by C. M. Owens
"Not yet," Raya says through a wistful sigh.
"But soon," Kade adds as he comes to wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her back to his front.
Another stab of envy hits when she melts against him, and my eyes once again travel over to the beautiful man dressed casually in a button-up, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of khaki shorts that hang just right on his waist. Raya and Kade get lost in each other, so they don't even notice when I step away, making my way over to Dane.
But my feet stumble over each other when a familiar set of sandy-blonde locks and a strong face are suddenly in view. Kode stares down at me before forcing a smile.
"Rain," he says softly, and I don't think before launching myself into his arms.
My tears fall as he pulls me to him, and I hold him tightly. I may not love him the way he wants me to, but I still love him in a different way.
"It's okay, Rain," he says softly, kissing the top of my head as he squeezes me tighter.
"You're not still mad at me?" I ask, sounding so damn pitiful that it makes me cringe.
He laughs low and deep, and then he bends to kiss my cheek. "Never was mad at you. Just hurt, babe. I'm good. Don't worry."
"Tria," I hear a voice from behind me announce, and Kode mutters something about possibly pushing her in the pool.
He wouldn't really do that. I don't think.
I look over to see Tria making her way toward Raya and Kade, and I frown. Dane keeps inviting her to stuff, and Tria keeps coming. She never says anything cruel or even mean. She actually goes out of her way to be nice. Maybe it's time to talk... I don't know.
And I really need to know what happened between her and Pete. Oddly enough, it actually worries me for her.
"Let me know if she causes problems," Kode says while wrapping his arm around my shoulders and guiding me toward Dane and the boys.
"I don't think she will," I murmur with a shrug, looking back at the blonde girl I've never really known as a sister.
She gives me a small smile, and I barely return it. We lived in the same house for five years, yet we barely know each other.
"Did you know Pete Mercer went to prison?" I ask while turning back around.
Kode frowns as he looks down at me. "I heard. Something about the cops finding him dealing drugs. Why do you ask?"
Apparently the guys haven't filled him in about the drama that night in the club.
"Just wondering. He seems to be blaming Tria."
Kode purses his lips, glancing in Tria's direction, but she doesn't notice.
"I can't imagine how she'd be the reason he was dealing drugs. He got off easy, from what I heard. He bothering her again?"
Kode is the type who would beat Pete into a pulp and end up in prison himself if I told him about the confrontation. Dane would probably be in the same cell if he knew everything Pete said. I just told him that he was drunk and acting like an ass.
"Not yet, but I'm worried he might," I say, keeping it as brief and non-descriptive as possible.
"If he does, let me know. I'll take care of it."
I'll let Maverick and Corbin take care of it. I'll send Dale to make sure they don't get too out of hand. Kode and Dane will be a hell no.
Dane steals the grill-master position back from Dale just as we near, and he turns to look at Kode draped around me. He doesn't make a single expression, but he also doesn't make eye contact with me.
"You're late," he says to Kode.
"Tria was later than me. Get on her ass," he says casually, motioning toward Tria with his head.
"Tria was dealing with something. What's your excuse?"
"I was dealing with something, too."
The smug smile on Kode is pretty adorable, and it takes me back to all the times I've seen that same expression. I've always loved his cocky side, because it's Kode.
Dane takes a long swig off of his beer, and focuses on moving the food around on the grill. From there, the guys start talking, and for the first time in six long years, we all laugh as though things are normal.
Dane steals a glance my way every so often and gives me a wink, but Kode's arm hasn't dropped from my shoulders. All I want to do is pull Dane aside and talk to him—about us. About our freaky perfect chemistry. But what if... what if I mess us up?
Since this craziness with Kode, I keep doubting my intuition.
After a few steaks are burned, and Dane and Maverick have an epic argument over proper meat handling—yes, meat handling—we finally eat and enjoy the night.
I absolutely adore Britt, even though she is the bluntest person I've ever met.
