He wasn't the only one who noticed.
Ben started to move toward her, but Tobias stepped in front of him and cut him off.
"Hi Carolyn. Nice to see you again. Happy Christmas Eve."
"Same to you." As they formally shook hands, Tobias felt something in his heart expand. Her presence, her golden glow, that secret light in her eyes just for him, made everything else fade away.
Ben shouldered past him. "Hi there. I'm Ben Knight, the handsome brother."
Carolyn's soft lips curved in a smile. He'd come so close to kissing her back in Evergreen. Why had he let anything stop him? He should have followed the invitation in her eyes and shoved her up against the counter and plundered her sweet mouth the way he'd wanted.
Where was that mistletoe again?
"Nice to meet you, Ben," Carolyn said politely. "Thanks for including me in your Christmas."
"You are welcome any time. Any holiday. New Year's Eve, Martin Luther King Day, what's after that? Groundhog Day? You're welcome to that one over and over again."
She laughed. Tobias ground his teeth together. Did fucking Ben have to be so damn charming? All the girls thought he was cute and funny, but they didn't know that his heart was walled off and couldn't be touched. He ought to have a "damaged goods" sticker plastered across his chest.
Funny that he had to contend with Ben, not his other brother. In fact, he couldn't even see Aiden in the crowd. Maybe he was off somewhere with Daisy.
That was what he wanted—to be off somewhere with Carolyn. Alone.
He elbowed Ben aside. "Would you like a tour of the house, Carolyn?"
"Why would she want a tour?" Ben scoffed. "She's here for dinner, not real estate."
"I'd love to see the house," Caro said quickly. "This area used to have so many of these old Victorian farmhouses, but most have been torn down."
“Are you a fan of local architecture?” Ben asked in surprise.
"She's a professor. They know things," Tobias growled as he took Caro's arm.
“Adjunct professor,” she explained. “I don’t have my PhD yet, let alone tenure—“
“Excuse us." God, was she going to tell Ben her whole life story? Tobias guided Carolyn toward a side door, away from his nosy and flirtatious brother. "How about if I show you the outside first? There's a classic old barn we use as a gym."
"Sure, sounds good. A gym. How interesting." She slid a sidelong glance along his chest, her eyes brimming with mirth.
He couldn't help it—he touched her shoulder. Her feather soft hair brushed against the back of his hand. He ached to slide his hand along the satin curve of her cheek. The light floral fragrance she wore drifted into his nostrils, so intoxicating he felt drunk from the sweet combination of nutmeg and cinnamon and flowers.
He leaned his head closer, forgetting where he was and who might be watching. She tilted her head up and he saw that her eyes had gone a deep storm-blue, her pupils widening with the same adrenalized desire that ran through his veins.
Oh man. This was freaking combustible. How was he going to get through an entire party without giving away how much he wanted her?
"Tobias," came a young, angry voice. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
He snapped back to reality. Aiden. Sweet Jesus, he'd nearly forgotten about Aiden and the real reason he should have nothing to do with Carolyn.
Guilt flooded through him. "Uh, sure. Carolyn, if you'd like a drink, there's mulled wine and spiced apple cider over there, and I can join you in a minute."
She nodded, offering Aiden a tentative smile. "Hi Aiden. I'm glad to see you survived finals week."
Aiden's return smile looked more like a snarl. "Hi Professor Moore. I really need to talk to my brother for a second."
"Of course." With a narrow-eyed glance at Tobias, she headed in the direction of the bar Merry had set up on an old mahogany side table. He could guess what that look meant. Why the hell didn't you tell Aiden I was going to be here? If he's upset, I'm leaving.
Damn it.
He followed Aiden into the first floor guest bedroom, which was being used as a coatroom, the bed piled with winter coats and scarves. "Listen, Aiden, I'm really sorry I didn't—"
"What's going on between you and Professor Moore?" Aiden folded his arms across his chest and glared at Tobias.
"I wasn't…there isn't…it's not what you think…" Good lord, was he stammering? He sounded like a kid busted for breaking curfew.
"Don't bother to defend yourself," Aiden continued in that severe voice. "I get it. She's attractive. She's beautiful. She's smart."
