by Lara Swann
“You really need to stop calling me that, Josh - and cut the whole macho douchebag act, hmm? Those comments after Mom had me sequestered in the kitchen all morning almost had me going after you tooth-and-nail. Not exactly the happily in love image we’re trying to present.” I say in exasperation, batting my hand against his chest for emphasis. “You’re meant to be pissing them off, not me.”
His smile widens as he looks down at me, and I know exactly how much he’s been enjoying baiting me while I haven’t been able to respond.
“I was just trying to be helpful, Caz.” He says with false innocence. “Thought I’d give you some reasons to break up with me later.”
“You’re meant to be breaking up with me, Josh, remember?” I point out. “Piss them off first, so that when you end it dramatically they’ll be relieved enough that I’m not with you to hold off on bothering me about any of this for a while.”
“Hmm.” He frowns. “You know, if your Mom’s solution to not liking me is to try and set you up with Matthew while we’re together I’m not sure this plan is going to work out how you hope. Seems more likely that she’ll start throwing guys at you that meet her standards - before you go and pick another asshole for yourself.”
I pause at that, matching his frown. He has a point.
“That…does sound more likely.” I admit, then change tack. “Well, give me some terrible, traumatic break-up then and I’ll just act like this whole experience put me off relationships for a good, long time.”
“That, I can do.” He grins. “One terrible, traumatic break-up—”
My answering grin freezes into shock as Beth appears in the open doorway behind Josh’s shoulder.
Without thinking, I lunge forward, my lips meeting Josh’s and my arms wrapping around his neck as I desperately try to shut him up.
He goes tense and stupid under me, his whole body stiffening awkwardly as our lips squash together in the least romantic way I could imagine. I get a bit of teeth, and our noses almost crash into each other as I try to balance from the way adrenaline shot me forward.
Fuck.
It lasts the longest twenty seconds I’ve ever had in my life. Then I meet Beth’s eyes over his shoulder, using that as an excuse to break apart and trying for all the world to look as though she just interrupted us in the middle of something naughty and illicit.
“Oh, Beth!” I exclaim, not having to feign being shocked or flustered. “I didn’t know you were there!”
That’s the fucking truth.
I have no idea how much she overheard.
Trust it to be my most naturally suspicious, gossipy sister appearing unexpectedly in the doorway.
She gives me a strange look, then her nose wrinkles up with disdain.
“I was just stopping by to say that Neil and I are going to bed now - and since it’s my engagement party tomorrow, I want to get a good night of sleep. So don’t make any noise.” Her eyes run over the way Josh and I are standing awkwardly together and her lip curls. “Though from what I can see, I didn’t have to worry about that after all.”
She turns in one neat spin, leaving with a slight dramatic flare before I can answer the insult.
Not that I care. If that’s what she was focused on, as far as I’m concerned, that can only be a good thing.
The door slams behind her and I curse myself for not closing it in the first place.
What were Josh and I thinking, talking like that in the middle of the house I’m sharing with my privacy-invading family?!
“What was that?” Josh finally gets his wits together, hand on his mouth and one eyebrow raised.
“Sorry. I was just trying to shut you up - make it seem like we were in the middle of a passionate moment, and not casually discussing our imminent dramatic break-up.” I wipe my mouth and shake my head, scowling at him. “Though considering the way you tensed up as if I was attacking you or something, there was no chance of convincing anyone of that. I thought you were supposed to be good at this shit?”
I mutter the last part, not quite sure whether I’m talking about kissing or acting, but uncomfortably aware that my pride is stinging more than it should from just how bad that kiss was.
I mean, sure, I’ve been friends with Josh for years and neither of us has ever been the slightest bit interested in fucking, but…still.
I’m hot. I’m good at kissing - when I’m not slamming into someone purely as a distraction, anyway. And even with that small issue, most guys would’ve been seriously into it. Or at least enough to make a good display for Beth.
I’ve never gotten just…nothing. Especially from a guy as experienced as Josh—
“Oh, I can assure you, Cassie, I am.” Josh interrupts my train of thought, his voice lowering for emphasis and his sudden attention pinning me.
Something about his deep tone flickers along my skin, and I have to shake myself as I give him a thoroughly unimpressed look in return, shrugging.
“Yeah, sure, you can tell me that all you like—” I start, ready to make a joke about the girls that regularly fall at his feet and return us to our normal banter, but he steps closer before I can.
“I’m not going to tell you, Cassie.” His voice becomes a low murmur, and a pinprick of sensation runs down my spine as his hand comes up to cup my head, tilting it up towards him. “I’ll show you.”
My breath catches, and then before I can say anything - in agreement or not - his lips brush over mine.
Soft and warm and surprisingly gentle, but containing everything that had been missing just a few minutes ago.
My mouth softens under him, and then the gentle caress changes in an instant, becoming firmer and more insistent, igniting nerves I’d almost forgotten existed and sending sparks flaring through me.
His body is so close to mine that it feels like the kiss is joining far more than just our mouths. It makes me ache and want, and I’m suddenly desperate to push back, to kiss hard and deep and feel everything he has to offer. To press myself against him and have our tongues meet and clash and twist together.
