Read Escalation Clause for Free Online

the minute as Brandis ignored her in favor of some slutty looking Asian girl who was no more than a stick in her black bikini and had a laugh that set Mo’s teeth on edge. She let Denise hand her a new cup, scooting over when her friend dropped to the side of the pool with her.
     “Stop staring,” Denise half-whispered.
    “What?”
    Denise scoffed. “Stop staring at my brother. There, did you understand that? He’s an asshole, mostly, and you know that, so just cut it out.”
    Mo held back the tears, turned her attention to the totally uninteresting guy currently flirting with her. She let him toss her into the pool, touch her, even kiss her once as the beer floated through her system. When his hands traveled south, in the waning light of the summer day with sounds of the radio mixing with feminine giggling and masculine murmurs all around her, she stopped him. Pinned against the side of the pool, the sudden clammy graspy-ness of his hand made her furious at herself. She turned her head, but his boozy breath stayed with her. A spike of fear shot through when he pressed himself too close. “Back off,” she shoved him away. She was no small girl at five-foot-nine and nearly a hundred fifty pounds of running and tennis-playing muscle. But, at that moment, she felt fragile and girlie which pissed her off.
    He trapped her against the concrete, his hands on either side of her at the edge of the pool. “Tease,” he growled.
    “Nope,” she ducked out from under his arm, swimming away, anger sobering her up enough to make her escape. When she emerged, climbing up the ladder, Brandis stood, hand out, helping her up. Her whole body zinged at his touch. He glowered at the guy who still stood at the shallow end, and then yanked her close, his lips hovering over her ear.
    “You okay?” He kept his hand at the small of her back. She let herself curve into him, hoping the shadow at the far end of the pool would hide them from everyone.
    “I would be,” she put her lips along his jaw, gratified when his skin pebbled. She touched his shoulder, ran her finger up the smooth skin of his neck. His breath caught in his throat. She turned her head just enough, their bodies still so close they could be dancing, or more. Not knowing if it was the beer, or just her intense need to see if his lips were as lush as they seemed, she put her hands on his arms and took a few steps, tugging him back further under a tree and into the corner of the huge lawn.
    “Cut it out Mo,” his voice was just a whisper, but she kept going.
    “Kiss me,” she whispered. “Just once.” But, she didn’t wait for him. She slanted her mouth over his, her urgency and inexperience making her quivery. She slid her hand behind his neck. He made a low noise in his throat that lit a fire in her core.
    “God, help me,” he said, his voice quaking, before tugging her close, plunging his tongue between her lips. His hands slid down her waist, cupped her ass. She groaned into his mouth at the feel of his erection pressed against her stomach. She was like a live wire, thrumming and buzzing, even if only between her own ears. He back walked her a few steps, propped her against the tall fence. She raised one leg, and he gripped it, pulling it up his tall firm body. His desire was a living thing, centered in the amazing press of his sex against her.
    She ran a shaking hand down to his hip, then back up, loving the play of muscles under her touch. He broke away, his breathing heavy, and cradled her face between his large hands. His eyes shone in the firelight. She smiled, tilted her hips as she leaned back, wanting something so badly she was about to explode, unable to name, or even fully understand it. She simply dropped into the void—let it take her to a place she was more than willing to go. Her hips moved against him, making him moan and kiss his way up her neck. He cupped a breast, ran his thumb across her nipple. She shuddered as her skin flushed with blood.