I chuckle at his dry words, not surprised in the least about Bodhi. He is the most outgoing of the three of us, and he has no shortage of fun times with girls. It’s been a while since he’s had multiple at once though. Usually, that means he’s amping up the destructive behavior, and we need to watch out. He can be a loose cannon at times, but he’s my brother, and I love him.
“Good for him. I need to get back to this, um, date,” I say, awkwardly shuffling my foot.
I’m enjoying myself, and I find that I am eager to sit back down across from Landry, much to my chagrin. I thought I could keep my feelings out of it.
“Talk later,” Brock says, and then the phone beeps, letting me know he hung up.
I stare at it for a moment. I hate this conflict. I wish things in life were black and white, but they aren’t, and I know better than the twins how many different types of gray there are.
I turn, catching Landry’s gaze, and suck in a breath. Those blue eyes pull me in, keeping me hostage, and in the sunlight, they are almost the same color as the ocean behind her. Deep and dark but vibrant. I don’t want to believe she’s hiding things, that she’s lying to us and being shady, but I can’t refute what I saw on the email.
I square my shoulders, walking back to her, and try to erect a wall around my heart. I can’t get in any deeper. This is something that has to be done.
I repeat my earlier mantra to myself, Get in, get out.
Maybe get it in in the process.
“Sorry about that,” I say, wrapping my hands around my water, trailing a finger through the condensation as I stare at her.
This is torture. I’m putting myself in a position where the one hurt will be me because, apparently, I don’t have any self-control where this girl is concerned.
“It’s okay,” she says, smiling, and it twists the knife deeper in my gut.
Fuck.
This was a bad idea.
“You done?” I eye her half-eaten plate, and she glances down at it.
“Um, yeah,” she says.
I stand, throw some money down on the table, and jerk my head back toward the building.
“Come on,” I say, walking off.
I clench my fists at my sides, mad at myself for the emotions rolling through me. The easiest thing to do is keep her at arm’s length. Let some of her in, but not all. But the way we were talking so easily sends fear through me.
“Hey, wait up,” she says, reaching me before I walk into the dive bar. She comes around my front and stands there, looking up at me. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”
Yes. No. Everything.
I remain silent.
“I thought we were having a good time back there,” Landry says, placing a hand on my chest, letting the sentence trail off.
I fight the urge to flinch at her touch. We were having a good time, and that’s the whole issue. To Brock and Bodhi, this is a job, a problem to be solved. But for me, I’ve already let my feelings get involved. I’m going to get burned in this, so I need to steel myself on the front end.
“It was a good time,” I say with a nod, and she wrinkles her nose.
“But that’s all it was?” She sounds dejected, and it makes me want to wrap my arms around her.
“Yeah,” I tell her, confirming her suspicions even though that’s not all it was to me. That’s all it can be though.
“Okay,” she says, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and I track the motion. “I’m ready to go.”
We walk back to my motorcycle in silence and put our helmets on without saying a word. But when she climbs up behind me, wrapping her arms around my middle, pressing her front to my back, my resolve weakens. I reach up, running one finger along the back of her clasped hands, and I can feel her shiver against me.
“Hold on,” I tell her as I rev the engine, peeling out of the parking lot and heading back toward Almadale. Simultaneously happy and sad.
I think of Abe, of what he needs. Focus on him, on my goal. No distractions.
No long brown hair and creamy skin to distract me. No blue eyes and pink full lips to occupy my mind.
I feel her arms tighten even more around me, and she scoots closer.
Fuck.
If I thought the ride here was torture, now, after having such a good time with her, it’s hard to keep myself under control. As we start to pass the marina on the way back to school, I make the executive decision to give in. My warring thoughts finally have a victor, and I pull off the road, whipping sideways as the motorcycle responds to my touch. I can hear a shriek behind me before the wind carries it away, and I chuckle to myself as her thighs clench around me. Fuck if I don’t want those thighs clenching around my face.
I pull down the long road, bypassing the boats until I find what I’m looking for. A small piece of parking lot shaded by trees and a few bushes shielding us from prying eyes. This time of the day, it’s practically deserted even though the weather is beautiful. Everyone who wants to take a boat out has or has packed up for the night.
I shut the motorcycle off and push out the kickstand. Ripping my helmet off, I wait for her to dismount, and then I get off the bike, stalking away a few steps as I run a hand through my hair. I stand there, staring at the trees as I brace both hands on my head.
Then, I turn, seeing her leaning against the side of my motorcycle, helmet in hand as she stares at me. I know I have to look half-crazy, and I am. I crack, walking back toward her, running a hand across her cheek and ear, fisting it in her hair at the back of her head. I pull her face to mine, taking in the sight of those beautiful eyes, wide and focused on mine. Her lips part, and she exhales, the warmth of her breath tickling my skin. We are nose to nose, breathing heavy, and she watches me to see what I’ll do next.
“I want you,” I whisper, and the tension she’s holding goes out of her as she blinks slowly, looking up at me under her eyelashes.
“But—”
I cut her off, crashing my lips to hers. It’s not a sweet kiss, but one born of desperation and desire. Unable to hold back, she pushes into me. I can feel her confusion slowly morph into pleasure as she returns my kiss with enthusiasm. I bring my other hand up, pushing it into the hair on the other side of her head as I tilt it, deepening the kiss. My tongue probes her lips, and she opens, giving me access to sweep in and devour her.
Her hands move, pulling the hem of my shirt up, and her fingertips tickle the skin at the top of my pants. I press my hips into hers, my hardening cock needing friction.
“God, you taste good,” I say, pulling back, looping my hands under her legs and picking her up. I turn her, sitting her on the top of my bike, and I grip her thighs. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” I squeeze with each word, laying a trail of kisses along her neck as she throws her head back.
“Oh my God,” she says as I suck on the bottom of her neck, right on her pulse point. She kicks out, wrapping both legs around me as she balances on the thin seat. “How is this even happening right now?” she asks.
I pull back, looking at her. “What do you mean?”
“I was fantasizing about this earlier, and now, it’s happening,” she says, a shy smile on her face.
I grin. “You were fantasizing about this?”
She nods, and I grin wider.
I lean forward and place my lips right by her ear. I run the tip of my tongue around the outside, my hands drifting further up her thighs. “Tell me, are you a dirty girl, Landry?”