Flash Point: Holding Out for a Hero, Book 3

by Shelli Stevens

  Todd barely hesitated. It beat the hell of his back-up plan of going home to jack off. “Yeah, that sounds good. Meet you there in ten.”

  It only took him five minutes to get to the bar, and by the time Tyson walked in, Todd was already nursing a beer and shooting some pool.

  “Hey there, little bro,” Tyson greeted, pulling a pool stick down from the wall. “Did you buy me a pint?”

  Todd jerked his head toward the high table next to them where a pint of Budweiser sat with the head still white and foamy.

  “Hell, I was kidding, but thanks.” Tyson paused beside the table to take a drink. “I’ve got to say, I’m surprised you’re not out with some girl, seeing it’s a Friday night and all.”

  Todd’s fingers tightened around his beer and he didn’t reply, just made a soft grunt in response.

  “Kate wanted an early night?”

  Jerking his head up, Todd met his brother’s pensive gaze. Tyson had never been one to beat around the bush. Someone must’ve seen him and Kate out to dinner alone and commented to Tyson. Sure didn’t take long for word to travel in a small town.

  “It was just dinner,” he replied curtly. Not that it was his brother’s business at all.

  “Yeah, that’s what I heard. But it was just the two of you, which seemed kind of unusual.”

  Todd’s chest expanded with the slow breath he drew in and a tic started in his jaw. But he just gave an easy smile and asked, “Something you’re trying to imply, bro?”

  “Not really. I just know how you are with women… But seeing as this is Kate, I know I don’t really have any reason to be worried.”

  And there was the warning, not quite spoken, but definitely implied. Kate wasn’t to be touched. At least not by him.

  “Kate’s a friend,” Todd finally replied and moved to take another shot, sinking the eight ball into the corner pocket. He straightened and chalked his tip. “And that’s all she’ll ever be to me. So you can just cut with the silent implications, Ty.”

  Tyson grinned and slapped him on the back, before moving to set the rack for a new game. “Good to hear. I should’ve known better, I know she’s not your type.”

  Yeah, that’s what he’d been trying to tell his dick all night.

  “Because Kate’s not like other women,” Tyson continued, removing the rack and picking his stick back up. “And I know she’s got that little crush on you, but you’d have to be a total asshole to take advantage of it.”

  Crush? How the hell did Tyson know Kate had a crush on him?

  Todd took another swig of beer and again didn’t comment. If Kate had a crush on anything, it was his career. He’d seen it earlier tonight when they’d talked about his job, the way her eyes had lit up and she’d giggled like a schoolgirl. If he’d been the town dentist, Kate probably wouldn’t even glance his way.

  Letting his smile fade, Todd gave up the pretense of keeping this conversation light and turned a hard stare on his brother.

  “I’ll say it again. Kate is nothing more to me than a friend. Now drop it, Ty.”

  Tyson held his stare for a moment, his gaze searching, and then the critical gleam in his eyes faded into one of trust and acknowledgement. He gave a small nod and then murmured, “Consider it dropped.”

  Todd blew out a breath from between clenched teeth. Well, he’d managed to convince Tyson that Kate would only ever be a friend.

  Now he just needed to convince Todd Jr. of the same thing.

  Chapter Four

  “I can’t do this,” Kate muttered, the blood rushing to her head as she struggled to maintain some pose that had the word dog in it.

  How the hell had she let Ellie talk her into attending a Sunday afternoon yoga class? Oh yes, the promise of lunch out and a long talk afterward.

  She was dying to confide in someone about what had happened last night with Todd, but with Megan now living a state away, that left her with Ellie as one of her closest friends. Which was funny, seeing as they’d only know each other for a few months.

  Trying to toss her ponytail back from her face, Kate lifted her head and glared up at Ellie, who crooned out words of encouragement to a class that was surprisingly full. Who the heck would have thought this many women in Wyattsville were into yoga?

  Sweat poured down her neck and the muscles in her legs started to scream in protest.

  God! Exercise was the devil.

  Kate glanced over at the clock on the wall and bit back a moan. Still another forty minutes. She’d never make it. She’d be found unconscious in a twisted, muscle-spasming mess.

