“I don’t like…” I pulled my hand away from hers. “I’m not sure I belong here. I don’t like this. I feel…”
I didn’t know what to say. My body was covered, and I’d run around The Pope all those years ago in boxer shorts, too, but now…
Look at all those women. Dressed in lingerie. Sexy. Tan. Beautiful. I didn’t want to dress like that, but I also didn’t feel like I fit in like this, either. The only person I wanted to wear stuff like that for was Kai, and I couldn’t do this. This was his scene, not mine.
I took a step back. It would be more fun to stay up here and explore the rest of the house anyway. There were dozens of rooms, and an attic, I was sure. Not to mention, if there was one secret passageway in the study, there were bound to be more. Anything would be more fun than this.
But hands caught my hips from the back, and Kai’s whisper was suddenly in my ear.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I folded my arms over my chest. “I don’t flaunt myself for the enjoyment of men.”
His chest shook with a laugh behind me. “Well, good. Happy to hear it, because I’m the only man whose attention you should be trying to get, and baby, you got it years ago while wearing another man’s clothes.” He kissed my temple, his hot breath sending chills down my spine. “So, you can imagine how fucking beautiful you are to me right now wearing mine.”
My heart fluttered, and all of a sudden I felt braver.
Without another word, he walked past me, down the stairs, to greet his guests. I stared at the muscles in his back, visible since he only wore pajama pants like a lot of the other guys, and felt myself heat up again.
But I no longer felt nervous. I started down the stairs with Alex.
The party wasn’t actually as busy as I thought. He could’ve easily packed over a hundred people on the bottom floor, but there seemed to only be about seventy to eighty of their gang’s close, personal friends. Basketball players, business associates, old high school friends…
And the place was set up like a slumber party, in keeping with Will’s theme of pajamas.
Tables filled the dining room, covered with an assortment of snacks, and Heavy In Your Arms played over a sound system around the house.
Servers circulated with more hors d’oeuvres, including wine glasses filled with milk, topped with a huge, chocolate chip, M&M cookie. I smiled, loving how it reminded me of being a kid. Not any of my memories of being a child, per se, but how a kid ought to grow up. Massive pillows were also flung in piles, while young women, some in sexy little nighties and some in men’s pajamas like me, laid down, snacked, and chatted.
There was even a beautiful tent in the corner of the living room made out of sheets and strung with white Christmas lights on the inside.
“This seems so unlike Kai.” I looked around, noticing how the atmosphere had made people kind of playful. Some guy, well over six feet, was diving into the tent after his squealing girlfriend.
“It’s not like him at all.” She downed a shot of Patrón and sucked on a lime wedge. “I planned this.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “Will needed to have some fun with his friends. Kai thought it was a good idea, so he opened up the house. Finally.”
She handed me a shot, but I waved her off. I was still nervous, and I wanted to keep my head clear.
“If Kai had more skill,” a man said, “he would figure out how to have you without signing a contract.”
I whirled around, seeing Michael approach me. And he didn’t look like he was teasing.
But Kai followed, shaking his head.
“Shut up,” he grumbled.
Michael wore black pajama pants and no shirt, scanning me up and down. “You clean up nice,” he smiled, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Even better than the last time I saw you in pajamas.”
I stopped breathing, and he turned toward the party, both him and Kai watching everyone as I waited for the shoe to drop. The last time he saw me in pajamas was six years ago, and while Kai would assume he was talking about all of us at The Pope that night, Michael’s hushed whisper was insinuating how he’d sneaked into Damon’s bed and on top of me before that. How he discovered I was Damon’s sister.
So, Michael knew who I was. So, what? He also knew it didn’t change anything, and Michael didn’t interfere when it wasn’t necessary. Damon always liked that about him. While Will was nosy and Kai tried to reign Damon in, Michael rarely interfered with how Damon wanted to have a good time.
Kai was going to find out, but I hoped he wouldn’t just yet.
“You two were about to come to blows last night?” I pointed out, changing the subject. “What happened?”
Why was he suddenly attending a party at Kai’s house, acting like everything was fine?
Michael swallowed his beer, bringing his glass down. “Nothing. We fight, and we move on. We’re not girls.”
Idiot.
“What the hell is she wearing?” Kai asked, looking out toward the foyer.
I followed his gaze, seeing Rika enter and hand her coat to the attendant. She wore sleep shorts with avocados all over them and a matching shirt that read I Avo Crush On You.
Michael started laughing under his breath, shaking his head. “I can’t believe she still has those pajamas. My mom gave them to her when she was like fifteen, and I felt so bad for her. But she wore ’em anyway. That’s what she must’ve gone back home for today, I guess.”
He walked over to her, and she tried to hide her embarrassed smile as he scooped her up in his arms and laughed with her.
“So, we could wear just regular pajamas?” I eyed Alex who avoided my glare.
“Like I said, you can do whatever you want.”
Yeah.
I needed to get the hang of that.
Second door after the stairs.
The candles were burning down, so Kai asked me to grab a handful more from the closet in the hallway. I knew some of the doors led off to the basement or were used as coat closets, so I found the one instructed and turned the knob.
