by Caitlyn Dare
“You smell good enough to eat.”
My eyes lift to his, glittering with challenge. I let my hand slide up his thigh toward his crotch, but Conner snags it before I get close enough to touch.
I pout dramatically as he chuckles, taking a long pull of his beer. The liquor—champagne at the spa, and the couple of beers I’ve had since getting here—courses through my veins, giving me a nice buzz.
I settle back in Conner’s arms, watching Cole and Hadley as they whisper to one another. He’s got her anchored on top of him, his hand splayed on her neck. It’s such a possessive gesture, one that makes my tummy clench with jealousy. She cups his face, leaning down to kiss him again.
“So, whatever did happen between you three?” The words spill out like ice cold water.
“What the fuck did you just say?” Cole glares at me.
Sitting straighter, ignoring Conner’s groans of disapproval, I meet Cole’s death stare with my own.
“Something happened between the three of you, right?”
“Kennedy, it isn’t what you think.” Hadley gives me a look, silently telling me to drop it. But now I’ve asked, I want to know.
Did she sleep with him?
Did Conner and Cole fuck her into oblivion?
Did he give her what she needed?
“You really want to know?”
“Cole,” Conner barks.
“She asked, bro. Maybe she’s hoping for a little twin action herself?”
Hadley glares at her boyfriend.
“Relax, Dove, you know I’m a one woman man. But Kenny has a right to know what went down. Don’t you think, bro?”
Conner goes rigid beside me. “This is bullshit, K. You don’t need to know—"
“I want to.” I meet his gaze. “I want to know.”
He lets out an exasperated breath.
Ace and Remi watch the four of us with confused expressions, and it occurs to me I’m not the only one who’s in the dark here.
“Cole was trying not to give into his feelings for Hadley, so the two of us tried to give him a little push.”
“You slept together?” I ask.
“What? No! It wasn’t like that. We kissed. It drove Cole insane, but he was still being a stubborn ass so we took things a little further.”
“And...” My brow arches, red hot jealousy burning me from the inside out.
“We blindfolded Hads, took her upstairs and let her think we were both... touching her.”
“But you weren’t?”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Have you met Cole?” he chokes. “The second I touched her, he told me to fuck off. I was drunk, I passed out and he... well, whatever the fuck happened between them.”
“Is that true?” Hadley gasps, looking between the twin brothers. “But you let me believe that I... that we...”
“Sorry to disappoint, Hadley, baby.” Conner chuckles darkly.
I swat his chest.
“Hey, what was that for? You weren’t even here when it happened.”
“So?” I scowl. “It’s a shame Cole has Hadley,” I remark, knowing how much my next words will piss Conner off, “or I could have used him to give you a nudge.”
Our eyes hold, simmering with heat.
“I have no plans to share you, babe. Ever. So get that fucking idea out of your head.”
“I don’t know what the fuck just happened,” Ace says, “but I need some alone time with my girl.” He pulls Remi up and the two of them take off toward their bedroom.
“Maybe we should make things even,” Cole suggests. Hadley starts to protest, but he grabs her face and pulls it down to his, whispering something to her. She softens under his touch.
When she looks back at me, her eyes glitter with mischief.
“I don’t like that look, Hads.” Conner grits out. “What are you up to?”
Completely ignoring him, she stands up and beckons for me. “Come dance with me.”
“Dance?”
Hadley winks and things slowly fall into place. “Oh, you want to dance.” I get up on shaky legs, swaying slightly as the liquor in my blood goes to work.
Cole taps a button on his cell and the music gets louder. Hadley threads her fingers with mine and pulls me against her body.
A growl sounds out behind us, but I have no idea which twin it came from. Possibly both.
We move in time with the music, our hips rolling together.
Hadley leans into me, her fingers brushing my lower back, her gentle touch sending goosebumps racing across my skin.
“How long until one of them loses control?” she whispers in my ear.
I want to laugh, but I fear it might ruin the moment.
“Shall we find out?”
“Sounds like my idea of fun. Turn around.”
I spin until I’m facing both of them, but my eyes only search for Conner’s. My breath catches at their darkness. His chest heaves up and down as he watches Hadley’s hands wrap around my hips, and even from here, I can tell just how hard he is beneath his jeans. My mouth waters to get a taste of him, to feel him pushing past my lips and hitting the back of my throat until he’s the only thing I can think about.
“Just go with it. It’s driving them both crazy,” Hadley whispers against my ear, pressing a soft kiss to my neck. Shivers roll through me at her gentle touch. Her hands slip under my shirt and graze across my stomach. My heart thunders in my chest, my core slick from her touch, but mostly from his stare as he enjoys the show.
She kisses me again before making a show of licking up the column of my neck as her hands slip higher, halting on my ribs.
Conner’s fists clench, but his body doesn’t move. For a second, I think he’s stopped breathing, but then I see the exaggerated rise and fall off his chest once again. Hadley kisses my shoulder, trailing her tongue over my heated skin, nipping me with her teeth. I’ve never been kissed by a girl before, but it feels good.