  But somehow she got through the rest of the hour. When Ellie dismissed the class, Kate collapsed on the floor to pass out, but still caught the glare of one woman leaving.

  Penny from Penny’s Pies. Kate’s only competition in town for sweets. And, judging by Penny’s glare, apparently the woman still wasn’t pleased with Kate being the new shop in town.

  When Ellie finished saying goodbye to the rest of the class, Kate was waiting for her on her mat on the floor. Lying on her back and staring at the ceiling, dreaming of a sexy masseuse and one of her big, fat salted-caramel cupcakes.

  “Hey,” Ellie said cheerfully, bounding over and sitting down next to her. “You did fabulous. Good job.”

  “I’m not sure you realize, but I think this type of thing is actually considered torture in some countries,” Kate muttered and struggled into sitting position.

  Ellie winked and stretched her legs out and grabbing her toes. “Trust me, you’ll be begging to come back next week. It’s addictive.”

  “Hmm.” Kate watched as the last attendee in the room left the studio.

  “Okay, spill it.” Ellie lifted a perfectly shaped, dark eyebrow. “What’s going on?”

  Kate swallowed hard, her cheeks getting hot again—but not from exercise this time. “Todd kissed me last night.”

  Ellie blinked and her mouth fell open.

  “And if you say a word to Tyson about this, I swear—”

  “I won’t say anything,” Ellie promised breathily. “Todd really kissed you? Todd Wyatt?”

  Kate nodded and looked down, her brows drawing together. Jeez, it sounded as surreal saying it aloud as it did in her head. “Yes.”

  “That’s…wow. I don’t know what to say. How did it happen? Were you guys drunk?”

  “Um, no,” Kate muttered and rolled her eyes. “And thanks for implying I’d have to get him drunk to want to suck face with me.”

  Ellie touched Kate’s arm and winced. “No, no! Sorry, that came out wrong. It’s just…wow. I can’t…it just seems so left field.”

  Well, it was sort of. Kate sighed and attempted a stretch of her own. She’d never told anyone about how she’d kissed Todd during Ellie’s bachelorette party. In fact, she’d kind of preferred to forget that had ever happened. Especially because he hadn’t kissed her back, and had instead just pushed her gently away. Talk about humiliating.

  That kiss was something she’d tried to block out. She’d just been staring at his lips, had wanted to stop his scolding about the stripper—which was such a double standard—and bam, had just leaned in and kissed him.

  She blamed her lapse in sanity on alcohol.

  “So, come on, you can’t just leave me hanging here. What happened?” Ellie prodded.

  “He invited me to dinner. Alone. And it was kind of all weird and tense. And when I went home, he kissed me.” Kate looked down, deciding not to elaborate on what had happened beyond the kiss. “And then he got all weird about it and kind of rambled about how sorry he was and how he shouldn’t have done it.”

  “Well no, he shouldn’t have.”

  Kate glanced up in surprise at Ellie’s terse reply.

  “But I liked it,” Kate protested. “A lot. And I’m not sorry it happened.”

  Ellie’s expression softened and she sighed. “Oh, honey, I’m sure you did. The Wyatt men are very charming, and Todd especially so. He could probably entice a nun out of her habit in
two minutes flat.”

  “Okay, I know you’re trying to be encouraging with this conversation, but it’s not helping so much,” Kate said on a sigh, then wrinkled her nose. “You’re making me feel a bit like a first-class idiot.”

  “I’m sorry and you’re totally not an idiot.” Ellie groaned and redid her dark ponytail. “It’s just that, since that conversation at my bachelorette party, I know how inexperienced you are…”

  A blush heated Kate’s cheeks but she didn’t back down. “And?”

  “Well, answer me this. Have you ever fooled around with a guy at all, before Todd?”

  “Yes. One.”

  “Okay and how did he make you feel?”

  Kate’s stomach roiled and her head spun a bit as the memory hit her. She glanced down at her hands and replied quietly, “It was exciting. It felt good.”

  “And with Todd?”

