Brodie still said nothing, though he raked a hand through his dark blonde hair, the ends of his mohawk sticking up.
His pacing was driving me crazy. I got up from the edge of the bed and approached him, placing my hands on his biceps and halting him. “Are you going to talk to me?”
Brodie stopped, but the line of his mouth was flat. Mulish.
I was honestly a bit surprised at this reaction. “Are you really that mad at me over this? That I made some good game moves?”
“You want me to be honest with you, Kandis?”
“Well, yeah, that would be nice.”
“Fine.” He ground his jaw, frowned at me for a moment, and then began to speak. “I think if I was being rational about this, I wouldn’t care that you set yourself up to win. If I was being rational, I’d think it was really damn f**king clever and you’re a brilliant girl for playing all of us. If I was being rational, I’d be proud of you. But I’m not being rational about this. I’m f**king pissed, because…” He paused and raked a hand through his hair again. “Because I see how you are with Jendan. How intimate the two of you are. And I keep wondering if you’re kissing him, too. If you’re f**king him, too.”
I recoiled, stunned. “Did you just call me a whore?”
“No, I—”
But now I was furious. “You think I’d f**k someone just to ally with them? Do you really think that?”
He exhaled slowly and had the decency to look ashamed. “No, I don’t. This game’s messing with my head.”
“Then don’t accuse me of doing exactly that!”
“I’m jealous, all right?” Brodie exploded. “I’m f**king crazy about you, and I can never tell how you’re feeling. I’m jealous of him, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?”
His words startled me. Of all the things I’d expected Brodie to be upset about, jealousy wasn’t one of them. Hearing that he was, though? I couldn’t help but be pleased—and, okay, a bit aroused—by the thought of him being all beat-my-chest caveman over me.
I moved closer to him, sliding a gentle hand over his shoulders and then down his chest. “Brodie,” I murmured. “It’s okay.”
His nostrils flared, the only sign that he was paying attention to me.
“I may have an agreement with Jendan,” I told him, moving my hands over his pectorals in a soothing, stroking motion. “But if I win this next challenge, I don’t care how bad it looks to everyone, but I’m picking you. Because Jendan and I may be friends, but you and I are way more than just that. Understand me?”
“Are we?” His gaze was intense. “I feel like you’re sending me mixed signals.”
“Do I need to be straightforward?” I slid a bit closer and put my hand on his groin and rubbed. “Allow me to be blatant, then. In or out of this house, you’re the only man I’m interested in. Satisfied?”
He groaned, his arms sliding around my waist. “After that quick stroke? God no. That wasn’t satisfying at all.”
I laughed despite the tension between us. That sounded more like the Brodie I knew and loved.
And then I sobered. Loved?
Was I crazy?
I couldn’t be in love with Brodie the betrayer.
Before I could ponder this, Brodie’s mouth slanted over mine in a hard, fast kiss that stole my breath. It was a kiss full of need and affirmation, and I melted into it. He seemed to need me, and I needed him just as badly.
So I twined my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.
Brodie groaned and his hands tightened around my waist. “Wanna go hide in the bathroom?”
My pulse fluttered. Did I ever. I lifted one leg and locked it around his thigh. “Just try and get away from me.”
“That’s the last thing I want to do,” he said, and he punctuated his words with a kiss instead of the smile I was expecting.
I admit, the tender gesture took me by surprise. It melted me, just a little, and I clung to him as he walked our twined bodies a few feet to the bathroom.
Once inside, he pressed me up against the door again, and his mouth brushed over mine once more. “Sweet Kandis. I think I’ve fallen hard for you.”
I sighed against him, my n**ples brushing against his chest. I felt the same way. I’d thought about what I’d do once I left the house and all thoughts of a Brodie-less life seemed impossibly dull at this point. I didn’t want to think about that, though. Not while I was in his arms and he was kissing me as though the world didn’t exist outside the touch of our bodies.
His hands fumbled with the clasp of my jeans, and I helped him drag them down my hips, the fabric bunching at the top of my thighs. His hand slid into my panties, cupping my p**sy, and his finger stroked through my wet folds, seeking my clit. Such a bold, direct touch—there was no fooling around, not right now. Not when we needed each other so much. I cried out when his touch hit me in just the right spot, and waves of pleasure washed through me.
“You’re already wet,” he breathed against my mouth, his fingers circling my clit. “Is it my kiss that makes you so slippery, baby?”
I nodded, breathless with need. Just the thought of him touching me and I was so slick I could hardly stand it.
His lips played over mine, his tongue dancing along my bottom lip. “You’re so beautiful. Like you were made perfectly for me.” Two fingers slid lower and sank into my core, rocking deep.
I whimpered, clinging to him. “Brodie, I want you in me now.”
But his hand only rocked, sinking his fingers deeper inside me, pressing his palm to my aching clit. “Patience, baby. I want to see your face when you come for me, just like this.”