Oh hell. Did Aiden still have a crush on her after all? "I know she is. And I'm sorry I didn't warn you she was com—"
"But don't be fooled, T. She's not how she seems."
Tobias snapped his mouth shut. That didn't sound like a boy with a crush.
"She smokes," Aiden said, horror in his voice. "And she has a tattoo. Like a really tacky one, not a cool one. At first I thought she was amazing, really kind and intelligent. But that is completely not how she is. You should stay far away from her."
"Well." Tobias cleared his throat. "Thanks for the warning. Maybe I can convince her to quit smoking."
"That would be a start. But she still wouldn't deserve you. She doesn't like dogs. What kind of person doesn't like dogs? No one you can trust, that's for sure."
"Maybe she's more of a cat person," Tobias ventured.
"A cat person? Like that would be better? You're making excuses for her. Seriously, learn from my experience, Tobias."
"I'm more than ten years older than you," he pointed out. "I've been to war."
"Yes, but love is a lot harder than war."
Now wasn't that the damn truth. "That's…uh…thanks for the warning, Aiden. Got it."
But Aiden wasn't through yet. "Do you promise to stay away from her?" he demanded.
"What?" Tobias scowled at his little brother. "That's taking it too far, bro."
"Is it? Really? Why?"
"Because I can handle my own life. You don't have to get in the middle of it."
Suddenly all the hostility vanished from Aiden's face, replaced by a big grin. He formed the shape of a gun with his fingers and pointed at Tobias. "Exactly." He pretended to blow the smoke from the gun. "Gotcha."
Tobias shook his head, bewildered by his sudden switch in attitude. "What are you talking about, gotcha?"
"You came to Evergreen to interfere with my love life, and now you know how it feels. It sucks."
"That's different." Frustrated, Tobias ran a hand across his scalp, feeling the thick new growth of hair. "You're young, you lost your head over an older woman. I didn't want anyone to take advantage of you. I was trying to keep you from screwing up your life."
"Which is the only reason why I'm still speaking to you."
Tobias closed his eyes, inwardly cursing himself. Yeah, maybe he'd been a little overbearing. A little too 'brother knows best.' "Sorry, dude. Point taken. No more interfering. Daisy's awesome, by the way. But you know that."
"Yeah, I know." Aiden adjusted the cuffs of his cable-knit sweater. "By the way, there's something else you might want to know about Professor Moore."
Tobias’s heart sank. If Aiden was this antagonistic to Carolyn, how could he justify getting involved with her? He couldn't. "What's that?"
"I never had a crush on her."
16
It took a moment for that to sink in. "What?"
Aiden grinned at Tobias’s stunned expression. "It was Melanie, the girl in the front row of that art history class. The one with the long blond hair. Just thought you might want to know."
Tobias scrubbed a hand across his scalp. "So Carolyn wasn't the golden goddess?"
"She might be your golden goddess. But she's a little old for me." Aiden couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. It bubbled out in long snorting hoots.
"But—how—who—what—"
"I was crazy hung up on Melanie but she's a senior graduat
ing early. I decided to transfer to JPCC so I could be with you guys. I wasn't going to waste my trust fund, I just wanted…well, her family's loaded. I wanted to impress her. It was dumb."
"So what changed?"
"When you came to Evergreen, it actually helped. It brought me back to reality, I guess. When we talked about Daisy, I remembered how she always had my back. I called Daisy and she freaked. She said if I left Evergreen she'd kill me. She told me to suck it up and if Melanie wasn't interested unless I had money, she didn't deserve me."
"Smart girl."
Aiden broke into another grin. "Also, it cracked me up that you thought it was Professor Moore. That angel was awesome. Fakest tattoo I ever saw."
Tobias gaped at him. "So you knew? About the fake tattoo and the rest?"
"I saw you two talking. At the Caf, after I stormed off in a huff, I felt stupid for doing that. I came back and saw her helping you pick up those cheese puffs. There was just something about the way you looked at each other, I thought, hmm. Then you were asking me about all my likes and dislikes, and I thought that was weird. I kind of put it together when she showed up for my teacher meeting with a pack of cigarettes. She didn't even know how to hold a cigarette right. It was pretty funny, so I decided to play along with it."
