Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
It was a good thing she was in the water because Kat thought she might completely self-combust. It had only taken the very slightest touch from Andy before she was squirming with need and desire. Never before had a man been able to make her feel the way this man did… Even after her trip to Vancouver, when she’d been so sure she would put him out of her head once and for all, she’d found herself comparing every man who asked her out on a date to Andy Fisher.
And if they did manage to get past dinner and drinks and were brave enough to try for a kiss…well, nobody came close to making her feel the way Andy did.
Which meant actually having sex with Andy could go one of two ways. He would either live up to the impossible standards she’d somehow made up for this sex god of a man to make her climax over and over again with his impossibly huge cock, and completely ruin her for any other man. Or… Andy would turn out to be a mere mortal after all, and the many, many fantasies she’d had about him over the years would be just that: fantasies. The idea that there was a man made just for her, who knew exactly what buttons to push, how to touch her, and where to kiss, would turn out to be nothing more than a silly dream. And she’d be freed from the idea that despite the fact that Andy was completely untouchable to her for anything more than the little trysts they’d somehow managed to excuse, he truly was the happy for right now man, and nothing more.
Either way, it didn’t matter because the only thing that did matter at that moment was having Andy’s hands on her body, his lips on her mouth and, as promised, his cock inside her.
She arched her body up against him, but he hesitated. Her eyes flew open in question.
“Birth control?”
Kat groaned, and her head fell back against the tub. She wasn’t on birth control because, well, there hadn’t really been any opportunity to need it.
Until now.
Reluctantly, she shook her head.
Immediately, Andy moved away and sat back against his side of the tub.
She instantly missed the feel of his body against hers. “Maybe it’s a sign.” She used a bubble-covered hand to push her hair off her face.
“Sign for what?”
Before she could answer, Andy reached for her and, taking care of her injured wrist, spun her around in the tub so she was pressed up against him, nestled between his legs. His still-hard erection pressed up against her back when he pulled her tight against him.
Andy dipped his head and kissed her neck. One hand splayed across her belly, holding her in place; the other one slid lower and lower between her legs until finally, one finger circled her clit.
“The only thing I think it’s a sign of is that we need to play a little bit more right here.” He whispered the words as his fingers danced between her legs, and her breath hitched in her throat. “And then I’ll carry you to your bed, where I know I will find a condom in the pocket of my pants.”
Kat’s heart thumped wildly in her chest. He held her firmly, but she pressed back against him as much as she could until he groaned and pressed a finger inside her wet heat. She gasped as he added another.
“And then,” he began to move his fingers inside her, “we will finally finish what we keep starting.”
She couldn’t formulate words. Instead, Kat let her head fall back against his chest. She groaned and wiggled as his thumb once more found her clit and pressed. “Andy! Oh.”
“Oh yes.” He growled against her ear. “Come for me, Kitty Kat.”
He increased his pace until Kat was positive she was going to explode. The sensations ripped through her, and she cried out as the orgasm washed over her in waves. Her body sagged against his, but Andy held her firm to keep her from slipping under the water. As she regained her senses, he once more pressed kisses along her neck, down to her shoulder.
“You are absolutely incredible, Kat. That was the sexiest thing I’ve?—”
“Kat? Are you here?”
Her eyes flew open at the same time that Andy shot straight up and out of the tub, sending water sloshing over the sides and onto the floor in huge waves.
There was now more water on the floor than in the tub, which normally would be cause for concern. But, at that moment, the only thing Kat was worried about was who the hell was in her condo, calling her name.
“Kat?”
The voice again. “Charli,” she said, hissing her sister’s name. “I don’t know what she’s doing here.”
Andy groaned. “Your family,” is all he said as he shook his head and moved for a towel. “They love you. No doubt Chase told her about your crash, and she’s here to check on you.”
Kat closed her eyes and sank down into the bubbles, stopping just before going underneath the water completely. For a moment, she considered ignoring her sister, but there was no way that would work. “Hide in the closet.” She waved toward his pile of clothes. “Take those.”
Andy nodded, scooped up his clothes with his free hand, and, right before slipping into the closet, blew her a kiss and wiggled his eyebrows, making her giggle.
“Kat?” Her sister’s voice brought her back to reality. “Are you?— ”
“I’m in the bath.” Kat knew better than to think the idea of being in the bath would give her any kind of privacy from her sister.
Sure enough, a moment later, without knocking, Charli burst through the bathroom door and stopped short. “What on earth happened in here?”
Kat used her good arm to pull the bubbles, or what was left of them, around her. “By all means, Charli. Come on in.” She rolled her eyes.
“Seriously, Kat. What happened in here? Are you okay?”
