Hiring Mr. Darcy - Valerie Bowman Page 0,78

truth or dare. I remembered a lot of squealing and trying to get unpleasant things over with quickly. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Jeremy was taking his time and really setting the scene for a real, live, honest-to-goodness kiss.

I held my breath as he leaned down, cupped my cheeks in his palms and laid his lips on mine. He sat there without moving for a second, and I was just about to pull away and laugh and thank him when his hot lips slanted across mine and his mouth pushed mine open while his tongue moved inside. Damn. I was being kissed by super-hot Jeremy Remington, and he was good at it. His hands moved down to pull me against him and I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders, and we kissed like that for what felt like an hour but must have been a few minutes before he pulled away from me. We were both breathing heavily, and I stared at him as if he were a unicorn or a centaur or something.

I was still struggling with the aftermath—both mental and physical—from that kiss when Jeremy leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Truth or dare? And I’ll go easy on you. You can pick truth if you want.”

I didn’t know what I wanted to pick after that. My mind was still reeling. Truth or dare? I wanted to say, “Sex!”

“Truth,” I blurted, only because it was safe and comfortable and I was so woozy with lust and beer, I didn’t know if I could stand up if the dare involved doing so.

“What did you think of that kiss?” he asked.

“What did I think of it?” I echoed like an imbecile. I took a deep breath and pulled my beer bottle from between my thighs. “I think it was one for the record books.” Crap. In vino veritas.

Jeremy’s gaze met mine and held for a moment. I swallowed hard. Yep, Adult Truth or Dare was a dangerous game.

“Truth or dare?” I nearly shouted because I didn’t want him to ask what I’d meant by ‘one for the record books.’ It was his turn to be put on the spot.

“Truth,” he replied. His hands moved to the edge of the bed couch and he grasped the mattress. I couldn’t help but wish his hands were still on me. I took another long sip of beer, and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

“How come you remember all that stuff about me from high school?” I asked.

Surprise registered on his face. Jeremy opened his mouth to reply, then closed it, then opened it again. I was certain he was about to speak, when a knock on the door interrupted him.

“Meg. I know you’re in there. We need to talk. I don’t want to wait until morning.” Harrison’s voice sounded a little desperate and as if he might have been drinking too.

A deep scowl on his face, Jeremy pushed himself off the bed and made his way over to the door. He grabbed the knob and pulled it open.

Harrison tried to push his way past Jeremy, but Jeremy’s hand to the center of his chest made Harrison back up fast.

“Take it easy,” Jeremy said, eyeing Harrison up and down. He had at least two inches on him even without his shoes on. “It’s up to Meg whether she wants to talk to you.”

I lifted myself off the couchlet and stood, my beer bottle dangling from my fingers. Whoa. I was drunker than I thought. I swayed a little on my feet. Jeremy must have noticed because he said, “Are you all right?”

I braced my free hand on the wall beside me. “I’m okay.”

“Meg, please, talk to me,” Harrison said, his voice more desperate than I’d ever heard it. For some reason my kiss with Jeremy was making me feel guilty, even though it shouldn’t have. I’d witnessed Harrison doing the same thing earlier. But deep down I knew that was no excuse.

Before I had a chance to reply, Harrison continued, “Since when do you drink beer?” His tone held a note of disgust.

That wiped my guilt away.

“Since always,” I said, holding up the bottle proudly. “I love beer.” I hugged the little bottle to my chest like it was my woobie.

“You do?” Harrison’s forehead wrinkled into a skeptical frown.

“Do you want to talk to him privately?” Jeremy asked me, refocusing my attention to the matter at hand. “I can leave.”

“Yes, please leave, you Neanderthal,” Harrison sniped.

Harrison