by Kendall Ryan
“It is. In fact, I’m pretty sure ninety percent of the things she said to me were Dr. Phil quotes. It was bizarre. But to top it all off, when I left, she said, ‘I don’t usually do this on the first date, but I really like you,’ and she kissed my forehead, like she was my great aunt or some shit. I’m telling you, bro, she was whacked.”
“So, when are you going to see her again?” I quipped.
He threw his head back and laughed. “Actually, I gave her your number. Hope that’s cool?”
As we wound our way around the lake, I couldn’t help but feel that twinge of nostalgia creeping in. Cullen really was like a brother to me, and I missed this. But since I’d started spending time with Evie, my own guilt over the situation made it almost painful to be around him. It was definitely time to tear off this fucking Band-Aid.
“Sounds like that’s one for the books,” I said lightly. “Speaking of dating, anything going on with your sister in that department? Been a long time since she’s had a boyfriend. Last one I recall was in high school, and even that was barely a thing.”
Cullen shot me a puzzled look and shrugged. “No clue. I don’t ask her about that shit. Mainly because I’m afraid she’ll actually tell me. You don’t get it because Pam is older, I guess, but it’s weird thinking about your little sister . . .” He trailed off and let out a disgusted growl. “You know what I mean.”
“I hear you,” I muttered, resisting the urge to change the subject and abort this clusterfuck of a mission altogether.
Suck it up, asshole.
There were only two options here. Tell him, or end it with Evie. Somehow in the past few weeks, option number two was no longer on the table.
I drew in a breath and let loose the first sally. “She’s a twenty-two-year-old woman, Cullen. She’s got to grow up sometime. Don’t you want to see her find a good guy and settle down? Maybe have a family someday?”
His reply came back without hesitation. “Nope.”
Guilt gave way to irritation, and I scowled at him. “That’s a little ridiculous, don’t you think?”
His gait faltered as he turned his head to stare at me. “No, I don’t think. And I’m trying to figure out why the fuck you’re asking me this shit right now.”
I slowed, and suddenly the sound of his feet pounding the dirt beside me stopped.
Jesus, this was going to suck.
I stopped and turned to face him. He stood, his hands loosely on his hips, but there was nothing casual about his expression.
“You got something to tell me, Smith?”
The anger was already there, bubbling right beneath the surface. As much as I hated being the target of it, this conversation had been an eye-opener, and I knew now more than ever it was the right thing to do, no matter how ugly it got.
His eyes were trained on my face, his jaw clenched as he pressed. “Why all the questions, Smith?”
“Asking for a friend?” I shot back with a smirk, one last attempt to bring things down a notch and keep it light. But Cullen was having no part of it.
“I can’t even believe you’re thinking about this. She’s twenty-two. She’s practically a fucking kid,” he snapped, pacing now like a caged lion. Then he stopped in his tracks, his cheeks going chalk white. “Are you fucking her already?” he demanded in a whisper that somehow felt shittier than if he’d shouted it at me.
“No.”
It felt inhumane to add the caveat—not yet, at least—but there was no question it hung in the air between us like a poisonous smog.
“You son of a bitch,” he snarled, his fist clenching open and closed.
His eyes were wild with anger and something like betrayal, but before I could apologize, he was stalking toward me. He stopped just a few inches from my face.
“If you were anyone else, I’d beat the living shit out of you right now. Instead, I’m going to take you at your word that you haven’t slept with her and give you a chance to try and undo this shit. Stop now and nothing has to change. We can work together, and once I get over the fact that you went behind my back and even considered this shit, we can probably go back to being friends. But that’s if and only if you agree to shut it down.” His nostrils flared as he glared at me. “Now.”
We were friends. The best. But Evie was a person. A woman in her own right with thoughts and feelings and free will of her own. The fact that Cullen was talking about her like she was some antiquated piece of the Reed family property made my blood hum with fury.
I hated that it had come to this, and there was no denying it was my bad, but my anger got the better of me and I shoved him hard in the chest.
“First of all, I wasn’t asking your permission,” I muttered. “I was trying to break some news to you in the right way. Granted, I should’ve told you sooner, but this macho asshole bullshit of yours doesn’t exactly make it easy, and your sister asked me not to.”
The heat of his outrage burned beneath the surface. “You got a lot of nerve telling m—”
“Second of all,” I cut in, jabbing a finger in his direction. “Evie is a twenty-two-year-old without any love life on the horizon, probably in part because of you. You were like her hulking shadow, and guys were afraid to even get near her in high school. You think that’s healthy?” I demanded, pissed off and on a roll now. “She needs space to grow and learn about life. Keeping her close so you can protect her is selfish, Cullen. How is she ever going to learn from her mistakes, or fall and pick herself back up if she’s never allowed to make any?”
Cullen snorted in disgust and crossed his arms over his chest. “And what? You want that first big mistake to be you?” He let out a low laugh. “I know you, man. You haven’t had a serious relationship since Karen, and even that wound up being a royal fuckup. What makes you think you’re good enough for my sister?”
It was a question I’d asked myself more than once in the past few weeks, and I didn’t have a good answer to it yet. But I knew one thing for sure. It wasn’t going to stop me from trying.
