Page 58 of Don't Think

I roll my eyes. Why the hell couldn’t I have found Ana first? James caught on to the way I feel about Allie almost immediately, practically before I even knew. But thankfully, he knows enough not to say a word about it in front of Gareth.

I whistle loudly, and his eyes snap to mine. I gesture from Allie to the door when he smiles and nods slowly—then he fuckingwinks.

Heat crawls up my neck, and I quickly turn away to help Allie out the door.

Hopefully, he drinks enough to forget.

Dragging a drunk person into a house isn’t as easy as it sounds. Thankfully for me, Allie is as light as a feather. I couldeasily fling her over my shoulder if I really needed to, but as expected, she’s adamant about walking inside on her own.

“Okay, one more step,” I say as she carefully sets her foot on the stone step.

“I got it, I got it.” Her eyebrows are drawn together in concentration.

She keeps insisting she’s got it, but every time I let go, she nearly face-plants onto the pavement. A few times, she thought she was doing it solo, but I was actually holding on to the back of her dress, just enough to let herfeellike she had full control.

It’s like teaching a kid to ride a bike without training wheels. So really, her confidence in walking a straight line is kind of my fault, but I can live with that.

I push open the front door, not bothering to flip the light on. We maneuver past the chairs and sofa, finally making it to the banister of the stairs when Allie tries to take a step—and stumbles.

“Alright,” I say, scooping her up into my arms.

I was sure she’d fight me, but instead, she nestles in close, staying perfectly still as I carefully make my way upstairs.

Lightly kicking open her bedroom door, I inch closer to the bed and gently lay her down on top of the duvet. She stretches her arms high above her head, yawning as she attempts to scoot up.

I turn around fortwoseconds, just trying to walk to her closet, when a loudthudsounds behind me.

I whip around, nerves skyrocketing with the thought that she just rolled off the bed. But instead, I see her kicking off her high heels and flinging them off the bed.

“Why is it so hot in here?” She groans, unzipping the back of her dress.

My eyes widen as my heart starts pounding in my chest.

“What’re you doing, Allie?” I ask warily.

I watch her closely, trying to keep my eyes on hers and not her chest, but she’s making that extremely difficult.

She grabs the dress by the hem, slowly shimmying it up her body until it gets stuck on her chest. That’s when I put two and two together, and I spin around, rushing to her dresser in search of something she can sleep in comfortably.

The sound of fabric hitting the floor behind me sends the hairs on my arms standing up. Just the image of her removing that dress is planted deep in my memory now, already causing a slow, straining pressure straight to my dick.

I squeeze my eyes shut and take a deep breath, willing the pressure to ease before I feel ready to turn around.

Then I do, slowly, my eyes lifting to find Allie sprawled out on the bed in nothing but a pair of black, lacy knickers and a matching bra.

And there it goes again. That fucking pressure building back at rapid speed.

I swallow hard, inching closer to the bed and gently place my knee on it, practically crawling toward her.

“Allie?” I ask quietly, testing if she’s already asleep.

“Hmm,” she groans, but doesn’t move.

I grab the back of my neck, squeezing tight, then inch a little closer. “Do you want to put this on?” I ask, holding up the cotton nightie.

She nods simply, then rolls over and lifts her arms, silently asking for help.

I take her hands in mine and gently guide her into a sitting position. My heart’s pounding a mile a minute while I breathe in the scent of her perfume laced with tequila.