The McCallans

by Hadley Quinn

  He sat up and smiled at her anyway, but Melanie’s expression still appeared lustful. Jay felt the same way, but refused to let it show. He reached across to her far arm and grabbed her wrist. She was about to drop her chicken wrap on the ground and he righted it for her.

  “You eat, I’ll be in the water,” he winked, and he turned away from her before she noticed the massive hard-on in his swim trunks.

  Jay sat at the edge of the pool with his back to her and his legs in the water. He obviously was not able to fool around with her and forget about it, and now that he’d kissed her, the challenge had become even tougher. This was getting fucking ridiculous. He had no idea what to do because Melanie was going to be in his life for a very long time. She would always be Camryn’s sister, and Camryn and Teague were always going to be together. If he screwed up his friendship with Melanie, it was going to be really fucking awkward for everyone.

  “Always such a goddamn joke,” he murmured to himself, in reference to the circumstances in his life. He just couldn’t get a damn break.

  Jay shook the thought and dropped into the water. He needed to just keep his distance from Melanie and stay her friend instead of the asshole that would just complicate her life later on.

  That was the only solution.

  After spending ten minutes in his own head as he swam leisurely from one end to the other, Melanie sat at the edge of the pool and dangled her legs in the water.

  “I’m stuffed now,” she said. “I don’t know if I can even swim.”

  “Tell me about it. I ate two of those fucking things.”

  “Two of them?” she chuckled. She leaned back and patted her little pregnant belly. “Do you have a food baby like this?”

  When he laughed, Jay totally forgot about his new rule to keep his distance from her. He was already swimming to her side of the pool and pulled himself onto his elbow at the edge next to her. Puffing out his stomach as much as he could, he patted it and said, “I’m way bigger than you, sweetheart. This is…what? –A six or seven month bump?”

  She laughed out loud and then shrugged. “Yeah, I’d say so. Good lord, suck that back in.”

  “You don’t like the changes in my body?” he playfully pouted, rubbing a hand over his stomach. “I will always think you’re beautiful no matter what, and you’re already wanting to dismiss me because I gained a few pounds?”

  He expected her to laugh but she didn’t. She was looking at him pensively and he quickly tried to backtrack his words to figure out what the fuck he said wrong.

  Finally he just said, “I’m sorry.”

  She looked surprised. “For what?”

  “I have no idea. You’re just looking at me like I’m a jackass.”

  She laughed that time, but then shook her head and said, “The opposite, Jay. That was really… Well, I won’t say the word because you’ll deny it and I’d rather believe what I want to believe.”

  “Believe what?”

  With a pause, she slowly shrugged. “Just that I’m not an unsightly mess in your eyes.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her. “Unsightly?” he chuckled. “What do you mean? You’re the most gorgeous female that I know.”

  “Oh wow,” she lightly laughed. “Now I know you’re full of shit because you date models and beautiful actresses.”

  “So?”

  “So? You can’t possibly think your preggo friend is up there with that.”

  “What the fuck does being pregnant have to do with how beautiful you are?” he asked sincerely. Never once had he ever thought being pregnant had downgraded her looks. In fact…

  No. He wasn’t even fucking going there.

  “Never mind,” Melanie sighed, and she pulled her ass to the edge of the pool like she was going to drop into it.

  “Don’t ‘never mind’ me,” Jay smiled, moving in front of her until her knees were against his chest. He was only four feet deep in the pool, which made him eye level to her bright yellow top. Why he didn’t just let her drop the subject like she was about to do was beyond his comprehension.

  She nudged his chest with her knees and smiled. “I need to work off some chicken wrap calories, so let me in the pool.”

  “What’s the magic word?” he taunted, holding her legs so she couldn’t move.

  “Um… I’ll tell Teague that you saw Camryn’s boobs last week.”

  Jay let go of her instantly and moved out of her way, and Melanie laughed out loud. “Wow, that was easy.”

  “I don’t need him getting all territorial and shit on me.”

  “Oh, and it has nothing to do with Teague knowing you saw Camryn’s assets?”

  “I don’t need to be lectured about walking into the house unexpectedly, even though I saw her from the end of the hall because she had her bedroom door open. And it was a pair of tits. I think I’ve seen a few in my life.”

  “Well you scarred my sister for life,” Melanie told him. When he laughed, she added, “And don’t tell her I said that.”

  “What if I said that I’ve seen your assets, as well?”

  “You have not,” she smiled at him. He only raised an eyebrow at her to disagree and her mouth hung open. “When?!” she scoffed with disbelief, splashing him with water.

  “The night you fractured your arm. I finally got you to take some pain medication and it made you…really loopy.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m calling bullshit because I don’t even remember that.”

  “Exactly. I walked you to your room to make sure you got in bed okay, and you took your top off right there in front of me.”

  “I did not!”

  “Yep, you did. Took your shirt off, and then took your Marvel comics bra off right after it.”

  Her mouth hung open for a few seconds but then she lifted her chin with a challenging smile. “You could have seen that bra anywhere. Like in the laundry or in my room.”

