Free Hook Up by Miranda Baker Page B

She certainly hadn’t cared at the time or she wouldn’t have been naked on the ping-pong table when he called the frat house.
    For a minute, just a split second, even though Mark had verified the rumor, he had hoped Crystal would deny she had participated, but her horrified expression confirmed what he already knew. She’d been there, which meant their night together hadn’t meant anything to her. It was nice that she didn’t want to hurt his feeling though—very empathetic of her.
    He forced himself to let go of the bitterness that made his heart ache. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t looking for anything other than her body in his bed tonight. He might have been a sucker then and he might be a sucker now, but denial always made him want something even more. If he wanted to lose a few pounds, dieting didn’t work for him. More exercise did. Using the same logic, he would gorge his craving for her. He didn’t see the point in denying himself when she was all he could think about. Instead, he would hold her, have her, and if he couldn’t forget her, then at least he would replace his college memories of her with memories that wouldn’t be tainted with promises, broken or otherwise.
    He glanced over at her. The woman had a thing for corsets, obviously. Her black dress was a less formal version of the style she had worn in the wedding today. Her legs were bare and she wore some sort of strappy high-heeled sandal that tied around her ankles and displayed her glossy black-painted toenails.
    His heart thudded in his chest, and he was glad he wasn’t a teenager anymore. He wouldn’t rush her clothes off this time. In fact, he’d probably leave the shoes on. What was she wearing under the dress? His hands tightened on the steering wheel and he took the turn into the parking garage too fast. Luckily, the Cayman had excellent brakes.
    “Sorry,” he said.
    She shrugged, which did nothing to help his raging hormones. Okay, maybe he would rush the dress off. He couldn’t wait to see her breasts, cup them, hold them in his hands as his belly pressed against her back and he leaned over her. “Jesus Christ,” he said, sliding into a parking space with a screech. He hopped out of the car and slammed the door.
    She already had her door open and he held out his hand to help her out of the car. She ignored it. Irritation made his jaw ache. Standing in front of him in her heels, she only had to tilt her face to meet his eyes.
    “Ryan, if I take your hand right now, we will fuck in the middle of the parking garage. One of us has to have some restraint. Now lock this ridiculously expensive car and let’s get going. You are giving me a headache again, and I would much prefer other things to ache.” She stepped around him and headed for the elevator.
    He followed, a smile on his face, half in appreciation of her sense of humor, half in appreciation of her spectacular ass. And legs. Her legs were long with well-shaped calf muscles and sculpted hamstrings that made him want to run his tongue—
    “Ryan.” She didn’t look at him as they waited for the elevator to arrive. “Not here, either.”
    “Sorry.” With effort, he dragged his eyes to the floor indicator and thought about numbers, the only thing that could possibly keep his mind off of Crystal right now.
    “Good boy.” Her voice held approval and it made his cock twitch, even though he usually couldn’t stand to be patronized. He was used to calling the shots in bed, at work—well, everywhere—but he could see the advantage of obeying a woman in a short black dress and high heels.
    The elevator dinged and the door opened. She stepped inside and walked to the far back corner. He smiled, entered the elevator and inserted his key into the control panel, staying at the front with his back to her. The doors shut.
    Neither one of them spoke.
    It was a long ride up to the top floor. He could feel the air thicken between them until every breath took effort. His throat felt