Bet Me Something (Something Series Book 3)

by Aubrey Bondurant

  “Your brother left your extra set of keys with me in case I needed to pick anything up for you. What happened?”

  “I was all ready to go and thought maybe the knock meant it was you coming early. But when I opened the door with a big goofy grin on my face, it was only to see my mother’s pissed-off one on the other side.”

  “I wish it had been me. Why was she here?”

  “She received the insurance bills from the surgery and was pretty wounded I hadn’t told her about the accident.” I revealed the rest of the conversation, waiting on his reaction. I didn’t expect his anger.

  “Would it kill her to be supportive of you? I know there’s the saying that no one else can talk ill about your relatives, but dammit, how hard is it to listen? Hell, if she doesn’t wish to finance this decision, then so be it. However to make you feel like you owe her as your parent is pure manipulative bullshit. You’ve been nothing but grateful your entire life, Kenz.”

  I leaned into him, laying my head on his shoulder and wrapping my arms around his bicep. My fingers squeezed, enjoying the feel of his defined muscle. “Have I? Maybe I should’ve been more thankful for my expensive graduation party or for her allowing me to go to school across country. Stayed in touch with her more often and, obviously, picked up the phone to let her know I’d been hit by a car.” Great, now she had me questioning myself.

  “You told her thank you for the party, but how much are you supposed to gush for something you didn’t ask for to begin with? You attended UCLA on a full scholarship, relieving them of having to pay for your school for four years while they funded Harvard, for Christ’s sake, for both of your brothers. As for calling her more often or telling her about the accident, maybe if she didn’t put these types of guilt trips on you, you’d be more inclined to do so.”

  He stopped and then sighed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to speak out of turn as I know she’s still your mom.”

  “It’s okay. I appreciate you being on my side.” Hell, he’d technically known her longer than I had as he and his family had been neighbors of my mother way before I was born.

  He tilted up my chin so we were face to face, kissing me softly until the sound of his phone disrupted. Reaching in his pocket, he took it out and looked at the screen. “This is your brother calling again.”

  “I’ll text him.” I grabbed my phone and typed out a quick note to let Brian know I’d talk to him tomorrow and not to worry. Afterwards, I leaned back, putting my head on Colby’s shoulder again. “It sucks you always seem to see me hit by a car, either literally or figuratively, but thanks for the snowballs. I only wish they were a cure for weakness.”

  “You’re anything but weak. And if you ever doubt it, think about how you are on the lacrosse field.”

  “How would you know?” He’d never seen me play.

  “I came to watch your last game, the week before your graduation. You were playing USC, I think. You were fierce, physical, and you scored twice. It was impressive.”

  I met his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” Or that he’d been there at all.

  He looked slightly uneasy, as if he would rather not have confessed to it. “I was late, and you were busy with your teammates afterwards. Then I forgot to mention it. Anyhow, my point is: confidence allowed you to play college lacrosse for four years and become the team captain. I’ve seen you absolutely fearless, Kenz, and you’ll get there with this, eventually, too. Maybe, you simply need to practice telling her how you feel and today was your trial run.”

  I moved over his thighs, straddling his lap and putting us inches apart, face to face, both of us grinning. His hands settled comfortably on my hips. “Could it be you had a thing for me, and that’s why you went to my game but didn’t mention it?”

  “Your legs did look incredible in those shorts, although I’m a bit on the fence when it comes to the mouth guard being hot.”

  I giggled. “I’m glad you came over.” I leaned in and kissed down his neck, inhaling his scent.

  “Me too. Whatcha doing?”

  I could feel him shudder when I took his ear lobe between my teeth. “I’m showing you how grateful I am for pink snowballs.”

  He chuckled, turning his head and taking my lips in a deep kiss. The moment his tongue tangled with mine, I knew I didn’t want to stop. His hands shifted my hips into his, grinding me against his erection.

  “I realize this isn’t what you had planned, but I need you,” I whispered.

