Melissa's Mates (Blissful Bets #3) Read online

Melissa noticed the blonde highlights that had streaked her friends’ brunette hair were gone. As one of Julie’s perfectly sculptured eyebrows rose, Mel knew she was serious.

  “Do I look like I’m kidding you? I got fucked this morning at court. I think I’m going to lose my case, and truthfully, I don’t want to think about it. Thompson, fucking genius. I should have had my guard up better with him. He’s the best in the area, and you know I wouldn’t admit it if it wasn’t true.”

  “If you colored your hair already, then you must need a drink pretty fucking bad. “

  “Oh, you noticed that.” Julie patted her now dark brown hair. “Yeah, I was tired of the blonde. Thought I’d go back to a more natural look. So, are you getting in or are you just going to stand outside my door all day?”

  Melissa climbed in, pulling her black, knee-length skirt down. “Where are we going?”

  “Fuck, I’d settle for a forty from a convenience store right now. I need alcohol.”

  Studying her friend cautiously, she tried to ignore the desperation in her voice. Surely she wasn’t getting out of hand. Maybe it was the stress of basically getting her ass served on a silver platter at work, but still, she felt the need to watch Julie carefully. The last few weeks at the bars, Julie had gone beyond having a good time. Once, she literally passed out in the restroom and had to be carried out of the bar by Stephen.

  They took off toward town. Rap settled through the car, and Melissa inwardly groaned. How could she have forgotten about Julie’s love for bass? The whole car was set up to be heard a mile away. Although she didn’t have a dislike toward some rap, the vibrations of the music gave her a headache at the volume her friend preferred.

  Pulling up to the restaurant Melissa had just left, she prayed Sarah and Ev weren’t still inside. There wasn’t really a need to worry about Natalie. She worked in Corpus, too, so getting here was impossible sometimes.

  “You’re drinking with me, right?”

  “You know I can’t do that. Who will drive us home?”

  “Fuck, you’re right. Hell, we could walk. You only live three blocks away.”

  Melissa mouth parted, shocked that she was distressed enough to ask. Well, hell, after the morning she’d had, why not. “You’re buying me some new pantyhose. I refuse to walk the three blocks in these heels. You owe me so big, Julie, it’s not even funny.”

  “Oh, God, I love you, Mel. Come on, let’s get so wasted Stephen has to threaten to arrest us for public intoxication.”

  “Shit.”

  They both walked in, and Melissa sighed in relief to see her other friends had gone already. They sat at their regular table, Julie not even picking up the menu before flagging down the waitress. “Two Coronas. Thanks.”

  “Ugh, Julie, you know I don’t like those. Bud Light, please.”

  The waitress nodded and left. Melissa looked over at her friend. “So, you’re going out tonight, right? I mean, now that Sarah and Ev aren’t going to be going anymore, I think we need to find some new people. This sucks.”

  “Wait, why aren’t they going anymore?”

  Melissa could have kicked herself. Why did she always do this? For some reason, her mouth and brain just did not communicate well together. Damn it. At least this one hadn’t been embarrassing. The things she allowed to slip at times could turn her face as red as her hair.

  “You’ll have to ask them. It’s not my secret to tell.”

  “Fuck, this day just keeps getting better and better. If I find out those men turned into possessive pigs, I’m going over there and laying down the law. That’s horse shit.”

  Julie practically grabbed the beer from the waitress. Melissa watched, shocked as the bottle didn’t leave her lips until it was empty. “Yeah, keep them coming, like every few minutes.” The waitress’s eyes grew wide as she nodded her head.

  “Slow down, I’m not carrying your ass to my house.”

  “We’ll call a cab. About tonight—of course I’m going. I already talked to Natalie, and she’s coming, too. I think she’s bringing a friend with her. Cindy, I think.”

  “Good, we’re going to need more people at this rate.” Melissa picked up her beer and took a big drink. “Julie, do you feel like something weird is going on? Well, I mean, with the whole ménage thing? First Ev, now Sarah. It’s one thing for it to be a freak occurrence, but now with Sarah, too. Something feels off.”

