Intoxicate

by Tessa Teevan

  My heart’s pounding as I study Kale’s expression, but it’s indecipherable. He simply shakes his head in response, not taking his eyes off us. I knew I was going to have to tell him eventually, but the last thing I intended was for him to find me in bed with his sister.

  Lucy looks up at him, worry etched on her features. He runs a hand through his hair, staring at us—well, me. His eyes meet mine and he blinks twice. I swallow hard, waiting for him to say something . . . Anything.

  “Seriously, man?” he asks, his voice low. “I know we share almost everything, but my little sister? Really?”

  “Not your business, Kale,” I respond, not caring for his accusatory tone.

  Kalli sighs and shifts off me, making sure she’s still covering herself. “Now all of you get the hell out so we can get dressed. Then we’ll talk,” she assures them.

  Kale glares at me, but Lucy—thank goodness—takes his arm and pulls him out of the room before he can respond. Kaylie winks at me, gives Kalli a thumbs-up, and turns to follow her brother. Fortunately, the rest of them disappear with her. The door slams shut, and we’re silent for a quick beat as we stare at each other. Then Kalli falls back against the pillow and starts laughing.

  “You find this amusing?” I ask.

  She simply nods, a devilish gleam in her eye. “Oh, come on, Cruz,” she says. “You have to admit, that was a pretty easy way for them to find out. It took all the pressure off us to spill the beans. Although, dear husband, we do still need to share the good news. Just think, if he’s mad, you can at least say you made an honest woman out of me. We didn’t even have premarital sex! I’ll make sure he’s aware that you were a complete gentleman until you put a ring on it—even though I tried like hell to get you to do otherwise.”

  “There’s nothing funny about your brother catching us in bed together,” I tell her.

  She shifts until she’s on her side, her hand holding up her head as she rolls her eyes. “We’re consenting adults. Considering he has a kid, I know he’s not pure and virtuous. Even if he does care—and if I know my brother, he doesn’t—he’ll get over it.”

  Before I can answer, she slips out of bed and grabs the button-up I was wearing the night before. As she begins to fasten it, adequately covering her skin, I realize how good she looks in my shirt. And out of it. I could definitely get used to this view.

  Shaking the thought out of my head, I sit up and rub a hand over my face, trying to find the right thing to say. “Kalli, about last night . . . I never intended for that to happen.”

  She pauses as something crosses her features, and I know that it was the absolute wrong thing to say. She comes back to the bed and straddles me, leaning down until her lips hover over my ear.

  “I did . . . And I intend on it happening again. And again. And again. It’s the honeymoon phase, baby. My intentions for you are nothing but dirty,” she whispers. Then she lifts up and goes back to getting dressed, leaving me with an ever-growing erection. “Now throw some clothes on. We have some explaining to do.”

  As I look up at the ceiling, wishing we could just get back to what we were doing before we were interrupted, I know she’s right. So much has happened, and we might as well finally come clean.

  And that whole “I didn’t intend” thing?

  It was a bald-faced lie.

  EVEN THOUGH I should be sleeping off all the champagne from the night before, I’m wide awake thanks to the sinfully sexy soldier in my bed. Or I guess I’m in his, but that’s beside the point. We’re married now, so I’m going with the whole “what’s yours is mine” thing. It’s our bed. Even thinking of us as an our has me giddy.

  He keeps shifting, and if his thoughts were any louder, there’d be noise complaints from other guests in the hotel. I’m lying on my stomach, one eye peeking at him as he stares up at the ceiling. It’s dark, but that doesn’t mean I can’t imagine exactly how he looks. I spent hours last night studying his body. His washboard abs and impeccably toned chest, which is covered with a smattering of soft, brown hair, just enough to be sexy. Who needs smooth skin on a real man? Not this girl.

  His fingers tap against his chest in an anxious cadence, and I spy the wedding band on his left hand. A smile creeps on my face, and even though I want to let out a dreamy sigh, I’m not quite ready to interrupt his thoughts. I’m acting like a coward, not prepared to hear if he regrets our decision now that it’s the morning after. He said that he wouldn’t, but he’s been wishy-washy at best lately.

