by C. M. Owens
She spots me and takes hurried steps to the table to join me, sitting down across from me at the bistro table in the small restaurant. When she takes her glasses off and puts them away, she speaks.
“Sorry I’m late. My jackass neighbor from across the street parked his car right behind mine again, even though he has his own side of the curb. Took me forever to wiggle my car out of the small space he left me with.”
“Anyone I know?” I ask idly, my knee bouncing under the table as I impatiently wait for the time to spill it all.
“I don’t actually know his name. I’ve only been living with Maggie for a couple of months.”
She sounds as irritated as I feel, but for a completely different reason. I have a major crisis, and Brin is the only one not integrated into our group, so she can give me some insight as to what to do.
“He hasn’t called. At all. And now I don’t know what to do,” I ramble.
Her eyebrows go up in surprise, and then she tilts her head. “O…kay… I feel like I’m missing part of the story. Who hasn’t called?”
Groaning, I grip my head. How did I get into this mess? I agreed to casual, but after Thomas’s funeral, Kode Sterling seemed to disappear.
“He dropped me off almost two weeks ago after Thomas’s funeral, and he hasn’t called since. We agreed to a casual thing, but… hell, do I sound crazy? I feel crazy. Yes. I think I’m going crazy.”
I curse and drop my head back. Almost two weeks. That’s not really a terrible length of time. Then again, it might have just been a Vegas thing. Maybe we’re the type of people who only hook up in hotels when real life can’t pose a problem.
“Tria, I’m really trying to follow you, but I’m struggling. Who are you talking about?”
My knee bounces harder, and I mentally slap myself for the two—no, three—tall coffees and the one expresso I had. My heart is punishing me by beating painfully in my chest.
“Kode.”
“I thought he was dating Raya. And I thought he was your cousin,” she says with her nose turning up.
Laughing, I shake my head. “No. That’s Kade. Kade Colton. This is Kode Sterling.”
“That’s not confusing at all,” she says sardonically, but I’m too on edge to laugh again.
I should have stopped after one large coffee.
“Okay, so Kode Sterling… Wait, is he the one with blonde hair that hangs out with Dane at Silk?”
I nod, swallowing hard.
“Yes. That’s Dane’s brother.”
She lets an appreciative whistle out. “No wonder you’re all bent out of shape. He’s definitely worth looking at.”
“He’s… I honestly think he must have done something to me, because I can’t seem to get him out of my head.”
“So he hasn’t called, but nothing bad went down between you two.”
It’s not a question, so I don’t respond. I just wait patiently for her to do the part where she starts giving advice. Soon, hopefully. That’s what girlfriends do, right?
“Okay. So where did you hook up? I need some backstory.”
Quickly, I run through the sordid details, giving her everything from the first account to the last.
“So he got jealous over the guy at the pool and… Rye? Who the hell is Rye?”
“Rye is not the part for you to focus on here,” I remind her, sounding as desperate as I feel.
There’s no reason for me to see him for a while, so I’m really hoping she gives me something to work with.
“Sounds like he has it bad, but if he disappeared right after someone in your family died, he might be staying away to show respect.”
I snort, and then I think about it, and I snort again. “You obviously haven’t heard very much about Kode. So tell me what to do. We agreed to casual, so I know I sound crazy right now. But—”
“But you want him. Got it. How long have you liked this guy?”
I look at her with narrowed eyes, and she points her small finger at me. “Don’t give me that look. If you want advice, I need to know details. That’s how this works. The more details I have, the better I can advise you.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Fine. I’ve liked him for… a while. Then I hated him. Then I liked him again. But even when I hated him, I sort of liked him.”
She groans while gripping her head. I’m stressing her out? Does she realize the caffeine overdose I’ve had? It does not make me a patient person, and my mind is running a thousand miles a minute.
“Timeframe, Tria. How long ago was it when you developed this crush?”
Admitting this will just make me look all the more pathetic. But I cave and acquiesce, “Thirteen years ago.” I was just a kid with a crush for two years, but he never noticed me. Then Rain came along, and Kode hated me.
Her eyes swell up to be softballs. Then she coughs and takes a sip of her drink.
“And you’re just now doing something about it?”
Here’s where it all starts getting complicated. “He sort of, well, he was too busy being in love with Rain.”
“Oh,” she mouths. “So it’s definitely important to you that this thing works out. Then you’ve got to pull out all the stops.”
“And those stops would be?” I ask her, wringing my hands in my lap as the caffeine buzz maddens me with jitters.
“It’s apparent that he wants you, but since he’s not making any moves, that means it’s up to you. So, send him a picture.”
As much as I adore her, right now I’d like to strangle her for not making any sense.
“I don’t think sending him a picture is going to do anything but make me look like an idiot.”
“Naked,” she adds, winking at me.
My mouth forms an “O” while I sit back and think that over. I guess it can’t hurt to try. It’s not like he hasn’t seen my body before. Might as well remind him what made him want me to begin with.
***
KODE
“The back nine and you are not getting along today,” Dale says as we drive along the cart-path of the eleventh hole.
