Someone Like You Read online

  Morgan sits up and I wrap my legs around his back.

  “Kiss me,” he says it in a heated whisper as he plunges his tongue deep into my mouth and swipes it gently over mine. I let out a soft moan as I round out my hips over his.

  A muffled giggle emits from the other side of the wall, followed by the sound of Cruise trying to quiet Kendall.

  Nothing is going kill Morgan’s hard-on faster than the sound of his sister’s voice, so I intensify my efforts, pushing him in deeper, pulling him in with a fierce hunger, a primal purpose that far outweighs any familial concerns that might be brewing. I pant into his ear to quell any outside disturbance, and he gives a riotous groan of appreciation. Morgan seizes me by the hips and thrusts me down over him again and again. He pulls me in by the neck and my body inches toward its pleasure but stops short like it does every single time. Instead I feel a pinch deep in my belly, and I inhale sharply as he pushes in deep.

  I don’t know Morgan that well, or at all, but a part of me is dying to whisper something meaningful to him. I’ve never said “I love you” to anyone before, well, not of the male variety, and for some unknown reason the words want to form on my lips, they light me up like a flame on the inside, ready to climax out of me in a verbal eruption. There must be some reason they’re pushing to the forefront; maybe all I really want is someone to love—for sex to mean something for once—and maybe a part of me sees a glimpse of that on the horizon with someone like Morgan.

  Our bodies rock steadily as his hips move beneath mine. It feels anything but “dirty.” For sure I don’t feel like a bad girl. If anything I feel good, better than good. It feels perfect.

  “I’m coming.” He wrenches the words from the pit of his stomach, securing me down by the waist until I can feel his ceaseless throbbing inside me. “Shit.” He gives a gentle laugh of exhaustion as he topples us back to the pillows. “You’re a wild one, you know that? A spitfire, hell, a flamethrower.”

  “A sword swallower.” I brush a finger against his cheek until his dimple ignites in a deep pool of black.

  “I’ll need a demonstration of that last one.”

  “I bet you will.” I round my hands over his rock-hard bottom as he slides the condom off and tosses it square into the trashcan.

  “I’m good for now.” Morgan throbs a series of heated kisses up and down my chest until he reaches the nape of my neck. “I think it’s time for me to show you a few good tricks.” He strings his kisses all the way down to my hip before slipping his hand between my knees and pushing me open, exposing me wide for him to see.

  “I’m good too,” I say, trying to pull him back up to the pillow.

  “Whoa.” He holds out a hand. “Turnabout is fair play. I think if we’re going to put on a show we owe it to the audience to provide a full-bodied performance.” He runs his finger along the inside of my most intimate part, and I fold over him as if in agony, only there’s no real pain—it’s all one hundred percent pleasure.

  “Morgan.” His name cuts through me like a train pulling into the station. “Maybe some other time.”

  “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” He springs back next to me with a genuine look of horror on his face.

  “No, it’s not that. It’s just, I don’t know.” It’s not like I’m going to fess up and fill him in on the fact I’ve never had the Big O. That the few times I have slept with a guy I’ve faked it because I felt sorry for their elusive and somewhat heroic efforts in trying to elicit one in me. It’s not their fault I’m defective. And besides, something in me doesn’t want to fake anything with Morgan, especially now that I know if it doesn’t happen he’ll be as disappointed as I am—and God forbid he feels inadequate. Morgan Jordan is anything but inadequate.

  I press a heated kiss over his lips, soak in his sweet taste—memorize the soft velvet of his tongue, the framework of his teeth. I want to remember all of this, in the event it doesn’t happen again. In the event he sees me for what I am, like the rest of the world, and reduces me to nothing more than a bad girl. Or worse, Blair hogties him and claims him for herself. At least I’ll always know these intimate pleasures. Blair, or whoever Morgan ends up with in life, can never take that away from me.

  Morgan

  A blast of unholy light burns through my lids until they disintegrate. My body grinds and shakes, feeling as if it just stepped out of the microwave.

