And Colton had used its services.
Her thoughts clunked to a stop.
Erin stared at her oatmeal. She couldn’t believe how long it had taken her to put two and two together. She’d assumed he’d used the service like she had, but he’d said he hadn’t used them for dates. But it couldn’t be for that! He could get any woman he wanted. ‘How do you know?’
His jaw clenched and he looked out of the window, directly into the light.
‘Colton?’ she whispered.
‘Erin, if you don’t want to know the answer, you shouldn’t ask.’
Her shoulders slumped. It hurt. Bad. She didn’t know why. She had no claim over him. Until last night, she’d been his best friend’s little sister. Nothing more. What business was it of hers that he’d used escorts? And for more than social events, apparently?
Her sinuses plugged up, and she blinked fast.
‘Erin,’ he said softly.
She pushed her oatmeal around her bowl. It hurt to breathe. ‘I don’t think the detective is poking around because of that.’
Honestly, she thought the detective was more interested in poking Nina.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Colton said. ‘We can’t take that risk. Stay away from Luxxor.’
The order brought her up short.
‘You stay away, too,’ she replied.
The tension at the table snapped. They were each encroaching upon areas of each other’s lives they hadn’t been privy to before.
His gaze locked with hers and, for once, she saw that aggressive shark so many compared him to. ‘If you back off,’ he offered, ‘so will I.’
She’d told him last night in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t dropping her arrangement with Luxxor. Now that she knew what she knew, she was privately reconsidering that, but she couldn’t do it because he ordered her to. That was the one card she had. It somehow held sway over him, so, for that very reason, she refused.
‘No,’ she said simply. ‘Sienna is my roommate. The detective could just as easily show up at my apartment.’
He leaned forward over the table with his shoulders stiff and his hands fisted tight. ‘You’re going to stop using Luxxor.’
Erin didn’t know what came over her, but she was through following orders to make people happy. She wanted to be the one who was happy. She wanted him to be happy.
She leaned forward until they were nose to nose. ‘Try and make me.’
And then she kissed him.
She planted one on him right in the middle of the Apple Tree Grille. Settling her lips over his, she kissed him gently. Sensuously. He flinched at the contact, but then went still. When he didn’t pull away, she deepened the contact. She’d just felt the tip of his tongue when a hoot from the next table made them both jump.
Her pulse racing, Erin settled back in her seat. She looked at Colton through her lashes. If he’d been tense before, he was practically ready to jump across the table now. Colour was high in his cheekbones, and his mouth was wet.
Her pulse raced. It had been a risk, but she had her answer now. He wanted her. Last night in the car hadn’t been a fluke. He might have spanked her because he thought she’d needed a lesson, but anything beyond that hadn’t been because he’d been feeling protective.
Possessive, maybe.
She picked up her spoon again. ‘Date me and I’ll stop.’
His red eyes narrowed, and his fingers turned white where they were still clenched into fists.
Yet he didn’t agree to her terms.
The rest of their meal was eaten in silence. If you could really call it eating…Erin’s oatmeal cooled into lumps, and Colton only made it through half of his toast. He did manage to drink the coffee, though. She hoped it would help.
But she refused to feel sorry for him beyond that.
He paid and helped her into her coat. As they made their way to his car, his hand settled at her waist. He switched places with her so he walked next to the street. It was a gentlemanly act that she knew he’d picked up from being around her family. She relished the touch, but she didn’t draw attention to it. Honestly, she didn’t know if he was even aware. He’d touched her more today than he ever had in the past.
Except, of course, for the obvious.
The drive was quiet and heavy, because they both knew their destination. Her car was parked in the lot reserved for Luxxor clients. When he stopped, she didn’t give him time to tell her once again that she needed to stay away from the company. She’d given him her conditions, and she was stubborn too.
She knew what she wanted.
She jumped out of the car before he could utter a word. ‘Good luck in court,’ she said.
He rolled down his window. ‘Erin.’
She stopped. A stiff autumn breeze hit her in the face as she turned.
‘You were engaged to be married until only a short time ago. I won’t be your rebound guy.’
She sucked in air, taking the cold wind into her lungs where it burned.
‘I can’t,’ he said simply.
The window rolled up, and she watched as he backed out of the lot. Was that what he thought was happening between them? She hadn’t thought of Marty for weeks. Her ex had been banished to the back of her mind for what seemed like an eternity. Besides, how could Colton be her rebound guy?
When he’d been in her heart first.
Chapter Six
Years earlier.
Erin took a deep breath, submerged and slowly rose out of the water. Lifting her face to the sky, she scraped back her hair. The day was gorgeous. Puffy white clouds floated overhead, and they blotted out the sun whenever it felt a little too hot. A light breeze whispered over her skin, licking up the droplets of moisture that clung.
Ah, freedom.
Just when she couldn’t take it any longer, she’d finally graduated from high school. She was eighteen, with a diploma in hand. College was next on her list, a necessary step to carry her to her goal of becoming the most famous interior designer in the world. But first there was summer.
She trailed her fingertips along the surface of the water as she walked through the liquid heaven to the side of the pool. Sienna was reading and Marty was sleeping in the lounger over in the shade. Erin had just needed to cool off before flipping over to tan her front.