“I am…” Kat surveyed her bathroom and the massive amount of water on the floor. “I was…” She lifted her casted arm, which had somehow miraculously managed to stay dry, in the air. “I couldn’t get out. I guess I made a little mess in my attempts.”
Charli shook her head in wonder, but fortunately for Kat didn’t push the issue any further. Instead, she gathered an armful of towels, laid them on the floor and, only once she’d deemed it safe, reached an arm out and helped Kat out of the tub and into a fluffy towel.
“I thought Craig’s friend, Andy, was staying with you tonight?”
News certainly did travel in her family. “He is,” she said as casually as she could manage. “I think he went to the guest room to change and freshen up.”
Charli nodded. “It’s a good thing I came by then. I can’t imagine you’d want Craig’s friend helping you out in this situation.” She laughed at the idea of Andy seeing her little sister naked.
Kat managed to laugh along with her while she risked a glance toward the closet door.
“No,” she said. “I’m glad you showed up when you did. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t.”
Andy knew exactly what Kat would have done if Charli hadn’t shown up. Right about now, she’d be lying on her back on the soft duvet of her king-sized bed, with her arms over her head, her red hair splayed over the pillow, and her pretty mouth open in a moan of ecstasy as he finally, mercifully pressed his painfully hard dick into her soft, inviting heat.
When they’d originally agreed to this ridiculous concept of just friends , Andy had no idea it would be such a torturous process. Not that he hadn’t enjoyed every second with Kat, teasing and playing. But when it came to actually doing the deed, well, that was proving to be a whole lot more elusive than he’d ever expected.
“You’re freezing, Kat. You need to get dressed.” Charli’s voice grew closer. “Let me grab you something from the?—”
The door opened a crack at the same moment that Kat hollered.
“No!”
“No?”
Kat covered with a laugh. “No,” she said. “Don’t go in there. I know you’ll freak out because it’s totally unorganized. And besides,” she continued, “my coziest sweatpants are downstairs in the laundry room. Do you mind grabbing them? I think there’s a hoodie down there, too.”
Andy was pretty sure he was standing right next to a shelf full of hoodies and cozy-looking clothes, but it wasn’t as if he were going to offer any of them as suggestions. If Charli found him naked in her little sister’s closet, there would be questions. Too many questions. And with a family as close as the Carlsons, there was no way that news of his naked presence wouldn’t get back to Craig.
And if his best friend found out he was fooling around with his baby sister, well, there wouldn’t be any coming back from that. He’d lose Craig, who was more like a brother to him than a friend, and there was no way he could risk that. After his parents died, Craig was the only real family he had. He couldn’t lose him. Especially considering they were only having a little fun.
It wasn’t serious with him and Kat. It was a silly little arrangement between friends. Nothing more.
Andy had almost convinced himself of that, too, when the closet door flew open to reveal Kat, wrapped only in a towel, standing in front of him.
Despite the tenuous situation they were still in, he reached for her, unable to keep his hands off her, especially when she was half naked and her hair was dripping wet around her shoulders, but she stepped out of the way.
“Go,” she hissed. “To the spare room. When you come out, pretend you were in the shower or something. She can’t know.”
He nodded and did as he was told, because she was right. Charli couldn’t know.
Thankfully, Kat lived in a two-story unit over her hair salon, with the bedrooms on a separate floor, which meant that Andy could slip into the spare room undetected while Charli was downstairs.
He took the opportunity to have a shower—a cold one—before getting dressed and joining the ladies in the living room, thirty minutes later. Kat was cuddled under an impossibly huge, fluffy blanket. Her sister had brought takeout and a selection of pastas that were spread out on the coffee table.
“Hey, Charli,” he said as he entered the room. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
She greeted him with a hug.
“I see you’ve come to look after our little patient.”
“I sure did,” she said.
Charli gave him a strange look. Or maybe it was just his imagination.
“But she tells me that you’ve been taking very good care of her.”
That was an understatement. If given half the chance, he’d take even better care of her, too.
“I only did what any good friend would do.”
From the couch, Kat lifted her eyebrows and shook her head.
“Well, it’s nice knowing she was being looked after,” Charli said. “I brought dinner in case you haven’t had a chance to eat. But I was actually going to head out soon and check on Craig, Lucy, and Meredith next. Poor things have been so sick.”
“It sounds awful,” Andy said. “I’m sure they appreciate you looking in on them.”
“It’s what I do. If it’s not my baby and husband, it’s the rest of this family.” Charli grinned before turning to Kat. “Are you okay? You have everything you need?”
“I do,” she said. “Thank you for rescuing me from the bathtub.”
Charli laughed. “I’m just glad I was here.” She looked at Andy. “That would have been awkward, wouldn’t it?”