It went deep. Shelves lined the back as well as the sides, and I stepped in, my finger hooked into the loop of the candle holder as I reached up to yank the chain for the bulb.
The chain clicked, but the light didn’t go on. I looked around me, still able to see fairly well with the candle I’d carried in.
Okay. Candles, candles, candles…. Where are you?
Bending over, I set my holder down and scanned shelves, moving things out of the way, and kind of wondering why I was searching for candles when there were flashlights and batteries right here in front of me. But rich people liked having parties by candlelight, so…
I looked over, finally spotting the candles on the other side.
But suddenly, the door slammed shut, and the room darkened more, leaving only the light from my small candle. I shot up, twisting around.
“So, I hear you kicked Rika’s ass,” Michael said, blocking the door and moving toward me. He was tall and imposing, and there was no way around him.
My heart pounded harder, but I shook it off.
It was just Michael.
“I didn’t walk away unscathed,” I said, turning back around and grabbing some tapers out of the box.
“And I heard you made a comment about ‘taking it in both ends’.”
I laughed under my breath, facing him again. “And you’re here to fight for her honor?”
“Rika can fight her own battles.”
Clearly.
And clearly she has no choice but to do just that, because it would never occur to Michael to be jealous or possessive or angry. He would never be troubled with grand gestures, would he?
I shook my head. “God, do you have any pride?”
He pushed me back against the shelves, and I dropped the candles.
Leaning in, I could barely see anything but his broad chest in front of me as he hovered. I tried to control my breathing.
“H
ow about this?” he asked, seething. “Rika is my earliest memory, and I’ve loved her forever. The sun rises with her. It always has. And everything we do, we do together. Everything.” He bared his teeth. “No one judges us, and we’ll roll right over anyone who tries. You got that? Look in the fucking mirror the next time you want to cast aspersions on her character. All you’ll see is your own self-hate and jealousy. What you don’t know about us is a lot.”
I stared right back at him, neither of us faltering, but my pulse was racing a mile a minute now. Would I have minded if Rika had Will in that steam room?
No. I might not have shared her open mind, but I wouldn’t have cared. He was right. It was jealousy.
And it was my problem. Not hers.
Light fell into the closet, and I looked over Michael’s shoulder to see Kai standing there. He must’ve come looking for me.
Michael turned around, but he didn’t move out from in front of me. I reached down and picked up the candles as Kai’s eyes narrowed on the scene. I’m sure it looked bad.
“What’s going on?” I heard a female voice and looked up to see Rika standing next to Kai and looking in.
Oh, awesome. The whole party’s here.
“I was just about to ask that myself,” Kai said, still staring at Michael.
And Michael finally moved aside. “Just setting her straight.”
Kai walked in, and Rika followed, closing the door.
“Are you okay?” he asked, approaching me.
“She’s fine,” Michael offered.
“I was asking her.”
Kai glared at his friend, but Rika stepped forward, placing herself between them.
“You didn’t need to say anything,” she told Michael. “If the situation were reversed, I’d feel just as weird about it.”
“I don’t feel weird,” I interjected. “How’s the nose, by the way?”
She shook her head, giving me a half-smile. Walking up, she said, “I’m not a threat to you, okay? I love Kai, but I’m not a threat to you.”
“I don’t care.” I moved around them. “Let me out.”
“I think you do care.” Michael stepped into my path, but he didn’t touch me. “Real bad, in fact. And I kind of understand. Wanna get even?”
I paused, looking up him, confused. “What?”
Even? As in…?
“What are you talking about?” Rika asked him.
He turned to her, casting a quick glance at Kai. “Kai got you. Why shouldn’t I have her once?”
“You’re out of your mind?” Kai pushed in, inching into Michael’s space. “I don’t share.”
“Since when?” His friend straightened, both walls rigid as they dared each other. “Why don’t you let her make the choice? See what she says.”
Kai looked completely out of sorts. Like he wasn’t sure if he should laugh or fight.
I stood there with my mouth hanging open just slightly and still trying to figure out if this was a joke.
Rika didn’t look at all confused, though. She stared at Michael, looking worried.
“You’re very beautiful,” Michael said, turning back to me, his eyes softening. “Rika had Kai. Do you want to have me? And then everyone’s even?”
I was dumbfounded. He wasn’t serious.
“Michael.” Rika stepped up. “I don’t like this game.”
“Am I playing?” he asked her.
And she tensed.
I met Kai’s eyes, and his gaze bore into me. He might be waiting for what I had to say on the matter, but if I chose wrong, he was going to step in.
He wasn’t sharing.
And I fought a smile, but I didn’t want him to.
I watched Rika stare at Michael and him look back, and then his eyes faltered, weakening at the sight of her.
He was playing with me. She was his, and he was hers, and they knew who and what they wanted.
But I still didn’t like Michael messing with me. I could play, too.
I pushed him back. “Screwing you puts me on an even keel with her?” I told him. “I don’t set my sights that low. I want to be on an even keel with Kai.”
His eyebrows dug in, not following me. I met Rika’s eyes.
And she broke out in a smile. “She is clever, isn’t she?”
“What’s going on?” Michael looked between Rika, Kai, and me. “What does that mean?”
