by Hadley Quinn
She couldn’t help but laugh that time as he yanked her pants open. Just watching how desperate he was to discover what was underneath was priceless, and when he pulled her jeans off her legs, he just stared at her for a second, looking her over as she lay across his bed.
“What the hell were the terms again?” he licked his lips with confusion.
“Striptease,” she informed him with a chuckle.
He looked over her barely-there black panties and blinked. “But wait, isn’t this a matching set?”
She shook her head, but now she was the one getting a little desperate for some action. “No, they’re just a pair of black underwear but I didn’t buy them together. Teague, do you want me or not?”
He yanked his pants and underwear off in one motion and then literally tore her skimpy panties right off of her. Camryn wasn’t sure which Teague she had tonight—the one that would insist on extra protection, or the one that got too caught up in the moment to second guess her.
Caught up in the moment.
He stripped off her bra, pinned her hands above her head, and was inside of her within seconds, balls deep as he assaulted her lips with his. She braced her feet on the bed and worked with him, moaning into his mouth with nearly every thrust. After a minute he reached back and pulled her leg up over his shoulder, told her how beautiful she was and how good she felt, and then pushed into her harder.
Camryn climaxed, and then Teague—who had to bury his face into the bed in case he decided to yell something out. He muttered something about putting on loud music next time.
“Good thing you have a king-sized bed,” Camryn noted, glancing around as she caught her breath.
Teague smiled and dropped next to her as he exhaled. “I kinda screwed you from one end to the other, huh?”
“Yeah pretty much. I was about to do a back bend onto the floor if you slid me any further.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You can do stuff like that? You’ve been holding out on me?”
She bit her lip and shook her head. “Nah, just…pacing myself.”
“Holy shit,” he exhaled again. “I thought I hit the jackpot with that little arch thingy you do when you ride me.”
“Ah,” she smiled. “That’s a crowd pleaser.”
He laughed because he knew she was joking, but he was curious about something. “Were you, um…?” He cleared his throat and shook his head. “Never mind, I won’t ask.”
“Was I that adventurous with Zach? Not really. I mean we got, you know, better at it each time, but he was my first, I was his first… We just learned together.”
“And after that?”
She gave him a funny look. “What do you mean ‘after that’? I told you I’ve never been with anyone but Zach.”
He propped himself up on an elbow. “Not even Brandon?”
She looked him in the eye and answered, “I’ve never had sex with Brandon. He’s been like a best friend to me because of Zach.”
Teague rubbed his forehead. “So…you’ve never slept with him?”
“No.”
“Fooled around?”
She bit her lip and took a breath in. “Well, I’ve tried. I mean we’ve tried. It just…didn’t work.”
“What do you mean you ‘tried’?”
She sighed. “This is embarrassing, Teague.”
“You don’t need to be embarrassed to tell me anything.”
A few seconds of silence passed and then she looked at him again. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to talk to you about and what I shouldn’t.”
“Why are there things you shouldn’t talk to me about?”
She wasn’t sure she liked the suspicious look on his face, but she slowly shrugged. “I just mean things you don’t want to hear.”
“I always want to hear anything you say, Camryn. I love hearing your voice, and anything you want to tell me… Can I guess what you were about to say? You tried fooling around with Brandon to see if you could move on?”
She didn’t answer right away as she built up the courage to expound. “Yeah, pretty much. And Zach had written a letter to Brandon—before he left overseas. It basically said… Well, it said if anything ever happened to him, he wanted Brandon to look after me. He thought we’d be good for each other and said that he really couldn’t stand the thought of me being with anyone else. Brandon never told me—he was too embarrassed—but it came out one night and… Well, we just kind of made an agreement. I wasn’t ready to date anyone new. To be honest, it scared me to death. I couldn’t even stomach the idea of being with anyone but Zach. And because of his last video to me, I wouldn’t let anyone kiss me unless… Well, Brandon became a way for me to cope. He understood my fears because Zach was his little brother.”
Teague was silent as he let everything sink in. “So you’ve never kissed him, either?”
She slowly shook her head. “Teague, you’re the only guy I’ve kissed since Zach. You are why I was ready to move on.”
She pulled herself closer to him again, almost propped on his chest as his arm snaked around her waist. She kissed from the corner of his mouth to along his jaw, and stopped at his ear.
“You are the only man that has ever given me reason to,” she whispered.
Chapter Thirty
“…And then the bastard goes back into the water to find another one,” Jay finished the story as everyone laughed. He was the center of attention while an entire room full of people listened to stories about his surfing experiences with Teague. “The fucker almost drowns from an eighteen-foot wave and goes back to do it again.”
“Hey, you bet me money, champ,” Teague said. “I was a broke ass teenager that needed any dollar he could get.”
“You were a stupid ass teenager and not much has changed,” Jay shot back.
“So how do you compare South Africa surfing to Aussie waves,” Kenton asked.
“Oh, you can’t,” Teague shook his head. “At least I don’t. I just take it all in, wherever I’m at, and appreciate what’s there.”
“Like anything dangerous,” Jay interjected.