The kid looked so pleased with himself, Tobias couldn't even be mad that he and Carolyn had been completely played. He threw back his head and laughed, long and hard, until his stomach muscles hurt. "Shit. You've been five steps ahead of me this whole time, haven't you?"
"Pretty much." Aiden grinned. "I have to admit, revenge is sweet."
"All I can say is, you better watch your back. My revenge will be even sweeter."
"Dude. Forget revenge. Go after Carolyn. You like her, don't you? Ben's probably already snagged a date with her, knowing him."
Tobias’s smile dropped. "Ben knows she's off-limits. I gave him the glare. He knows exactly what that means."
"Whatever. Feel free to take your chances." Aiden shrugged and headed for the door. Tobias followed this time. As he pushed open the door, the sounds of laughter and Christmas music flowed past them like a welcoming river of joy.
"One more thing." Tobias snagged the sleeve of Aiden's sweater before he could disappear into the crowd. "You're really okay with me and Carolyn uh…getting together?"
"Totally. She's cool. Like I said, I thought she was kind and intelligent until she got that tattoo." With a big grin, he slipped into the crowd of guests.
Tobias hung back, taking a moment to fill his lungs with the scent of Christmas cookies and the big Douglas fir Christmas tree in the corner. Best Christmas present ever—he wouldn't be crushing Aiden's heart if he spent time with Carolyn. The field was clear. It had always been clear. He could have kissed her weeks ago and it would have been fine with Aiden. How much damn time had he already wasted?
Scanning the guests, he caught sight of Carolyn chatting with a group that included Police Chief Benson, Gabriela and her husband, and of course his brother Ben.
Damn it. He caught Carolyn's eye and beckoned to her. He wanted to get her alone. Had to get her alone. If he joined her over there, in the thick of the party, they'd both be stuck making chitchat about Jupiter Point town gossip. The only thing he wanted to talk about was the fact that nothing stood in the way of them getting together.
Unless it was Ben, that weasel.
He glared at his brother, who caught a glimpse of his face and flinched with exaggerated alarm. There. That was the signal they both knew from all their nights at the local bars. That meant Carolyn was his.
Unless she didn't want him, of course. Ben had a way of winning women over in record time. Tobias had seen him work his magic and it was truly impressive. Tobias didn't have any particular claim on Carolyn. If she preferred Ben, there wasn't much Tobias could do about it, other than try to win her back.
Or win her for the first time, to be completely accurate.
She excused herself from the group and walked toward him. As she drew closer, his entire body went into a hyper-aware state in which everything moved slowly and his blood pounded through his ears. Her soft blue eyes clouded with concern as she reached him. "Are you okay? You look funny, like you just got some bad news."
He shook his head, then took her hand and drew her down the hallway and out the side door. The crisp air nipped at his face. Jupiter Point didn't get especially cold in the winter, and it rarely snowed. But as winter advanced, the night sky grew clearer and more sparkly, and the air tasted like chilled champagne.
"Are you cold?" he asked her, his voice gruff with the need to touch her.
"No, it feels good to get a breath of fresh ai—"
The rest of that sentence ended in a gasp as his mouth descended on hers. As their lips met, the shock of brilliant pleasure made his head spin. His arms went around her, his hands splayed across her middle back. She molded her body against his and raised herself onto her tiptoes. Her mouth opened under his, slick and sweet and warm and eager.
Better than the first taste of ripe peach on a summer day, better than diving into the creek behind their old house, better than whipped cream for breakfast or a cozy sleeping bag on a cold mountain night…their kiss blew every other sweet, lost moment out of his head. Kissing Carolyn instantly became the new best thing in the world; he felt drunk with it, wild with it.
He stroked the curve of her back, moving his hands upwards until he was cradling her head, that soft waterfall of hair tumbling over his fingers. He slanted his mouth over hers, greedy, desperate for more of that electric intoxication. He grew hard, his cock pounding with arousal against the warm cradle of her thighs. She shifted her legs apart a tiny bit to accommodate him; that one movement nearly killed him.
