Big Dick Energy - Cindi Madsen Page 0,60

could name the emotion, I’d forgotten why it was there. The car lurched into motion, and the world spun. I hadn’t puked from drinking since I was a teenager, and I refused to do so now.

“Let’s hear it,” my gorgeous riding companion said. “Penny, you can handle your whiskey better than I can.”

“Penelope…” I just grinned at her. Then I let my head fall on her shoulder and whispered, “You win. I’d be under that table after one more drink. How the hell aren’t you wasted?”

“Looks like I’d better escort you home. We don’t want anyone taking advantage of your inebriated state.”

I wound a strand of her hair around my finger. “I give you full permission to do whatever you want to me.”

Penelope sighed and even though I couldn’t see it, I somehow just knew she’d rolled her eyes at me. “What about your sister? Is she going to be expecting you? And are you okay with her seeing you in this inebriated state?”

“Izzie’s working on a school project at Sydney’s house, so she won’t be home until eight or nine.”

“That’s good at least. I’d hate to feel even guiltier.” Penelope patted my hand, and I was about to ask why she’d feel guilty at all when she added, “Tell you what. If you want, you can come home with me. I’ll brew you an extra strong pot of coffee and help you sober up.”

I twisted my hand so that my palm met hers. She laced her fingers with mine, and sunshine suffused my soul. I dragged my thumb over the soft skin of her knuckles, my rapid pulse throbbed behind my temples, and my body became weightless. “I absolutely want.”

24

Penny

After checking on the slumbering male on my couch, I paced my living room. Archer had been in and out on the car ride to my place but had been awake enough to walk the two flights to my apartment… leaning heavily on me the entire time.

I’d led him to the couch and went to grab him a glass of water and start a pot of coffee. By the time I returned to the living room, he’d fallen asleep. Until I’d seen Archer all sprawled out across the cushions and armrest, forearm over his eyes, I’d thought I had a decent sized couch. He managed to make it look tiny, and I’d barely resisted the temptation to drape myself over him, rest my head on his firm chest, and take a nap along with him.

Guilt prevented me from following through.

As hard as I’d tried to convince myself the lunch I’d thrown earlier today was on par with his game of golf, I didn’t think I was cut out for aggressive business tactics. My gut had been a mess the entire time, and it’d taken all my self-control not to unravel in front of him when he’d come into the restaurant. It didn’t help that he’d worn a navy blue button-down that fit snugly across his chest and turned his eyes a shade bluer.

Or that he’d had the sleeves rolled up to display several inches of his forearms.

Or that I kept thinking about the night he’d had those long fingers down my pants, stroking me into an insatiable frenzy.

I bit at my thumbnail, opened my cupboard, found nothing of interest, and then eyed the pot of coffee. It seemed like a waste to have brewed the good stuff and not drink a cup, but I was amped up enough without a jolt of caffeine.

To appease my conscience, I dialed up Catalina. She would assure me all was fair in feminism and war. The instant she answered, I blurted, “So, uh… I did something bad.”

“What do you need? A shovel? Help burying a body? Don’t say a word to the cops if they get there before I do.”

I loved how she automatically had my back, joking about burying a body without a moment’s hesitation. Anyway, I was relatively sure she was joking. “Archer told me he could drink me under the table and—strike that, I need to start earlier.”

I told her about Archer’s game of golf with our boss and the mayor, and how when I’d confronted him about it, he’d acted like I was overreacting.

Cat assured me that I had a valid point because she was awesome like that.

Out came the details about the lunch I’d thrown without extending him an invite, and then I circled back to the whiskey. “Our contest got him super drunk. I worried enough about him