“Luckily, that’s not for either of us to decide. That’s Evie’s decision, isn’t it?” I said, cold fury settling over me. “If that seems out of line and you want to fire me or whatever, then go ahead.”
I could have told him that I’d changed. I could have told him that what I felt for Evie was different, but that wasn’t the point. Even if I hadn’t, she still had the right to decide her path in life without worrying about her brother’s approval.
Cullen’s face was stony as he stared me down in silence. “It’s like that, then?” he muttered finally, his legs moving once again and he started past me. “You know your way back. I don’t want to see your fucking face right now.”
I watched him until he was out of sight, half expecting him to turn around and come back. He didn’t, and I took off running the way we’d come, pushing myself to my limit in hopes of burning off some of this adrenaline.
That hadn’t gone well. I’d known it wouldn’t, but at some point during our familiar banter on the run, there had been a brief second—a tiny kernel of hope—that maybe it would turn out better than I’d imagined.
It wasn’t until I got back to my apartment bathed in sweat, my muscles shaking with fatigue, that I realized I hadn’t called Evie yet to tell her what I’d done.
Damn it, I should have warned her.
I sank down on the couch and said a silent prayer that I hadn’t lost both Reeds today.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Evie
Little white candles flickered on the coffee table, and soft jazz floated through the air. Smith’s apartment was spotlessly clean, complete with neat rows of vacuum lines in the carpet. Two wineglasses and a bottle of chilled pinot grigio sat beside a plate holding a single slice of pound cake with fluffy whipped cream.
When Smith had invited me over tonight, I’d told him I had dinner plans with Maggie I didn’t want to break, and so he invited me for dessert instead.
“What’s all this?” My gaze cut ov
er to Smith, who was standing beside the sofa smirking.
He shrugged. “Just a little token to say how much I’ve enjoyed spending time together.”
My real question, the one that I couldn’t voice was—is tonight the night?
After our last conversation, I wasn’t sure if Smith had talked to my brother, and honestly, I didn’t want to know. I wanted to remain blissfully in the dark. The only thing I cared about was that we were together, and the sizzle of electricity that flowed between us was swamping all my other senses.
“Sit. Make yourself comfortable,” Smith said.
I lowered myself to the sofa while he uncorked the wine and poured us each a glass.
“Cheers.” I clinked my glass to his, butterflies dancing in my belly.
“To do-overs,” he whispered, a smile playing at the edges of his full mouth.
We each took a sip, and the cool, crisp wine slid down my throat, warming my insides.
Smith leaned closer and reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. The look in his gaze was intense, heated, passionate, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from admitting how much I wanted him.
“You’re beautiful, Everleigh,” he whispered. “Always have been.”
My face heating under his careful scrutiny, I did the only thing I could think to do. I leaned into his touch, my eyes falling closed as his lips met mine.
His kiss was so careful, so controlled. He nipped at my lips, gently pressing his mouth to mine, until I took his lower lip between mine and gave it a sharp bite.
He pulled back, fire blazing in his gaze as his tongue traced the abused spot. “It’s going to be like that, huh?”
Swallowing down my nerves, I knew what I wanted tonight. We’d been building toward this moment since Paris, and only a natural disaster was going to stop me.
After setting both of our wineglasses on the table, I climbed into his lap, then brought my mouth to his neck. I didn’t need words to show him what I wanted. I rocked my hips against his, and found his cock was as hard as steel already.
Gripping my ass in his palms, Smith pulled me closer. The wine and dessert and romance were forgotten. Our rising lust demanded attention.
“What do you want?” he murmured between stolen kisses.
“Everything,” I moaned, my lips brushing his as I spoke.
“That’s a dangerous thing to say to a man.” Smith’s hands roamed up my sides until he reached my bra, his fingertips lightly teasing me.
“You’ve given me pleasure, gotten me off . . .” I licked my lips, meeting his eyes. “But I never got to return the favor.”
His eyes stayed locked on mine as I slid from the couch to my knees in front of him.
“Tonight I intend to change that.”
“Are you saying you want your mouth on my cock, Everleigh?” His tone was steady, but the deep hoarseness to his voice told me that was an idea he was very much okay with.
I reached for the button to his jeans, but he pushed my hand away.
“Put your hands behind your back. Be a good girl.” Smith’s playful side was back, and it had me clenching my thighs together.
I obeyed, lacing my fingers together behind my back, and watched in fascination as he dragged down the zipper to his pants.
Smith tugged down his pants and boxers, freeing the most beautiful male appendage I’d ever laid eyes on.
Our brief encounter in the hotel had been entirely in the dark. The desire to strip him naked and see every inch of his muscled skin raced through me. I’d never been filled with such blazing-hot desire in my entire life.
His large hand circled the base of his shaft and he stroked slowly up the length of it, stopping at the end, where his thumb captured a drop of fluid, smoothing it over the wide tip.
“Is this what you want?” he growled.
Transfixed by his erotic show, I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. I nodded my head instead.
“Come here, baby doll.”
Leaning in, I reached for his cock, but Smith made a noise of disapproval in his throat.
