In Her Best Friend's Bed. J. Critch Margot

hand from hers and she pulled away from him.

      “Uh, yeah,” she responded. “Let’s go.” She pushed away from the booth, and Trevor stood, as well. Her cheeks felt hot and his were reddened, too. Her gaze traveled down his front and settled on the impressive bulge behind his zipper, which showed that he was as affected by her as she was by him.

      They were silent as they walked to the door. Trevor grabbed their jackets from the backroom and passed Abby hers. When he held the door open for Abby, she stepped outside. The night air had become much chillier since she’d arrived at the club earlier that day, and the small jacket that she had worn over her work clothes had little to no effect in keeping her warm, and, with Trevor weighing on her mind, she hadn’t thought to change into the suit she’d worn that day. Thank God she lived only a couple of blocks from the club and their walk would be a short one. Abby wrapped her jacket even tighter and folded her arms over her breasts.

      “It sure is cold,” she muttered through teeth that almost chattered. “I kind of wish we were back in Vegas.”

      Trevor’s head whipped around to look at her, and Abby knew that his mind had gone where hers had—to their kiss on the roof of Swerve. She hadn’t meant to mention it, and she often avoided talking about the city at all, lest they think about what could have been that night, if they hadn’t been interrupted, if Abby had let him walk her to her room, if she hadn’t seen him talking to another woman when she’d returned to the party. They thankfully hadn’t gotten a chance to finish the kiss, but it was obvious that the sexual tension still crackled between them, and at the moment, it was still very close to the surface.

      She heard Trevor huff out a breath and he stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, at least winter is almost over. Spring will be here soon enough.”

      Abby’s bare legs had become numb. And Trevor must have caught her shivering because he moved closer to her and placed his arm around her shoulder, drawing her in, providing her with the warmth she needed.

      She could feel the soothing heat emanating from him and she felt herself warm instantly. But the rush of heat didn’t just come from Trevor; the flames of arousal were stoked low in her belly and radiated through her. Abby allowed herself to lean into him and closed her eyes from the pleasure. The scent of his spicy cologne did something to her. She inhaled deeply, involuntarily pressing closer into his embrace. She looked up and watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down sharply, as he raggedly swallowed. All she would have to do was lift her head a little and she’d be able to place her lips directly on his pulse point. And she might have, too, if they hadn’t reached her apartment building.

      “Here we are,” he announced, removing his arm from her shoulder. She felt the cold air hit her and she immediately mourned the loss of him. He took a deep breath and stepped back. “I’d better go,” he said, as if he was trying to convince himself.

      They stood on her stoop, and he made no move to leave. She looked up at him, also not eager to end their evening together quite yet. She knew that she couldn’t be with him, but, at the same time, she wasn’t ready to send him on his way. “Do you want to come upstairs for a bit? We can hang out a little while longer.”

      Trevor opened his mouth, but it was several beats before he spoke. He nodded, not taking his eyes from her. “Yeah, sure.”

      She unlocked the front door and they walked to the elevator. The sliding doors closed after them and they rode all the way up in complete silence but for the creaks of the rickety machinery, both Abby and Trevor watching the numbers as the elevator climbed past each floor to the tenth. With a ding, the doors separated.

      “This way,” Abby told him quietly as she left the elevator and turned right. She didn’t know what would happen when they got to her apartment. She didn’t even know what she wanted to happen. All she knew was that she could feel Trevor walking behind her.

      They got to her door and he stood close as she inserted the key into the lock. She walked inside, with him on her tail, and she spun quickly, nearly colliding with the hardness of his chest. And she might have fallen over if he hadn’t reached out, one hand encircling her wrist and his other grasping her hip.

      It took her a moment to regain her composure. She cleared her throat loudly, and he pulled away. “Would you like another drink? I’ve got some beer in the fridge, I think.”

      “Water’s fine,” he said abruptly, moving away from her. “I don’t think I need any more beer.”

      “Yeah, water.” Abby nodded and headed into the kitchen. She needed to get away from him, at least for a moment, to clear her mind without the scent and the pure maleness of him clouding her senses. The cold walk home had sobered her up, but she still couldn’t think straight. Abby stood at the sink and, placing both palms on the counter, took a deep breath. She and Trevor had always had fun hanging out, but sometime during the course of the night the air between them had changed. It had become charged. She grasped her wrist where he had held her to steady her. And she could still feel him, as if he were branded onto her skin.

      “Pull it together, Abby,” she muttered to herself. Why was Trevor able to affect her this way? Why was he able to elicit such a reaction—desire—from her, without even trying? Just the feel of his hand on her wrist, his thumb against the point of her rapidly beating pulse, coupled with the intoxicating scent of his cologne, left her with a warm pit of desire low in her belly. Abby reminded herself of her no-relationships pact.