  I let out a moan as the scene from the night before comes back to me in pieces. Bacon, Ally, and hot fucking sex equaled a trifecta of perfection.

  “Hey.” I reach over and try to hook onto her waist but an empty mattress greets me. My lids crack open, affirming the depressing theory. My dick and I were sort of hoping we could start the party all over again. Instead I find a note tucked under the pillow.

  Spending the day with Tess. See you at the club tonight.

  Thank you,

  Ally

  I stare at it a little longer than necessary, as if I’m hoping the tiny paper square will somehow morph into a pair of creamy smooth thighs, legs that stretch from here to Oregon.

  A dissatisfied groan escapes me, and I’m suddenly unmotivated to get out of bed—especially knowing that Kendall is out there probably good and pissed at me for screwing her bestie. It’s sort of her fault anyway, for trying to push us together in the first place. I could always throw it in her face since this is what she basically wanted. What did she think was going to happen, anyway? That Ally and I would hold hands and share ice-cream cones all summer? Besides, Kendall owes me a thank-you for exposing the fact these walls are made of onionskin. Maybe that perverted boyfriend of hers will spring for a muzzle since he’s clearly into indecent bedroom toys.

  I kick the cuffs at the end of the bed with my foot. Wish I’d thought of employing them last night. Maybe I can rough things up with Ally the next time she feels the need to get down and dirty. Every last part of her screamed there would definitely be a next time. At least there’d better be. I’m not done—not by a long shot.

  A knock vibrates over the door and my brain jumps in my skull in rhythm.

  “Dude, you up?” It’s Cruise. He probably wants me to pack my shit and get the hell out for ruining his marathon fuckfest with my sister. I’m sure the libido killing works both ways.

  “What?” I gravel it out, still worn out from the calisthenics. I could use another four or five hours of shut-eye; hell, it might take the entire day to recover.

  “Kenny’s out running some errands, so I thought I’d head over to the gym. You up for it?”

  I push out a breath. “All right.” I roll off the bed, landing my feet on the cold hard floor.

  May as well get this over with.

  It takes about four minutes into the car ride for Cruise to clear his throat like some father figure about to gift me an unwanted lecture on waiting until both Ally and I are ready before diving into a carnal commitment.

  “So”—Cruise shakes his head—“heard the fireworks. You initiate that?” He frowns into the road as if this were the last place he wanted to go with our nonexistent conversation, but I’m beginning to see the bigger picture—our playdate at the gym was arranged by none other than my little sis.

  “Nope. Not me. I was happily chowing down on a midnight snack when she came at me locked and loaded and ready to blow.” Well, not really blow, but it sounded good so I went with it. Besides, is it really Cruise Elton’s business who I party with? I think not.

  “Cool.” He nods into the road, continuing to propagate his disinterest in my midnight mattress moves. “So, bottom line—Kenny doesn’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “Really? Could have sworn I saw Kenny in the cheering section.” Knew it. I’m going to nail Kendall for not having the balls to tell me herself. Does she really think I’m going to let Cruise navigate the direction in which my balls move?

  “She was in the cheering section
,” he says, stymied by this himself. “Look, she doesn’t want Ally to get hurt. It’s her friend. You moved a little fast, and I think it spooked her. Kenny says you’re the love ’em and leave ’em type, and Ally needs someone who’s willing to be a permanent fixture. She has a kid.”

  “Ruby.” I nod, sinking in my seat a little, feeling like an ass. Not that I plan on loving and leaving Ally anytime soon. I’d be there for her twenty-four/seven if she wanted. Hell, I’d set up residency in her life if she let me.

  “She told you about Ruby?” He looks stunned by this.

  “Yup.”

  Cruise shuts the hell up from the apparent miracle of it all.

  “Look”—I grind my palm into my eye, still trying to wake up for the day—“Ally doesn’t want anything serious with me. She got all hot and bothered and asked me to do her a favor, nothing more, nothing less.” Odd that she gave and yet didn’t want to receive. Not sure what that was about. Never had a girl deflect my efforts that far into the game before.

