaire, and smile as the crackling embers sizzle and fade into the night sky.

"I didn't want to watch them alone. My balcony has a great view, and since you're already here, you can keep me company. I can avoid the giggling eyes of everyone who watched me splash in the Little Mermaid fountain this way."

I let a laugh escape, and he grabs the bottle of chilled champagne from his bedside table before ushering me out onto the balcony. His room is way better than mine.

"And I thought the princess room was nice," I murmur, feigning envy.

He snickers as the second boom erupts, and a vibrant green lights the sky before turning to white in a starburst pattern.

"This was my room growing up," he says as we sit at the bistro table.

He scoots his chair over to where his body is dangerously close to mine, and then a loud pop rings out as he frees the champagne bottle of its cork.

"Sorry," he says as the bubbles crackle over the rim. "I don't have any gla.s.ses. I'll run and grab some."

"I'm not exactly high-cla.s.s, so I can manage," I say while taking it from him and bringing the bottle to my lips.

I smile as the fizzing bubbles gather inside my mouth before sliding down the back of my throat.

Mmm.

He smiles as if he likes my low-maintenance maneuver, and then he takes the bottle and shows his more relaxed and less formal self by mimicking me and turning the bottle up as well.

"So, you have your own room here?" I muse as our eyes turn to catch the next big, thunderous beauty enriching the starry sky over the ocean.

"Yeah. I practically lived with Melanie from the time I was eight until I graduated, so I have a room in all her homes. Melanie is the closest thing to a mother I've ever known."

My heart breaks a little. Billy never mentioned that.

"Oh. What... um... never mind," I ramble, realizing I shouldn't ask such a personal question about his real mother.

"She left when I was a kid - my real mom - if that's what you were going to ask. My dad did one thing my entire life that I really appreciated, and that was dating Melanie. I remember praying they would get married and she really would be my mother. Although their relationship was brief, Melanie made sure my dad let me come over. I ended up spending more time here than at home."

Shallow Tag is very hard to resist. Real Tag... this is going to end badly for, but I'm going to enjoy the ride.

Tag I can't believe I just told her that. What the h.e.l.l am I thinking? I never talk about this s.h.i.t. I swear I've lost the filter on my mouth around her.

"I'm surprised Billy never mentioned that to me," she murmurs softly while staring directly into my eyes.

I could get lost in her stormy blues. I barely know her, but she's getting inside my d.a.m.n head. How the h.e.l.l do I get her out?

"Bity never appreciated his mother's affections toward me. He was a jealous kid with a chip on his shoulder. I'm sure there's a lot he hasn't told you about his family."

Like all the f.u.c.ked up s.h.i.t he's done.

She half smiles, and then I see her shivering as the wind picks up.

"Cold?" I muse as more of the bursting beauties light up the sky.

"A little. I was on my way to my room to grab a blanket before the firework show, when I heard the music playing in your room."

Is that really the only reason she lingered outside my room? I hate feeling all the d.a.m.n uncertainty she causes. There are so many mixed signals. It's making my head hurt. I feel like a f.u.c.king chick. I'm so going to lose my man card if she keeps messing with my head.

"I'll be right back," I murmur while jumping up and heading to the room.

I grab the tan, velvety blanket dressing the chair, and then I head back out to take my seat beside her, scooting even closer. I wrap the blanket around her, and then I risk throwing my arm around her shoulders and tucking her against my body.

I expect her to scoff and peel my arm off, but she doesn't. Instead, she snuggles up against me as we sip the champagne straight from the bottle and stare up at the firework display in a comfortable silence.

I've never spent time with a girl in this way, and it's surprising me how easy this all feels. I'm too comfortable around her, and I don't know when to shut up. It's as if I've lost all my game.

Chapter Three.

Truth or Truth Tag Her body is pressed tightly against mine, her leg is tossed over my waist, and her white skirt has ridden up high enough to show me her white thong. How dare she be this hot and yet this hard to get. It's not nice. Not nice at all.

Her red shirt has stretched in her sleep, and it drapes down enough to give me a glimpse of the s.e.xy white lace bra she's wearing. I've never been so jealous of a bra.

Her leg hugs my waist a little more as she stirs in her sleep, and I tighten my grip as her center presses against my early morning erection.

The tip of my c.o.c.k is almost painfully pulsating, and it's excruciating to resist the urge to f.u.c.k her into waking up. I want to be inside her, feel every bit of that wetness meant for me.

Her skirt slides up farther, giving me a full view of her glorious a.s.s that curves incredibly and taunts me with its perfection.

I've never slept with a girl and managed to not sleep with them. This is definitely a first, but after four bottles of champagne, neither of us were thinking straight. I'm almost certain I could have f.u.c.ked her, but I wouldn't do that while she was drunk.

I might be jerk, but I'm not a complete creep. Besides, I want this girl sober when I make her scream my name.

My hand starts sliding up her a.s.s when I can't deny the urge any longer, and I tug her gently as my c.o.c.k burns with desire.

I'm tired of playing.

Ashiara Firm, possessive hands are gripping me a little too tightly, and my eyes flutter open to stare into Tag's glorious icy blues. That's an incredible and dangerous thing to wake up to. d.a.m.n. Not good. Not good at all.

I realize his erection is pressed against me, and I begin throbbing as I notice my leg sprawled over his hip - his thin track pants and my thong being all that separates the skin on skin feeling I'm almost desperate to feel.

"Hey," he murmurs before bringing his lips to mine and jerking me tighter against his hard-as-a-rock erection.

Oh d.a.m.n.

His expert tongue strokes mine as my whole body rushes with heat, desire, and need. I don't know what he's doing to me, but I wish he'd stop.

My fingers find their way into his soft hair as he reels me in, and I climb on top of him to straddle him fully as he grips me with frustrated, greedy hands. He grinds against me, and I slide my hand down the front of his pants to feel his firmness for the first time. It's so... Mmm.

He moans into my mouth as I slide my hand up and down, finding a rhythm he seems to thoroughly enjoy, and his hand curves around my a.s.s until he finds my s.e.x and slips a finger in.

"d.a.m.n, you feel so good," he breathes into my mouth, and that's all I can take as I slide his pants down to fully free that piece of perfection my eyes haven't seen yet.

I've spent the night in his arms, and we managed to keep our clothes on. This morning, however, I'm tired of being a good girl.