"So penis size is the reason for most male disputes," she says suddenly, well, randomly would be more accurate, and everyone at the table sputters their drinks.
"And this is a topic of conversation because?" Kode prompts, still laughing under his breath while leaning back in his chair.
He somehow managed to sit down right beside me, and Dane took the seat across from me. Britt is on his right, sipping her soda since Dane won't let her drink—underage.
His eyes are on me, seeming predatory, but his small, half-cocked grin is what has my heart pumping too fast. If I literally pass out, I'm kicking my own ass.
Tria is having a heated discussion with a girl I've never met before, and I stifle a grin when I hear what about.
"What are you two going on about?" Rye groans, glaring at them for answers. He showed up with Wren, who is without Erica once again.
"Boy bands of the nineties," they say in unison.
"You're joking," Wren says through a snort. "Why?"
"We're annoyed by all the stupid songs we used to love. Like that song the Backstreet boys sang... Um... Bye Bye Bye."
"That was ‘N Sync," Maverick says absently, and his head drops in shame seconds before we all catch up. Ridiculing laughter pours out of everyone almost simultaneously, and Maverick even manages to laugh at himself while refusing to look up.
The guys tease the hell out of him, and I join in. I really needed this night. Maverick's always a good sport, so he takes their verbal punches and merciless heckling like a pro for much longer than anyone else could endure it.
"Let's do tequila shots with partners!" Maverick's date announces, staggering lightly as she flops into his lap.
She showed up an hour ago, and she was already drunk. There are plenty of single people here who look happy about the game proposal.
"Raya's my partner or the answer is no," Kade says through a laugh, hugging his fiancée to him.
Most everyone is here. Tag and Ash aren't here because they're busy being happily married parents, but everyone else seems to be in attendance. But it's all so different. My cousin is engaged, Tag is married, Wren is here without Erica... the whole world is tilted on its axis.
"Britt can't play," Dane says while leaning back.
Britt just shrugs, seeming fine with that.
"I'm out, obviously," Wren says, clapping Rye Clanton on the back as he stands.
Rye tilts his head, appraising Tria as though he's interested. "I'm in," he says, making it a little obvious.
Tria shrugs, trying not to smile. "I'm in, too."
"We'll draw names. Couples are exempt from the drawing."
Dale grumbles as a few girls giggle, looking him over like a slab of meat. Oh damn. What if one of them gets Dane's name? Rye takes off his hat and tosses it toward Tria. Another guy does the same, offering his hat as a bucket for the names.
"Rain, you playing?" Kode asks, his interest clearly piqued.
Ah, hell. How'd I end up in such a mess?
There's no way I'm playing this game with Kode, and I'll be damned if some girl other than me touches Dane Sterling.
"I'm playing. I'll draw the names," I say casually, walking over to take a pen from Tria who looks very nervous.
I suppose it would suck if she ended up with one of the Sterlings. I'll put her with Rye. She seems interested in him. I just have to keep up with all my lies, since I'
m supposed to be drawing names from hats.
"Girl names in this one. Guy names in this one," I announce, passing small strips of paper for everyone playing to write their names on.
As the hats make it back to me, I mentally make a checklist of the names that have to go together, starting with Dane and me.
***
DANE
This is a bad idea. Very bad idea.
I'll beat the hell out of anyone who ends up being Rain's partner.
This is crazy. I'm crazy. It's all her fault. She fucks with my head, and she knows it. Since she rejected me, I've been trying to get some separation, but I can't stay the fuck away.
I hate my life.
I'm in physical pain; that's how badly I want to be with her. So, like a fool who is begging for punishment, I've stayed with her. I've even stooped so low as to stripping naked and putting myself in the shower with her. She still didn't cave.
You'd think I'd take a hint, but no. I keep fucking trying.
I spent six years distancing myself from her, reminding myself why on a daily basis. Now I can't seem to tear myself away even for a minute. Pathetic. I'm pathetic all over again, just like I was at eighteen.