“So awkward.” He tried to sound unaffected but wasn’t entirely sure he was pulling it off.
“Okay,” Charli once more focused on her little sister, “you ate, you’re warm, and that pill I gave you will help you get a good night’s sleep. Hopefully, you feel better in the morning.”
“Pill?” Andy asked when a few minutes later he walked her to the door.
“A painkiller,” she explained. “It will knock her out so she can get some solid sleep and heal. Hopefully, everyone is feeling better for the meeting tomorrow.”
“I’ll be fine.” From the couch, Kat lazily raised her good arm and dropped it down.
Charli chuckled. “It looks like you might have to help her up to bed.”
“Don’t worry,” Andy said. “I’ll take good care of her. ”
Charli stood up from grabbing her bag and stared at him. “I know you will, Andy.”
She looked at him so intently, for a moment he was certain she was going to call him out on exactly how well he was caring for Kat.
Instead, Charli smiled her trademarked bright smile. “Symon said he’s been chatting with you about the job as the head trainer and staff physiotherapist for the ski team.”
Andy glanced behind him, but Kat was out of earshot. “I didn’t want to say anything until it was official.” He nodded. “But, I’m hoping we can work out the details. It would be really nice to be back in Trickle Creek after all these years.”
“Sorry.” Charli reached for his arm and squeezed. “I didn’t know it was a secret.”
“It’s not.” He shrugged. “But until I know it’s official?—”
“Say no more.” Charli held up a hand. “Your secret is safe with me. But I do hope it all works out. Craig will be so pleased to have you back, not to mention how excited a certain young lady would be.”
It took Andy a moment to realize Charli was talking about Craig’s daughter, Meri, and not Kat. Although he couldn’t help but hope that Kat would also be happy to hear he was moving back to town.
The job would be a huge career move for him. But the fact that the position was in Trickle Creek, where Kat Carlson was, had only sweetened the offer.
“I’d love to be able to see more of little Meri,” Andy said smoothly. “And of course, Craig, too.” He chuckled, and Charli laughed.
“Of course.” She flashed him another bright smile. “And hey, I know the real estate market can be kind of tricky in town right now. I have a good friend who is a top agent. She’ll be able to find you something absolutely perfect. And she’s pretty cute, too.”
Charli winked, and Andy shook his head with a laugh. “I don’t know if I’m really in the market.” He didn’t bother specifying whether he was talking about a house or a girlfriend.
“Trust me,” Charli said. “She’s perfect for you. Her name is Jess. She’s brunette, attractive and fun. She’s really involved in a beach volleyball league, too. I think you’ll really like her.”
It definitely sounded more like a setup than a real estate connection. Still, Andy didn’t want to be rude to Charli. And it wasn’t as if he could tell her that the only woman he was interested in dating was asleep in the next room. “She sounds great.”
“She is.” Charli beamed. “I’ll text you her number, okay?”
Andy nodded. “I think I’d like that.”
“Promise me you’ll call her.”
“I will.” Hopefully, things would be finalized soon, and he truly would be looking for a more permanent place in Trickle Creek. Not that staying with Kat wouldn’t have some benefits, too. Another shot of desire at the memory of what they’d been about to do in the bathtub earlier raced through him, and he worked hard to keep the reaction off his face.
Charli reached behind her for the door handle. “Take care of our girl, Andy. I’m sure we’ll see you soon.” Charli gave him a quick hug, and she was gone.
Andy’s head spun in her wake.
It took him a moment to regain his senses and pull his thoughts together before returning to the living room. He leaned up against the door and took deep breaths, exhaling slowly.
That had been close. Too close.
And for what?
The little game he’d been playing with Kat put everything at risk. As an only child, Andy never had a close family growing up. His mother died when he was young, and his father might as well have died when she did. He spent the next fifteen years drinking and hiding from his life until finally, the year after Andy graduated, he drove his car into a tree, an empty bottle of whiskey on the seat next to him. His family had always been the Carlsons. All the siblings had adopted him as one of their own, and he valued that connection more than anything.
If any of the Carlsons ever found out about his situationship with their baby sister, they’d be beyond upset. And he knew exactly who would lose if that happened.
For the first time, Andy thought about it reasonably. He’d been insanely attracted to Kat for far too long, and in recent years, that attraction had grown to a whole lot more than just a physical one. But that didn’t matter, because Kat had made it clear on more than one occasion that she didn’t believe in happily ever after. And even if he could change her mind—and that was a big if , with a strong, independent woman like Kat—there was no reason for him to believe that she felt the same way about him.
It was a game to her. He was a game.
And as much as he wanted to, maybe it was no longer worth playing.
Not if it meant losing everything.