Undenied - Unspoken #3 - Maya Banks Page 0,3
innocently. “Wouldn’t I? I would in a heartbeat. This has got to be downright juicy, and I’ll do what I have to in order to pry the goods out of you.”
He snorted in disgust. “Luke so didn’t know what he was getting into with you.”
Her eyes twinkled and a smile hovered over full lips. “Oh, I don’t think you’ll hear him complaining.” She crossed her arms over her chest and eyed him directly. “Okay, so spill it. Did you make it with some chick who thought you were the worst guy she’d ever fucked?”
Despite his discomfort, he couldn’t help but laugh at Gracie’s bluntness. It was what he liked best about her. And why he’d decided to come to her with his problem. She liked to joke, but he knew when it came down to it, she’d never rat him out. She was too loyal.
“It’s kind of a long story,” he said with a heavy sigh.
She made a show of checking her watch. “Well, you better abbreviate it. I figure we have ten minutes tops before Luke gets back.”
Suddenly he regretted his impulsive decision to talk to Gracie about Payton. It seemed ridiculous and could only add to his embarrassment. Quite frankly, he’d be happy for no one to ever know, and he’d be even happier if Payton hadn’t shown up out of the blue after twelve years.
Twelve years in which he’d put the past firmly behind him, only to have it pushed back into his face with one chance encounter.
“Wes,” Gracie said softly. “Whatever it is that’s bothering you, you can tell me. You know that. Hell, you saw me through one of the most awkward moments of my life. I wanted to drop dead of embarrassment when I waltzed into the kitchen at the cabin, half-naked, only to find you standing there looking at me.”
He grinned at that memory. “Ahh, my first glimpse of the infamous nipple rings.”
Gracie blushed, which only caused him to grin wider. She planted a fist in his gut, and he doubled over, laughing.
“Okay, okay.” He straightened his body and took a deep breath. “You’re going to think this is ridiculous but I went over to Zack’s to get a beer. There was some wild bachelorette party going on. I was checking out the girls, and I saw someone I know. Well, knew anyway. Then she saw me.”
“Run screaming in the other direction?” Gracie asked.
“No, that’s the thing. She runs over to me and leaps into my arms and plants a huge kiss on me.”
Gracie frowned. “Was she butt ugly?”
“No, not at all. She’s…well, she’s hot. Gorgeous hot. I mean one of those women a man is just drawn to.”
“Okay, so what’s the problem?”
“I love women. No secret there. And I haven’t exactly had the sex life of a monk.”
Gracie snorted indelicately.
“Shut up,” he growled.
She giggled and gestured for him to carry on.
“By all rights I should have been all sorts of turned-on. I mean I had a handful of luscious woman in my arms. She’s kissing me. Her breasts, gorgeous breasts by the way, were all pressed up against me. And…”
“And?” Gracie prompted.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I think I may have lost an inch or two my dick shriveled so quick. I think it may have gone into permanent hiding.”
Gracie pressed her lips tight together and her body shook with silent laughter. “Uhm, Wes, you could stand to lose an inch or two and still be better off than most of the male populous.”
Again, he felt heat slide up his neck much like nails on a chalkboard.
“Okay, I’ll strive to be more serious. Hard, though, when you give me openings like that,” she cracked. “So how, pray tell, did this dick shriveling incident lead you to the conclusion that you must suck in bed?”
“Well, there’s more to the story,” he said grudgingly.
“Aha, so now we get to the good part.”
“Shut up, Gracie.”
She held her hands up in surrender. “Continue on.”
He raised a hand to his hair then slid it down the back of his head to his neck. “Do you remember Payton Ricci from high school? She was two years behind us.”
Gracie scrunched her face into a thoughtful expression. “Huh uh, doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Well, I had a major crush on her the summer after my senior year. We, uhm, well we had sex. I was her first.” He winced at the memory. “To make a long story short, it was a disaster. I hurt her. To date, it has to go down as