Chapter 24
It’s not arguing when I’m explaining why I’m right.
Flynn
I ’m waiting inside the door when Sophia walks into the house.
“Hey.” She smiles in greeting and warmth fills me. The sight of her smile makes all of the work I did to prepare her surprise worth it.
I kiss her cheek. “I have a surprise for you.”
Her eyes light with excitement. “You do? What is it?”
“It’d hardly be a surprise if I told you.”
“But I can guess. Did you buy a merman suit for you and a mermaid suit for me and we’re going swimming in the ocean together in costume?”
I chuckle. I heard all about the mermaid sex discussion at the mini golf course when Sophia arrived home last night. Unfortunately, she was more than a little tipsy and passed out in bed before I could strip her clothes off and complete my mermaid fantasies.
“No?” She taps her chin. “Are you going to put on your football uniform from high school and I’ll finally get a chance to be the girl who catches the football player?”
“Is this a fantasy of yours?”
She licks her lips. “Those football uniforms were pretty sexy.”
I scowl. “You’re five years younger than me. You shouldn’t have been lusting after a seventeen-year-old when you were twelve.”
“I was a very mature twelve.”
I snort. “Was it very mature to put hair removal cream in Weston’s shampoo bottle?”
She giggles. “It was an epic prank and you know it.”
“Watching Weston panic when his precious hair fell out was pretty funny.”
“The best was when his girlfriend ran her hand over his head and ended up with a clump of hair. She was convinced he was contagious.”
“She couldn’t run out of the house fast enough.”
“So.” She waggles her eyebrows at me. “Are you going to fulfill a young girl’s fantasy and put on your football uniform?”
Doesn’t she realize all she has to do is ask and I’ll do anything for her? She has me wrapped around her little finger.
“I don’t have the pads anymore, but I can put on the pants and jersey.”
“Forget the jersey. The pants with no shirt is all I need.”
I grasp her hand and place it on my chest. “Do you want to see my chest naked?”
“Not only see. I want to touch it.” She bites her bottom lip. “Lick it.”
I groan. “You’re ruining my plans.”
She gazes up at me from beneath her lashes. “Do you not like my idea?”
I bite her bottom lip as punishment. “I’ll dress up for you later. First, my surprise.”
She cups my erection. “Is this the surprise? I’m ready to unwrap my present.” She squeezes and I moan.
“You are a temptress.”
She pushes up on her toes and licks my neck until she reaches my ear. “I promise I’ll put out.”
I debate throwing her over my shoulder and running upstairs. Not now. I want to give her the surprise.
“Later,” I growl and step back. “First, your surprise.” I motion toward the sliding doors off the rear of the house.
Sophia drops her bag before rushing to the doors. She gasps when she notices the picnic I prepared for her outside. She glances over her shoulder at me. “You did this?”
“I did this.”
“Yes!” She squeals before opening the doors and hurrying outside to the firepit.
I follow her.
She’s already kicked off her shoes and is sitting down on the red checkered blanket by the time I reach her. She’s opening the picnic basket, but I stop her.
“I know you wanted a picnic on the beach as your prize for winning but you didn’t win.”
“I did win because you cheated.”
“How did I cheat? How does anyone cheat at air hockey?”
She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me. “You kept on leaning over the table and flexing your arms.”
“I’m not certain how leaning over is considered cheating. I could hardly stand up straight and hit the puck.”
She motions to my arms. “Have you seen your arms? They’re muscular and tan and…” She sighs. “You know how sexy you are. You don’t need me to repeat it.”
I kneel in front of her. “You think I’m sexy?”
“Um, no. I always sleep with men I don’t find sexy.”
I growl. I don’t want to think about Sophia having sex with anyone but me. She’s mine. And I don’t share.
“You better not sleep with any other men,” I growl before I meld my lips to hers. She sighs and I don’t hesitate to dive in. I fist my hand in her hair and tilt her head to the angle I prefer.
She grasps my shoulders and pulls me near until my chest hits hers. I press my hard length against her stomach and she moans.
I guide my hand down her back as I press against her chest. She gets the message and lays down on the blanket. She widens her legs and I fit my hips between her thighs.
I’ve never been a fan of having sex outside before but I’m not stopping now. I have Sophia right where I want her. Pliant and soft and hungry for me.
Her stomach growls and she pulls her mouth from mine to bury her face in my shoulder. “Can we pretend my stomach didn’t growl loud enough for the sheep on the other side of the island to hear?”
There go my plans to have her for dinner. I chuckle as I sit up before helping her up. “Are you hungry, Soph?”
“I skipped lunch to do some shopping.”
“I guess I better feed you then, but later we’re finishing what we started.”
Her eyes flare as she licks her lips. “I’m on board with this plan.” She nods to the picnic basket. “But this doesn’t count as my winnings from the arcade.”
“Because you didn’t win.”
“I explained how you cheated.”
Knowing Sophia she could argue about this all night. I have better things to do with my night than argue with her. “Fine. I give up. You win.”
She claps. “Yes! Thank you for recognizing the truth of the situation.” Her nose wrinkles. “But this isn’t the beach.” She wags her finger. “You’re not fulfilling your end of the bargain.”
I was hoping she’d ignore the obvious. I should know better by now. “You know why we can’t go to the beach.”
She scowls. “We went to the arcade. Why can’t we go to the beach?”
“The arcade was a risk I was willing to accept because I knew your brother was otherwise occupied.”
“We won’t necessarily be seen. There are plenty of secluded beaches on the island.”
“And your brother knows every single spot.”
“I’m being punished because my brother is a man whore,” she pouts.
“How is it a punishment to have a picnic with me in the backyard? I thought you liked this backyard.”
“I do. It’s gorgeous. And thank you for making this picnic.”
“But?”
“But we’ve been together for a week now.” I open my mouth but she lifts her hand to stop me from speaking. “I know a week doesn’t seem very long but we’ve known each other for years. Are you still unsure about us?”
I’m not unsure about us. But I am sure Weston is going to lose his mind when he finds out I’m with his sister. I don’t want to lose my best friend, but I can’t resist Sophia either.
She drops her chin to her chest. “You are unsure about us. And here I thought…” She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter what I thought.”
She stands. “I need a shower.”
I motion to the picnic basket. “What about our picnic?”
“I’m not hungry.”
She walks toward the house and panic seizes me. “Don’t go, Sophia! I promise I’ll tell Weston about us.”
She stops and turns around to face me. “When will you tell Weston about us?”
I don’t have an answer for her.
“When you’re finished with me?”
I growl. I will never be finished with her. “I’m asking for a bit of patience. This isn’t easy for me.”
“And it is easy for me? Lying to my brother and my dad about you? Swearing my girlfriends to secrecy? Being your dirty little secret?”
I growl. “You are not my dirty little secret.”
“And yet you’re afraid to have a picnic on the beach with me because my brother might find out. Because I’m not worth fighting for.”
When she walks away this time, I let her. Maybe she’s right. Maybe we shouldn’t have gotten involved. Maybe we should end this now before anyone gets hurt.
Except I don’t want to. Since I’ve had Sophia, I don’t want to give her up.
But I don’t want to give Weston up either. He’s the only family I have.