Rain keeps drawing names, and I keep fisting my hands, dreading each new announcement. This is like a cruel game meant for stronger men than I. Kode looks just as tense as I am right now, and though neither of us will say it, this has become a competition.
"Tria," Rain says, putting down one of the strips of paper, and then she draws a guy's name.
Her lips tighten as though she doesn't like what she sees, but it's a subtle thing no one else would notice. Whose name is it?
"Rye," she says, blinking twice very rapidly, proving she just lied. Fuck. Whose name was it really?
"Dane," she says through a husky breath, and everything on me gets stiff.
Kode leans forward as she reaches into the other cap, and I chew on my knuckle like a nervous teenager playing spin the fucking bottle.
"Me," she lies, her rapid blinking happening again as she fights not to grin.
Motherfucker. That small piece of resistance I thought I had... Yeah... That's gone. She just volunteered to do shots with me, knowing the intimacy of this little game.
"Kode," she says in the next breath, but he's shaking his head and holding his hand up for her to stop.
I'll kill him if he causes a scene.
"Sorry, Rain. I forgot I have to meet with some clients in the morning. I should go before the shots portion of the evening."
She almost looks relieved, and he walks over to kiss her sweetly on the cheek before heading out through my beach access. Everyone knows that's bullshit, but I'd rather he'd be gone.
She goes through the rest of the names, blinking ever so often, considering she messed up the rhythm apparently, and now she has to remember what names she has or hasn't used. But as everyone gets paired up, the moment of truth comes.
Did she only choose me because she was scared about being paired with someone else? Am I her comfort zone? I don't like being the comfortable one. Fucking teddy bears are comfortable.
"I've got the shots poured," Maverick sings, pushing all the tequila our way.
Salt shakers start sliding down the slick, marble-top table, and for a moment, I'm distracted by the fact I have so many salt shakers. My moment of distraction disappears when Rain comes to sit in my lap, throwing her leg over me so that she's straddling me as intimately as possible with our clothes on.
Holy hell.
"Who takes the first shot?" she asks, her vixen's smile doing terribly wonderful things to my cock as she pushes closes, applying all the painfully perfect pressure.
"Guys," Maverick chirps, not realizing she was directing that question to me only.
Her blue eyes burn into mine, and I start worrying that she might be drunk. Why is she doing this so willingly? We haven't even started this game yet, and I'm already going crazy. Is this another one of her mind fucks?
These are questions girls would ask, not guys. So I'm just going to shut the fuck up and enjoy the ride.
I watch as she moves the shot glass to her cleavage, and I try to breathe when she shifts in my lap, rubbing against me almost intentionally, and letting her dress rise up to show the lacy fabric of her underwear.
Ah, hell.
Holding back a painful groan, I move to lick the salt from her neck, tugging her closer than necessary, and lingering on her neck for a breath too long. I pull back, pick the shot glass up with my mouth, and shoot it effortlessly. I love tequila.
Rain smiles as she shows me the lime in her mouth, and I take it, brushing my lips lightly against hers to retrieve it. Electricity burns through me as though that slight graze of our lips was enough to jumpstart a car.
Rye doesn't show the same finesse, and he deliberately pulls Tria to him to make a sloppy exchange of the lime. Tria laughs, but pulls back shaking her head.
"Worried about Tria?" Rain asks, feigning casual interest, but she can't hide the pissed-off undercurrent of her tone.
I stifle the teasing grin I want to give her. Is she really jealous of Tria?
"Just didn't realize she knew Rye well enough to be so cozy," I murmur, poking at her a little more.
"She doesn't. But Rye is friends with Ethan, our cousin. We both know him... through reputation. Just like most people know you."
That actually ends my moment of fun. I hated the rumors when we were in school because of Rain. She had to hear all that bullshit, and it's a little emasculating to squash rumors that most guys beg for. But now, I wish so badly I had sucked up my pride and shattered every image I had back then.