My ball is in the second cut of the rough grass… on the fairway of the fifth hole that is way off to the side. My mind is on one thing, and for the hundredth time since almost two weeks ago, I check my phone, making sure I haven’t missed a call or a message.
Nothing. Fucking nothing.
“The front nine didn’t like me too much either,” I mumble, hopping out of the cart when we stop.
After grabbing a club, I walk over to my poor golf ball that has been treated like shit all day. Golf is supposed to be relaxing, but I’m tense from head to toe. Should I just call her? I should at least text and see how she’s doing. No. That would seem less casual than what we agreed on.
“For Christ’s sake, are you going to hit the ball or not?” Corbin yells from the putting green—on the correct hole.
Bastard has a pro game going today. Why did I agree to come golfing?
After flipping him off, I hit the ball, and watch it… land in the first cut of the rough grass. At least I’m back in the right fairway now.
“Dude, at this rate, we’re going to have to let people play around us,” Maverick says as Dale chuckles, sinking his ball in the hole effortlessly.
Jackasses.
It takes me a few more swings, but I finally get the resistant ball into the fucking hole, and we head on to the twelfth hole. Corbin steps out, preparing his masterful shot, but I become distracted when my phone buzzes in my pocket.
I juggle it out, hoping it’s her as I walk toward them with my driver in my hand. As soon as I swipe the screen, I’m stumbling, falling, and landing in a heap on the ground, with my driver thudding harshly to the ground. But my phone sure as hell doesn’t drop, and that’s because I have a death-grip on it.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Tria… naked… bed… mirror selfie… I have to get the hell out of here.
“Dude! What the hell?” Corbin growls.
&nb
sp; I don’t acknowledge the fact that I just royally fucked up his shot.
“Gotta go,” I call over my shoulder, leaving behind the fallen club while jogging over to one of the carts.
They yell at me and curse me a little, but I don’t bother looking back as I drive away and head toward the clubhouse. It takes me less than two minutes to run to my car after parking the golf cart, and even less time to ditch my clubs in the trunk and get on the road.
It’s about damn time.
***
TRIA
I’m so stupid. Why oh why did I listen to Brin? How will I ever look at him again?
He could have said anything. But he ignored my message. I sent it over twenty minutes ago. There’s no way he hasn’t read it, because he always has his phone on him.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. Great. Now I’ll have to miss my own sister’s wedding, because I’m a coward like that. I’ll never be able to face Kode Sterling again.
A pounding on my door has me jumping and squealing, but I race toward it, tightening my robe as I reach it and swing it open.
In a blur of motion, lips are suddenly bruising mine with a hungry kiss, and I barely gauge who it is before my legs are wrapping around his waist. When did he pick me up?
The door shuts behind him, which means he most likely kicked it, but I’m too wrapped up in kissing the hell out of him to notice anything else going on. His hands are just as greedy as his lips, squeezing me tightly to him as he makes up for lost time.
The kiss only breaks off when Kode stops it, looking around the inside of my new home for the first time. I moved to escape Pete Mercer after I found out he was out of prison and looking for me.
Fortunately, it’s been a while, and he doesn’t seem at all interested in stalking me down anymore.
My thoughts of Pete are vanquished when Kode pushes me against the wall, jerking my robe open.
“Fuck the bedroom,” he says randomly.
Ah. He couldn’t find my bedroom.
I start to tell him where it is, when the sound of a foil wrapper crinkling catches my ears, and I realize he’s about to screw me against the wall. The wall. Yes. Definitely the wall. It sounds so much better than the bed right now.
“I missed you, too,” I say just before his lips reattach themselves to mine.
He pulls back, his eyes narrowing on me. “Then you should have called sooner.”
A small fluttering happens in my chest, and I suck in a coarse breath. He wasn’t avoiding me. He was waiting on me to call.
I really am stupid.
Before that thought can fully take root, he’s pushing into me, letting my robe hang open and baring my body to him fully. My breath catches in my throat as my back continuously thuds against the wall.
Kode out of control because he wants me this much… well, it’s hot as hell. And it just makes me kiss him that much harder, that much wilder, and with that much more excitement.
Our bodies thrash like it’s been years instead of almost two weeks. The build inside me comes swiftly, almost painfully, and I’m falling over the edge before I can help myself. I go limp in his arms, putting the burden of my weight on him, but he holds me up without a problem, his hips still rocking with a vicious pace. He bites on my lower lip as he grunts and goes still, and then he seals his mouth over mine for a kiss that has me almost begging for more.
“You’re not kicking me out,” he says as he comes to rest his head close to my cheek.
I grin while running my fingers through his soft blonde hair, still impaled and suspended between the wall and him.
“Nope. I plan on using you more tonight, so I need you to stick around.”
He laughs while sliding out of me and dropping me to my feet. As I start tying the robe around me again, he swats my ass, and I squeal in surprise.
“Point me in the direction of a bathroom,” he says, moving his hand down to start removing the condom.
That really shouldn’t be sexy, but somehow, Kode manages to make every action impossibly hot. Right now, I’ve almost got whiplash from how fast that all happened, and all I can think about is slowing it down the next time.