‘I should have known,’ came a loud voice that she recognised immediately.
Twisting, she saw her brother striding down the path from the house to the pool. He’d already stripped down to swimming trunks and shades. His flip-flops smacked rhythmically against his heels. ‘Some troublemakers you are.’
‘Dustin! What are you doing here?’ Like Pavlov’s dog, Erin’s heart began to pound faster. Shielding her eyes, she searched behind him for any sign of Colton. The two were always together.
‘Mom sent me to check on you guys. She didn’t want any parties happening at her beach house.’
‘But she gave us permission to be here,’ Erin complained, just because it was expected. They were in Chesapeake Beach where her family spent a good number of their summer weekends. It was only an hour away from home, and it wasn’t unusual for her to bring friends. Sienna practically had her own bedroom here.
So did another close family friend.
Erin bit her lip when Dustin blocked her view of the path. He’d put on at least twenty pounds at college, all of it muscle. She couldn’t see around him, no matter how hard she tried. She bounced up on her toes and heard the water swoosh. She was just beginning to pout when she saw the flash of dark hair behind him.
Her breaths went short. Colt!
She immediately turned from being irritated with her brother for crashing her vacation to being thrilled at who he’d brought with him. His best friend. Her not so secret crush.
The latch on the gate squeaked like it always did, and Marty grumbled from his chair. Erin winced, but he just pulled his baseball cap over his eyes and drifted off again. Her gaze snapped back to the two men joining their little
group.
Dustin walked past Marty to the other end of the pool. ‘Hey, Sienna.’
‘Hi, Dusty.’
With the constant thwapping of her brother’s flip-flops, it was difficult to think of him as a grown-up now, but Colt?
Ah, now he was all man.
Erin stood in the waist-deep water, letting her fingers dance across its surface. He was dressed much the same as her brother was, but he’d left his T-shirt on. It stretched across wide shoulders but hung loose around his trim waist.
Darn, but she couldn’t wait for him to take it off.
‘Hi, Colt,’ she said softly.
He stopped. He wore dark sunglasses, but she knew she had his attention. ‘Sunny in the sunshine,’ he observed.
She combed her fingers through her damp hair. It was longer than it had been when she’d last seen him. She’d been thinking about cutting it into one of those pixie looks that were all the rage with celebrities. But with the way he looked at her? She wasn’t cutting an inch. ‘I didn’t know you guys were coming.’
‘Neither did I until this morning.’
‘Something about the offer managed to pull his attention away from law school,’ Dustin said. ‘What was that again, Colton? The beach?’
‘Yeah,’ his friend said. Neither he nor his gaze had moved since he’d spotted her.
‘Right,’ Dustin said dryly. ‘Get your ass down here.’
Colton grabbed a towel from the rack and held it in front of him as he made his way down to the chaises longues. He moved silently, and Erin saw that he was barefoot. Mmm…
This little trip had just become infinitely more interesting.
She pushed her way through the water to the pool ladder and climbed out. She paused on the top step to let the water sluice off her body and back into the pool. The warm breeze immediately started whisking away extra droplets.
She gathered her hair together as she stood on the deck and squeezed out yet another stream. Scrunching it back up, she started towards her chair. If her hips had a little extra sway, it couldn’t be helped.
Her hot-pink bikini just made her walk that way.
It was skimpy. That was the only way to put it. She knew her mother would be scandalised by the lack of material, but the little spandex there was fitted her like a glove. Somehow, this bikini made her boobs seem bigger and her legs look longer. It was her favourite colour, plus it just made her feel good.
She felt even better when she caught Colton watching her again. From behind those aviator sunglasses, of course.
Her breaths turned ragged, and she swept away a rivulet of water that was making its way down between her breasts. One of Sienna’s eyebrows jumped above the rim of her bug-eyed shades, but Erin didn’t care. She was caught up in the moment. The hot, sensual moment of awareness.
‘Shake it, don’t break it,’ Dustin muttered.
She flicked her water-darkened hair over her shoulder. She didn’t care what he thought, either. She hadn’t known Colton would be here.
It was just fate that she was wearing the hottest bikini on the beach.
She bent over to straighten the towel on her lounger and felt her breasts sway. They were heavy and full. They jiggled as she stood upright. Her bikini bottom had ridden up, and she ran her fingertips underneath it to adjust it.
Colton coughed, and she felt warmth run through her that had nothing to do with the sunshine. She didn’t really know what she was doing, but, when she glanced his way, it was apparent she must be doing something right.
He threw the towel over his lap and reached for the water bottle he’d brought with him.
She took the opportunity to sit and stretch her legs out in front of her. ‘Did Mom think we were having an orgy or something?’ she asked.
Colton choked on his water, and Sienna gasped, ‘Erin!’
‘What?’ Erin said defensively. ‘I promised her we just wanted some down time, but she still sent spies.’
She picked up her sunglasses from the plastic table and slid them on. She wasn’t happy that her brother had taken the chair beside her. Then again, that put Colton around the corner, practically facing her. Perfect.
‘It was Dad who got concerned.’