Same shit still happens these days, just not as much. In the back of my mind, I've always wondered if those stupid ass rumors about all those girls and me is what held Rain back. But if so, what's holding her back now? Those rumors are nowhere nearly as rough.
"You two are getting behind," Raya says while cursing her empty shot glass, earning a chuckle from Kade when she shivers from the aftertaste.
"You going to drink it or hold it?" I ask Rain, sounding as cocky as I possibly can, but only because it always irritates the hell out of her.
She hands me a lime while accepting the challenge, and I slip it into my mouth, relishing the stronger taste of citrus now that my mouth isn't coated in tequila. She pours a little bit of the salt on my neck, though none of it really sticks.
With barely any warning, she leans in and licks my neck, lingering longer than I did when she starts suckling. I'm so glad I'm already sitting down. I would have collapsed by now.
She pulls back suddenly, and I almost demand for her to continue, but she chugs the shot glass. A small trickle of tequila runs down her mouth, and she cringes while muttering something about hating tequila. Before I can question such blasphemy, her lips are on mine.
The problem? I'm fairly positive she sucks at retrieving limes. I laugh when the sloppy exchange becomes pointless because Rain still hasn't gotten it. In an effort to keep her from torturing me more, I pull back to spit the lime out.
"Damn lime," I mumble through a snicker, but as soon as it's gone, her lips are back on mine, shocking the hell out of me.
My grip on her becomes almost desperate when her tongue sweeps in, and I debate going caveman and hauling her ass inside right now—before her sanity or sobriety returns.
Even as I surrender, the nagging voice in my head is trying to remind me she's been drinking all damn day. I'm the good guy; the guy who stops this right now.
Another sweep of her tongue pushes aside the saint to make way for the devil.
Fuck it.
I'll be a stronger man tomorrow. Right now, all I want to do is give in.
***
RAIN
I've waited too long for this to let it end now, so he'd better not stop kissing me. I'd hate to make his own cousins kick his ass. And I would. I really would.
"Rain," he murmurs against my lips, cursing himself a
s he tries to put some separation between us, but he fails.
"What the fuck, Dane?" Maverick scolds, causing me to groan in frustration.
I almost want to slap Maverick. This is Dane. Not some loser copping a feel. They know better, and they'd better not scare him away. I will seek revenge.
"Shut it, Mav," I grumble, leaning into Dane once again and forcing my lips against his, pulling him as close as possible.
He groans long and loud, seeming torn about what to do, but he finally kisses me back and loses all restraint. Everything on me tingles in response, and all the unresolved emotions I buried long ago crash to the surface.
"Dane! Fucking stop!" Corbin growls, a chair sliding to warn me he's on his way over.
"Touch him and I'll break your balls, Corbin," I mumble against Dane's lips.
Dane's throaty chuckle vibrates against my chest, and I can't help but grin.
"She's drunk," Dale says, adding to the frigging cock-block fest. I'm so paying them back for this.
"Sober enough," I murmur, making Dane's laughter return.
At least he's still kissing me, and damn does it feel good.
"He's drunk," Maverick chides.
"Sober enough," Dane says with a grin, his words muffled when he refuses to fully break the kiss.
Chills cover me as everyone around us groans. Dane stands, keeping me wrapped around him. A thrill shoots through me, because he starts carrying me away, moving us toward the house.
“Let ‘em go,” Kade says, both him and Raya laughing after us.
This is it. I wanted to talk first, but fuck it. I'm tired of making plans for tomorrow. I'm ready to live today. To hell with the consequences.
He's forced to navigate blindly, because I'm not about to let go. Our tongues are hot and heavy against each other, both of us hungry for all the other will give. I'm pretty sure those pathetic moans are coming from me, but I really don't care.
Something crashes to the ground, but neither of us rip free from the near savage embrace. We leave behind one room after another, something tumbling behind us after every clumsy turn.