Hot Spicy Barbecue Wings

Emma’s POV

I turned around and started to hurry away from the room; I didn’t wait for their response. There was no point in facing those two shameless assholes I’d trusted all my life. The painful ache in my heart was surprisingly gone now, replaced by a flaming fury that threatened to explode in my chest.

How dare they! Those godforsaken, backstabbing creatures had been hooking up right behind my back for three years while pretending to be the best thing that ever happened to me. I felt more fury steaming toward myself than toward them. I was just a pawn in their little game, and I had been too blind to notice. God, it was so obvious.

I had moved back to San Francisco after college hoping I could start a new life with Trevor, get married, and have his "minions," as he called them. But the damn backstayer had his own life planned all along, which, of course, didn’t include me the way mine included him.

A wave of dizziness hit my head as I ran hard into a broad, solid chest at the entrance. I stumbled back and quickly caught myself. I didn’t check who it was before I continued with my fury-filled steps; whoever it was deserved to get their heart popped out of their chest by my head for attending an engagement party for backstabbers.

The cold air outside did absolutely nothing to ice my fury. A sob burned at the back of my throat, but I refused to let it out. I would never allow myself to grieve or shed a single tear for people who weren't worth it.

I heard heavy footsteps behind me, like someone was trying to catch up with me. My heart gripped tight. Was he already regretting his actions? Even if he placed a million drones in the sky just to say, “Forgive me, babe,” I would never take him back. A part of me knew that wasn’t entirely true. Just because I called him a scumbag didn’t mean I didn’t still want him in my life.

A hand gripped mine from behind and shoved me back to face him. Without looking up, I snapped, “I don’t care how much you beg me, Trevor, but I swear on my father’s grave that I will not take you back!”

“I know you want it to be him right now, but the universe isn’t always on our side, you know?”

Wait… that wasn't Trevor’s voice. That deep baritone didn’t sound like him at all.

I looked up slowly and froze at the sight before me. His height swallowed me—he was 6’ft-something tall, dressed in a black shirt with the top two buttons undone and his sleeves rolled halfway. His wheat-blonde hair was brushed back, which only accentuated his sharp jawline. His hazel eyes stared down at my face.

He looked so… of course, he was familiar. He was none other than Allysia’s annoying stepbrother, Adrian. A lot had changed about him. He didn't look like the twenty-year-old, wealthy playboy who held nasty parties in his room with naked ladies when his parents went on vacation, nor like the crazy boy who called me “Nerdy Emma” and provoked me intentionally when he visited from college. He looked way hotter at twenty-five than he had back in the day.

I would say he was vanilla pudding at twenty and… a killer sauce… or hot spicy barbecue wings at twenty-five.

I almost asked myself what he was doing here. Oh, stupid. Of course he knew about all of this; he was one of them. The thought fueled my anger. I turned around and quickened my pace, not wanting to speak with him, but he was faster and got in my way.

“We’re seeing each other again after so many years and you’re just going to leave like that? No hug?”

An unexplainable urge to slap the grin off his face surged through me as I stared up at him.

“Don’t give me that bullshit and pretend you don’t know about any of this. I won’t let you stand there and insult me by acting like you don't know what your slutty little sister just did to me,” I snapped.

He raised his eyebrows in pleasant surprise, staring at me with a look of pure amusement.

“Woah, it’s feisty Emma now? Wait… you think I knew something about this?”

I gave him a deadly glare, shoving whatever else he had to say back down his throat.

“Fine, I knew something about it, just not the way you think I did. I discovered it last week and I really thought about letting you know, but seriously, if I had, you wouldn’t have believed me anyway. I thought you discovering it yourself was the best option.”

He might have actually had a point. If he had told me my best friend and my boyfriend were a thing and getting engaged in a week, I would have laughed it off as one of his stupid jokes and blocked his contact forever. God, I had trusted those assholes too much.

He tilted his head slightly and shrugged as if he could read my mind. He wanted me to tell him he was right? Never.

“I don’t give a damn about whatever excuse you have. I just want you to get the fuck out of my way.”

I quickened my steps, but he just glided backward, keeping his face to mine and blocking my path as he went, so I was forced to keep looking at his smug face.

“To say I’m surprised is an understatement. The Em I knew would hide under a table rather than fight back. Look who’s feisty now.”

I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

“Look who’s still an ass, still getting on people’s nerves, I see.”

A grin appeared on his face.

“You mean yours?”

I kept walking and didn’t give him a response.

“You okay? You look so upset. I know you’re probably going through the most hurtful heartbreak of your life right now, but…”

A slow fire burned through my veins.

“I’m fine,” I cut him off.

"You look like you’re about to throw up, Em," Adrian finished, stopping in his tracks.

I stopped walking and glared at him. My glasses were sliding down my nose and my oversized sweater felt like a heavy, damp rug in the San Francisco chill.

"What do you want, Adrian? Seriously. If you’re here to give me a 'tough luck' speech, save it. I’ve had enough for one night. Just get back to your sister’s party and let me be."

He chuckled.

"Does it look like I’m interested in some party? For real, there's something more interesting going on out here with you.”

“Oh, what more could be of interest to Adrian Beaufort? Let me take a quick guess—watching a nerdy girl's life go up in flames? It must really be the highlight of your night.”

A serious look formed on his face.

“I’m driving you home, Emma. There’s no way I’d let you leave all by yourself.”

Oh, perfect. First the sister steals my life, now the brother wants to play the hero? God, they really do love a performance.

I would not be the girl who takes the easy way out anymore, especially not when the "easy way" comes with a Beaufort behind the wheel.

“There’s no way I’m letting you drive me home, so move along.”

His eyes lost the teasing glint they had held a few seconds ago.

”I’m not asking. My arms and my shoulders can do the job just fine if you want to be difficult.”

Was he actually threatening to throw me over his shoulder? The thought sent a jolt of pure indignation through me.

“Never,” I snapped, trying to sidestep him, but he moved with me, blocking my path like a wall of solid muscle. His height made me feel even smaller.

“We’re two grown adults here,” he said, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly tone that vibrated in the small space between us. “And as a reasonable man with dignity, I’m not letting a girl who looks like she’s about to collapse go home alone in the dark. So, you can either walk to the car on your own two feet, or I can make the decision for you. Your choice, Em."

He closed the distance between us, his eyes drifting down to my body before slowly returning to my face. His cologne filled my nostrils—warm and intoxicating—doing something strange to my senses. My heartbeat quickened, and suddenly I was painfully aware of how close he was. My eyes dropped to his slightly parted lips.

With the ache in my chest, something snapped in me.

Before I could stop myself, I closed the distance between us in a second and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, my eyes locked on his.

Surprise crossed his features for a second as I smashed my lips against his without shame, before his cocky mouth could say another word.

As if he had been waiting for the moment, his hand slid under my sweater and stopped at my waist, pulling me closer toward his lips as his tongue rolled against mine.

His tongue didn't just meet mine; it swept through my mouth with a hungry rhythm that made my knees go weak. The friction was dizzying. Every time our tongues brushed, a jolt of electricity shot straight from my chest down to my toes, making me forget my heart had been breaking a minute ago.

I slid one hand down the exposed part of his chest and gasped when his hands moved higher under my sweater to my braless breasts. One of his thumbs rubbed gently over my right nipple while the other hand grabbed my left breast. A sudden jolt ran through my body and I moaned softly against his mouth.

The moment I felt his thick hardness against my stomach, it felt like a part of my senses returned to me.

I pulled back from the kiss abruptly and pushed him away, making him falter backward.

“Stop,” I whispered, my breath uneven.