by Cathryn Fox
“Come on. It won’t be so bad,” Danny said, misinterpreting the sound. “You know mom and dad live for this day. And if you want to finally win the trophy from me”—he paused to drive his thumb into his chest—“the current Quinn family reigning games champion, then you have to play along.”
The competitiveness in him came out. “Yeah, well you can kiss the championship good-bye this year. It’s mine.”
A group of kids and adults were gathered in the gardens, each taking up position on either side of the rope. The noise level reached an all new high as everyone laughed and goaded the members on the opposite team.
“You’re going down, Danny,” a pubescent Jesse screamed as he flexed his barely-there biceps.
“Sebastian, over here,” young cousin Andrew called out.
Sebastian stepped in behind Andrew, taking up the anchor position, while Danny joined the opposite team, stepping into the same spot.
“I think we can take them this year,” Andrew said.
Sebastian grinned at the boy. “We got this, kid.” He gathered the rope in his hands and waited for Tristan Quinn to blow the starting whistle.
“Oh, wait for me,” a female voice called out.
Kat slid between him and cousin Andrew and Sebastian eyed the back of her head. Since when did Kat get involved in tug-of-war? She wiggled a little and wrapped her hand around the rope. Her sweet ass brushed up against his groin as the floral scent of her shampoo reached his nostrils. He breathed her in and struggled to keep his shit together, but there was nothing he could do to keep his cock from rising to the occasion. Awesome. Just fucking awesome. He inched back, needing to put a measure of distance between them, but she followed him step for step.
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Am I holding this right?” she asked, running her hands along the rope in a manner that mimicked a hand job. What the fuck? His cock swelled. Down boy. Kat wiggled against him again, and he nearly bit off his tongue. Okay, time to get his shit together and figure out what she was up to.
He cleared his throat. “What are you doing, Kat?”
“Just trying to get into position.”
If she kept wiggling her ass at him, he’d be getting her into position, all right. And that position would be her bent over the mattress, and him pounding into her.
Fuck me.
The whistle blew and he planted his feet, but how the fuck was he supposed to concentrate with Kat pressing up against him? He tugged, and the other team answered with a hard pull of their own. His team reared back, and they gained a few inches of ground. Cheers erupted, but the only sound he could focus on was the sexy, little whimpering noise coming from Kat.
She angled her head, and that pouty, little mouth of hers puckered as she said, “Harder, Sebastian.”
Oh, fuck. What he’d do to pull those words from her in the bedroom. He briefly pinched his eyes shut, and his thoughts wandered.
Don’t imagine it. Don’t imagine it.
He imagined it.
Completely thrown off his game, he slipped, dragging his entire team down with him. Kat fell backward and landed firmly on his stiff cock. She squirmed, giving him a good hard rub.
Sweet mother of God.
His hands went to her shoulders. But did he help her up or push her off? Hell no! Instead, he pressed down on her, fucking dry-humping her in the middle of the gardens for all to see. One working brain cell screamed at him. He groaned and quickly let her go. She rolled to face him, and her lush breasts pushed against his erection as she firmly planted herself between his legs.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he moaned, sure he would never be okay again. “You?”
She touched her shoulder, and those sweet breasts jiggled. “I’m not sure. I think I might have pulled something. I’m a little sore.”
“Maybe you could get Danny to check that out for you.” Christ, was that his voice?
“Maybe,” she said, but he didn’t like the mischievous look that came over her face. He had no idea what she was up to, but he’d be damned if he’d be a part of it. “Or maybe you could do it,” she said.
All around them, people started climbing to their feet, laughing and taking jibes from the other team. “You should get up,” he said.
“Oh, right.” Kat put her arms on either side of his waist and pushed herself up, giving him an up close and unobstructed view of her cleavage in the process.
Don’t look, dude. Don’t look.
He looked.
Jesus, her breasts were perfect. Not too big, not too small. All soft and lush and just the right size for his mouth. His throat dried and he wet his lips, eager for a taste.
