Chapter 10
“Can I just say?” The girl next to me purred, her blue eyes glossy with alcohol. “You are sooooo fucking hot. I mean…” She motioned around. “You put these little boys to shame.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, downing the rest of my fourth beer, my gaze not able to stay on the blonde next to me, but drifting across the bonfire to the tiny brunette devouring my attention. The more I drank, the more her presence seemed to grow and consume me instead of hazing out.
Every move that Marcus kid made on her, my gaze locked on it, my eyes trying to burn his fingers off her body like they were laser beams.
Kyle would want me to watch her. Protect her like an older brother from those shifty tossers. The ones who acted nice but were looking for ways to get you so plastered you couldn’t say no.
She wasn’t drunk, but I could see her cheeks getting redder; a flirty smile and fuck-me eyes came out the more she drank. Their bodies were getting closer, their touches lingering and getting more obvious.
Marcus’s hand slid down her back, sweeping across her ass as the whole group laughed over something. There were five guys in his little ensemble, recent graduates from Virginia Tech crossing the country in a party RV, landing in LA and San Diego. Basically, a sex caravan, seeing how many girls they could fuck cross country. Probably had some bet going on among them. A point for every state they picked up.
Fuck if Kinsley would be one of those.
He leaned over, whispering in her ear, his mouth brushing her neck, staying there longer than necessary. A growl crawled up my throat, twitching Goat’s ears, his head scanning around, trying to find the threat, looking for our girl.
Not our girl, I shouted at myself.
Goat made a little growl, seeing that guy grab her, pulling her into his side. Fuck, I loved this dog. When he nipped at the douchebag, it took everything I had not to kiss his fuzzy head, cheering him on. When Goat hid behind me, trusting me to protect him, pack alpha, I almost hugged the little dude… and then gloat like a fucking bastard.
The dog likes me, not you. And the part I was trying to drink away was why it was so important to me. Like the dog liking me meant something…
My gaze darted over to her again.
“Hey?” A voice buzzed in my ear. A hand touched my bicep, jerking my head back to the girl next to me. Shit. I had totally forgotten she was there.
I blinked at her, her blue eyes looking up at me like she was waiting for me to answer.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
She laughed, leaning into me, her palm flattening on my chest. “I asked your name.”
“Smith.”
A salacious smile curled up her mouth. “Well, Smith, I was wondering if you wanted to go back to my cabin? My friend won’t be coming back tonight.” Her chin flicked over at another girl standing in the same group, talking to one of Marcus’s friends.
I blinked, staring down at her. She was cute. Naturally wavy blonde hair, a curvy figure, and heart-shaped face. Not someone I might pursue, but also wouldn’t turn down for a one-night stand. It was exactly what I had been wanting. A much-needed release to stop the thoughts I had of the girl across the way. I was just horny and needed sex. Then everything would go back to how it was supposed to be. Kinsley, the younger sister of my ex and old best friend.
“So?” The girl went on her toes, her lips brushing my earlobe. “What do you say?”
Damn. I couldn’t deny my dick was interested, even my mind was telling me to do it. Anything to get my head on straight. But I didn’t move. The idea of going back with this girl had me feeling exhausted and bored.
What the fuck was wrong with me? I should have been leaping at the opportunity, stripping off my clothes, and bending her over before we even got back to her cabin.
Go. You need this. Badly.
“Excuse me,” a voice slurred, sounding annoyed, drawing my attention to the figure suddenly standing in front of me, her arms folded, her arms pushing up her breasts, her lips pursed.
Like Kinsley zapped me with electricity, my semi-hard dick sprang up along with Goat, panting and begging for a pet. The reaction was so fast and brutal, I froze, locking down my expression.
“I need to talk to him for a moment.” Kinsley’s voice was tight as she addressed the girl next to me, but her gaze slid back, glaring at me.
What the fuck?
“Uh.” The girl whose name I didn’t even know looked back and forth between us.
“What do you want?” I held Kinsley’s gaze, matching her stance. “Thought you were being carefree and spontaneous with Ponyboy over there.”
“Yeah, that’s so easy with a brotherlike bodyguard watching my every move.”
“I’m not your brother.” Strange, I kept trying to convince myself I was, but hearing her say it irritated the hell out of me.
“Then stop acting like it.”
“I’ve been standing here all night minding my own business,” I snapped back.
“Right.” She laughed dryly, her body swaying, showing she was drunker than I thought. “I just wanted to know if you will watch Goat tonight.” Her words tumbled over each other.
“What?” Like a switch, anger flared up my nerves, my shoulders rising, my chest puffing. “Why do I need to watch him?”
“Because.” She tipped her head back. Marcus watched us from his spot, his lids narrowed on me, like he could see right through me, perceiving I was no different from him. He lifted his beer to me, a cockiness twisted his mouth like, “Yeah, mate, I’m gonna fuck her… not you.”
Oh. Hell. No.
My mind shut down, impulse overriding everything else. I had always been an alpha type: dominant, ruthless, and confident. Living in my house growing up, it was the only way to survive, but those traits had been enforced in me the last couple years, governing my every action. Act first, think later.