  “Hell no. Shit, if I had two men wanting to be with me, and they looked like any of the men those two have, I’d jump for joy and die happy.”

  “You see nothing wrong with being with two men?” Melissa couldn’t believe her ears. Her friend couldn’t be serious.

  “Melissa, get real. Those two trios love each other. If the love is there, why fight it?”

  Taking a bigger drink, she kept quiet. Why fight it? Why! Well, maybe because it just didn’t seem natural. Hadn’t most people been taught growing up that you find one man and fall in love? Nowhere in the fairy tales did it mention two hot men coming in to sweep Cinderella off her feet. There sure as hell was no Snow White and the seven studs. Melissa laughed under her breath at the thought.

  Yeah, why was it that she could imagine that? Maybe she wasn’t as far off from accepting the scenario, or maybe she was just losing her mind with all these suspicions. She’d be damned if Ev and Sarah weren’t hiding something.

  Chapter 3

  Looking at her watch, Melissa cursed. They’d been here for hours. If they didn’t leave soon, the dinner rush would no doubt be coming in, and she sure as hell didn’t want to be here when they began to arrive.

  “Jules, that’s number eight you just finished. You ready to go back to the house? I thought you wanted to go out tonight. At this rate, you’ll be passed out by nine.”

  “So right. I probably should sober up if I want to be able to make some sort of appearance.”

  “Absolutely.” Melissa stood and reached for the brunette the moment she started to sway back. Grabbing her arm, she barely was able to keep her from pulling them both to the ground.

  “Wow, okay, I admit it. I think I’ve had a little too much. Fuck, get me out of here before I fall over someone’s table.” Even though Julie seemed a bit concerned about her condition, she still couldn’t hold in the laugh that escaped from her mouth.

  “Just hold on to me. We’ll try to get out of here before we both make asses of ourselves. I may have only had four, but I’ve never been much of a drinker, you know that.”

  Both women tried to play it off as they weaved through the tables. Melissa finally was able to breathe as they stepped outside and connected with the salty air. The sound of the seagulls had her closing her eyes and smiling. Walking forward, blind, wasn’t the smartest idea, given her equilibrium. The connection she made against what could be described as nothing short of a wall of stone made her bounce backwards. Off balance, she waved her arms desperately, reaching out for Julie.

  The air left her lungs as an arm reached behind her and nearly gave her whiplash from the instant stop. Anger coursed through her blood as she looked into the most gorgeous face she’d ever seen. It was enough to give her pause, but her mouth had a mind of its own.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Couldn’t you see me walking?”

  The light blue eyes grew wide, and she froze. She knew those eyes. Tom had eyes just like his. Just the thought of the man who tried to kidnap her best friend made the rage worse. True, he wasn’t Tom, but anything associated with that evil man didn’t sit well.

  “I was here first. Didn’t you see me? Plus, I believe I saved you from falling.”

  He smiled down charmingly at her, but she quickly removed herself from his arms. “No, you almost broke my neck. I think falling wouldn’t have hurt so much. Jules, let’s go.”

  “Wait. I’m sorry if I hurt you. It wasn’t intentional, I promise.” His voice quickly rushed in. “Can I ask you a question?”

  Melissa spun around and looked back at the man. Once aga
in, she looked into his eyes, and this time she felt something different. The feeling of getting sucked in pulled her closer to him. Taking a step forward, thoughts of seducing this man burst into her mind. He was beautiful, charming, and…Melissa blinked and ripped her gaze away.

  “What did you want?”

  “Your name.” He smiled as if surprised by something.

  “Her name is Melissa Taylor. She’ll be at the Martini Bar in Corpus tonight if you’re interested. Now, we have to leave because I don’t think I can stand much longer.”

  Melissa glared at Julie. For some reason, she wasn’t sure if she wanted this man to know her name. There was something about him that left her anxious, yet appealed. Her mind kept telling her to run for the hills, but her body wanted to wrap itself around him.

  “Nice to meet you, Melissa. I’m Channing.”