I loop an arm around her neck, lean my head on her shoulder, and twist my face toward her as if I’m about to accept her kiss. But then I sense Cole move behind her. She moans against the curve of my neck, and I wonder what he's doing to her.
I want Conner to do the same, to come over here and claim what’s his. But, despite the desire in his eyes when I meet them once more, that’s not what happens.
“Out.” Conner’s voice pierces the thick air.
Cole chuckles. “About fucking time.”
My back goes cold as he pulls Hadley away. I don’t glance back to see them leave. I can’t. I’m trapped in Conner’s hooded gaze.
The door clicks shut, lurching my heart into my throat. He stands, stalking toward me with a dark smirk. Excitement pings around my body. This is it. He’s going to finally give in to what we both crave.
What we both need.
“Con—”
He slams his mouth down on mine, crowding me against the wall. Fire ignites in my stomach as I pull him closer, rubbing myself shamelessly against him.
Conner pulls back, his eyes wild. “No one, I mean no one, gets to taste these lips except me.”
Lust and liquor swim in my veins as I lean forward, trying to kiss him again. But Conner leans just out of reach.
“Hands on the wall,” he commands.
Like a good girl, I obey, too drunk on him.
Dipping his head, he flicks his tongue over my pulse point before dragging it up the slope of my neck. I whimper his name, so relieved at his change of heart.
“More,” I cry.
“Just let me do this,” he breathes, and it sounds pained.
Conner paints letters of love over my skin, my jaw and mouth, neck and collarbone. It feels amazing, a gentle storm building inside me.
But it isn’t enough.
“Conner, please.”
His hand slides down my waist and lingers at the waistband of my jeans. He freezes, making my heart sink into my toes.
“Hey.” I reach for him, cupping his face. “It’s okay, babe.
I’m okay. And I want this. I want you.” My eyes plead with his, but I know the second the spell is broken.
He looks away, letting out a frustrated sigh.
“I... I can’t, K. I’m sorry, I just can’t.”
I want to disappear.
I want to sink into the wall and disappear.
But the pain in his eyes makes me steel my spine and force down the dejection I feel.
“Come on,” I say, trying to make it sound as light as possible. I know that I’m not the only one hurting here, and I don’t want to make him feel any worse than he already does. “Let’s go to bed.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” He can barely look at me, and it breaks my heart all over again.
Sliding my fingers under his jaw, I grip his chin and force his eyes to mine. “To sleep, Conner. You just have to hold me.” The words are like acid on my tongue. I don’t want to spend another night in his arms without feeling him inside me, but I will.
If that’s what it takes to help him get over this, I’ll do it.
He hesitates, so I make the decision for him. Taking his hand, I pull gently. “Come on. I’m tired anyway.”
Waking up in bed without Conner is becoming a pattern. But the second I open my eyes, I know he’s not there. I push back the sheets and go to the window, searching for any signs of him.
The house is quiet as I slip into the hall. I’m yet to have the full tour, but I figure there are only so many places he can be hiding.
Tiptoeing downstairs, I listen for any signs of life. A gentle thud thud thud catches my attention, and I follow it toward the back of the house to the basement door. Gently opening it, I creep down the stairs, only to be met with the familiar grunts of Conner.
He’s in the middle of the room, beating the shit out of a punching bag. Sweat glistens over his hard abs and ripped muscles with every punch. Black shorts hang low on his hips, drawing my eyes to that delicious V on either side. God, he’s beautiful.
My beautiful, broken boy.
I sit down on the step and watch him, not alerting him to my presence. He jabs the bag hard, in a quick combination of punches. One two. One two. One one two. He ducks and dodges, staying light on his feet. I’ve forgotten how good he is at this. How natural he makes it look.
I’m so lost in his body moving and twisting, the way the layer of sweat shimmers on his tanned skin, that the bloodcurdling roar he lets out startles me.
Pain hangs in the air. He’s hurting... and it’s all my fault.
“I know you’re there, K.” His head hangs low, refusing to look at me. “I felt you the second you opened the door.”
“You did not.”
“Did too.” He finally turns, giving me his eyes. “You should be asleep.”
“I woke up and you weren’t there.”
“I just needed to burn off some steam.” He gives me a half-shrug.
I get up and approach him. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, I fucking don’t.”
“Conner, come on... it’s me. I know I should have told you—”
“It wouldn’t have changed anything, K. That’s the shitty thing. I want to be mad at you for not telling me, but it changes nothing. That fucker still...” He swallows the words.
“Tell me what I can do?” Because seeing him like this, lost and afraid and angry, is almost too much to bear.
“There’s nothing, Kennedy. I just have to figure this out on my own.”
Pain lashes my insides. He’s going to shut me out again. Well, fuck that.
And fuck him.
Without warning, I throw my arms around him and kiss him hard.
“What the fu—”
His words are swallowed by my tongue plunging into his mouth. Conner wants to keep me at arm’s length, but I refuse to accept that’s how it has to be.
Even if I have to keep playing dirty to show him.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Conner
Her tongue sweeps into my mouth, and my shock at her move is exactly what she needs to take advantage of the situation. She walks me backward until my back hits the cool mirror behind me.
