He wanted to run his tongue up and down her thigh until…
Stop! He needed to stop, or he was going to have a serious problem staying comfortable during the stupid cartoon. And then she’d probably assume cartoons somehow turned him on. That’s just what he needed, for her to think Alice in Wonderland made him horny.
He reached for the wine bottle twenty minutes into the movie, only to find they had nearly finished it. He blamed Kacey. She was drinking it like water, not that he could blame her. One dinner with his family was likely to do that to a person, especially when Grandma had a tendency to flaunt her liaisons.
He still couldn’t figure out why Grandma seemed to be doing so well. She was supposed to be bedridden, ill! Instead she was sneaking across the street to see the neighbor.
Oh, that mental picture did wonders for his aroused state. Consider him officially turned off.
The music started up, and it was the part where the Cheshire cat appeared for the first time.
He looked at Kacey to gauge her reaction.
She closed her eyes.
“Kace,” he whispered. “Open your eyes. The cat isn’t going to magically float into the living room.”
She peeked behind her hands then reached for the last bit of her wine, downing its contents and handing him her glass. “More.”
Far be it for him to deny her anything. He went in search of another bottle.
The minute the cork was out, Kacey held out her glass, still not taking her eyes off the TV. She really did have a weird fear when it came to that dang cat. To her credit, she didn’t scream like the last time, which would have been when she was fifteen, but she did inch closer and closer to him until her thigh was touching his.
Sweet torture.
He began drinking to keep his hands and lips occupied, and as the credits flashed, he realized they had finished two bottles of wine.
Kacey, however, looked wired. “We have to watch something happy to get rid of those mental images.”
Travis shook his head, feeling way more relaxed than he should, his arm draped around her, pulling her closer. “What do you want then?”
What he meant to say was Well, what do you want to watch then? But he was slightly drunk and a little loose-lipped.
She shrugged, snuggling closer into his body. His arm, once on her shoulders, caressed her back, moving lower and lower until it grazed her butt.
“Kace?” he asked again. She hadn’t moved, and the room was spinning, partially from the wine and partially from his lust-filled state.
“Hmm?” She looked up. God, she was beautiful, and so damn close to him he could nearly taste the wine on her lips.
“Your call,” he said, lowering his head to hers.
“This means nothing,” she whispered against his lips. “We’re drunk, and it means nothing,” she repeated as her hands tangled in his hair.
With a moan he shook his head.
“Right, nothing.” He licked her lower lip, tasting the red wine then running his tongue along the bottom of her jaw.
She arched her back, and he pulled her closer. His control was hanging on by a single thread.
When his lips grazed hers, she opened her mouth to him. All hell broke loose. He hadn’t expected her to taste so good, to feel so ripe, to feel perfect in his arms, to moan his name.
His tongue tangled with hers. Kacey ran her fingers up and down his biceps then tucked her hands underneath his shirt, peeling it off his body.
“Told you nak*d slumber parties were more fun,” he said between kisses.
She giggled and reached for her own shirt. No way in hell he was going to miss watching this. He leaned back mesmerized as she began to strip, and then… the lights flipped on.
“Grandma!”
“Travis! Kacey!” She put a hand over her heart.
Oh God, this was it. His grandma had just seen him getting ready to screw his brother’s fiancée. He was going to be the reason for her death. He just knew it.
She tilted her head. “Kacey, that brassier is quite charming. Pink. Now why don’t I have any pink lingerie?”
Travis hid his head in his hands, praying to disappear.
Grandma shrugged. “You kids be sure to clean up now. Don’t want Jake coming home and seeing remnants of your lovemaking.”
There was something so wrong about his grandma saying lovemaking as a woman was straddling him.
She waved goodbye and turned the lights back off.
But the mood was officially gone.
“Do you think she was drunk?” Travis asked pleadingly.
“Either that or high.” Kacey pushed herself away from his chest and pulled her shirt back on. Sadly, he wanted to shed a tear of selfishness that their little party was over.
“I should, uh, go to bed…” Kacey got up, a little unsteady on her feet.
Travis grabbed her arm. “Let me help you. I’ll just throw away the evidence and help get you to your room, okay?”
She nodded and stretched her arms above her head.
He quickly tossed the wine bottles in the trash, put the glasses in the sink, folded the blanket, and turned off the TV.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yes.” She didn’t look him in the eyes.
He walked with her up the stairs and led her to the guest room. She began to protest when he walked in, turned on the lights, and made sure the windows were open. He knew she liked fresh air when she slept, something he was sure she probably never got tired of.
“Off to bed.” His gut clenched. It should be him in that bed, not the damn teddy bear or even the other pillow. He was jealous of her pillow? He needed to take a cold shower.
“So…” She shrugged and looked at the floor. “About tonight.”
“Kace, don’t. We’re drunk.”
