He was a dark shadow above her, backlit by stars and moon. She pulled him down, locked her lips to his. His body tensed and flexed inside her as she opened her mouth. She kissed him back as hard as he kissed her, tasting his heat, savoring his need.
With one foot on the floorboard to brace himself, he thrust deeper, and she put a hand on the car door behind her head, pushing to meet each plunge. Hard, delicious, explosive. She dug her fingers into his shoulder as she burst wide open, exploding into a million perfect pieces as he exploded, too, with her name on his lips.
Just as his was on hers.
*
Harper snuggled against him as he drove back toward home, one arm thrown around her shoulder, holding her tight.
There was no point in trying to deny anymore that she was in too deep. But honestly, she was having a hard time caring about that, no longer counting down the days until he got tired of her and Jeremy.
Maybe it was stupid. Maybe she would regret it later. But right now she was simply too relaxed—and too full of soul-deep pleasure—to keep shoring up her barriers.
The wind blew through her hair, but with Will’s arm around her, she couldn’t tell that the night had turned cool. She could only feel his warmth protecting her.
Other men had been after Jeremy’s trust fund, or begrudged her the time and energy she gave to her brother, as though it took something from them. But Will didn’t need Jeremy’s money. And he gave so much of himself to her brother, the car, the new job, driving Jeremy home. Even Jeremy’s teacher, Miss Richards, had noticed a marked improvement.
All because of Will.
He slowed for a downhill curve. “I’m having a barbecue on Memorial Day with a few of my friends. I’d like you and Jeremy to come.”
“Me? And Jeremy?” She blinked at him. “You want us to come to a barbecue with your friends?”
“Evan met you both, but no one else has yet.”
Sex was one thing...but meeting his friends? That felt like something different. Something more.
But was it? Or was it just her heart running hopeful because Will Franconi was the most irresistible man she’d ever met?
The night air was suddenly a cool draft down her neck as those worries she thought she’d just buried poked up their heads again. Not only about what Will’s wanting her to meet his friends meant about their relationship, but also about whether his friends—aka the Silicon Valley elite—would look down their noses at her and Jeremy.
Will had surprised her, though, hadn’t he? All those weeks ago, she’d assumed he would be just a rich man in a fast car, only a slight step up from the father of the teenage boy who’d run Jeremy down. But that wasn’t Will at all.
Was it possible that his friends would surprise her, too?
Maybe it was the beautiful night. Maybe it was the beautiful sex. Maybe it was how exhausting it was to keep holding up those heavy walls all the time.
Or maybe it was the way Will looked at her with such hope, as if her attending his party was the most important thing in the world.
Whatever the reason, she suddenly smiled and said, “A Memorial Day barbecue sounds great. I can’t wait to meet the rest of your friends.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Will couldn’t stop staring at Harper as she chatted out by the pool with Evan’s wife, Whitney, and Whitney’s sister Paige. Harper was gorgeous in her bathing suit and matching wrap skirt, but trumping even his need for her was his pleasure at having her there with him and his closest friends.
He wished Evan could feel the same way about his own wife, although that was near impossible when Whitney had been engrossed in her cell phone the entire time she’d been at the barbecue. She had looks that turned most men stupid and as far as Will could tell, she’d been exploiting that her entire life. Her sister, Paige, on the other hand, was the sweet girl next door, the opposite of Whitney in every way, except for the auburn hair. It was hard to believe the two women had been raised by the same parents.
His pulse rate jumped when Harper came to join his conversation with the guys. Well, mostly with Jeremy, who held center stage. Will had to hand it to Harper’s brother—he definitely wasn’t shy.
“I deliver all the mail.” Jeremy mimed pushing the cart. “I stack everyone’s mail in order of where they sit on my route. I pass out supplies on my way, too, like pens and Post-its and binder clips and stuff. And I haven’t gotten any of the deliveries wrong, have I, Will?”
“You’ve nailed them all.”
“And when there’s a big meeting,” Jeremy added with a grin, “I make the coffee and go down to the bagel shop. I get a bunch of different bagels and the stuff for the bagels. Like cream cheese.”
Harper had been a little worried when she’d first heard about that duty, afraid Jeremy would be in charge of money and have to account for discrepancies. But she’d ended up agreeing that more responsibility was good for her brother, and so far, Jeremy hadn’t had any trouble with it.