  She nodded wearily and eased back to her friend. Julie sat propped against a palm tree, her hair catching in the bark. The poor girl was absolutely wasted. For four in the afternoon, that wasn’t a good sign.

  “Let me call us a cab, Jules. We’ll be out of here in no time.”

  “Allow me to drive you wherever it is you ladies need to go.”

  Melissa took in the business suit and Channing’s jet black hair. Pulling her vision to the parking lot, she looked at the vehicles filling the space. There was only one she could imagine him driving—the only other Mercedes in the lot.

  “No thanks, we’ll call a cab.”

  “Mel, come on. I don’t want to have to wait. Aren’t you sober enough to drive my car?”

  Even though she was sure she could make it the three blocks, she wasn’t willing to bet anyone’s life on it. There were too many pedestrians that walked this island. A lot of them happened to be high school kids.

  “No. The cab shouldn’t take long.”

  Julie let out a groan and sunk to the ground in her business skirt.

  “Please, let me help you. I’m sorry for whatever I did to make you angry.”

  “We don’t need your help. You were going in to eat. Please, go enjoy your meal.”

  Distance. She needed so much more separation from this man. What was it about him that made her want to flee? He was beyond gorgeous. Yet something, an energy about him, definitely pushed her away. The moment he took a step forward, she took a step back. The pain that washed over his face was the only reason she didn’t continue.

  “As you wish. I’m sorry.”

  Hesitantly, she watched him walk inside. Torn, she felt the need to go apologize. She’d been rude, something she hated. Instead, she pulled out her phone and called a cab company. It didn’t take them long to arrive. Helping Julie in the back seat was nothing short of her friend falling inside. It wasn’t two blocks of passing houses and palm trees before she saw Jules sway to the side. After a few seconds Julie’s hand reached forward.

  “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  Melissa looked over, alarmed. Even the driver of the cab tensed as he made the turn to her house. Their speed increased, and he stopped abruptly. Julie opened the door and became ill right there outside her house.

  “Well, thanks for not doing that on the stairs.” Melissa paid the driver and helped her friend into her house. By the time she got Julie showered, dressed in some of her pajamas, and into bed, the clock read fifteen till seven. So much for going out tonight. She guessed it didn’t matter. There would always be tomorrow, but still, she’d been excited to go and release some steam, especially after the disaster of last weekend.

  Walking to look out her sliding glass doors, Melissa watched the sunset from her view of the beach. No one was around, leaving the large expanse of beach deserted. Just the thought of walking along the water caused her to head to her room. She grabbed her black bikini and a pair of shorts. Feeling a sense of urgency, she put them on and was running for the ocean like her life depended on it.

  Something drove her faster until fire raced down her lungs. Pulling the clip out of her hair, she let her red curls cascade into the wind that whipped past her. Melissa didn’t stop until her toes connected with the rush of water. The slight coolness soothed her racing heart, and suddenly she didn’t want to stop. Walking deeper, she stared captivated at the setting sun.

  Waves crashed against her chest while she ventured even farther. The soft sand beneath her toes urged her until the water rested even with her chest, and she had to fight to stand against the waves. Random thoughts poured through Melissa’s mind. She couldn’t help but think of her conversation with her friends earlier. Babies. They were going to become mothers. A new batch of tears burned her eyes.

  Where had time gone? Here she was right at thirty, and even though motherhood crossed her mind on occasion, she couldn’t actually picture it. First you needed a man, and then came the rest. She didn’t trust men. She’d yet to meet one that didn’t hit, cheat, or drink himself into oblivion every night. The day that one of the “good guys” came along, she’d probably just say something to ruin it anyway.

  Darkness begun to close in around her, and still Melissa didn’t move. Without thought, she took a breath and emerged herself under the water. The weightless current carried her out further, and she let it. She wasn’t afraid of being taken out too far. She’d been a certified lifeguard and knew the conditions didn’t pose any threat.

  Keeping her eyes tightly shut, she drew her body out straight and could feel herself float towards the surface. She felt so free, so light. This was how she wanted to be, always. No worries, just her, the ocean, and peace.