  Part of me can’t believe that I’m here—in bed with the man who’s held my affections for so long. The other part of me wants to scream and ask him what took so long. In the end, I can no longer handle his deafening silence, so I put my hands on him to stop his thoughts. Or to at least reroute them to something else before turning the light on and making a joke with him about my ring.

  Did he roofie me? As if. Even if he had, I wouldn’t have complained.

  Once he admits that he has no regrets, my heart calms down. And then it accelerates as he goes to reach for the condom, preparing us for another round of incredible sex. Seriously. I’m no stranger to good sex, but it’s never been as out-of-this-world, no-other-penis-will-ever-do like it was with Xavier last night. It’s only natural that I’d want to start my morning having my world rocked, so I waste no time letting him know. Because even though we may have made a pact to not bring emotion into this, last night, he showed me that it was already too late for that. He may not have spoken the words, but his actions spoke volumes. I’m ready to hear what else they have to say.

  And then my sister bursts in and ruins our bubble. Remind me to kill her later.

  Leaving Xavier Cruz lying naked, hard, and completely willing in the hotel bed may be the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do. It’s almost painful to take one last look at him and walk into the bathroom when my legs are trying to send impulses to my brain that tell me to rip off the shirt I put on and pounce.

  But if I know my sister—and hello, we’re twins—she’ll be back in here in two minutes wanting to know all the dirty details. And while I love her and share almost everything, she doesn’t need to know the answer to our age-old question: Are Xavier’s abs as hard as they look? Or the other one: Is his package nearly as delicious as the beautiful V that’s been taunting and tempting us since the first time we saw him on the beach? After studying him, I want to keep him all to myself. Kaylie doesn’t need to know that, yes, his abs are as hard as they look. And oh my God—his package isn’t as delicious as the V. It’s even more so. I can’t wait to give it my undivided attention.

  What Xavier Cruz doesn’t know is he just married a girl who loves the art of licking. Sucking. Kissing. Nibbling. I’m that girl. The one who says she loves sucking cock and people roll their eyes and inwardly think, She’s so full of shit. But in this case, I’m not. I’m a tit-for-tat kinda girl. There’s not much I love more than a skillful man going down on me. Some of my most memorable orgasms have come from a man’s mouth on me, and I’ve never had a problem reciprocating. Let’s call it sexual karma. I believe in the give and the take.

  And I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve become pretty damn good over time at the art of giving a blow job. Some may even call me a subject-matter expert. The act has always made me feel . . . powerful. Sexy. Dominant, in a sense. There’s something about the way a man comes undone just as you’re finishing him off. That split second when he freezes, his thighs are clenching, his head is thrown back, and his eyes shut as he whispers, “Fuck, that’s amazing. You’re amazing,” just before he lets go. The surprised expression when you greedily swallow every last drop as if it’s the most delicious treat. I love it. I crave it. I daresay I’m addicted to the powerful satisfaction it gives me, knowing I caused that.

  So yeah, I’m kind of a blow job whore, and I’m completely okay with it. I can’t wait to bring Xavier to his knees.

  In a nutshell, Xavier’s delicious, and as much as I want to crawl back into bed and spend
the day tasting every inch of him, I’m not about to let my sister get a peek at his gorgeous body. Not when he’s now mine.

  Mine.

  I can’t help the ridiculous grin that crosses my face when I think about it and how long it took us to get here. Giddiness washes over me, and I have to control myself so I don’t squeal out loud as I stare down at the ring on my left hand.

  Xavier Cruz is my husband.

  Xavier Cruz is my husband.

  Holy mother of all gods, for all intents and purposes, I’m Kalli Cruz.

  Okay, so I just let out a little bit of a squeal. I hear Xavier’s chuckle and slap my hands over my mouth, feeling like that giggling teenage girl who has a major thing for her brother’s hottie best friend. Who is now my husband.

  Holy mother of all gods!