I moaned, digging my fingers into the fabric of his shirt as he continued to work my p**sy. My leg hiked around his thigh left me wide open for his teasing—not that I’d dream of pushing his hand away—and I wanted to wrap my other leg around him, to leave myself completely at his mercy. “Brodie,” I panted. “Want you so bad. Put your mouth on me.”
“Anywhere in particular?”
“Everywhere.”
His mouth swooped lower, heading to my neck, and he nibbled on my skin there even as his hand continued to work over my p**sy. My gasp of pleasure echoed in the bathroom, and my body jolted against the bathroom door as he continued to work his fingers in and out of my sex, sliding deep, fast and hard. Each pump of his fingers into me made the heel of his palm grind against my clit, the motion exquisite but teasing. He never left it there long enough for me to get off, and the result was an intense, erotic tease. But his mouth on my neck licked and sucked at my sensitive skin, and that, combined with his hand, was driving me closer and closer to the edge. I tightened my muscles around his fingers as he drove into me, increasing the friction, and my h*ps worked with his hand, my body frantic for release.
It came a moment later, in an intense, shuddering flash, and I cried out, clinging to Brodie as he worked me higher and higher into my orgasm, his fingers slamming into my flesh to drag out the pleasure.
“Just like that,” he breathed, watching me. “Just like that, Kandis.”
Bliss cascaded through me. I let the ripples move through my body, and then I slowly came back down from the orgasmic high. I still held on to him, and when he lifted his head to meet my gaze, I leaned in and brushed my lips against his. “Condom?”
He kissed me back fiercely and detangled his limbs from mine momentarily to get the condom. I made a sound of protest, but he returned a moment later, and his hands were all over me once more. “Drop your pants,” he told me.
I laughed. “Where’s my poetic Brodie?”
“He needs to be in you as of yesterday.” He tore open the condom and smoothed the latex over his length.
I shimmied out of my clothing and then wrapped my arms around his neck again, pulling him close as if we were dancing together. His hands smoothed over my bare h*ps and I gave a happy sigh.
“Ready for me?” Brodie leaned in to kiss me, his tongue slicking against my own. When I lifted my leg in response, his hand hooked behind my knee and his weight pressed me back against the bathroom door once more.
“Mmm, always,” I told him, my hands sliding to his n**ples and brushing over them through the fabric of his t-shirt. Neither one of us had our tops off; I didn’t much care. The sex with Brodie was consistently amazing, and if we were in too much of a rush to fully undress, so be it.
He pushed into me with a hard thrust, and all thoughts of teasing him to his own orgasm quickly went out the window. The feel of him seated deep inside me made my own pleasure change from a sated hum back to a full blown roar once more, and I felt my p**sy clench around him in response. The angle had him tilted perfectly, and his c*ck seemed to be rubbing me just right.
“Feel good?” he asked, panting.
I nodded, another whimper escaping me when he thrust again. Oh God, that was so perfect. “I…think I might come again. Keep doing that.”
“Right there?” He adjusted his h*ps and thrust again, hard.
“Oooh.” A shiver rippled through me. “God, yes.”
His hand moved up the door and tangled into my hair, tugging on it even as he thrust again. His mouth descended to my throat, and I cried out when he licked the hollow of my collarbone. “You’re mine, aren’t you Kandis?”
“Yes!”
“Good.” He groaned and began to thrust harder, his free hand hiking my leg up higher. His weight pressed me harder against the door, and his shallow thrusts began to speed up until I was crying out inarticulately with every motion of his c*ck inside me. “Because you’re mine, and I’m not letting you go.”
I shook my head and moaned when he thrust even harder. The building orgasm began to quake through me again, and I felt my entire body clench in response.
Brodie sucked in a breath and then he slammed into me, movements getting harder and jerkier as I tightened around him. “God, I f**king love you, Kandis,” he gritted out as he came.
I smoothed a hand down his back as he shuddered out his release, my thoughts whirling.
He’d just declared love for me.
Was it because he’d had a heated orgasm? Or was this more cement in our alliance glue to ensure that I’d take him to the end?
Or…did he really love me?
For a moment, I hated the game. I hated that I didn’t know what anyone was truly thinking and that no one would tell the truth. I hated that I had to second-guess every word, every move, every thought. I couldn’t trust anyone while I was here, and I wanted to know the truth from Brodie. I wanted to know if he’d still say the same thing once we were outside of the house and there was no prize money to be had.
But I kept my thoughts to myself and hugged my lover close.
Two days left to go.
~~ * ~~
“Kandis, can you tell us a little about the state of things in the house?”
I laughed at the interview question, but there was no humor in my tone. It was just a reaction since they expected one. I curled up in the interview booth chair, shifting my weight, and stared at the screen. “The state of things in the house depends entirely on who is interacting with who. Me and Jendan? It’s all strategy talk. Me and Brodie? It’s all sexual tension and chemistry. Brodie and Jendan? They are circling each other like two dogs fighting over a bone.”