Free Firebird (The Firebird Trilogy #1) by Jennifer Loring Page B

awareness of a man named Joe. Her heart had only ever belonged to one man, and her body let him know it. Most men found her gratification unimportant. So quick to take and reluctant to give. But his mouth was doing things to her neck that would surely leave marks, that urged her to move in time with his caresses and the liquid pleasure flowing into her limbs. She wove her fingers into his hair. Her body was having none of her brain’s attempts to ruin the moment.
    “People think I’m heartless with women.” He ran his tongue along her jaw, up to her ear. “It’s only because I cared about one too much.”
    Her phone buzzed and lit up with a text message.
     
    Joe: Where are you? Everything ok?
     
    “Shit,” she muttered. Alex broke contact and popped an ice cube into his mouth as she typed into her phone.
     
    Stephanie: Call you in a few minutes.
     
    He closed his hand over hers and guided it and the phone back to the table. The gin’s juniper-berry spice, the tequila’s vegetal flavor, and the rum’s mild sweetness mingled with the cold of his tongue as it dipped between her lips. Goose bumps erupted all over her flesh. If her mouth had been created to do anything other than kiss him, she could scarcely remember what it was.
    Alex, his hands on her waist, withdrew to trace the periphery of her lips in a slow circle with the tip of his tongue. The pinging in her stomach, the maddening tingle, intensified. She squeezed her thighs together. He pulled back, smiled, and ran his tongue along her lips again. Intoxicated by something far more potent than alcohol, she resented Joe more than she already did for not having bothered to learn such things.
    “I have to call him. He’ll seriously start calling my friends or the police.”
    “You picked a winner.”
    “I picked him because he’s nothing like you.”
    “Maybe that’s where I went wrong. Hoping I’d find someone like you instead of looking for someone the opposite.” Alex swigged his drink. “Anyway, I’ll let you take care of business.”
    He disappeared into the darkened hallway, and Stephanie picked up the phone to call Joe.
    “Where the hell are you?” Joe demanded. “I’ve been worried sick!”
    “I had a couple drinks with Rhonda and decided to crash at her place.” How easily the lie came. She finished off her Long Island Iced Tea to emphasize the fuck she did not give. The room spun a little. Her limbs felt fuzzy, warm, as if encased in woolen socks.
    “On a weeknight? Why can’t you take a cab home?”
    “Yes, on a weeknight. I’m an adult, Joe. I’m allowed to do things like that. And I didn’t want to leave my car.”
    “What the hell has gotten into you lately?”
    “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, and I’m sorry I worried you. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
    “We need to talk about some things.” Scolding. Condescending. I expect my future wife to act a certain way.
    The resentment building all evening blossomed into full-blown animosity. He could shove his hipster sexism right up his skinny ass. “Yeah. Fine. Good night.” She pressed End.
    Alex was standing at the hallway entrance, arms crossed. Pity in his eyes again. “Really going to marry him?”
    “Not now, Alex. Look, it’s late. I need to get some sleep.”
    Disappointment shadowed his features. “Right this way.”
    She followed him into the first room on the left as he flipped on the light. A full-sized bed occupied one corner, and two bookcases flanked his desk beneath a window across the room. A shirt lay on the bed.
    “I didn’t know if you wanted something to wear. I don’t wear that shirt anymore, and…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Let me know if you need anything else. I’ll be up for a little while.”
    “Thank you.”
    “So…good night, then.”
    “Good night.”
    “ Chert voz′mi. ” Shaking his head, he closed the door on his way out.
    Stephanie undressed down to her panties. In the full-length mirror, she caught