“Naughty girl. Keep your hands behind your back. You told me this was about taking me in your mouth.”
My gaze flashed on his, and the challenge I saw in his hazel eyes lit a fuse inside me.
“Open,” he said.
I did, bringing my mouth toward his lap where he placed the head of his cock against my tongue.
Treating him to a leisurely open-mouthed kiss, I dragged my tongue along his silken flesh, loving the way I heard his breath hitch when I did something he liked.
We continued like that, with him feeding his hot length to me, inch by delicious inch. The wetness between my legs was impossible to ignore as my desire burned brighter.
I opened my mouth, releasing him with a soft sucking noise. “I need to touch you.”
“You are touching me. And it feels fucking amazing, I should add.”
“No, I need to take you in my hands.”
He petted my cheek with his thumb, his gaze full of sexy mischief. “If that’s what you want.” Then he released his cock so that it rested on his belly, and gestured for me to go ahead.
I began tentatively at first, touching him carefully, grazing my fingertips across his taut skin.
“You’re not going to break me,” he said on a groan, the sound filled with frustrated need.
Enjoying the weight of his manhood in my palm, I pumped my fist along the entire length of him, massaging his balls with my other hand.
He was well-endowed, and I wanted to savor every hot inch of him. Working his length with my fist, I brought my mouth to him again, sucking, licking, and kissing him as I caressed.
As he stroked my cheek possessively, his eyes stayed glued to my mouth and where his cock was sliding in and out between my parted lips.
A deep groan of satisfaction tore from his mouth. “Jesus, Everleigh.” He cursed under his breath, his fist tightening on the couch beside his thigh.
Part of me couldn’t believe I was doing this to Smith. He’d always been my older brother’s hot, hunky friend, and completely off-limits. And now here he was with his big cock buried deep in my throat, making grunting noises whenever I swallowed him all the way. My insides clenched violently.
“That’s enough.” Smith pulled away suddenly, rising to his feet and tugging me up with him. “I’m not going to come in your mouth tonight . . . as much as I might want to.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Smith
My cock was so hard, I wondered if it might explode before I ever really got inside her. But then there she was, buck naked on my bed and spread before me, and I didn’t wonder anything more at all.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” I said, my voice harsh and low. It was finally happening, and so far, it was beyond anything I’d imagined.
And, God damn, had I imagined. All those long, sleepless nights remembering Evie exactly this way that first time at the hotel in the instant before I’d shoved the sheet over her and looked away. That memory had been seared into my mind forever. Only now I had a new one to prop right by its side.
Hopefully, the first of many.
Her cheeks were pink as she held out her arms. “Are you getting in, or are you going to leave me here all alone?”
“Oh, hell yeah, I’m getting in. And you’ll be begging me to leave you alone by the time I’m done,” I murmured, sliding into the bed next to her and resting my hand low on her belly. She shivered at my touch, goose bumps breaking out over her creamy skin.
“So soft,” I said, trailing my fingers up past her belly button and higher, until I palmed the heavy weight of her breast in my hand. A low hum escaped her lips as I bent my head low, capturing one hard nipple between my teeth and nipping it gently.
“Smith . . .”
Her voice was breathy, full of need, and it sent a white-hot bolt of lust slicing through me. My cock pulsed and swelled as I traced my tongue in a circle before tugging her nipple into my mo
uth to suck in earnest.
“Mmm, Smith . . .”
Her breasts were so sensitive that I made a mental note to see if I could make her come just from playing with them.
Next time.
Because this time? We weren’t stopping until we fucked the lights out in this place.
I breathed in deep, inhaling her light, sexy scent as I sent my free hand on a scouting mission. Down her flat tummy again and lower, until I cupped that hot, wet pussy. She arched into my touch, sending two of my fingers slipping over that creamy slit and making me groan in the process.
Ladies first, Smith, and don’t you fucking forget it.
But my brain went on sabbatical as she extended her leg and ground her toned thigh against my cock. The pressure was enough to make my ears ring, and I squeezed my eyes closed to get some relief.
It was all too much. She was coming at me from every direction, setting all of my senses ablaze at once. The taste of her skin against my tongue, the feel of her smooth, tight cunt in my hand, the sound of her choppy, broken breath. This had been a long time coming, and if I didn’t pull back, it was going to be over before we even started.
I angled my cock away from her thigh with a groan and released her nipple. “Lay back and spread your legs wider for me, baby,” I whispered.
Her gaze was molten hot as she wet her lips and did exactly as I’d asked, baring herself to me completely.
For a second, I just took in the view. My hand seated between Evie’s thighs, my glossy fingers stroking her up and down. With a growl, I massaged her swollen clit with my thumb and a tremor ran through her. She might technically still be a newbie at this, but by now, I knew what she needed. I knew her body and exactly how to wring pleasure from it. Her hips were moving in maddening circles, urging me on as I sank my fingers deeper into her waiting heat.
“Yeah, just like that,” she moaned, tossing her head slowly against the pillow.
I swallowed hard and pressed in deeper, sliding two fingers fully inside her now even as my thumb worked that bundle of nerves in slow circles.