  Heat slid through her blood as she compared what she’d experienced when she was a teenager, to what she’d experienced with Todd last night. “It was like a hundred times more intense. Todd’s kiss left my knees shaking. It wasn’t just a nice, exciting, touch. It was a forgetting-to-breathe touch.”

  She glanced up again and found Ellie watching her with resignation.

  “Well, shit,” Ellie finally muttered. “Definitely must run in the Wyatt family or something. Because Tyson makes me feel the same way.”

  Kate smiled, though Ellie’s words actually made her a little sadder. At least Tyson reciprocated Ellie’s feelings.

  “So…what if I wanted to sleep with Todd? I mean, if I could convince him.”

  Ellie’s gaze turned wary. “Kate, if you were anyone else, I might say go for it. But you’re a virgin—”

  “Jeez, I wished I’d kept my mouth shut that night.”

  “And I’m worried about you getting seriously heartbroken. Todd is pretty much a one-ride ticket.”

  A one-ride ticket. The phrase floated around in her head. “But what a ride it would be.” She heard herself saying the words aloud and blushed again. Emboldened now, she pushed on. “Look, Ellie, I seriously, seriously, need to lose my virginity soon. It’s way overdue. I saw the way you and Megan looked at me when I announced it.”

  “Okay, so we were shocked, Kate. But, being a virgin is not a bad thing.”

  “I know it’s not, but it’s just a word. A status that I want gone. So why not do it with someone I trust? Someone who gets my juices floating? Someone who’s going to be pretty darn good at it?”

  Ellie pressed her fingers to her temples and shook her head. “But don’t you want your first time to be special? With someone you love and who loves you back?”

  “Was your first time like that?”

  Ellie was silent for a moment. “No. But I wish it had been.”

  Hmm. But what if you never met that person? Were you really supposed to spend the rest of your life abstinent? Sure, there was love. But there was also lust, and as she was quickly learning, the latter wasn’t to be underestimated.

  “Here’s what I’m thinking,” Kate said slowly. “A week ago I never would’ve guessed Todd could look at me the way he did last night. Look at me like I was a sexy woman he desired. He wanted me last night, as much as I’ve always wanted him. And I know he won’t marry me, but…I think I want one night.”

  Ellie just stared at her, her expression a mixture of understanding and hesitancy.

  “If you had only been offered one night with Tyson, would you have taken it?” Kate asked.

  Ellie gave a reluctant nod. “In a heartbeat. In fact when I slept with him, I thought what we had could never last. I was on the run, lying about who I was. Logistically, it never should’ve worked out.”

  “But it did,” Kate said softly. The story of Ellie and Tyson still made her heart flutter at the romance of it all. Ellie had found her own personal hero the last place she’d expected.

  “It did,” Ellie agreed with a slight smile. “But I was an exception to the rule. Not everyone gets a happily ever after.”

  “I don’t expect one. Not with Todd, at least. So you can’t tell me I’m being naïve about this.” Kate paused. “Tell me this. If I wasn’t a virgin, what would you tell me to do?”

  Ellie sighed. “I’d tell you to go for it.”

  “I rest my case.”

  Ellie was silent for again and then arched a brow. “Okay. If you’re really sure about this, then I can help. We can find a way to make Todd look beyond the friends thing. But you have to promise not to breathe a word to Tyson about my involvement. Because he’ll rip me a new one if he finds out.”

  Ellie climbed to her feet and held out her hand, helping Kate up too.

  “I promise,” Kate said breathlessly, heart pounding with realization about what she’d just agreed to.

  “Now, you know about Ryan Wyatt’s New Year’s Eve party coming up Saturday?”

  “The costume party?” Kate said excitedly. “Totally! I’m going as a giant cupcake. I’ve got this sparkly pink hat and a—”

  “You’re not going.”

  Kate’s stomach sank with disappointment. “Oh. I’m not?”

  “Well, at least that’s what we’re going to tell Todd…”

  Chapter Five

  Saturday night had come entirely too fast.

  Kate paced her room and glanced at the bed again. That was the costume that she was supposed to wear tonight? Seriously?