“I’m not that drunk,” she whispered.
He chuckled. “Me neither.”
“I still hate you.”
He smiled. He couldn’t help it. “Kace, don’t worry. I still wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last girl on the planet.” Lies all lies.
“Fine!” she yelled. “I don’t even like you anyways!”
“Well, don’t worry, Kace, my brother’s sloppy seconds aren’t really my type anyway.” Where the hell did that come from?
Her hand came crushing across his face. He totally deserved that.
“Kace, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
“It’s safe to say I know exactly what you meant, Travis. Good night.” She slammed the door in his face.
He was a complete ass.
Chapter Fourteen
Samantha was ruining everything.
First she’d asked for Jake’s promise that he wouldn’t really marry that whore he was engaged to, and then when he’d said he was actually thinking about it, she’d slapped him. Incredible.
It wasn’t as if he was going to kick her to the curb or anything. He was perfectly happy having a wife with a mistress on the side.
Once he explained things, Samantha calmed down a bit, but it ruined what would have been a perfectly great evening of mind-numbing sex and drinking.
He ended up driving back to the house around 1:00 a.m. It wasn’t worth staying over with her if she was going to be such a snatch.
He fumbled with the lock and let himself quietly in the house. Where exactly was Kacey staying? He forgot to ask. He took the stairs two at a time and bumped right into Travis, who was exiting one of the guest rooms.
“What are you doing?” they asked in unison.
Travis scratched his head and looked back at the room he’d just come out of. “Uh, Kacey had too much wine so I wanted to make sure she made it to her room.”
Jake wasn’t buying that. He wasn’t an idiot.
“So you gallantly helped her up the stairs and fought off the monsters and dragons in order to protect her honor?”
Travis rolled his eyes. “You done? I’m tired. I need to go to bed. Just don’t bother her, okay?”
“She isn’t your concern, Travis. I’ll bother her if I want. I’ll jump right into that bed and screw her senseless, and it still wouldn’t be your problem. This isn’t about you.”
Travis hurled Jake against the wall. “If you dare touch her again, I swear I’ll kill you.”
“Touch her?” Since when had Travis turned into such a prude? “I’ll touch her if I want, and again it’s none of your business.”
“What the hell is wrong with you!” Travis released him and cursed.
“Nothing.” Jake straightened his leather jacket. “Just lighten up, okay? I’m over it, she’s over it, we’re both over it. Seems the only person still hanging on to the past, big brother, is you.”
That ought to show him. Jake sneered and knocked on Kacey’s door, then quietly let himself in, leaving Travis glaring from the hallway.
“Hey sweetie, I’m back.” Jake kissed her forehead. She didn’t look drunk or confused. If anything, she was flushed, her lips swollen. God, he had forgotten how beautiful she was. Her hair was splayed across the pillow. She sighed and tilted her head toward him.
“Work okay?” she mumbled.
“Yeah.” His voice cracked, and he couldn’t focus on anything but the feel of her skin when he caressed her face again. “It was fine.”
And then he couldn’t help himself. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t actually touch her, but he was a guy and allowed stupidity to rule his common sense. His lips grazed hers, tentatively, and then harder as he pushed her into the bed.
Travis burst into the room like a freaking knight in shining armor, then cursed when he saw Jake hovering over Kacey.
“Bro, can I help you? We’re kind of busy.”
Travis’s eyes flickered to Kacey, who seemed to disappear under the covers, and then back at Jake. “You’re right. It’s none of my business what you two do. I don’t give a damn. Good night.” He slammed the door.
Geez, his brother needed some sort of anger management. What the hell did he care if Kacey and Jake had something between them still?
Kacey nudged him. “You should go.” Her face was wet with tears. Was she crying?
“Why are you crying? Is everything okay? What’s wrong?” All the questions came out in a rush.
“N-nothing,” Kacey stuttered. “I’m sorry, Jake. I had way too much wine. I didn’t mean to kiss you.” She turned her head and closed her eyes.
“It’s fine.” But it wasn’t. In fact everything would have been going in an entirely different direction if Travis hadn’t barged in on them.
Maybe it was for the best. After all, he knew it would only lead to him hurting her again. He wasn’t really a one-girl kind of a guy. But she provided something so tempting he had trouble pulling away. Maybe it was memories of their friendship together. Or the way she smiled and teased. He shook his head. He really should have gotten laid tonight. Things would have been so much easier.
He kissed her one last time on the forehead and let himself out of the room, grinning smugly as he passed his brother in the hall. Apparently his older brother was going to play chaperone. Fine with him.
He stopped before going into his room. “She’s sleeping. I’m sure she’s tuckered out after all that excitement.” With a wink Jake stepped into his room and slammed the door, enjoying immensely the sound of his brother’s curses all the way down the hall.