Without hesitating, the demand streaming through my veins like blood, my arm swept behind her legs, picking her up and tossing her over my shoulder.
“What the fuck? Smith!” She screamed at me, but I only twisted away from the party, calling to Goat, and striding back to our campsite.
The girl talking to me stood with her mouth open, her eyes wide and filled with longing as she watched me carry off Kinsley, looking like she wished it was her instead.
I did too. Not because I wanted her… but because I wished I did. Instead, my dick jerked as the girl over my shoulder kicked and hissed like a feral kitten.
“Put me down!” She pounded on my back, but it felt like nothing more than a tapotement massage I used to get after football practice. “Goddammit, Smith!”
Goat yipped in excitement around us, wanting to be part of the game.
When I reached the van, I slid her body down mine, placing her on her feet, my gaze latched on to her.
“How dare you,” she seethed.
“You’re drunk.”
“No, I’m not.” She yanked away from me, stumbling. My hand darted out, grabbing her, keeping her upright. Fury colored her face, her chest puffing as if it was filled with flames, knowing she was proving my point.
“You want to try that again, Baby K?” If I was looking to piss her off more, I succeeded. And if the rage filling her like a hot-air balloon wasn’t a little frightening, I would have laughed. I was waiting for steam to actually come out of her ears.
“You smug bastard,” she bellowed, shoving at my chest. “You really do fit that moniker, you know that?”
“Yep.” My frame didn’t budge a millimeter as she hit and pushed at my chest, causing Goat to bark and leap up.
“This is my life. My vacation. My choices. You have no right to have a say in any of them.” She struggled to keep each word clear. I found it so amusing when drunk people tried to act sober, which made their drunkenness more obvious. “I have every right to screw him sober, drunk, or the entire party. You’re the one not supposed to be here.”
Shit, did I understand that. But not for the reasons she was thinking.
“You really wanted to fuck that guy?” I motioned behind me. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have woken up gnawing your arm off, hating yourself for it.”
“That’s my choice, not yours.”
“If you’re gonna fuck someone, pick one who would at least know what he’s doing.” My voice rose, stepping into her space.
“How do you know he wouldn’t?” she yelled back.
“Please,” I scoffed. “That guy probably learned to jack off in a sock. I can guarantee he wouldn’t know how to please you… make you lose your mind.” My voice went low, my physique leaning into her space. She sucked in, her pupils dilating. What the hell are you doing? Back away from her. “You would have faked an orgasm to make him feel better, then walked away dissatisfied, wondering if something was wrong with you, because no man so far has been able to satisfy you. Am I right? Bet you wonder if sex is everything people make it out to be since so far it’s been pretty vanilla. Those guys you screwed before? They were all children and only cared about their own gratification, certainly not yours.”
Her breath hitched, color flushing up her neck, her jaw setting.
Bull’s-eye. There was no doubt I hit the mark, which made me wonder about previous boyfriends. The sudden urge to track them down and kick the shit out of them vibrated my muscles.
“Fuck you,” she whispered.
“I wouldn’t want to do that for your future boyfriends. You’d only compare, and they’d come up short every time.”
Her lips rolled, and her palm slammed into my torso, trying to move me. I stepped away to let her pass, but she didn’t stomp away like I thought. Kinsley wasn’t the type to back down. Ever.
She challenged, fought, and stood her ground, even when she was losing. She always had.
At one time it used to piss me off. Now?
My teeth crunched together, stopping my brain from finishing the thought. I didn’t want to accept the answer. No. You cannot think of her like that. But my body did not seem to care.
“You don’t know me. And you certainly don’t control me or tell me what to do.” She stepped up to me, rising on her toes, making my lungs falter at her sudden proximity, the sensual confidence sliding over her figure. “Or who I can fuck.” She emphasized the last word like a taunt, sounding so raw and primal.
Holy hell. I inhaled through my nose. My dick screamed out, “Me! Pick me!” as it pushed against my jeans.
She curved one eyebrow, sensing her win as she shoved past me, heading for the bathroom, Goat trotting next to her.
Taking slow, methodical breaths, I tried to calm myself down, then it hit me. My cheek twitched with a smirk. She may be mad at me, but she didn’t go running back to the asswipe, indicating deep down she agreed with me. He was not worth waking up and hating herself over.
And you think you are?
I rubbed my forehead, ambling to the van to grab my blanket, stretching it on the ground and lying down. I tried to shut out the music and voices from the party with my arms behind my head, staring through the trees to the sky. I tried not to think about how easily I walked away from the cute girl who invited me back to her cabin, or the pride I felt that Kinsley wasn’t going back to the kid.
My head tilted, and I glanced at the bathroom door, Goat still sitting outside it, waiting for her.
“Goat!” I whistled. “Come here, boy.”
He sat up, hearing me, his attention flicking from the door to me, but he didn’t leave. She was his person, and I liked how protective and loyal he was of her.
I shut my eyes, the alcohol sinking me down quickly.
A whine bolted my lids up. Peering down at my watch, I saw more than thirty minutes had passed. Shit. I must have drifted off.