Teague laughed with him, but Camryn wasn’t exactly enjoying some of the things she was hearing. Especially when—more than once—Teague’s “nine lives” had been mentioned.
“So in Deceptive Wishes, you did all the stunt work for your brother?” a guy named Tyson asked.
Camryn had been cuddled up to Teague on the couch and his arm was around her, so she easily felt him tense.
“Uh, yeah, I did,” he answered casually.
“Holy shit, I heard they barely cheated with any of those stunts!” Tyson laughed. “Is that true? The scene on the bridge?”
Teague actually smiled at that. “We only had to shoot that scene twice, it went so perfectly.”
“And the second time was just because they couldn’t fucking believe it was perfect the first time,” Jay said. “God, I was there, too,” he shook his head. “That’s the only time I ever man-crushed on you, bro. I swear to God, the only time.”
The whole room laughed, even Camryn. Whatever the hell they were talking about, she was glad she hadn’t been there that day. Just the brief amount of work she’d witnessed over a week ago was stressful enough.
Shortly after she and Melanie discovered Teague’s career, Melanie had brought home a pile of movies for them to watch. They were all movies that Teague had worked in, and even though Camryn rolled her eyes at how giddy her sister was to watch them all (especially because Max was in half of them) she was actually glad for her sister’s curiosity. Camryn was interested in watching them, too. And what was strange, she’d seen four of those movies before and never even thought twice about stunt people. Melanie had deliberately paused on the credits, just to spot Teague’s name right there in the very first slot, and a sense of pride had washed over Camryn. “Paid Playtime” was Teague’s phrase, but Camryn was in love with an adrenaline junkie.
“Cam? Don’t you think?” his baritone voice n
udged her.
“Um, what’s that?” she blinked.
He kissed the side of her head and murmured, “I was saying how incredible you look naked and that we should go back to my room.”
She backhanded him in the chest, heat filling her cheeks. “You did not,” she partially laughed, glancing around to see if anyone heard him. It looked liked everyone was in different conversations, and she sighed her relief.
“You’re so cute when you blush,” he said, cupping a hand against her face to kiss her.
No one else in the room was fazed by their kissing, but a familiar voice said, “Good God, it’s an orgy!”
Every set of eyes turned to see Max and his bodyguard enter the house. Max was particularly staring at Teague and Camryn on the couch, and a huge grin filled his face.
“She might want to keep that tongue, little brother,” he winked.
Camryn scowled at him. They hadn’t even been using tongues in that kiss. But she was more worried about Teague and the fact that his hand was on her thigh, unaware of how hard he was squeezing it. She watched Max fit right in with a few of the people there, particularly because they’d flocked right to him with greetings and bro hugs. Camryn thought this to be weird since neither Teague nor Jay cared for the guy. Why was he showing up at what was supposed to be an impromptu early birthday party for Jay?
“What’s going on?” she whispered to Teague.
He finally relaxed the grip on her thigh and settled back against the couch, pulling her close again. “No one here but Jay and Kellie knows Max and I don’t get along. It’s part of the façade for the public, of course. I sure as hell didn’t invite him tonight.”
Next, Camryn heard Melanie’s giddy laugh and she almost groaned. Mel had been in the other room with Kellie and a few other guests and she’d forgotten all about her. She got up from the couch with Teague right on her heels and he almost crashed into her when she stopped abruptly. Melanie was leaning against the wall, Max had a hand on it next to her, and both had flirtatious smiles on their faces.
***
Teague stepped around Camryn and grabbed Max’s arm. “Excuse us, Melanie,” he said, feeling anything but polite. He pulled his brother with him, who only laughed a knowing agreement. The bodyguard tried to intercede or come with them, Teague wasn’t sure which, but Max told him to give them privacy.
“Chill,” Max said as they stepped onto the back deck. “I was just introducing myself.”
“You were just introducing your dick, now shut the fuck up.”
“Oh give me a break, Teague.”
“No, you give me a break!” he growled. “Why are you here? I told you you weren’t welcome in my home, around my friends, and especially around my girlfriend.”
“I didn’t come near your girlfriend,” he smirked.
“No, you just went straight for her sister.”
Max raised his eyebrows with an arrogant smile. “Ah, is that what the connection was all about? She just had a pretty smile, and that ‘Oh my God I know who you are!’ look to her.”
“Ah, yes. Your ticket to an easy time.”
“Not at all. I was just appeasing a fan.”
“Cut the bullshit, Max. Why are you here?”
“Because you won’t talk to me.”
“So you come to my house and think I want to see you?”
“Come on, Teague. I heard Jay was back and I brought him a birthday present. I didn’t know you’d have a house full of people. But since you did, I just thought I’d see who was here.”
Teague didn’t like the smile on his face. It was devious and intended to make him wonder.
“Just give me a minute, okay?” Max said. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“Talking to you is the last thing on my list, but if it gets you the hell away from me, fine. The clock is ticking.”
“Good,” Max nodded. “Okay, so, I took your advice.”
“Oh? You mean you’re gonna stop with the lies?”
Max lightly laughed. “God, Teague. I’m trying, here.”