  He cupped my face and searched my eyes. “What about date number five?”

  “Later.”

  He fumbled with his back pocket, taking a condom out of his wallet while I nibbled on his throat, moving one hand down to his zipper.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ve never been more so. The fact that you knew I needed both you and Hostess products means a lot more than any date ever could. I want you. Deep. Inside. Of. Me,” I said between kisses, undoing his jeans and exposing his heavy length. My hand stroked up and down his shaft, feeling him grow longer and thicker with each motion.

  After rolling the condom on him, I rose up slightly, pushed my panties to the side and notched his wide crown in line with my opening.

  “Wait, you’re not ready,” he voiced in a panic.

  I eased down an inch as he hissed out a breath. “Then rub my clit because I can’t wait another second.” I slid another fraction, and both of us gasped together at the tight fit.

  While his fingers worked my most sensitive spot, I eased off and then pushed back down, taking him all the way in. We both exhaled harshly. I’d never felt so turned on in all my life, thinking about us connected with the most intimate parts of our bodies while still clothed. Meeting his gaze, I realized this position was more than vulnerable, being face to face, breath to breath. There was no hiding, no way not to be completely exposed like this.

  His hands flexed on my hips and then lifted me up some to sit me down on him again. “You’re not sore?” he whispered.

  I shook my head. “No, you feel amazing.” My fingers traced his jawline while I searched his eyes. Finding a rhythm, we moved in sync. “Is this too much?”

  He seemed to sense I was asking if this was too intimate, too raw. “No. Not with you, it isn’t. Keep your eyes open. I want to watch as you fall apart for me.”

  “Holy crap, it’s like your words are magic. I’m going to—Ahhhh.” I rode him faster and faster, chasing my orgasm.

  His lips parted in surprise as he rocked me into him, thrusting up with his own climax. He held still, buried deep inside of me as we both fought to catch our breath. “I may need to buy stock in Hostess.”

  I laughed and then scooted off of him carefully, lending him a hand to get to his feet once I was on mine. “Do you think owning stock comes with a monthly supply?”

  “I’m sure that can be arranged.” He kissed me one more time before heading into the bathroom to take care of the condom. When he came back in the bedroom, his hands were in his pockets, and he looked unsure. “I can stay here with you, but your mom could come back.”

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to.” Was he saying he wanted to go?

  “If I start a trail of Ho Hos out to my car, will you follow me to it and come to my place?”

  “You have Ho Hos, too?”

  He smiled. “And cupcakes and, depending on how you feel about Little Debbie Snacks, I may have some of those too. I plan on keeping you in supply from this point forward.” He held out his hand to me. “Come on, I have a lot of exploring to do.”

  “What exploring?”

  His grin turned mischievous. “You’ll have to come back to my place to find out.”

  ***

  When we arrived at Colby’s house and walked into the living room, my breath hitched with the vision of the table set for two, candles yet to be lit and roses.

  “Guess you know now why I planned to pick you up at your place. The chef put dinner in the fridge if you’re hungry.”

&
nbsp; Damn. My eyes welled up with tears at all the effort he’d gone to, only to have it ruined.

  “Hey, hey, no crying. We both don’t do well with tears, remember?”

  “Yeah, but I can’t believe you went to all this trouble.”

  He shushed me with a kiss. “It was only to get you in the sack again, so now that’s happened it’s takeout in sweatpants from now on.”

  I watched him curse before I could even react.

  “Shit, that sounded funnier in my head. I was trying to avoid tears and, of course, there will be more dates. It wasn’t about the sex.”

  I held up a finger to his lips, grinning. “Considering you’re the one who made us wait, I didn’t think otherwise for a second. Come on, I’m starving.” I took his hand, leading him into the kitchen.

  He took out some containers, set me on the counter, and proceeded to feed me tidbits of dinner. Turned out the tender pieces of steak, baby mushrooms, and potatoes were really good, even cold. And sucking his fingers every time he put a morsel between my lips was turning into quite the foreplay.