“My room is just down the hall. There’s a bathroom in it.”
He starts to walk away, and then he pulls me to him to kiss me again, grinning against my lips. “By the way,” he says as he tugs his slacks back up, “love that picture.”
I grin at his retreating figure. “Clearly,” I say with a small smile.
He laughs while disappearing into my room, and I sag to the couch. That was so not what I was expecting to happen. He looks a little preppy, which is not typical Kode, so I can’t help but wonder what I interrupted.
“Just so you know, the guys are blowing up my phone because I walked out during the middle of a golf game,” he says as he comes back into the room. His white polo shirt is untucked, but other than that, you can’t tell he just took me against the wall.
He drops down to the couch, and then he pulls me over onto him as he kicks his shoes off.
“I’m fucking starving, too,” he says, and I bite back a grin.
“Gripe much?” I ask playfully, rewarded by his throaty chuckle.
“Care if I order a pizza?”
“As long as you get enough for me, I don’t care what you do.”
He smiles against my head, and I lean into him while flipping on the gigantic flat screen my cousin made me get. Personally, I thought it was too big, but apparently guys like it.
It takes him no time to find a channel and order a pizza. We get far too comfortable on the couch, every touch feeling much too familiar and intimate. But I don’t bother analyzing it or ruining the moment with the reality that Kode Sterling and I are a match made in hell.
“That picture will pop up every time you call me now,” Kode says with a grin as he puts his phone down.
“You had better not let anyone hold your phone then.”
He snickers softly before kissing the top of my head again. I’m draped across his body, wearing nothing but my robe.
“I’m the only one who ever touches my phone, so no worries.”
I smile against his chest before turning my attention to some weird reality show. His hands are slowly caressing my body, a soothing motion that starts to make my eyes heavy.
“Dane is clearing out Silk tomorrow for Maverick’s surprise birthday party,” he says idly, now running his fingers through my hair.
My eyes are almost closed, even though it’s the middle of the day. I’ve never felt so comfortable and at ease.
“Oh?” I mumble groggily.
“Can you be there?”
My eyes go wide as I look up to meet his gaze. “I can’t just show up to a party I’m not invited to.”
“I just invited you. I’ll tell Dane I invited you because the guys and I are trying to make you more comfortable around us by including you.”
Rain probably didn’t ask me to come because she thinks I still hate the Sterling boys. They’re not as bad as I initially thought. Dale is actually almost as nice as Dane. Corbin and Maverick are surprisingly smart when it comes to business. And Kode… well, Kode has layers I didn’t know could exist inside him.
“Okay.”
He grins as he runs his hand down my ass, cupping one side with one of his large palms.
“Be warned—I plan to get drunk. And I’ll probably be all over you before the night is over. So you’ll have to get me out of there if you don’t want everyone seeing me pin you up against the wall.”
I shouldn’t giggle like an idiot, but I do. Just knowing that he’s admitting he can’t keep his hands off me is nice. Because for once, it’s me that someone sees.
Chapter 9
KODE
“You suck,” Corbin says, frowning at me.
I glance at the door again, still waiting on Tria to come in. I only left her house an hour ago to run home and change, then get to Silk in time for Maverick’s birthday party.
�
�Why?” I drawl, trying to feign interest in my cousin.
“Because after you left, my damn badass streak came to an end. I had a triple bogey on the thirteenth, and a double on the fourteenth. Then I hit the damn thing into the water on the fifteenth. I think you were my good luck charm.”
Laughing, I finally look over at him. “Sorry. Had something important come up.”
His eyes narrow suspiciously, and he stares at me for a minute. “You dating someone? Because you’ve been acting different lately. And you’re not sulking over Rain anymore.”
Rain is the last thing on my mind these days. It’s as though all of my other feelings have been stripped, laid bare, and finally exposed as what they are. She’s my friend. For the first time since I was a kid, I see Rain just as she sees me.
Tria wants me. She lets me touch her, hold her, do whatever in the hell I want to with her badass body. And she kisses me like I’m the only thing that matters every time I’m with her. There’s no hesitancy in her touch. And she’s not waiting on someone else to take my place.
It feels damn good to be wanted by the person you want. It’s also a feeling I’m not accustomed to, but quickly getting addicted to. I feel high every time I’m with her.
“Hello,” Corbin says in an exasperated tone. “I asked if you’re dating someone.”
Shrugging, I turn my attention back to the door. “Not yet.” It’s not a lie, per se, but it’s also not the truth. Maybe after the wedding happens, Tria and I can discuss something more serious. I don’t want a real relationship until I don’t have to hide it, and until we sort through what’s going on between us, we need to keep it quiet.
“Rain is running late,” Dane says with a pout as he joins us.
I used to feel the jealous rage course through me when he relayed any message from Rain, but now… nothing. It’s actually amazing to feel… free.
“Why?” Corbin asks.
“Raya showed up at her house. Kade… Man, Kade’s in a bad place right now. He’s taking his grandfather’s death hard. Rain called Tria, so she’s on her way over to help out. She might stay with Raya so that Rain can come and be here for Mav’s party.”
