Craving Kismet

Chapter 3-1

Chapter 3

The light from the hall cast golden stripes across Bryan’s chest, outlining the relaxed muscles as he sprawled in the middle of their bed. Jenny watched him from the doorway, trying to ignore the unsated hunger still humming through her veins. She had come twice before he had finally gripped her hips and slammed into her one more time, but somehow it wasn’t right, or wasn’t enough, or wasn’t…something. There had been no chance to pursue rectifying it, though, before he’d kissed her neck and promptly collapsed onto the bed at her side.

She sighed, pulling the door shut. It was going to be a long night.

Curling up in the corner of the couch, Jenny flicked through the channels, unable to settle on any single program for longer than a few seconds. Nothing satisfied her. Cartoons were too inane, dramas too heavy, infomercials too annoying. She was about to flip past an Elizabeth Taylor movie on AMC when the picture cut to a young Paul Newman, and she stopped, hypnotized by the blue eyes gazing at her from the TV screen. It wasn’t the movie that interested her. It was the slam of memories from the party that had her suddenly flushing all over.

Ashley Edwards. And the potent offers he had made. And those vivid, vivid eyes boring into her, daring her to say no. How Jenny had found the strength to walk away, she still didn’t know.

She loved Bryan. She did. And s*x with him was always good. Satisfying.

Except for tonight.

And she knew that had everything to do with the attraction she’d felt for a near stranger.

In spite of her appearance, Jenny had never been promiscuous. She and Bryan had been exclusive in high school, exclusive when he returned. In the years between, she’d been picky about who she dated, let alone who she slept with. Not once had she cheated on a guy she was with, nor truly entertained the notion. It wasn’t in her nature to betray another’s trust, no matter how much she might want to. And, for as frustrated as he made her sometimes, she would never dream of hurting Bryan by sleeping around behind his back.

But the temptation had been there with Ashley. Those seconds of contemplation had been very real, her body’s reactions burning brilliant. If she was the kind of girl who cavalierly ignored her commitments, she would have accepted his invitation to leave the party without even blinking. She wanted him that badly.

Except she didn’t accept. Because she wasn’t that kind of girl. Even if, in that moment, she really, really, really wished she was.

Turning off the TV, Jenny tossed the remote aside in order to stretch out. She rested one leg along the back of the couch, the T-shirt she wore to sleep in riding up to her waist, while her other leg slipped over the edge, her foot flat on the floor. It exposed the still damp crotch of her black thong, and her hand idly began touching her inner thighs.

Maybe it was his eyes, the way they glittered when they met hers. Or maybe it was his wicked grin, or the energy that seemed to come off him in waves, palpable from the very first touch of his hand on hers. Or maybe it was just the fact that Ashley Edwards had as much charm as he did looks and he was playing her for a quick lay.

Jenny didn’t care. The end result was the same. Her body was already bowstring tight thinking of what it could have been like if, for just one night, she was the woman who said to hell with anybody else’s feelings and took exactly what she wanted…