“You’re trying? You’re trying?! How about you just do the right thing for once, Max! Jesus! What is more important than just being a decent person?”
“Hey! You want someone to change a million things, you can’t pick and choose where he starts!”
Teague took a deep breath and automatically patted his own pockets. Fuck, what he wouldn’t do for a smoke right now.
“Still hooked on that nasty habit?” Max smirked.
“Better than being hooked on other bad habits, like man-whoring, lying, and being a fake ass piece of shit for the public.”
“Okay,” Max held up his hands. “I won’t throw stones. But how about you? Camryn know about Kate?”
Teague shoved both hands into his brother’s chest. “You stay out of my life, Max!”
“Back off, Teague! You and your fucking temper! You haven’t learned a damn thing, have you?”
Teague got in his face, and in a low voice said, “What I’ve learned is that people can’t be trusted, and you can’t seem to get that through your fucking head. Leave me the hell alone, Max.”
“What about Indonesia, Teague,” Max sighed, taking a step back. “Let’s put the personal shit behind us and just focus on business. Just do the movie with me. And you’ll love it, I swear. You read the script, right?”
Teague wouldn’t answer.
“Come on, I know you did. Just reading about those scenes gets your blood pumping. And it’s Indonesia. You always want to try waves you’ve never been on before; I know exactly where you’ll go on your time off. At least admit you read it.”
“Yeah, I glanced through it,” Teague finally responded. “The answer is still the same. Hell no.”
He turned for the house and disappeared through the back door.
***
Camryn noticed the second that Teague entered the house and her heart sank. He looked mad enough to break something but tried taking a couple of deep breaths before he had to face anyone. He came straight to her where she was still in the same spot, talking to Jay.
“Sorry I had to leave you,” he smiled, resuming his position next to her.
“Um, where’s your brother, Teague? You didn’t already get rid of the body yet, did you? ‘Cause I might’ve been able to give you some pointers.”
He chuckled and seemed to relax a little. But they both watched Max re-enter the house, and it only took two seconds before he was in a conversation with a handful of people.
“Everything okay?” Camryn asked softly, taking Teague’s hand.
He lifted her fingers to his mouth and kissed them. “Yeah, it’s fine. Hell will freeze over before me and my brother are friends. It’s just a fact of life. Nothing I can change.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder. She felt grateful that she had a sister she was close to. Melanie was hard to handle sometimes, but easy to love. “Hey, how ‘bout that motorcycle ride you promised me?” she asked, looking up at him.
Teague’s face lit up, but then it fell just as quickly. “Uh, maybe tomorrow evening. I’d better wait until Max leaves first.”
“Did you tell him to?”
“No, not exactly. If I make a big scene about it, it’ll be in the tabloids. Not worth it.”
Camryn glanced around at everyone in the house. “I thought these people were friends of yours?”
“They are,” he shrugged. “But it doesn’t take much for something to get blown out of proportion. You wouldn’t believe how stories get started sometimes. I mean I’m not saying anyone here would do anything malicious intentionally, but things can snowball pretty easily. Being around Max is like… Well it’s sticky. Even though I don’t approve of my brother’s lifestyle or a lot of his choices, I still have to keep it in the family, you know? There are practically written rules when it comes to shit like that.”
“Like knowing a superhero’s identity?” she joked.
<
br /> Teague smiled, but answered, “Or the evil villain.”
Camryn kept that thought with her all night as she watched Teague try to avoid his brother for the forty minutes he remained. Melanie was back in a conversation with Max just before he left, but he seemed a little cooler toward her than he’d been before. Camryn wasn’t sure if it was because of something Teague said to him or not, but she was grateful for it.
Having Melanie mixed up with Teague’s questionable family members was the last thing Camryn needed…
Chapter Thirty-One
“Oh my goodness,” Camryn exhaled, shaking her blonde hair out. She hung the helmet on a handle like Teague had done and followed his lead by shrugging out of her jacket. “That was amazing,” she sighed.
Teague grinned and draped his jacket over the back of the motorcycle. “Hell yeah it was. I’d take you wrapped around me like that any day.”
“Hmm, it was kinda nice, wasn’t it?”
He came around the bike and put his hands on her shoulders. “It was.”
She slid her arms around his waist and kissed his lips for a minute. Then Teague sat against the motorcycle, long legs out to prop himself up, and pulled Camryn to sit her butt against him. He wrapped his arms around her and they spent the next ten minutes talking softly and watching the sunset. Teague rained kisses on her neck and face whenever he could, and Camryn hugged his arms against her.
When her stomach growled, Teague laughed and promised to get them some dinner. He straddled the bike, but Camryn gave him a sexy smile when she straddled it with him, this time facing him. She wrapped her legs around his hips and he pulled her close for a lengthy kiss.
“Mmm, I think I might want to try this stunt for real,” he said.
He went to turn the key and she pushed his arm away, laughing. “No you won’t!”
When she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him again, Teague started to get that same feeling he’d been getting a lot lately. He removed his lips but remained close as he took both hands to the sides of her face, softly rubbing her skin with his thumbs. When he looked into her eyes, his chest started to burn and it spread through his body in thick waves.