“What the hell happened to you?” Danny asked, reaching out to give him a hand up.
Sebastian took the offered hand and Danny tugged. “Slipped.” He stood, and in need of a distraction, brushed imaginary grass from his clothes.
Danny tossed his arm around Kat’s shoulder. “Little sis wasn’t messing with you, was she? Trying to throw you off your game. We all know how much trouble she can be.”
Kat elbowed Danny in the gut, and he let loose a loud oomph. “I’m not so little, Danny. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m all grown up.”
“Okay, Miss All Grown Up. Since when did you play tug-of-war, anyway?” Danny asked her.
“I was wondering the same thing,” Sebastian grumbled.
Kat shrugged and wiggled her fingers. “The teams seemed uneven and I thought Sebastian could use a hand.”
Oh, he could use a hand, all right—right on his dick.
Stop it!
Emery stepped up to them, laughing. “Good job, Sebastian.” She gestured with a nod. “Maybe you’ll have better luck with the three-legged race.”
He raked his hair back as his gaze wandered across the gardens to those lining up at the starting line. “I think I’ll sit that one out.”
“There you are,” Zoe said, her too-high heels catching in the soft grass as she came toward him. “I go to get a drink and come back, and you’re gone.” She put her hand on his arm and touched him like they were long-time lovers. They weren’t. He’d only just met her an hour ago.
“I was needed for the tug-of-war,” he explained.
“Not that he was any help,” Danny said, laughing. “Not sure what’s gotten into you today. I’m a few points up, so if you stand half a chance at beating me at the three-legged race, you’d better find yourself a good partner.” Danny looked at his sister. “Kat, I don’t believe you met Zoe.”
Kat smiled, but Sebastian knew her well enough to know it was forced. Jesus, if he didn’t know better, he’d think she was jealous. But he did know better, right?
Kat extended her hand. “No, we haven’t met yet.”
Without taking her fingers off his arm, Zoe plastered on a brilliant smile and held out her free hand. After a quick shake, she pulled it back. “So you’re Kat. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Kat turned those big dark eyes on him. They narrowed as she stared accusingly. “Oh yeah? What exactly have you heard?”
Tendons taught, Sebastian held his hands up. “Nothing from me. Zoe and I just met.”
“Zoe,” cousin Peter yelled. With his bathing suit dripping, he wiped his face with a towel and closed the distance. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I thought you were getting changed to come swimming.”
Zoe’s hand fell from Sebastian’s bicep, and her smile wobbled. Peter slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, a possessive move, but hey, no need to get controlling. Sebastian wasn’t hitting on her. In fact, it was the other way around.
“I guess you’ve all met Zoe. My fiancé,” he said as he zeroed in on Sebastian.
“We have,” Kat returned, her voice tight. Too tight. Sebastian dipped his head and studied her stance as she glared at the other woman. What the hell did Kat have against Zoe? She didn’t even know her—he didn’t think.
“Are you coming swimming?�
�� Peter asked his fiancé.
She flashed a smile Sebastian’s way. “Actually, I think we’re pairing up for the three-legged race.”
Shit. Peter looked like he was ready to kill him. Time to make his exit.
“That’s right,” Kat said, slipping her hand into Sebastian’s. “And like Danny said, if Sebastian stands half a chance of winning against him, he needs a good partner.”
She dragged him away. When they were out of earshot, he relaxed. “Thanks,” he said and brushed his thumb over the soft skin on her hand.
“What are you thanking me for?”
“For getting me out of there.”
“I thought you would have been all over that.”
“All over that?”
“She is your type, isn’t she?”
“Oh, you think I have a type.”
Kat arched a brow. “Come on, Sebastian. I’ve seen the women you go out with.”
“I didn’t realize you were watching and keeping tabs.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s hard not to when Miami Tacklers hottest doctor is constantly being splashed all over the tabloids.”