  A wave of panic washed over her as she lifted up the Little Red Riding Hood costume that Ellie had helped her overnight order online after class the other day. It was only a few minutes ago that she’d finally had the nerve to take it out of the plastic bag.

  This costume was nothing like the Little Red Riding Hood that she’d grown up with. This was like…

  Oh, dear God, maybe she couldn’t do this. Show up at a party wearing an outfit this sexy—half the town would see her tonight! And what if it just showed off all her imperfections and made her look huge? Though she’d ordered an X-large to give herself some wiggle room, especially knowing things tended to be ultra tight in the boob area. God certainly hadn’t skimped on her breasts…not that she was complaining. Though she wouldn’t have minded a little off the backside. And thighs. And maybe—

  Stop thinking negatively. You’re on a mission, she reminded herself. Ellie had promised that if she showed up wearing this outfit and acted the way she’d been coaxed, Todd would be hers before the clock struck midnight. Wrong fairytale, but Kate got the gist.

  Tonight Todd would be her first, and hopefully without him realizing it. From all the research she’d done, Kate figured that at her age, any physical barriers inside her body would probably be long gone.

  She bit her lip and ran her fingers over the stretchy costume. Someday, yes, she probably would end up with a guy like Walt. Someday. But tonight was about finally experiencing passion and pleasure. Tonight was all about losing it.

  Virginity. The word that just about made her break out in hives. If it hadn’t been for a one-minute phone call eight years ago, she probably would’ve done the deed during her junior prom.

  A bitter smile twisted her lips and her stomach clenched. She closed her eyes, and for a moment the old doubt swept in. Todd was pretty much a sex god. Handsome, charming, amazing in bed—so rumor had it. How could he possibly be attracted to someone like her?

  No. No. Kate ruthlessly shoved aside the doubt and the negative vibes she’d spent years beating down. Straightening her shoulders, she stared at herself in the mirror. She was an attractive woman. Maybe she wasn’t a size six, but she’d seen the desire in Todd’s eyes. He wanted her.

  And it was time to finally take that step now that she’d found someone who she didn’t want to say no to. Someone who tempted her back into sexual waters. It wasn’t like she’d been holding out for religious reasons. There’d just never been anybody who’d tempted her out of the I-don’t-need-a-man stage.

  Which made her think about tonight and what she was about
to do. She glanced at the clock and swallowed hard. Time to hop in the shower and get this evening going.

  Ryan Wyatt’s New Year’s Eve party was legendary around the coastal towns of Oregon. Friends came, literally, from hundreds of miles away to partake in the festivities.

  It was a night for all kinds of debauchery, masqueraded behind every kind of costume imaginable. And every year Todd looked forward to his cousin’s party. He was in his element. Women. Partying. Inhibitions left at the door.

  So why the hell was he dragging his feet about going this year?

  You know why. Kate won’t be there. Todd scowled.

  Yesterday Ellie had complained his ear off that Kate was skipping out for a date with Walt—who had no interest in a costume party. Which meant she was missing Ryan’s party for the first time since he could remember.

  And he wasn’t sure why that bugged him so much. Whether it was the fact that she was going to be out with Walt, or that she’d be missing the party. Or both.

  But the party tonight wouldn’t be the same without Kate. He’d gotten used to teasing her about her unusual costume choices. A milk carton. A nun. A gorilla suit. All stuff a little on the bizarre side, but they fit Kate’s bubbly, quirky personality.

  Todd slid a glance over his reflection in the mirror while fastening the leopard print loincloth around his briefs. Biting back a groan, he rotated his jaw and shook his head.

  Damn. When he’d ordered the Tarzan costume online last month, he’d only been thinking about showing off some muscle and living up to the sexy alpha image he’d created for himself over the years. But looking in the mirror now, he thought he looked…a little ridiculous.

  Ridiculous or not, he was going to be more than fashionably late if he didn’t get his ass in his truck to make the near half-hour drive to Ryan’s house.

  He slid into his shoes, grabbed his keys and headed out.

  By the time he pulled onto Ryan’s street there wasn’t much parking left. He settled for a spot a half-block down the road and made the trek up to his cousin’s house, hoping like hell no one drove by and saw him half-naked.