They could do this. She was willing. She wanted him, and God, how he wanted her.
A sound from inside—someone laughing and opening the refrigerator—bought him back to his senses. He drew away, expelling a harsh exhale of breath from his lungs. "Jesus."
She put a hand to her lips. Dazed, she blinked at him. "What…um…wow."
"You weren't the golden goddess."
She wrinkled her forehead as if he'd lost his mind. "What was that?"
"Aiden's golden goddess, the one he had a crush on. Turns out it wasn't you."
"Right, because I did the tattoo and the smoking and the—"
"No. It never was you. It was a girl in your class, some blonde girl."
She stared at him, then burst into laughter. "Melanie Blake? Melanie's the golden goddess? Okay, mister, you're in big trouble. You're telling me I dropped ash on my favorite jacket and hurt poor Dragon's feelings for nothing?"
He looped his arms around her shoulders. "I know, my reconnaissance skills are for shit. I'm sorry. I think I took one look at you and figured you had to be the one. Who would notice anyone else with you in the room?"
Her breath caught through her laughter. "Good save, but boy do I feel ridiculous. I hope Aiden never finds out that I thought he had a crush on me."
"Um…"
She swatted his forearm. "He already knows, doesn't he?"
Tobias winced, twisting his face into something that hopefully indicated apology. "He knew at the time. He says he played along because he thought it was pretty funny."
"Oh God. That's mortifying." She buried her face in her hands. "Please tell him you're the one who thought it was me. I never really believed it."
He rubbed her shoulder, both to comfort her and because he loved touching her. "It's okay, I swear. I'll take all the blame. He still thinks you're cool, in case that matters."
"Cool? I had a fake crying angel tattoo on my arm!"
"He said it was awesome." He pried her hands away from her face, which was still filled with both laughter and mortification. "Sweetheart, I think you're missing the main point here. I can kiss you now without worrying about hurting Aiden's feelings. There's nothing standing between us anymore. All those deep dark fantasies I've been having ab
out luring you into my bed…I don't have to feel bad about those anymore."
She ran her tongue across her lips. The pink tip traced the seam, then disappeared as she folded her lips together. "You called me sweetheart."
"Yeah. Is that okay? It just came out. Sweetheart." The tenderness in his voice surprised him. He hadn't known that he had it in him. He couldn't stop looking at her mouth and remembered just how delicious she tasted—and wondering when he could taste more.
"What are we doing here, Tobias?" The sound of his name, spoken in her soft voice, felt like an audible caress.
"Whatever we want. I can tell you what I want." He moved his hands to her hips, spreading his fingers apart so he touched both her hipbones. What he wanted to do was tug her against the bulge that graphically proved how much he wanted her. But he waited, needing to make sure she was on the same page with this.
"Okay, so tell me." Her warm breath, scented with cinnamon and cloves from the cider, wafted across his face. "You've been confusing me for weeks now. At first I was the bad guy. Then Dragon and I were victims in need of saving. Then I was the hero because I got a fake tattoo. But then you promised not to try to kiss me. And then you did kiss me. I have a small case of whiplash going on here."
"It's pretty damn simple. I want you. Even back at Evergreen I wanted you. I also want you to be safe. And I also don't want to hurt Aiden. I'm here for this. One hundred percent. Ball's in your court, babe. You're a smart, beautiful, sweetheart of an art history professor. You might not want anything to do with someone like me. I didn't even go to college, just flight school and Green Platoon training, and the school of life. A roughneck like me and a refined, educated sort like you…I don't know. Maybe you're not feeling it."
With his thumbs, he traced light circles on her lower back. If she wasn't feeling it now, maybe he could inspire her to feel it. Her eyes half closed. "You signed up to defend our country instead of going to college. How could I hold that against you?"
"If it's any help, after I got back to Jupiter Point, I signed up for some online courses. I might even take a few at JPCC. I heard they have some hot teachers over there. I have a feeling a degree might be in my future."
Coming In Hot (Jupiter Point Book 6) Page 11