  “There’s chocolate cake for dessert, but I think we may need to wait until after my exploration for that.”

  I quirked a brow. “You have me intrigued.”

  He hauled me up and over his shoulder, carrying me into the bedroom caveman style, which made me giggle. After letting me down gently in the middle of the bed, he crawled over me. “Now then, exploration consists of getting to know every inch of you. Discovering what turns you on, where you’re ticklish, and tasting every inch of your incredible body.”

  I sucked in a breath as he undressed me slowly, peeling down my panties last and gazing at me with a burning intensity. Leaning up on my elbows, I met his eyes and smiled. “What are you thinking?”

  A grin spread over his face. “I probably shouldn’t say this out loud, but since you’ve yet to smack me thus far, here goes: this is the first time I’ve wanted to take my time with a woman and savor every touch. Guess that’s why I wasn’t much of a kisser before you.”

  “What’s sex normally like?” I winced, not meaning to ask him about his history. “You don’t have to answer if it makes you feel uncomfortable.”

  He swallowed hard and then trailed his fingertips up my calf, massaging the muscle. “I can’t speak for most people, but for me, I lost my virginity at fifteen and it became—I don’t know—like eating without bothering to really take my time and enjoy my food. Hell, most of the time, I didn’t even have to work for it, it was always around me.” He paused, gauging my reaction. “I’m not proud of that metaphor to describe most of my twenties.”

  “I know you’re not.” I framed his vulnerable face with my hands.

  “I don’t know. Maybe that’s why these five dates were so important to do.”

  It finally clicked in place. “Because you wanted to work for it?”

  He nodded. “I wanted it to be different.”

  “I’d be lying if I said hearing that we’re something different doesn’t make it feel special.”

  “It is, and I guess that was my fucked up way of saying so.”

  I brought my lips to his for a sweet kiss. “Let the exploration games begin.”

  ***

  I woke with a hot body tangled up in mine. Colby had made good on his promise to explore every inch of me. Afterwards, we’d gorged on chocolate cake and then both passed out in a sexual coma following another round. Now I could see the morning light coming through the shade and figured I’d get up to make some breakfast. Trying to extricate myself quietly, I smiled when he snagged me closer, putting his arms around me in a spoon position.

  “Where you going?” he questioned in a sleepy voice, nuzzling his lips on the back of my neck.

  “I thought I’d make pancakes.”

  “Mm, does it require getting out of bed or putting on clothes?”

  “It does, especially if you want bacon. Hot grease and naked don’t go well together.” I inhaled when his fingers reached around, finding me ridiculously wet for him.

  “Is this for me?”

  “For you, because of you. At this rate, I’ll have to bring a change of panties whenever I’m around you.”

  “That’s such a turn-on. You have no idea how much I want to slide into your delicious heat right now.”

  I could feel his erection poking me from behind and smiled. “Well, then, breakfast can wait.”

  He gripped my hips and adjusted himself. “Kenz?”

  “Mm?” I tried to shove back only to have his hands hold me in place.

  “I don’t have a condom on.”

  “Oh.” I noticed he wasn’t moving to grab one. “You’re not out of them, are you?”

  He expelled a breath. “No. But uh, are those birth control pills that you take in the bathroom?”

  He must’ve noticed them amongst my things. “Yes, but—”

  “I know what you’re going to ask. I get tested every six months for the life insurance thing, and I’ve always worn a condom. It’s been a hard line for me never to go bareback.”

  “Wow. That wasn’t what I was thinking, although I guess the safe sex talk is important.” Especially given the number of partners he’d probably been with, but it hadn’t been the first thing on my mind.

  “Then what was?”

  “I just figured with me on the pill and you using condoms, we cut the possibility of accidental pregnancy down even further. And I kind of thought the risk of having a baby might be your worst fear in life.”