Had she just called him hot? What was going on with her? First he finds her staring at him, then she acts jealous around Zoe, and now she’s calling him hot. Was it possible that she actually liked him? His pulse leapt, but he sucked in a quick breath to control it. Even if she did like him, he wasn’t going to do a damn thing about it. This was Kat, his best friend’s sister, and he’d be wise to remember that.
“For the record, I’d never go after another man’s fiancé, and it kind of pisses me off that you think I would. I thought you knew me better than that.”
She stopped dead in her tracks, and her hand fell from his as he kept going. “You’re right. You might be a lot of things, but I know you’d never do that.” Sebastian turned to look at her. She sighed and glanced over her shoulder. “That marriage is going to last all of twelve seconds.” She snorted. “Six months from now, I’ll be negotiating the settlement.”
The sadness on his face felt like a punch to the gut. She was a divorce lawyer who saw the worst in people everyday, but deep down, there was more going on with her. Something or someone else was responsible for her cynicism. “Pretty jaded for a girl who comes from a functional family like yours.”
“Yeah, well Dad’s old school, and they just don’t make guys like him anymore.”
“And what kind of guys are those?”
“Loyal, loving, supportive. A guy who isn’t going to jump in the sack with another woman because his girlfriend has to work late.”
Ah, so that’s it. Some douchebag had hurt her, left her feeling unworthy. He stepped into her. Her sweet fragrance fucked with his mind as he crowded her. His knuckles brushed hers. “You sound like you’re talking from experience.”
“Maybe I am.”
Dammed if he didn’t want to hunt the guy down and throat punch him for fucking with her. “Then maybe you’ve been hanging with the wrong crowd.”
What the fuck am I doing?
“You think?” she said, a warm flush crawling up her neck. They both stood immobile, a rush of sexual energy unlike anything he’d ever felt before arcing between them. She took deep, choppy breaths, her breasts rising and falling with the motion. Their fingers brushed, and she swayed into his touch.
He dipped his head, her mouth so close to his all she had to do was go up on her tippy toes to kiss him. “Yeah, I think,” he murmured. Despite knowing better, he willed her to rise up so he could have one small taste. Yeah, that’s all he needed, one tiny nibble and then maybe he could get her out of his head.
As a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, she wet her bottom lip and a loud moan built of sexual frustration—ten years’ worth, to be exact—crawled out of his throat. His cock tented, his blood rushed south, but some coherent part of his brain yelled in warning.
Don’t walk, dude. Run.
3
Kat pressed her ear to the door and listened for sound. Not that she expected to hear movement. It was three in the morning, and everyone had gone to bed hours ago, either exhausted from the day of games or passed out from too many drinks in the sun.
She checked herself in her mirror, smoothed her hand over her robe, and inched open her door. Padding quietly down the long stretch of hall, she stopped outside the room Sebastian always used when sleeping over. The knob felt cold to her touch when she closed her fingers around it. Probably because her body was burning up, eager to follow through with Emery’s dare.
She twisted the knob and stepped inside. Moonlight filtered in through the crack in the curtain and glinted off Sebastian’s trophy. She grinned. Who would have thought she and Sebastian would make such good partners—working so well together that they won the three-legged race, the egg toss, and the Dodge ball battle, stealing the prize from her brother. The competition between best friends was fierce but fun, and Danny still had time to win back the trophy tomorrow.
Speaking of best friends… She still couldn’t quite believe she was about to seduce her brother’s. She sucked in a tight breath, and since she was too far gone to turn back now, she whispered, “Sebastian. Are you awake?”
The bed sheets rustled. “What?” he asked, his voice soft and sexy from sleep.
“It’s me, Kat. You up?”
A long pause and then, “I am now.”
“Good, I…” Her voice fell off and she blinked against the brightness when Sebastian turned on his lamp. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when they did, and she caught the way Sebastian’s eyes were moving over her robe, a thrill moved through her.
