A Little Bit Naughty: A Tahoe Nights Story Read Free Page A

enough his cock was still a long, hard length beneath his jeans. She licked her lips. “It’s not that I’m worried.” He snorted, knowing her well enough to catch when she was covering. “Okay, I’m a little worried. This could end up being really weird for both of us. Beyond that, I’m not sure Mother will buy it. She’s very good at getting to the truth, especially with me. On the other hand, I’ve never been good at lying to her.”
    “She won’t see through us.” Amanda stayed silent. Leo reached over and took her hand in his. The feel of his fingers, so big and warm, teased her senses. “I thought I proved to you on Wednesday that we could make it look plenty real.”
    “As to that…” Amanda hesitated, unsure how to broach the topic of his erection.
    His hand tightened. “Yeah?”
    “You, um, got excited when you kissed me.” Amanda studiously kept her eyes on his face.
    Leo cleared his throat and released her hand. He pushed his fingers through his hair, making a mess of the dark, shiny strands. Amanda had an urge to push her own fingers through Leo’s gorgeous hair. “Excited. Yeah, that’s one way to put it.”
    She frowned. “Well, how would you put it?”
    He made a left hand turn. “Turned on,” he bluntly stated. “Aroused. Hard as a damn rock. Ready to push you against the wall so I could get a better taste.”
    Amanda’s face burned as an image of him doing exactly that filled her mind. The burn suddenly moved south and she couldn’t breathe, let alone reply.
    Leo turned into the parking lot of one of their favorite Italian restaurants. He found a spot near the front and took it, then killed the engine. When he looked over at her, Amanda was hit with the full force of his arousal. She wasn’t the only one thinking naughty thoughts. That made her feel better. It also scared her. Leo was her friend. He was important to her. Tossing sex into the mix was sure to be a bad idea.
    “I know. It’s crazy,” he said, as if reading her mind. “We’ve been friends so long that it feels…odd to suddenly be attracted to each other.” He reached out and took her hand again. This time he entwined their fingers, and Amanda felt a jolt of pleasure run up and down her spine. “I don’t want to run from this or pretend it’s not there. In fact, I’d like to see where it could go. Aren’t you a little curious?”
    She let her gaze land on his fly again. Jeez, the man was big. “Yes, I’m curious,” she admitted, tearing her gaze away from him. Looking out the windshield, she noticed a man and woman walking into the restaurant. They were holding hands. Amanda stared as the middle-aged guy held the door for the pretty redhead. When he leaned down and kissed the top of the woman’s head, Amanda sighed. It was such a sweet gesture, so loving. Amanda had had nice relationships with men, but she’d never felt cherished or loved. The pang of jealousy that zipped through her in that moment wasn’t a good feeling. I’ll have that someday , she told herself. In the meantime…
    “Promise me one thing, Leo.”
    “What is it, sweetheart?”
    “Promise me that if we explore this, this…oh whatever it is that’s going on between us, and it doesn’t work out that we’ll still be friends.”
    Leo leaned across the seat and cupped her cheek in his palm. “You aren’t going to lose me. No matter what happens in Lake Tahoe, we’ll go right back to arguing over which movie to watch on Friday night the instant we come back. Deal?”
    “Deal.” Then she glanced at his lap again and grinned. “Until we get to the exploring part, you might want to think about stock quotes or something equally as boring. Otherwise you’re going to give all the waitresses in there something to gossip about.”
    Leo chuckled. “What can I say? That outfit you’re wearing is doing a real number on me, sweets.”
    She waved a hand in the air. “Stop it. I want to eat. I’m hungry.”
    “Me too,” he grumbled,