  The thing is, I should probably tone down my excitement a notch or two. This is an arrangement of sorts. Xavier and I didn’t secretly fall in love and decide to get hitched. We’re doing this for the greater good. At least, he is. I’m a shameless ho, and when I was given the opportunity to sink my claws into him, I jumped at the chance. That probably sounds bad, but it’s the truth. However, that doesn’t mean I’m just some brazen hussy who used her Venus flytrap to get the man of her dreams in her clutches. There’s so much more to the story. I’d like to think I’m a contradiction. As selfish as I may appear, I’m equally selfless.

  But I’ve been in love with Xavier Cruz since I was sixteen years old. What started off as a silly schoolgirl crush turned into the full-blown head-over-heels, love-me-forever type of infatuation the moment I saw him holding his baby girl, Lily, in his arms. The way he cradled her gently and looked down at her with nothing but pride, joy, and love in his eyes made me fall quickly. I wanted him to look at me like that. And for the last ten or so years? It’s only grown.

  No man has ever made me feel an iota of what I do for him no matter how hard I’ve tried to get him out of my system. I’ve wanted him. I’ve yearned for him. I’ve ached just to feel his touch. Or for him to at least look at me as someone other than his best friend’s kid sister. It didn’t matter how many boys I brought around to try to show him that I was no longer a little girl, but a woman with needs, urges, he never looked at me. He didn’t see me.

  Until a few months ago. Slowly but surely, he opened his eyes and saw what was right in front of him. I watched him try to fight it, but in the end, he couldn’t. Until that phone call. The one that changed everything.

  The worst part? Or perhaps the best? I’ve fallen completely in love with Lily, too, and I can’t imagine life without that little girl in it. Now that there are threats of tearing them apart, I’ll stop at nothing to make sure they stay together, even if it means putting my heart on the line and diving headfirst into unchartered waters. Because for Xavier and Lily Cruz? I’d do just about anything.

  Even if it means getting my heart broken.

  Xavier thinks I’m some utterly selfless individual who thought up this idea to help him and Lily. And part of that’s true. Even if I didn’t have feelings for Xavier, I would’ve married him if it meant solving his problems. But I do have feelings for him, and I know he has them for me. So I have to formulate a plan.

  Step 1: Help Xavier and Lily. Getting hitched was a step in the right direction.

  Step 2: Get Xavier to realize his real feelings for me. Pact be damned. I never was good at following rules anyway.

  Step 3: Make it impossible for Xavier to ever let me go.

  But first things first. It’s time to catch everyone up to speed, and then I’m finishing my Vegas wedding weekend in style.

  Naked and in bed with Xavier for the next two days.

  Steps two and three will just have to wait.

  I’M LYING on the bed, willing my erection to die down, when I hear Kalli squeal from the bathroom. A rumble of laughter rips through me, and things go completely silent. I have a feeling I wasn’t meant to have heard that, but the sound puts me at ease since I know she’s happy.

  Hell, I’m happy. Happier than I’ve been in a long damn time.

  And then I remember that Kale’s waiting, and that’s all I need for my dick to deflate. With a groan, I get out of bed and dress quickly before joining Kalli in the bathroom to freshen up. She’s already using my toothbrush, and she shrugs as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. Once she’s done, she passes it to me and sits on the edge of the tub, watching silently with fascination in her eyes.

  “What?” I ask in between brushes before rinsing my mouth and turning to her.

  She lets out a sigh and gestures to me. “That. You brushing your teeth. It’s hot and I hate you.”

  I lean my hip against the counter and raise an eyebrow. “It’s a little early in our marriage for you to be hating me, Kalliope. Can’t you give a guy a few years of not liking your cooking or leaving the toilet seat up before you come to that conclusion?”

  “That won’t work. I already know you love my cooking. And as for leaving the toilet seat up, you can’t fool me, Cruz. I know your secret,” she responds playfully.

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?” I ask, enjoying our banter too much to quit even though I know we need to get a move on. Everything else can wait.

  She stands and moves closer to me. I can’t help but hook my arm around her waist and pull her in until our chests touch.

  “You’re a secret neat freak. I know I won’t have to deal with the toilet seat problem with you.”

  “Not taking out the trash?”

