One of the Guys
Authors: Shiloh Walker
Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Erotica, #Contemporary
Table of Contents
An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication
www.ellorascave.com
One of the Guys
ISBN 9781419913617
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
One of the Guys Copyright © 2007 Shiloh Walker
Edited by Pamela Campbell.
Cover art by Syneca.
Electronic book Publication December 2007
This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/) This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.
ONE OF THE GUYS
Shiloh Walker
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
GQ
: Advance Magazine Publishers Inc.
Häagen-Dazs: HDIP, Inc.
Jack Daniels: Jack Daniel's Properties, Inc.
Pocket Rocket: Health Devices Corporation
One of the Guys
Prologue
“Now that is one nice-looking ass.”
With a smirk, Dean Albridge eyed his girlfriend as she stood on the other side of the room talking to a friend. Even though the apartment was packed with college students, Jaynie stood out. He’d had no trouble pointing his fiancée out to Landon.
She’d actually made half an attempt to look decent, and, though he couldn’t call the plain white shorts and red tank top party attire, at least she wasn’t wearing the worn-out tees and shorts she preferred to wear when she wasn’t working.
Next to him, Landon Mouser cupped his hands and pantomimed squeezing said ass. “So you think she’ll go for it?” Landon asked. He looked as if he was about ready to drool just thinking about it.
Dean smiled, confident. “Yeah. She will. Jaynie will do pretty much anything I ask her.” It was one of her nicer attributes, well, aside from her ass. And her hair, shit, he loved that hair. And her tits—okay, all of her physical attributes. He just wished she wouldn’t spend so much time dressing like the tomboy she’d been when they had hooked.
Licking his lips in anticipation, he put his beer down and glanced at Landon. “Give me a few.”
Landon, still focused on Jaynie’s ass, just nodded.
“Exactly how drunk are you?” Jaynie asked and then she shook her head. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. Give me the keys. I’m ready to go home and you definitely need to go home.”
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Shiloh Walker
Dean grabbed her wrist and jerked her up against him, bending down to kiss her.
“Not drunk, baby. Come on, live a little.”
Live a little
?
She rolled her eyes as he bent over and pressed his mouth to her neck. “I do live a little. Where in hell is this coming from anyway?” He palmed her ass and rubbed up against her. Even though his touch was enough to have her skin humming, Jaynie wasn’t about to do a bump and grind while they were surrounded by people.
By no means was she shy, but she preferred to keep certain things private and sex was one of them. Shoving her hands between them, she forced a little bit of air between them. “Not here, baby. Come on, let’s go home.” She leaned and whispered in his ear, adding a promise that under normal circumstances would have Dean all but panting behind her as she led him away.
Not this time. He caught her face in his hands and once more pressed his mouth to hers. “We can go upstairs, find an empty room…then you can do that. To both of us.” A little repulsed, Jaynie turned her face aside. “Both of you? I don’t think so.” Finally it seemed as if her sincerity penetrated Dean’s thick skull and he lifted his head and glared at her. “I don’t see what the big deal is. You read about this shit all the time.”
“Yeah, and that’s fiction. I read fiction for entertainment. It doesn’t mean I want to do a three-way. For that matter, it doesn’t mean I want to get bitten by a vamp and hunt down some psycho that kills kids.” Jackass—he would find a way to bring her reading choices into this. “Look, Dean, I’m not interested in have a ménage with some drinking buddy.”
He bent close once more and she planted her hands against his shoulders, this time pushing him as hard as she could. It was hard enough to make him stumble back a step or two and she took advantage of that to lengthen the distance between them. “I’m 6
One of the Guys
done,” she said, her voice rising. “Give me the keys so I can leave. You can find your own way home.”
Dean’s lip curled in an ugly sneer. “You find your own way home, baby.” He looked her over from head to toe, an odd smile on his face. “You came here wanting to party, Jaynie. Remember that.”
Then he turned and disappeared into the writhing mass of bodies. Jaynie was surrounded by noise, by bodies, by people she either didn’t know well—or at all. Her gut twisted into a series of nasty knots as she searched for a familiar face, half desperate to get home.
She felt as if she wanted to scream or hit something. What the hell—she was in the mood to do both.
But first, she had to get out of there.
After fifteen minutes of trying to find the classmate she’d been talking to earlier, Jaynie gave up and searched for a phone. All she needed to do was get hold of Katie.
Katie would come and get her.
Except Katie either didn’t have her phone with her or she wasn’t answering.
Finding a semi-empty spot in the hallway, she leaned back against the wall and folded her arms against her middle.
She should have stayed at the small apartment she shared with Dean and just studied. But noooooo. When Dean had come in and pulled her away from her books, she’d been a little relieved. Finals were still a ways off, but Jaynie was determined to get
“
A
”s in all of her courses, which meant nearly nonstop studying. On top of the class load she had this semester, it was killing her.
But what she wouldn’t give to be back in the apartment, curled up on the chair with her books and a glass of wine spread around her.
Well, she could at least have one of those things. The frat boys throwing the party were more into beer or the harder stuff, but she’d seen some empty chardonnay bottles earlier. Surely there was some left.