  He only smiled and continued with, “You grabbed a blue t-shirt out of your dresser and put it on, and then took your pants off. Well, tried to. You had a hard time with one arm in a cast and being wacked out on pain pills.”

  “Liar!”

  “I had to throw you on the bed to yank your pants off of you.”

  “You are so full of shit, Jay McCallan,” she shook her head at him. “You just—”

  “You have a heart-shaped freckle on your breast,” he cut in evenly, locking eyes with her. She only stared at him with surprise, so he took his finger and pointed to a section of her bikini top. “Right under there,” he added, holding his finger against the fabric close to her nipple.

  She didn’t say anything at first as they continued to stare at one another. “You could have just heard me mention it or something,” she finally spoke softly.

  “There’s another one about two inches away from it. Right about…” Jay moved his finger slowly down her breast to a new location and stopped. “Here.” He slowly smiled and winked. “It’s not heart-shaped, but it’s just as cute.” When she didn’t respond he added, “Wanna prove me wrong and show me?”

  He could tell she was trying to hide a smile when she answered, “Nah, I believe you.”

  Melanie pushed back into the water and then finally laughed as she kicked water all over him while swimming away. All Jay had to do was lunge forward and grab one of her feet, causing her to squeal really loud as she continued to kick water in his face with her other foot. He grabbed that one too and pulled her toward him.

  “No use trying to fight me off, gorgeous. Unless, of course, you’re just trying to burn those calories you mentioned.”

  “You ass, let me go!” she half laughed, half screamed. But he quickly pulled her all the way to him and wrapped her legs around his waist. She stopped fighting him and slid her arms behind his neck, but was totally out of breath as she did it.

  “I call you gorgeous and you call me an ass,” he smirked at her. “I guess we are always honest with each other, huh?”

  She barely smiled,
but her hands moved from his neck to the side of his face as they studied each other from inches away. Her lips and eyes were fucking him over again, and now he had her wrapped around him once more with barely anything on. If he didn’t get his mouth all over her in the next second—

  Melanie closed the gap between them and Jay became oblivious to anything else at that point. He had her lips between his and her skin all over him. He slid his hands up her sides and to her back so he could press her against him even harder. He moved with her to the side of the pool, and as much as he loved having her tattooed around him this way, he set her down slowly without breaking their kiss. His hand grazed over her breast as the other one pressed between her legs, and a soft noise came out of her as she kissed him harder. Their tongues and lips were a tangled mess.

  Jay kissed her neck and along her collarbone. She had his hair gripped in one hand as he traveled down to her breasts, and without delay, he pulled aside her top so he could take a nipple in his mouth. Melanie arched toward him, and when he slid his fingers down into her folds, she let out a moan and gripped him harder.

  “I want you so bad, Jay,” she gasped as she pressed her hand against his cock. “Take me to the pool house. Now.”

  He didn’t have to think about it when she put it that way. She moved for the stairs and he followed after. The second the pool house door shut behind them, Melanie slammed him up against the wall and stripped his dripping wet shorts off of him. She was on her knees in front of him instantly, her hot mouth taking him deep. There were brief moments where his conscience tried to interfere but he shoved those rational thoughts aside and enjoyed every second of her attention.

  She stood before he got off but he could read her loud and clear. He looked over her beautiful features—her creamy skin, deep penetrating eyes, and especially those damn kissable lips—and the effort to swallow down his lust anymore was absolutely useless. He stripped her bottoms off and traded places with her, holding her against the wall as his cock pressed against her. Fuck, he wanted inside her so bad but was still hesitant.

  Melanie was the one that guided him between her legs, and as she slid him along her slick entry, she gripped his neck and pulled him forward to kiss her.

  That was his undoing.

  The damn bikini top had to go, and once she was completely naked and he had his hands all over her breasts, his cock found its own way inside her. The feel of her as she wrapped her legs around him was incredible, and her sexy moans only increased as he pushed inside deeper.

  “Oh God…yes, Jay,” she panted between kisses.

  His desire to fuck her senseless was at full throttle, but he held off at first while he lost himself in how it felt to be inside her for the first time. He also felt an inkling of guilt but pushed it aside just as quickly, and it helped that Melanie was entirely into what they were doing. Their sexual chemistry was shooting off the charts, which was why Jay moved her to the chaise lounge onto her back. He propped himself over her and paused as they stared at one another. She was so beautiful, lying there with lips parted and drunk with desire for him.

  He kissed her again and she pulled him closer until he was back inside of her. Her legs came around his waist, but he took one of them and hitched it higher as he angled into her deeper. A groan came out of her as she fisted his hair in one hand and dug her nails into his back with the other. Jesus Christ, he was on fire for this woman. He could tell the second she broke loose underneath him, and while he kissed her mouth as efficiently as he was driving into her, Jay let himself go as well.

  That moment of release with her—with Melanie, one of his best friends—was somewhat bittersweet. The physical intensity between them was incredible. There was no doubt that the two of them would have a lot of fun together if they did this all the time. But why the fuck did he feel so guilty? It’s not like she got all needy and called him all the time. No, it was the opposite. Melanie barely ever made a big deal about anything. But maybe that’s what bugged him.