But this is Josh. And this is just a…just…something.
It’s not real. It’s not passion. It’s just…a point he’s making.
It could fool me, though.
I moan slightly under him, unable to keep it in, and his mouth opens just the slightest bit, just enough to sink his tongue into my waiting mouth and slowly caress me, getting deeper and deeper and making me think of the other ways he could use it.
His mouth feels hot on mine, and I am pushing back now, wanting more of him, and I can feel his breath hitching in response, his hand moving in my hair as he brings me closer.
My pulse is going insane and my head feels like it’s spinning and I don’t have a clue what’s about to happen when it…stops.
Just like that.
He steps back, a small smile on his face that seems far too smug, and I’m left staring at him.
Hopelessly confused.
“You see?” He says easily, only the slight heat in his voice hinting that anything even happened.
I blink, and it takes me a long moment to remember where I am and what we’re doing here.
This is Josh. My friend. Making a point about being a good kisser.
And, from the way I thought that was going for a moment there, a fucking good actor too.
My god, if the women who play opposite him get that…
I tell my brain to shut up, and make a point of shrugging at Josh.
There’s no way to deny that his kiss worked - it had exactly the effect he wanted on me, as fucking awful as it is to admit it. He proved his point.
But that’s all it was. There was nothing else to it. The same kind of competitive spirit that we always have, it’s just that…usually…we stick to words.
“Mm.” I mutter a non-committal agreement, even though we both know he’s right, my wits slowly coming back to me. “Maybe next time, you could get it right in front of my family.”
I t
urn away and start sorting through my suitcase, looking for the night clothes I casually threw aside in the morning - ready to get to bed and try to forget everything that just happened.
The way my lips still tingle from his touch. The feeling of my body on edge, and horny now, and looking at Josh in all the wrong ways.
“You can count on it, Caz.” Josh murmurs, his voice deep and thick again, and as my stomach flips I wonder what exactly I just asked for.
And whether I’m going to be able to deal with another week of it.
Chapter Seven
Josh
I spend the rest of that night barely sleeping.
Lying there, awkwardly turned away from Cassie so that she doesn’t notice my raging hard on, with that kiss replaying over and over in my mind.
I was so close to taking it further. To kissing her like I really wanted to kiss her - fierce and strong and with every part of my body. Pushing her up against the wall and feeling her sweet curves melt into me as I plunge into her mouth, exploring every part of it and tasting her own passion and desire. So close to throwing caution to the wind and seeing where it led.
But I couldn’t. I was just supposed to be proving my point - finishing a debate gone a little bit too far. And, of course, showing her a little of what kissing me would be like - putting that idea in her head, to linger in the background of this boyfriend-and-girlfriend act.
If I’d gone too far, so soon, I know just how Cassie would’ve reacted the next day.
So I kept it cool and controlled - a casual, careless thing thrown out there. Not the fierce passion that’s getting harder to conceal every day we do this.
At least from the look of it, I certainly had the effect I’d wanted.
Which only makes the rest of the night torturous, as I imagine what would have happened if I’d pushed further, picturing that clear as day fuck-me look she was giving me as I broke it off.
When morning finally rolls around, it’s a relieving break to that loop playing in my mind.
Cassie and I step carefully around each other when getting dressed for breakfast, and I can’t help the small smile that curves at my lips, wondering if she’s thinking about what happened last night too.
Our usual banter and light-hearted relationship has been broken up with moments of awkwardness since this pretense started and that, if nothing else, is a sure-fire sign that things are getting confused between us.
“So,” I say with a smile as I come out of the bathroom, raising an eyebrow in Cassie’s direction. “Excited for your sister’s engagement party?”
“Ecstatic.” She says dryly, turning from where she’s fiddling with a necklace in front of the mirror and rolling her eyes at me.
I walk over to her, taking the necklace out of her hands and settling it back around her neck neatly, catching her eyes in the mirror as I do so. My fingers brush her collarbone and I can feel her pulse flare as my smile turns just a little more heated.
I lean down and kiss her temple, not removing my hands from her shoulders. “Maybe I can make it a little more entertaining for you.”
I try really hard not to make that a sensual promise, but it takes her eyes a moment to clear anyway. Then her hand comes up to cover mine, not trying to move it as she shoots me a small grin through the mirror.
“What, have we gone from young lovers to old married couple now?” She giggles, and the way that lovers sounds on her tongue has all the images from my restless night flitting through my mind again.
I give her a small smile, then step back. “Just thought you could use some help, love.”
But my heart is thudding hard in my chest.
Cassie doesn’t giggle. And it makes her seems younger, lighter, more carefree in a way that has my cock wanting to spring to attention.
She grabs my hand as we turn to leave the room, and I feel like some stupid school kid as my heart jumps into my throat. I stop trying to catalog every little signal, and instead I’m just enjoying it, smiling warmly at the woman walking next to me and how close I feel to her - my girlfriend for the week.
Then we enter the dining room to a mass of chaos - people and decorations and noise everywhere - and that’s enough to bring me back down to earth as we hastily back out of it again with a quick glance at each other.