I know she's trying to understand, but every time I look at her, all I see is disappointment staring back at me. I know that she'd have wanted me to wake her and take my frustrations out on her, but I can't. So instead, I slipped out of bed not long after the sun rose and came to make use of my punching bag instead.
The tension within me dissipated with every punch I landed. My muscles began to relax every time a bolt of pain shot up my arm.
I lost myself in my movement, in the rhythmic thud of skin hitting leather over and over.
Until she turned up.
The second her eyes landed on me, my skin tingled with awareness and it ruined all the good my workout had done.
The tension was back, the fear was back. The images were back.
"K, what are you—"
"Just shut up, Conner. Shut. Up." Her hand presses against my mouth to ensure I do as I'm told.
My chest heaves as we stare at each other, the air between us crackling with tension and explosive chemistry that I'm terrified to give into.
She raises a brow. "You good?"
I nod once, although my real answer is going to depend on what she's planning.
She takes one step back, wraps her fingers around the hem of my shirt that I told her to sleep in last night, and pulls it from her naked body in one smooth move.
"Fuuuuck," I growl, taking in her perfect body. Her tits are round and full, her nipples pink, rosy, pert, and just begging to be sucked on. Her waist is tiny before her hips flare out, perfect to hold onto as I... I shake the thought from my head. I can't go there. I can't lose myself in my imagination or I'll ruin whatever her intentions are.
"Do you know how hot you looked doing that?" She flicks a glance over her shoulder to the punching bag.
A smile curls at her lips when she looks back at me and finds a smirk playing on mine.
"Yeah?" I ask. "Giving you ideas, huh?"
"Too right." She steps up to me. "The way your skin glistens, it makes me want to run my tongue over every inch of you."
My mouth waters and I swallow, her eyes dropping to where my Adam's apple bobs.
"It makes me want to find every single way to make you feel good. To make you forget about everything." Her eyes hold mine. "Everything apart from the two of us. Because when we're together, the rest of the world shouldn't exist."
I part my lips to respond, but she places two fingers against them and shakes her head.
"Don't talk. Don't think. Don't do anything."
One second, she's gazing up at me, her breasts brushing my chest with her closeness, and the next she’s dropping to her knees before me and pulling my shorts over my hips.
"Ken—" Her eyes fly to mine, cutting off my warning.
"What did I just say?" She quirks a brow and I slam my lips shut.
My head falls back against my mirror, my eyes closing as her small hand wraps around my hard length. My teeth grind as the sensation of her starting to jack me off flows through me.
"Just relax. I've got you," she whispers before the gentle lick of her tongue makes my hips thrust forward.
"Ken—"
"Trust me, Con. I won't let you do anything I don't want."
My jaw pops as I try to keep my head and allow her to do this. My fists clench, although I'm not sure if it's with my need to slide my fingers into her hair and pull her closer, forcing her to take me in her mouth, or to pull her away.
My head is so fucked up.
But the second she does slide forward, capturing me with her hot, velvety tongue, all thoughts fall from my head.
"Yessss," I hiss, and I swear she smiles around me.
Unable to keep my eyes closed and only imagining exactly how she looks right now on her knees before me, I drag my head forward and stare down at her.
"Fuck, Kenny."
"It's
okay," she whispers once she's pulled back.
"I know. Fuck, I know. Keep going."
She flashes me a wicked smile and takes me back in her mouth.
"I'm not going to last," I admit with a wince.
"You don't have to. You don't need to impress me, Conner. You just need to be you."
"I love—fuuuck." My words are lost as I hit the back of her throat. She takes me deeper than she did in the cinema, and in only a few seconds I shoot my load down her throat.
I stare down at her in total awe as she wipes her thumb across the pillow of her bottom lip before sucking it into her mouth.
Slowly, she pushes to stand, her body brushing mine and making my cock stir back to life. Her fingers grip my chin and she squeezes until my bottom lip pops out.
"Now," she says, staring right into my eyes and not allowing me an inch of room to argue. "Now it's my turn."
Reaching up, she sucks my bottom lip into her mouth and runs the tip of her tongue along it. Then she sinks her teeth into the soft flesh.
My eyes widen in shock as the bolt of pain goes straight for my cock.
She pulls back slightly. "You don't have to fuck me. You don't even have to touch me. Well, not with anything other than your tongue. Okay?"
She doesn't wait for a response. Instead, she starts walking backward. Her hips sway and her tits bounce until her calves hit the edge of the weight bench and she lowers down to sit on it.
She rests back on her palms and opens her legs wide.
"What are you waiting for, Jagger?"
"I..." I hesitate—not because I'm scared, but because I'm fucking speechless. "You're fucking amazing, you know that, right?"
She shrugs one shoulder and waits.
Dropping my shorts, knowing they'll only irritate the shit out of me, I kick them off and walk over to her.
"I fucking love you, Kennedy Lowe."
I drop to my knees, keeping my hands locked on my thighs, and run my nose through her folds, breathing in her sweetness.
My mouth waters for a taste of her, and, without thinking or worrying about anything, I lick up the length of her, allowing her taste to explode in my mouth.