  She shakes her head. “Nope.” Her eyes dance as her hands slide up my chest and around my neck.

  “Leaving a sink full of dishes?”

  “Now you’re just messing with me. No, Xavier, I know I won’t have to worry about any of those things with you,” she whispers, rising up on her tiptoes, her lips coming dangerously close to mine.

  “Then what, Kalli? What do you think you have to worry about?” I ask.

  “That every time we’re this close, you’re going to leave me hanging.” Her eyes flash with desire, and as I close the distance between us, I decide Kale can wait a few more minutes.

  With visions of everything we did on this counter last night swirling in my mind, my lips are about to touch hers, but a loud knock rattles the door, followed by Kaylie’s impatient tone. Kalli pulls back and lets out a heavy sigh.

  “And that, from now on, our marriage is cursed and Kaylie’s going to ruin every bit of sexy time I want to have with you by showing up.”

  I laugh and lean in to give her a quick peck, not allowing her to deepen it even though she tries. Damn does she try.

  “Come on, Mrs. Cruz. We’ve got some ‘splainin to do,” I tell her in my best Ricky Ricardo voice.

  “You’re choosing now to break out the sexy voice? I’m going to kill her,” she mutters, giving me a forlorn look.

  “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can come back and hole up in the room,” I tell her.

  Before I can even finish my sentence, she throws her jeans on and flies out the door, leaving me to chuckle after her.

  XAVIER JOINS me in the hallway, his smile turning tight as we enter the main living area of the suite we’ve been sharing. Breakfast is on the table, and my stomach rumbles as the smell of bacon wafts through the air. I’m about to reach for the food when I feel Xavier stop, a nervous expression on his face when he sees my brother sitting on the couch, staring at us. Even though I want to roll my eyes and slap the look off Kale’s face, I link my fingers through Xavier’s and give him a reassuring smile. Solidarity and all that good stuff. His returns my smile, though I can still see the apprehension on his face. Jesus. The guy can crawl through the desert and draw gunfire, but he can’t handle a new brother-in-law?

  Deciding to just bite the bullet, I take our joined hands and hold them up, twisting so they can see my ring. “It only took a decade, but I finally convinced him. We got married!”

  Xavier lets out a choking sound, Kaylie squeals,
Knox mutters, “Shit,” and Kale sits in silence, his jaw tight. Charlie, Knox’s wife, and Lucy have grins on their faces as they survey the room until their eyes rest on Kale, who is still scowling. And then I see him suck on the side of his cheek, so I know he’s just being an ass. It’s his tell that he’s trying not to laugh, and it’s clear that he’s enjoying Xavier’s discomfort a little too much. I know I should put a stop to it, but I was born and bred a Montgomery, so I just can’t help myself. Teasing is in our blood.

  “So you see, dear brother, when you found us pre-coitus this morning—thanks, by the way, assface—I was already a married woman. Even though it’s really not any of your business, we waited until our wedding night before I allowed him to take my maidenhead.”

  Kaylie snickers, and I know she’s proud that I’ve finally started reading those damn historical novels she always raves about. She was so right. There really is something about a highlander. Or a sexy, villainous pirate. And don’t even get me started on the dark and damaged aristocrats from nineteenth-century England.

  “Maidenhead? Seriously?” Knox quips, not even trying to mask his amusement.

  Charlie gives him a light smack on the back of the head, silencing him, but he still gives me a bemused grin.

  Kaylie turns to me and echoes Knox. “Maidenhead? Sorry, sweet sister, but that ship sailed a long time ago. And it seems like you’ve hopped on an entirely different kind of cruise,” she says, giving me a saucy wink.

  Ignoring her innuendo, I shake my head. “Okay, my Xavier Cruz maidenhead, not the original one. But that’s beside the point. No one here needs to know about the time I lost my virginity.”

  It’s true. They really don’t. It wasn’t sunshine and rainbows or toe-curling passion. More like “wham, bam,” but no “thank you, ma’am.” That’s when I became one with sexual karma. Always say thank you. Or at least give a little post-orgasm cuddling.