  Pressure gripping her arm caused her to scream out. Flailing wildly, she choked on the salty water. Someone dragged her toward the shore, but with her hair matted across her face, she couldn’t see anything.

  “Are you trying to kill yourself? What in the hell do you think you’re doing!”

  Gagging and halfway submerged under the water, Melissa tried to catch her breath. Fire burned her eyes. Rubbing her arm, she stood and glared at the man. Immediately, she noticed his height and how the water rested just at his hip bones. He was completely nude.

  “Answer me! What in the hell were you doing? Do you know how much you frightened me?”

  Confused, anger sparked at his tone. “I was…what the hell does it matter what I was doing? What in the hell are you doing, scaring me like that?”

  He remained quiet as he stared at her. She looked into his hazel eyes, barely catching their color in the darkness. The moon gave enough light for her to notice his features. Strong cheekbones rested above full lips. His jaw squared off at his chin. He didn’t look a day over his mid-twenties. Something tugged in her chest, and she stepped away from him.

  “I should be going. Next time you decide to save someone, make sure they need to be rescued before you dive in.”

  Melissa began walking back toward the beach, leaving the stranger in the moonlight of the water. The sound of his angry splashing made her turn in his direction as he distanced himself a good ten feet, parallel to her.

  “If you wouldn’t have disappeared and stayed under the water so long then maybe I wouldn’t have needed to rescue you.” The words were spat in her direction, and her lips parted.

  “No one told you to, so why did you waste your time? A person can’t swim at the beach anymore?”

  He stomped in her direction, until mere inches separated them. Heat inflamed her body as his nude form grew closer. With as far as they made it, the water only reached to his knees, it was thigh level on her. Alarmed, she scanned the area, but it was still deserted.

  “Listen, lady, I was trying to help you. I’m sorry if I scared you, but you scared me. What was I supposed to think? You come tearing down the beach, running at the speed of light. Then, after countless minutes, you’re like a zombie staring straight ahead, only to disappear under the water and not resurface. I panicked, okay? I wasn’t sure what was going on.”

  Melissa could feel her breath quicken. The rise and fall of her breasts nearly cl
osed their distance. Just thinking about their skin touching caused her body to react.

  “I couldn’t think,” she whispered.

  His features softened as he continued to look down at her. “Well, I can’t think right now.”

  The hoarseness of his voice caressed places deep inside of her. Suddenly, she didn’t feel angry or afraid of this man anymore. He was so close. If she just lifted her hand, or took a step closer, she could unite their two bodies.

  Watching his hand rise, the air left her completely. The moment his palm cupped her cheek, a growing hunger took over. Their eyes locked, and she could have sworn time literally stood still. Everything turned into slow motion as he stared. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t break their gaze. Hazel, that was all she could see, and oddly, she never wanted to leave their presence.

  Kiss me, please! God, I think he’s going to do it. He’s getting closer!

  “Melissa, is that you!”

  Startled, she jumped, and her head spun towards the shore. The glow of white pajama’s stood there, motionless. Julie had her hands on her hips, watching them.

  “Are we going out or not? I feel better.”

  The sound traveled loudly over the calming water. Even the wind seemed to have died the moment Melissa’s universe had tilted. Fuzzily, her head wouldn’t focus with what had just occurred.

  “I should go.”

  She pulled back and took another look at him before she ran for the shore. The shakiness coursing through her body nearly made her legs collapse out from under her on repeated occasions. She turned back noticing he had moved into deeper water. Remembering the fact that he was nude, she was glad. For some strange reason, she didn’t want her friend to see him like that.

  Taking in Julie’s messy appearance, she sighed. “Are you sure you’re up for going out tonight? You’ve only slept maybe an hour. You still have to be pretty drunk.”

  “I’m good. Let’s go figure out what we’re going to wear. I feel like dancing.”

  Melissa looked back to the silhouetted figure as they made their way back towards her house. The large sand dunes separating the beach soon made him disappear completely. An ache raced through her heart. She hadn’t even gotten his name. Would she ever see him again? As much as she wanted to, she knew most good-looking men in this town were tourists. She wasn’t sure if she ever would.