During dinner it became even more obvious. Tara played the nice girl and agreed with everything Paul said. It was positively nauseating!

By the time Holly had eaten three slices of pizza, she was ready to puke, and it wasn’t the pizza’s fault. She couldn’t take any more of their banter and all the references about past summers and parties they had both attended. Why hadn’t Paul invited Tara in the first place to play his girlfriend instead of Holly? It would have made things easier for all of them.

“It’s been a long day. I’ll get ready for bed,” Holly announced after they’d put the dishes away.

Paul raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you want to watch a movie with us? I’m sure we can find something we’ll all like.”

Holly shook her head. “No thanks, I’ll just turn in. ’Night.”

Paul stepped closer, as if he wanted to kiss her good night, but Holly turned before he reached her and stomped out of the kitchen.

As she walked down the hallway, she heard Tara say, “Did I do something?”

That rotten little bitch knew exactly what she’d done: She’d made Holly jealous.

20

Paul lay in his bed, naked, staring up at the ceiling in the darkness, but he couldn’t sleep. Maybe he’d gone too far. Maybe he should have told Holly that his mother had been the one to invite Tara, not he.

He sat up, about to push the duvet off, when he heard a door open. His door.

His heart jumped in excitement. Tara would never come to his room, which left only one person: Holly.

He recognized her silhouette as she eased the door shut behind her and approached the bed. Paul smiled to himself. He’d been right after all.

When Holly was almost beside him, he reached for the light switch and turned on the bedside lamp. It illuminated the room in a soft, subdued light, just enough to see everything, but not enough to spoil the mood.

Holly gasped.

Paul grinned. “Well, look who we’ve got here.” He feasted his eyes on her.

Holly was dressed for seduction. She wore a black negligee over a red teddy.

“Were you expecting anybody else?” she asked with raised eyebrows. She shrugged the negligee off her shoulders, letting it fall on the floor.

The teddy didn’t have enough fabric to adequately cover her full breasts. Instead, only her nipples were hidden, but the round and firm flesh of her breasts was practically displayed on a platter.

“Who would I expect?” He pushed the duvet down farther, giving her a glimpse of his groin, where his cock was already standing erect.

Holly motioned to the hallway. “That woman.”

The way she said the last word reinforced his belief that Holly was jealous.

Paul pushed the duvet aside completely. “Do you really think I would have a hard-on like this for that girl when I have a real woman staying with me?”

He reached for her arm and pulled her down onto the bed, pressing her onto the covers, before sliding one thigh over her lower body to keep her there.

“You invited her. Was it because I insisted on not having sex with you?”

A smile formed on his lips. “It appears that we are having sex. Or what would you call that out at the pool this afternoon? I believe that was sex.”

“But you couldn’t know that would happen when you invited her,” Holly insisted.

“No, I couldn’t. You’re right about that.” Paul slid his hand up her torso, enjoying the feel of the soft fabric under his palm and the heat that came from Holly’s body. When he reached one breast, he pushed the fabric off her nipple and swiped his thumb over it.

She moaned and pressed her head back into the mattress. “So you admit it, then, that you invited her to sleep with her.”

“Is that why you came to my room in this?” He flicked a finger against her teddy. “Scandalous, really.” Then he dipped his head to suck one nipple into his mouth, before letting it pop from his lips a moment later. “But delicious.”

“You’re a rotten philanderer, Paul!”

“Oh, I don’t think you know the meaning of the word. If I’m not mistaken, a philanderer makes love to many women, sometimes at the same time. Whereas I—” He squeezed her breast, then pushed the fabric off her other breast too. “—only make love to one. And that woman is right here in my bed.”

His hand wandered down her torso and slid between her legs, where he found a little snap button and ripped it open to expose her sex to him. His fingers stroked her folds, and he felt her shiver. “A woman who wants to continue what we started earlier.”