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Shiloh Walker
After hiding in the hallway for ten minutes, she finally headed toward the kitchen.
Halfway there, she discovered that there was at least a little bit of wine left. She ended up wearing some of it on her shirt as a pretty, petite blonde crashed into her.
“Sorry!”
Her shirt drenched and clinging to her, Jaynie forced a very fake smile. Through her teeth, she said, “No problem.” Not that she needed to bother. The girl was already gone.
“Jaynie.”
Dean’s voice was the
last
thing she wanted to hear just then. Plucking her damp shirt away from her chest, she didn’t look at him. “I’m going home, Dean. Just leave me the hell alone or you’ll regret it when you wake up bald tomorrow.” A warm hand curved over her shoulder, he bent and pressed his lips to her brow.
“Come on, baby. I’m trying to apologize here. Won’t you look at me?” She did, and she saw that he had a glass of wine in his hand. Not quite ready to forgive him for being such a jerk, she didn’t grab the wine. She wanted to, though.
Instead, she looked at his face and said, “I’m tired. It’s been a long-ass day and I want to go home.”
He dipped his head. Jaynie averted her face so that he ended up kissing her cheek but he didn’t seem to mind. Dean wrapped an arm around her waist and gently pulled her closer. “I know, Jaynie. I’m sorry. Come on, let’s go sit down for a while so I can sober up and then I’ll drive you home.” He pushed the wine glass into her hand and said, “This is for you.”
Jaynie almost pushed it away. Almost pushed him away. But then he nuzzled her neck and murmured, “I’m sorry, darling.”
And like a moron, she forgave him.
They ended up on a small section of couch, Dean in the corner with Jaynie on his lap while she drank the wine. He stroked her back up and down, watching her through 8
One of the Guys
heavy-lidded eyes. She almost told him he was wasting his time, looking at her like that. She was still pissed at him.
She opened her mouth to tell him but then forgot what she was going to say. She took another drink of wine and then looked back at Dean. Only she saw two of him.
Her gut churned and little black dots danced in front of her eyes.
“Oh shit,” she mumbled. “My head.” She pressed a hand to her head and then somebody walking past the couch tripped. And for the second time, Jaynie ended up wearing a drink.
This time it was an ice-cold margarita, so cold that, for a minute her mind cleared and she realized she was nauseated. Seriously nauseated. “Oh shit,” she said again. Her tongue felt thick, her throat felt weird and her belly was roiling.
Her reflexes slowed, she pushed at Dean’s hand, lurched to her feet and stumbled away. Bathroom. Needed to get to the bathroom.
Behind her, Dean grinned and pushed up off the couch. He met the gaze of somebody standing near the couch and as one, they fell into step behind Jaynie.
She didn’t make it to the hallway and the elusive bathroom. She didn’t remember how far she made it because shortly after she shoved away from the couch, Jaynie’s memory of that night was little more than a surreal blur.
But Brian Lasher wasn’t likely to ever forget.
The last thing he’d felt like doing was hitting some frat party when he needed to be home studying for the boards. Eight years of schooling were hopefully about ready to pay off and he could start working at the clinic back home.
He was going blind over study notes and mock board exams and his first instinct when a friend called him about the party has been a fat
no
. But he’d said yes.
He still wasn’t sure why.
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Right now, though, he was damn glad he had. He stared at Jaynie Holmes and swore. He’d seen her a few minutes ago sitting on Dean the Dick’s lap and she’d looked fine.
Now? Well, Brian’s patients weren’t going to be the two-legged kind, but he knew what a drugged woman looked like. Her pupils were huge and her eyes were so glassy, he doubted she saw him. Doubted she recognized him when he closed his arms over her upper arms and shook her.
He called her name but the music was so loud, he barely heard himself. She swayed on her feet and cursing, Brian caught her and lifted her in his arms.
Dean caught up with him on his way out the door.
“Hey, Brian. Where in hell are you going?”
He barely glanced at Dean. “To the hospital. She’s been drugged.” Dean laughed. “No, she hasn’t. She had a few too many glasses of wine. Said she wanted to go the bathroom before I take her home.” He moved to take Jaynie and Brian tightened his arms protectively.
He could see her eyes, wide and dark in her pale face, and she shivered, rubbing her cheek against his chest. “She isn’t drunk. She’s drugged. If you can’t tell the difference, you’re a bigger idiot than I thought.” Without sparing Dean another glance, he headed for his car.
10
One of the Guys
Chapter One
Sick with humiliation
.
Suddenly, the phrase made perfect sense to Jaynie Holmes. Bile churned in the back of her throat and she wasn’t sure if she would make it through the next sixty seconds without puking, but she couldn’t tear herself away.
It was Dean Albridge, her supposed fiancé, and Landon Mouser, a friend of Dean’s that she’d always hated, and they were busy doing the dirty with Kit Austin. Kit Austin.
Kit Austin
. All three of them.
Pretty, perfect and blonde, Kit had moved in across the street from them two months back. She had immediately starting putting the moves on Dean, but Jaynie hadn’t worried about it.
After all, Dean loved her. They’d been together since high school, they were planning a wedding—sort of, and he’d never messed around on her. Jaynie trusted him.