  He shakes his head as if he heard my thoughts and is as perplexed as I am.

  “Ally’s a funny one. I’ve known her for a good few years now, and have never seen her spend more than two minutes with a guy. I tried telling Kenny that it was probably mutual, but she was insistent that you clubbed her and dragged her to the room by the hair.”

  “Nice to know she thinks so highly of me.”

  “She does. That’s the funny part. I think she’s just as, if not more, worried about you getting hurt. But let’s just keep that between us. I’d hate for Kenny to think I’m ratting her out.” We pull into the gym parking lot and he finds a space near the front. Cruise looks over and socks me in the arm. “You’re going to be my brother, dude. I don’t want to see you getting hurt either.”

  “Ally couldn’t hurt me if she tried.” My chest cinches like it’s calling bullshit. She could interrupt my midnight snack any damn time she pleases—Ally beats bacon any day. Not one part of my body can argue with that. I swing open the door and pause. “You know anything about Ruby’s dad?”

  “Nope. Lauren probably does. Kenny might, but I doubt it. Ally’s pretty tight-lipped about her past. All I know is she’s constantly broke, but join the club, right?” He holds up a finger and gives a small laugh. “She posed nude for Kenny’s art class last semester, but the payout was great, so who could blame her?” He shakes his head as if he’s reliving a memory.

  “Well, if it’s in the name of art.” I can picture her sitting on a stool, her hair falling over her back. Her smooth skin exposed for the world to see. “I guess a person with Ally’s body owes it as a debt to society.”

  He nods, his demeanor a little more serious than before. “Just watch what you’re doing. Summer will be over before you know it, and I’d hate to be sweeping both your hearts off the floor when you break ’em.”

  Broken hearts.

  Does Ally have the power to break my heart?

  Something tells me she just might.

  The gym is balmy as hell. It makes me want to stand in a fire just to cool off.

  “No AC?” I ask Cruise as we head toward the weight room.

  “Let’s ask the douche himself.” He slaps Cal some skin as he bumps into us. “Dude, this is Kenny’s brother, Morgan. He’s going to destroy those batting cages you got out back.”

  “Is that so?” He squeezes out a thin-lipped smile. Cal is bronzed, and ’roided out so bad he’s got veins crawling all over his arms like garden snakes.

  Cruise scans the vicinity. “So what’s up with the private heat wave?”

  “I’ve got two very erotic words for you boys—hot yoga.” He tips his bald head in the opposite direction and we follow him down the hall where the humidity intensifies.

  He gives a gentle pat over a narrow window. I can make out at least a half dozen girls bent over inside, with their bottoms pointed toward heaven.

  “Hot damn.”

  “Would you stop?” Cal smacks me in the stomach to keep me from gaping. “Come here.” We follow him through a door marked PRIVATE. “This is my personal office.” It’s dark as shit inside as we follow him to a large picture window leading into the hot yoga room. It affords me a better glimpse of the bodies in motion.

  “Fuck, dude,” Cruise spouts off. “You’re breaking like ten different privacy laws. You’re not going to get away with this. You know that, right?”

  “What?” He shrugs into the glass. “Everyone knows two-way mirrors are for safety purposes. If one of those girls gets hurt, it’s my ass on the line. It’s my civic duty to serve and protect.”

  “Right.” Cruise lets out a little laugh. “And I suppose you and Lauren take turns keeping watch.”

  “She’s been apprised.” Cal nods toward Cruise like a dare. “Besides, she’s enrolled in one of these classes. We’ve got this thing, you know. She does special poses because she knows I’m watching.”

  “Speaking of special poses”—Cruise starts as we head out of the den of depravity—“Ally did a special pose for Morgan last night.”

  “Get out.” Cal seems amazed. As he should be. If the downward dog floats Cal’s boat then the acrobatic feats that went on in that bed last night would have Cal blushing like a nun. “That girl talks the talk but I’ve never heard of her walking the walk, or should I say riding the bull.” He socks me in the stomach while belting out a laugh.