“What are you doing, Kitty Kat?” he said, his voice gruffer than it had been before. The fact that he’d used her childhood name—and the implications behind it—hadn’t gone unnoticed, but neither had the way his eyes roamed over her with interest.
“I think I pulled something today during tug-of-war.”
He sat up, and his blankets fell to his waist. “Your shoulder?”
Her gaze dropped to his hard abs, and she bit back a gasp. His body was so beautiful, so perfect. Desire flared through her. “Not quite.”
“Back?”
“No, ah, actually it’s a little further south.”
There was a long pause and then, “Maybe you should get Danny to check you out.”
“I can’t. He’s my brother.”
He gripped a fistful of hair and stared at some spot on the wall like it held all the answers to the universe. “He’s a doctor. It shouldn’t matter.”
“Well, it does matter.” She stepped closer, and the warm scent of his skin reached her nose. “You see, I think I pulled my groin, and I wouldn’t be comfortable with him examining me. Plus, you’re a sports medicine doctor who deals with injuries. Danny is a podiatrist, and it’s not my foot I hurt.”
His hand fisted his bed sheets. “Fuck, Kat.”
She moved closer. “If you could just take a look to make sure I didn’t do any real damage…”
“You want me to look at your groin?”
“Yes, please.”
“It’s not really something—”
She pulled open her robe, and his words died an abrupt death when she exposed herself. Standing before him in nothing but her black panties and lace bra, she glanced at the mussed sheets. “I’m sure it will just take a second.” He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, she slid onto the bed sideways. Sebastian jumped up, and the lamplight fell over him. Wearing nothing but boxers that did little to hide his erection, he scrubbed his face, mumbled what sounded like a curse under his breath, and paced.
Kat inched her legs open and put her hand on her inner thigh. “It’s right here. If you could just touch it and let me know what to do, I’d be very grateful.” More mumbled curses sounded, and Kat kind of liked that she could fluster him like this. She’d never evoked such a need in a man before, never made him…feral. Truthfully, those failed relationships had s
hattered her confidence more than she’d like to admit.
She spread her legs wider, and with the tip of her finger, ran circles around her inner thigh. “You see, I’m not sure if I should use cold or heat, and I hate to do anything that will cause more damage or prolong the healing.”
A long moment passed, then Sebastian stopped pacing. He stepped up to her, everything about him so intense her entire body quivered. The smoldering heat in his eyes held her in place, his look fierce, powerful…volatile. He stood over her, frozen, his looming body rigid as she bared herself to him. His hands fisted, and he glared at her like he was fighting some internal war. She studied him, unease creeping under her skin.
Wait! Was he trying to figure out a way to send her packing? Or was he going to walk out on her again like he did on her sixteenth birthday? She’d spent that entire month of May excited, knowing he was going to take her into his arms and dance with her. But he didn’t. Instead he walked away, leaving her crushed and heartbroken.
Her pulse leaped. Oh, God, maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. And maybe she’d read him wrong. Sure, he had an erection, but it might not even have been for her. He could have been dreaming, or maybe that was just the normal way he woke up. Heck, lots of guys roused with morning wood, right? If that was the case, she needed to get out of there, and she needed to do it now. Feeling suddenly foolish, she reached for her robe to cover herself. His hand closed over hers, firm and commanding, as he completely immobilized her.
“Where. Exactly. Does it hurt?” His eyes darkened, and she hesitated for a second, never having seen this side of Sebastian. “Tell me,” he said through gritted teeth, the soft authority in his voice letting her know he was willing to play along, but he now controlled the play.
He let go of her hand, and with her body on hyperdrive and her breath shallow, she touched a spot on her inner thigh. “Right here.”
His hand captured hers again, and in a not-so-gentle move, he tugged it away and placed it on the bed beside her. “Keep it there.” His gaze moved back to her legs, and he gripped her knees to widen them.