“Hey, you two!” John, Maria’s husband, calls from down the hall and we turn to find him giving us both a cheery smile. “I see you haven’t had any luck finding breakfast either.”
Cassie smiles back and shakes her head. “I didn’t know the plans for breakfast today were different.”
“Neither did anyone else.” John says with a laugh, as we fall into step with him. “We’ve all been kicked outside while they redecorate the house for Beth’s do - Maria thought it would be a good idea for me to let the stragglers know.”
“Maria seems to have a better grip on this mothering thing than Adelaide.” I say casually
John winces, giving Cassie a quick glance. “Maybe don’t say that around anyone else.”
“Well, I haven’t yet.” I laugh, winking at him as if I don’t sense the sudden awkwardness.
He gives me an uncertain smile, and then we’re through the large glass doors and outside before either of us can add anything else.
This game of pissing off Cassie’s family has been an interesting balance so far. It would’ve been so easy to make some offensive comment about John being pussy-whipped there, but while I won’t deny I enjoy irritating the hell out of Beth or Cassie’s Mom, I actually like Maria - and John seems like a good guy, too.
If I’m going to have them disapprove of me, I’d rather make it things that I could easily clear up later, instead of a personal dislike that’s pretty hard to overcome.
So far, I think it’s working.
“Did we really need to hire professional decorators and caterers for this?” Henry is asking as we step out onto the deck, seeing a smaller scattering of breakfast foods and the rest of Cassie’s family dispersed over nearby tables.
It’s the most I’ve heard from him so far.
“Of course we do - it’s my engagement party, Dad!” Beth argues, “It only happens once!”
“You hope.” I catch Anne muttering under her breath and don’t even bother to hide my smile.
“Maybe it’ll only happen once for you, but don’t forget I have three daughters.” Henry grouses. “Not to mention, your wedding will only happen once, too, but no doubt that’ll put me another few years away from retirement. I thought you said his family are rich - why aren’t they paying for more?”
The table goes silent as everyone turns to look at Neil, who shoots daggers at a suddenly-awkward Beth.
“I didn’t say anything like that!” She says sharply, “And, besides, I’m your daughter - don’t you want me to have the wedding of my dreams?”
Henry opens his mouth to answer, but Adelaide gets in there first, laying a quelling hand on his shoulder. “Oh, come now, Henry. Let’s not spoil today by fussing over silly things like this, hmm?”
He looks at her, shakes his head and mutters something, then walks away to get another plate of food, refusing to look at anyone else.
Beth looks like she’s about to complain to Adelaide again, but Neil grabs her attention first and they engage in a rapid-fire discussion under their breath.
I take a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and wrap my arm around Cassie’s shoulder, bringing her close to my body in a subconscious attempt to shield her from some of the obvious tension.
She looks up at me and rolls her eyes, whether at me or her family I’m not sure, but it’s clear enough that this is nothing new to her. It makes me smile, and I look around as we start moving towards the food.
“Is Matthew not here anymore?” I ask the family in general, deliberately keeping my voice neutral.
Until that had happened yesterday, I’d thought Cassie had been exaggerating about her family - and her mother in particular. But the moment I’d worked o
ut what was going on between him and Cassie, I’d had to physically restrain myself to stop from punching the guy.
Sure, maybe I’m not actually Cassie’s boyfriend, but Matthew didn’t know that - and my fury had been more than real enough to have the guy on the floor. Instead, I’d very reluctantly settled for irritating the hell out of him - and I know if he’d tried anything, I wouldn’t have been able to hold back.
“No…err, he said something came up.” Adelaide says, giving me an uncertain glance.
I return her look evenly, taking some small enjoyment from her confusion about how much I’ve guessed about his invitation. It’d take a complete fool to be that oblivious, but since I haven’t said anything, I figure she’s hoping to get away with it.
“We need the space for my friends, anyway.” Beth interrupts, “I’m not even sure why you invited him. Oh—we need to make sure the beds are made up, in case we all crash out here—not that we’re going to be doing much sleeping—and the jacuzzi too, has anyone set that up? And—”
“Jacuzzi?” I nudge Cassie, forgetting about Matthew. “How come that didn’t make it to the list of favorite places you showed me yesterday?”
Cassie laughs and before I can think about it, I’m leaning down, kissing her. Bringing her lips up to mine and brushing them against each other - light and gentle and totally appropriate, but unable to keep the hint of something darker, more illicit out of it.
Maybe it’s that I haven’t been able to get last night’s kiss out of my head. Maybe it’s that now that I’ve done it once, it feels too natural and normal to deny - especially when she’s here as my girlfriend. It’s what I would do with anyone else, and with Cassie…there’s no chance of resisting.
I linger just a little, enjoying the soft feel of her mouth against mine and wanting so much more, but knowing better than that.
I can feel everyone’s eyes on us when I finally break it and give her a heated smile, my warmth overcoming the surprise in her eyes.
“Well, maybe we’ll have to find some time to explore it.” I say, deep and inviting as I think about getting to pull her body against mine, the bubbles caressing her soft skin and my hands starting to explore…