  Geez.

  I nurse my quasi wounds as I make my way back to the weight room, smacking into a soft body as I round the corner.

  “Hey, handsome!” It’s Molly. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, making her look all of twelve. Her hand glides down over my chest and dips into my boxers before I catch her. “Good morning to you too,” she moans.

  “Looks like I need to watch where I’m going.” I glance back to find both Cal and Cruise are MIA.

  “You know”—she bites down on her lips and looks up at me suggestively—“I have to move some really heavy boxes, but I hurt my back yesterday riding my bike. Do you think you could help me?” Her almond-shaped eyes recede just enough to plead in a way that only a woman can, or in Molly’s case, a woman-in-training.

  “Yeah, sure, why not.”

  “Great!” She takes up my hand and speeds me along until we hit the stairwell. I gently pull my hand away and secure it over the rail as a means of not giving her the wrong impression. I stuff my left hand in my pocket in the event she does the math and figures out I’ve got another free limb she can molest.

  She leads us outside to the first floor in front of a Dumpster. We head down another set of stairs that lead to a darkened doorway and head inside.

  It’s cool in here, and the space is as wide and long as the eye can see. A hallway veers to the left, and I can make out a couple of doors.

  “This place is huge.” And empty, and I don’t see a box in sight.

  “It’s the basement.” She shrugs. “Cal doesn’t really use it. I think it’s nice.” She licks her lips as she comes in close. “Don’t you think it’s nice? Lots of room to do things.” She picks up my hands and rides my fingers up her ribcage. She’s bony, a lot less curvy than Ally, that’s for sure.

  I gently pull back my hand. Molly’s like a predator—move too quick and you’re going to get bit. If it wasn’t for Ally and her all-encompassing power over me, I’d more than likely yield to Molly and her boner-inducing antics. She’s definitely got the looks, her body is budding nicely, and she seems like a sweet girl who very much wants to learn everything there is about life—right now—right here, in the basement. I’d better let her down easy. I’d hate to crush an ego and a fragile heart all at the same time.

  “Look…” I swallow hard as she reaches for the bottom of her T-shirt and begins to pull it over her stomach. “No, no, don’t do that. I think you’re sweet, and pretty, and—”

  “You think I
’m pretty?” She perks to life as if I’ve just proposed.

  “No, not like that.”

  Her face drops.

  “I mean yes like that. It’s just I’m not ready to go there with you.”

  “Then you like me and you just need time.” She tilts her head and I get the distinct feeling I’ve succeeded in stringing her along.

  Shit.

  “I don’t need time. I think you need to find yourself a guy more your age. Someone who’s sweet just like you.” And hopefully not horny as hell.

  “I’m not interested in boys my age. I like older men.” She cups her hand over my sweats and gives my dick a good squeeze.

  “Shit.” I pluck her off and take a breath, waiting for the dull ache to subside. “I’m sure there are a lot of older men out there who would be willing to come down to the basement with you and help you move some boxes.” I raise my brows, calling her out on her little ruse.

  “I get it.” A smile twitches on her lips. “It’s because of my brother. You think it’s weird that your sister and he have this thing. And now your mom.” It comes out bitter, as if somehow Mom and Kendall have managed to fuck things up between us—little does she know it’s Ally who’s the official cock block.

  “Yeah.” I go with it. “That’s sort of a tough pill to swallow. Plus Cruise would kill me if he knew I was messing around with his baby sister.”

  Her eyes fill with fire. She’s going to castrate him the next time she sees him. Already I’m liking the outcome here.

  “I knew it,” she seethes. “That bastard threatened you, didn’t he?” She grunts in frustration. “He’s such a controlling asshole.” Her features soften almost instantly. “We won’t tell him. We’ll keep this a secret just between you and me, and no one will ever have to know. It can be our dirty little secret.” She giggles into the idea.

  “Our dirty little secret?” Carrington seems to be overrun with just those very things.