  “Having a baby isn’t what scares me the most. It’s more about who it would be with. The thought of having a child with someone I barely know is what terrifies me. Because then what? Share custody, holidays, try to have a relationship based on that pregnancy? The nightmare would be not getting to be a full-time dad to my kid. But with you—it’s different.”

  I wasn’t sure how to respond, given that I was completely blown away by his admission.

  He misunderstood my silence. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. We can use a condom.”

  I turned over to see him blushing. Clearly talking about this type of stuff was new to him. “I only paused because I was processing how incredibly mature that is. Most people think of pregnancy in terms of how it would ruin their life, but you’re considering something more important.”

  He shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “I’m not saying it would be good for either of us right now. Obviously, you shouldn’t go off the pill or anything.”

  I imitated the sound of a car crash trying not to laugh. “You should’ve stopped while you were ahead.”

  He pinned me to the bed. “That’s what happens. My mouth always gets me in trouble.”

  “I can think of some ways it could get you out of trouble.”

  He quirked a brow, smiling roguishly. “Is that right?”

  “Definitely. But not right now because we’re about to have sex without a condom for the first time.”

  He practically growled with the thought. “Why are you on the pill by the way?”

  “It’s used for more than just birth control you know.” I really didn’t want to get into the details of the female menstrual cycle or the fact that I’d been on it since age sixteen to help with cramps.

  “Sorry. If it wasn’t obvious before, it probably is now that I’ve never had this sort of talk with a woman before.” He buried his face in my neck, nudging my legs wider, then stopped suddenly.

  “If you’re having second thoughts, it’s okay.” My hands rubbed down his back.

  “I’m not, but I’m trying not to come like a teenage boy at the thought of feeling you within five seconds.”

  “Oh.” I smiled, listening to him get his breathing controlled, trying not to rush this. This was a big step for him and for us.

  Suddenly I froze, watching him jump out of bed when my brother’s voice filled the room.

  “Holy shit, he’s at the front gate.”

  “What?” It took me a moment to realize B
rian’s words had been coming through the gate intercom. He was asking to be buzzed in. That was infinitely better than having him actually in the room which had been my initial horrified thought.

  “Your brother is at the front gate. Shit. Um. Why don’t you get in the shower and I’ll, uh, let him in?”

  My eyes scanned down to his erection. “Maybe you should take the shower, and I’ll get the door.” I was already up, frantically dressing in sweats, and hastily picking up our clothing off the floor.

  “Don’t worry, it’s quickly deflating.” He threw on his flannel bottoms and quickly ran out to the kitchen to buzz Brian in.

  When I joined him, I saw he was swiftly breaking down the sweetheart table that had been set up for the dinner from last night. I helped put away the candles and flowers. We both looked at one another when the knock came, taking deep breaths.

  “I’m guessing we’re agreed on not telling him?”

  I nodded. “Yes, unless you want to deal with that, but I certainly don’t. Not in the next five minutes, especially.”

  His relief was obvious. “Agreed. Did you know he was coming?”

  I smacked him lightly on the arm. “Of course I didn’t. I was about to have you slide into me bare when the universe decided to cockblock me from amazing sex.”

  He groaned, adjusting himself. “Shit. You had to remind me. Guess you’re answering the door cuz I’m in need of that time in the shower, after all.”

  I grinned all the way to the foyer and then took a calming breath, needing to give myself a second to get into the role of little sister.

  Act like you aren’t wishing you could join Colby in the shower. That you can’t still feel him from last night and, most of all, that you really appreciate your brother traveling three thousand miles to check on you.

  Okay, here goes.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Opening the front door, I plastered a smile on my face and forced all thoughts of a missed sexportunity with Colby out of my mind. “Hey, Brian.”

  “Hey, sis.” He moved in for the hug and then stepped back, assessing me. “You doing okay?”

  “Yeah. Much better than yesterday. You didn’t have to travel all the way out here though as I would’ve called you later.” I closed the door after he came inside.