Reaching out, Rika took my hand and gently pulled me over to her. “It means, if Kai got to have me, so does she.” And then she looked at Michael. “What? Fair’s fair, right?”
He frowned, turning to Kai who just stood there looking just as shocked.
My heart raced, and I wasn’t sure if I was bluffing when I said it, or I just hadn’t thought that far ahead yet when I ran at the mouth like I always did, but I knew one thing. I loved the feel of Kai’s eyes on my back right now. I loved him watching me, and I knew everything was for him.
She put her hands on my hips, and I opened my mouth to protest. “I don’t—”
“What does he do that you like?” she whispered, leaning in close.
“Um…teeth?” I stammered. “He bites my lips.”
She panted, her mouth hovering over mine. “Yeah, I like it when Michael does that, too.” And she did it, thrusting out and dragging my bottom lip between her teeth.
I whimpered, my breath shaking with my growing desire.
“Except Michael,” she breathed in my ear, “bites me down here.”
And she took my hand and made me touch myself. I smiled excitedly. “Shit.”
She kissed me, and I placed my hands on her hips, kissing her back. What the fuck was I doing?
She closed her eyes, biting my lips again, and flicking my top lip with her tongue, her hot, sweet breath warming me all over. I moaned, a nerve between my legs starting to throb.
“You should see them,” she whispered, nibbling my ear. “They’re about to lose their minds.”
I shook with a quiet laugh and tilted my head back, letting her lips devour my neck. I loved him watching me. Loved him seeing me feel pleasure.
Bringing my head down again, I let my hair fall in my eyes as I leaned in close to her, pressing our bodies together.
And I took charge. Pushing her back, we fell into the shelves, and I held her face as I kissed her again, surprised when she moaned and grinded on me.
“Touch me,” she panted against my lips.
“Oh, shit,” Michael gasped.
And I smiled, diving in for her mouth again and again as I slowly slipped my hands up her shirt. She took that as a cue and pulled the T over her head, leaving her topless. I bit my lip and met her eyes, holding them as my hands rose and cupped a breast in my hand.
She breathed out a groan.
“Banks,” I heard Kai breathe out, but I didn’t look at him.
Rika started unbuttoning my shirt, and every nerve under my skin craved to be touched. I couldn’t get it off fast enough. I could feel Kai’s tongue on my spine even though he wasn’t touching me. I felt his teeth and his hands on my breasts.
The shirt fell to the floor, and we came together, pressing our bodies together as my nipples brushed hers. I ate up her lips again, wanting to see Kai’s face so badly. But I didn’t know if I should turn around. I didn’t want to break the spell yet. What if he was angry?
We kissed and licked and panted and bit, and every inch of my skin cooled with sweat as she squeezed my right breast and ran her tongue up my throat. We grasped each other’s hips, grinding on each other. God, I was wet.
“Take off her boxers, Rika,” Kai suddenly said in a husky voice. Like he was out of breath.
Rika grinned, encouraged. She slipped her fingers inside my waistband and yanked it down. I smiled, stepping out it.
I did the same to her, pushing down her sleep shorts, nearly all of our clothes piled on the floor as we continued to buck and grind.
And I finally turned my head, while she nibbled my ear. Michael stood behind us, but
Kai had moved to the corner by the door to get a better look. He watched, his body painfully tense, and his cock a hard, thick ridge jutting against his pants.
We both looked at the boys as we held each other close, cheek to cheek, as Rika left feathery little kisses on the corner of my lips.
“We want to get fucked,” she said to Michael.
I nodded, a smile dancing across my lips as I watched Kai’s dark eyes and slipped my hands down the back of her panties, taunting him.
He stalked over, threaded his fingers through my hair, and pulled my head back, kissing me so hard and rough he stole my breath.
Before I knew it, Rika was swept away, and I heard a tear of fabric before Michael’s raspy whisper, “God, little monster, I love you.”
Kai bent me over, my panties were yanked down, and I put my hands on the shelves in front of me as his cock crowned me. I had time to suck in a quick breath, and then he was thrusting, sheathing himself in me in one move.
I cried out, feeling him bottom out, the sweet pain touching me so deep. I looked over, briefly seeing Rika’s front pressed into the shelves as Michael held her knee out to the side, opening her for him as he thrust up and inside of her. His head was buried in her neck, and she reached around, holding the back of his neck as he went at her hard and fast.
Kai growled, fisting my hair and pulling my head back. “I think you enjoyed that too much,” he said in my ear. “Did you?”
I whimpered, barely able to think as I closed my eyes. “Well, I’m not going to try to break her nose anymore, if that’s what you mean.”
He let out a little laugh. “Good.”
And he pulled me up more, and I twisted my head, tasting his mouth as the room filled with moaning and panting. Then I pulled back, looking up into his eyes as he fucked me.
I wouldn’t stop him. I wouldn’t ever stop him. What was done was done, and I’d steal and covet all the moments we had left. I closed my eyes, savoring the feel of him for my memory.
He gripped my hips and breathed in my ear. “I like you, little one.”
I smiled, hating that stupid nickname as much as when he called me Kid.
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