Goat whined again, his paw scratching at the bathroom door. I rolled over, fear coiling in my stomach. She was still in there?
I jumped up, jogging to the restroom.
“Hey, boy.” I rubbed his head. “It’s okay.” I threw open the door, charging in.
“Kinsley?” I called out. No response. “Kinsley!”
A groan came from the last stall, causing me to move toward it.
“Hey?” I tapped on the door.
“Go away,” she muttered. Hearing her voice poured relief through me, easing my shoulders down.
“You okay?”
“I’m fin—” A dry heave broke off her statement. It sounded like her guts were trying to come up her throat.
Ah.
She moaned lowly and spit.
“Kins, open the door.” My knuckles struck the door again.
“Go away, Smith. I’m fine,” she croaked.
“Yeah, you sound like it.” I snorted. “Open this door, Nettles.” The nickname made her groan louder, a tiny whimper following. “If you don’t, I will.”
She exhaled loudly, the door unlatching. I shoved it open. Pale and sweaty, she fell against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest, her hand running through the hair she had knotted on top of her head.
“Stop gloating.” She tipped her head back.
A grin wobbled on my lips. “Didn’t say anything.”
“Didn’t have to.”
“Haven’t learned the lesson about mixing beer with hard alcohol yet?”
“Chalk it up to me being a baby still in diapers.” Her lids parted to glare up at me. “Can you at least let me die alone?”
“And take all my fun away?” I chuckled, leaning over her. “Doesn’t sound like you got anything left.” My hands wrapped around her biceps. “Come on.”
She grumbled as I lifted her up. She wobbled on her feet, her head falling forward into my chest.
“I’m never drinking again.”
“Until next time.” I wasn’t that old, but I felt like my time for doing stuff like that was centuries ago. Drinking, being young and stupid.
Free.
We moved out of the stall. Her muscles trembled, so I kept my arm tight around her as we walked out.
Goat whined, leaping exuberantly onto Kinsley the moment we stepped out.
“Come on, little man, Mom’s not feeling too well.” I kept moving, opening up the back doors of the RV and lifting her up onto the bed. She flopped down on her pillow, Goat jumping up next to her. Going to the front to get her water and painkillers, I came back and stopped in my tracks.
In less than one minute, Kinsley had stripped off her pants. Lying on her stomach, her ass was scarcely covered in some strip of black fabric. The tank top rode high up her back.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath, watching her barely clothed body squirm deeper into her sheets. My teeth crunched together as I shoved the desire to run my palms up the back of her legs, tracing every inch of her skin.
My Adam’s apple bobbed as I swallowed. “Kins?”
“Hmmmm?”
“You need to take these.” I climbed up onto the bed, holding out the water and drugs.
Half lidded, she turned to me, taking them from my hands and downing the pills before falling back into her pillow. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I set the glass down near her, rubbing Goat’s head. “Night.”
“Night,” she muttered.
Sliding out to the ground, I stood there for a moment, everything in me feeling like a tug of war. Exhausted but restless. Irritated but calm. Appalled but horny as hell.
Savior and villain.
Sighing, I rubbed my chin, kicking off my boots, ready to climb down on the blanket.
“Smith?” Her voice was soft.
“Yeah?”
“Thank. You.” I could hear the genuine sincerity in her tone. And in my head, I wanted to believe it was for more than helping her back to bed.
“You’re welcome. Now go to sleep.” Please. Before I do something stupid.
She went quiet, and I unbuttoned my jeans, peeling them off to my boxer-briefs, crawling back on the blanket. My gaze drifted back to her, thinking she’d passed out.
Through the shadows, the light from the restroom glinted over her dark brown eyes as they stared straight at me. Air caught in my lungs as mine met hers, neither of us looking away. Her gaze seemed to cut through me. No emotion showed on her face telling me what she was thinking or feeling, but the intensity gripped my chest and wrapped round my cock like a boa constrictor, twisting every nerve till it hurt.
We didn’t look away. Not a word was spoken, not a hint of emotion showed, but I could feel the change in the air, the shifting of roles, putting us on an even plane. I was not an older brother type, she was not the little sister of an ex. No Baby K or Smug Bastard. It was just us.
But still very much forbidden.
The air grew thinner, the tension plucking at a string connecting us. The world hazed out and became so taut it strangled me. Her eyes were calling me to her like a siren. My muscles contracted, about to move… to do something beyond stupid… when she suddenly exhaled and rolled over, breaking our contact.
Oxygen sucked into my lungs as my cock pulsed and my heart pounded.
What the hell was I about to do? One move and I could have ruined everything. My life was complicated enough, nothing she should be part of.
If she knew the truth…
I rested back, my fingers pinching my forehead.
My dick continued to throb. I could go back and find that girl… But I knew I wouldn’t. She wasn’t what I wanted.
Waiting until I figured Kinsley was asleep, I wrapped my hand around myself, needing a release. Images of her in the towel, sleeping in her tiny panties, and getting into my face had my hand working harder.
Being the very asshole I warned her about tonight.