  He knew he took full advantage of it.

  “Where you at?” she asked, breaking his brief moment of contemplation.

  He locked eyes with her again and answered, “Uh, just enjoying the high, sweetheart.”

  He gave her a smile and a kiss and pulled himself away. Seeing her lain out on the chaise like that gave him conflicting feelings. She wasn’t the first woman he’d had there, but she was definitely the most important one. Just the fact that those thoughts were invading his head pissed him off big time.

  Melanie sat up while he grabbed his shorts and pulled them on, and then he collected both pieces to her swimsuit and handed them to her. Jay ran a hand through his wet hair as he glanced out the window while she dressed for some reason. He felt guilty as fuck for bringing her in here like this.

  “Standing guard?” her voice broke the awkward silence. He watched her head for the door and open it. When he didn’t respond with anything, she added, “When I come in here to change I have to pull the curtains shut when I know Doyle is around.”

  “Who the fuck is Doyle?” Jay asked, turning for the door to follow her out. He was glad for a new topic for conversation, but this didn’t sound like one he wanted to be a part of.

  “He’s one of the maintenance guys here.”

  “I thought the maintenance guy’s name was Fred?”

  “It is. Doyle is his nephew. And he’s a total lurker,” she added with a funny face.

  She then laughed, but Jay didn’t know whether or not to drill her with more questions. She was already to the lounge chair slipping into her sundress, so Jay grabbed his shirt and followed suit. Melanie slid her feet into a pair of sandals and pulled a brush out of her bag to run through her hair.

  “Are you going to work on your car tonight?” she asked.

  He was just standing there watching her for some reason like a total dipshit. Why the fuck couldn’t he just let things go like Melanie did? She obviously had no problem with what they’d just done in the pool house.

  “Uh, yeah,” he nodded. “I’ve got a few things to do before Teague comes over in the morning to help me put the engine in.”

  She dropped the brush into her bag and hoisted it onto her shoulder. “Have you talked to Beck lately?” she asked carefully, seeming to know it was still a sore subject. And because it was still such a sore subject, Jay didn’t even want to talk about it.

  But he casually shook his head no and answered, “Nah. I guess when he catches Jess fucking another guy maybe then he’ll believe me. Until then, I might have to change careers and start charging women for that,” he joked, pointing to the pool house.

  Melanie partially raised an eyebrow as she gathered his meaning. “Being a gigolo?”

  He forced a smile as he headed for the gate and said, “See ya, Mel.”

  “Bye,” she smiled as she gave him a wave.

  ***

  Melanie slowly sat down on the lounge chair. She was glad it was there beneath her because her legs were about to give out as she watched Jay disappear. Although a pool house quickie wasn’t exactly how she pictured her first time with him, she hadn’t regretted a single second of it. She’d wanted him so bad and told him so, and Jay wasn’t the type to give a shit about any kind of repercussions that could come with it.

  She knew that about him. She knew it.

  But what the hell made her think she would be anything different for him? Jay McCallan was a playboy that didn’t give a damn about what it was like for anyone he was with. Melanie knew this from the day she met him—Camryn had even warned her about him—and even though she had tried to keep from feeling anything for him, Melanie was realizing it had become pretty damn impossible.

  Jay had her so crazy for him, her life was becoming a jumbled mess.

  With a sigh, Melanie wiped the tear that had escaped and grabbed her things. It was her own doing; she’d broken her own heart because she’d followed that instead of her brain, and she had no one else to blame. She wanted to blame Jay—she
really, really did—but it wasn’t his doing. She’d been the one pursuing him, knowing that she’d end up with nothing. And now she had to keep on pretending that one more physical encounter with him hadn’t just broken her in two.

  Once again it was back to acting as if nothing was different between them…

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Holy fucking shit!” Jay laughed out loud from behind the wheel of the Boss 429. Just hearing the engine rumble to life for the first time sent chills through him and an excitement that he just couldn’t pretend to hide.

  Teague was standing to the side of the car with his hands on his head, obviously just as stoked as Jay was to hear it start for the first time. He finally laughed out loud and yelled, “Yeah, baby! What a beautiful sound!”

  “I just might jiz in my pants right now,” Jay replied, leaning his head against the steering wheel for a moment. He took a deep breath before he put the brake on and climbed out of the car. Teague gave him a fist bump right away and the two of them stood there like two proud fucking parents.

  After an entire minute of nothing but engine rumble, Teague said, “Okay, let’s take her out.”

  They climbed in quickly and Jay backed out of his shop. Just the feeling of being in the Mustang while it moved was amazing. When he paused out on the road, he looked at Teague and said, “Another fucking check on my bucket list, man.”

  “You’re moving right along, bro,” Teague grinned at him. “Let ‘er rip!”

  He knew Teague didn’t mean literally open her up right away, but the excitement for that moment was still present. Jay put the car in gear and pulled forward, both of them now silent. There were no words to be spoken at the time, and Teague just sat back while Jay drove. They listened to only the sounds and feel of the car, evaluating it closely for any problems. When Jay did make it to the highway fifteen minutes later, he was so full of giddy excitement it was absolutely unreal.