‘About drinking,’ Colton said hoarsely. He downed another gulp of water.
‘And I prefer to be called the Cavalry,’ Dustin finished.
Erin scowled when he lifted a can of beer. ‘He worried about the wrong sibling, I think.’
‘Hey, we’re legal.’
Her gaze drifted back to Colton. Yes, they were – and now so was she.
Her blood began to heat in her veins. She hadn’t expected him to be here. Them to be here, she mentally chastised. But really she meant him. She went still when he leaned forward in his chair and reached to grab the back of his T-shirt. He pulled it over his head and dropped it carelessly onto the cement beside his chair. The move made his trunk stretch high, and Erin’s mouth turned wet as she stared at the play of sinew and defined muscles.
He’d put on weight these last years, too, but it was all lean muscle. He’d filled out, as the old ladies down at the Daughters of the American Colonists liked to say. In a very good way.
‘Are you missing classes, Colt?’ Sienna asked.
‘Nah, they don’t start back up for another few weeks.’
‘But you know him, nose to the grindstone,’ Dustin teased.
Erin had never known anyone who worked harder than Colton. Whether it was schoolwork or basketball or exercising, the guy was driven.
She took a drink of her lemonade. She wondered what it would be like if he ever turned his legendary focus on her.
A rivulet of water ran from her bikini top down her stomach. It pooled in her belly button, and she gave it a flick.
A muscle in Colton’s jaw flexed, and his chair squealed as he shifted. ‘Congratulations on your graduation, Sunny. You, too, Sienna.’
He glanced down to where Marty was sleeping, but a rhythmic grumble told that the words wouldn’t be heard anyway.
‘Thanks, Colt,’ Sienna said.
‘I wish we’d been able to talk more at my party,’ Erin said. She’d really, really wished it, but when she’d gone to find him, he’d already left.
‘You were the belle of the ball. Everyone wanted to talk to you.’
But she’d wanted to talk to him. He was so busy with his classes and night job, she could go for weeks without seeing him. They’d only managed one moment alone in the hallway.
The bracelet around her ankle warmed. With his sunglasses she couldn’t be sure, but had he seen that she was wearing it? He’d given it to her, and she’d been charmed. Literally. It wasn’t the kind of ankle bracelet that the windsurfers down on the beach liked to wear, but a delicate gold chain. It had one charm on it, a yellow ball of sunshine. It slid against her ankle bone as she drew her leg up, bending her knee. The gift had been so unique and personal – not luggage or towels or a fancy pen set like others had given her.
She’d appreciated all the presents she’d received, but this one had been from Colton. Once she’d put it on, she hadn’t taken it off.
She’d told him so in the thank-you note she’d sent him.
A sudden thump next to her made her flinch, and lemonade sloshed on to her thigh. ‘Dustin!’
Her brother was pawing through the beach bag by the table. ‘You got anything down here to eat?’
‘You have to wait an hour after eating to swim,’ Sienna teased.
‘Right, that’s why you two Olympic back-strokers have been lazing here in the sun,’ he threw right back.
Erin wiped her leg with her towel. If she’d had any organisation in that bag, it was gone by now. She grabbed it from Dusty’s hands and found a bag of chips. She tossed them in his lap. That silenced him for the time being. Foil crinkled as he dug in, and Sienna went back to her book.
‘Erin, you’d better put on some sunscreen.’ The quiet observation came from the other side of the pool.
Erin stroked her fingers down her raised thigh and saw the white trails that were left behind. Without a word, she picked up the bottle of lotion beside her chair. She normally tanned easily, but it was early in the season.
Besides…
Well, just besides.
She left a dollop in the palm of her hand and started with her feet.
She pretended not to notice, but she could feel Colton watching her. His chest rose and fell, and those lines of muscles made her mouth water. She oiled up her calf, taking care with the back of her knee. His dark hair ruffled in the breeze, and her fingers itched.
‘It is getting warm out here,’ she said, her voice smoky.
Her hands trailed over her thigh where the stickiness of the lemonade remained, and her inner thigh muscles strained. She’d been aroused when she’d gotten out of the pool, and now her pussy was warm and aching. Her pinky came a bit too close, and she had to take a moment. The sensation was intense, especially here, in front of everybody. Lying back, she moved on to her stomach.
The beads of water had turned to beads of sweat. They made the sunscreen more slippery, and the tips of her fingers slid under the hot-pink strip of material that surrounded her ribcage.
Out of the corner of her eye, Erin saw Colton’s toes wriggling slowly back and forth. She tilted the bottle over herself and squeezed. A dollop of lotion landed on her breastbone, right between her breasts.
His toes stopped.
She drew in a long breath through her nose as she carefully worked the sunscreen over her chest. Her nipples were rock-hard, and their outline showed clearly through the spandex that covered them. The triangle cups weren’t generous, and they left a lot of skin that needed attention.
Erin bit her lip to hold back a moan. She was so turned on right now. Colton sat motionless in the chair parallel with hers, and she felt waves coming from him that were stronger than those she could see out on the horizon.
She glanced at him through her lashes. What was he hiding beneath that towel? Had her little strut affected him that much? Or her oil-up session?
Courting Innocence Page 8