With a heavy gulp, I nodded. “I’m just trying to follow the rules you set out. You know, keep it low-key.”
He narrowed his eyes just a touch as he nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I totally get that.”
“So you’ll put your shirt back on and we can explain it away. Like, we fell asleep watching a movie or something.”
“That could work. Or…” He reached a hand behind his back and flicked the lock on the door. “Now we won’t get any unexpected visitors.” Oh shit.
As he stalked towards the bed, his thumbs at his waistband like a stripper in Magic Mike, I tried to make my eyes look away, but they wouldn’t comply. I had to see this. With a dramatic whoosh, his pants were on the floor and he was standing stark naked beside the bed, his hands on his hips and a pleased-as-punch grin on his face.
“Nice cock.” I gulped. It was huge. Way bigger than it seemed when I’d watched him dress the other day. Way bigger than any other I’d seen before. Dear God, give me the strength to resist this man.
He made a show of looking at his third arm like he’d never really thought about it before. “Thanks.” Then he flopped onto the bed beside me, his dick bouncing with the impact. He practically destroyed my pillow wall.
I pursed my lips and fixed it up again, trying to keep my eyes anywhere but on him. He was getting comfortable and had barely covered his package with the blanket.
Pulse, pulse, pulse went my clit.
“Goodnight, Sloane,” he said, the smile evident in his voice. He was obviously incredibly pleased with himself.
“Night, Abbot.” I wonder what a cock that size would feel like inside me… I cleared my throat, trying to ignore the buzzing beneath my skin. Then I rolled away and pulled the blankets up to my neck. “Sweet dreams.”
“Oh, I plan to dream all right.” He let out a contented sigh, his breathing evening out within thirty seconds. How the hell is he sleeping right now?
I was seriously shocked at his ability to pass out whenever he wanted to. I, on the other hand, felt like I was never going to sleep again. I need to get laid so bad right now.
Think of the money, Sloane. Think of the money.
I closed my eyes and tried to will myself to sleep.
Pulse, pulse, pulse.
Chapter Ten
The Devil’s Doorbell
There was obviously a point where my body gave in to exhaustion and let me sleep because the next time I opened my eyes, it was seven o’clock and Abbot wasn’t next to me anymore. Where the hell did he go?
Sitting up, I rubbed my hands over my face and tried to tell myself that the feeling in the pit of my stomach wasn’t disappointment. Did I really expect him to be here in the morning? And what would happened if he was? Cuddling? No. Even if something had happened between us, he didn’t seem the cuddling type. I was just sexually frustrated and craving human connection. It was dangerous playing this kind of game after an extended dry spell. But, there was five hundred thousand reasons not to lose.
As always, I turned to exercise to ease my frustration. A long run would burn off the excess energy Abbot helped create.
Digging through my bag, I pulled on a sports crop bra, a racer-backed singlet, and a pair of three-quarter leggings. Then I grabbed a zip-front jacket before pulling my hair into a ponytail and adding socks and shoes.
The room I was using was just off the rumpus room that opened out onto the in-ground pool via two big sliding doors. Beyond the rumpus was a kitchen and what I recalled was an office or some sort of study with a hallway beside that leading to the stairs and the formal lounge and dining areas.
I headed for the kitchen first, needing some water and a snack before I set off. The soft glow of the light above the stove guided my way, but it was the figure standing at the island bench that caught my attention. Abbot. Shirtless. With wet hair. Ow. My ovaries.
“You smell like the sea,” I said, catching a whiff of him as I moved past and opened the fridge.
He moved so quietly that I didn’t realise he was behind me until he spoke. “And you smell like”—he dipped his head so his nose was in my neck then inhaled, sending shivers of unfulfilled longing through me until he lifted his head—“peanut butter.” My hormones ground to a screeching halt.
“What?” I placed my hand against his face and pushed him away. “You are terrible at this.”
He laughed, leaning back against the bench and grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. “I happen to love peanut butter.”
I grabbed a water and wrinkled my nose. “Doesn’t mean I want to smell like it. Yuck.”
“You’re adorable when you make that face.”
I rolled my eyes. “Put a shirt on.”
“Take yours off.” He made his pecs dance again.
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. The guy was annoyingly adorable.
“I’m going for a run.”
“That’s a shame. I was going to ask if you wanted to join me for a shower.”
“Does this actually work for you? The teasing. The lewd suggestions and the stripping. It’s like you’re in high school.”
He grinned and took a bite out of his apple. “And you keep blushing like a school girl.”
“I do not,” I objected, feeling the heat in my cheeks even as I said it. I wasn’t fooling anybody. Everything about him did things to my body.
With a chuckle, he walked away. “Enjoy your run, Sloane.”
I let out my breath. I was going to run until I was too exhausted to even contemplate sex.
* * *
My legs took me all the way to the beach, along the shoreline, farther still until I saw a familiar blue house with a few familiar figures heading towards it with surfboards under their arms.
“Hey,” I said, a touch out of breath as I stopped near them.
“Oh, hey Sloane,” Ronnie said, smiling my way. “Where’s Abbot?”
I shrugged. “Back at the house, I guess.”
“I’m surprised they let you out without an escort,” Alesha said. Then Sam nudged her with his elbow and they exchanged looks that held enough meaning that they didn’t need words.
“Why would I need an escort?” I asked, curious. Had they been talking about me behind my back?
“You don’t,” Kristian said. “Leesh is just worried you won’t know your way back to the house.”
“Oh, I’ve been here enough times to remember. But thanks, mate,” I said, nudging her on the arm. “Sweet of you to be concerned.”
She gave me a smile and a chin lift.
“How’s the job going?” Sam asked. “I heard there’s a problem.”
“Yeah. A big one. But we’re getting there. Abbot is bored out of his mind babysitting me. It isn’t really a spectator sport.” Such lies.
“You know,” Ronnie started, tucking her blonde curls behind her ear. “If you’re still around this weekend, we’re having a sort of combined bachelor-bachelorette slash rehearsal dinner thingy. You should come.”
I touched my head nervously. “Ah, I don’t know. I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t be. It’ll be fun. Just food and drinks and a run-through of the ceremony. Mainly food and drinks, though.”
“Um… OK. Well, if I’m still here, sure.”
Ronnie beamed. “Great. You wanna come in for coffee or something? Are you done with your run?”
I looked between all their faces, completely open and willing to have me along. It was lovely to be invited, but still, I felt out of place. Twenty-one years had been too long, and I didn’t fit in with the group anymore. Just like back home, everyone had grown and partnered off while I just stayed the same, single Sloane.
“I’ve still got a way to go. It was nice seeing you though,” I said before saying goodbye and jogging off. I wasn’t sure if they thought I was rude for not wanting to join them, but it just didn’t feel right. Especially without Abbot there. Even discounting our bet, I was more comfortable around him than I was with the others. He was like an old pair
of shoes that still fit. Everyone else was…different. It would take a while for me to feel welcome around them again.
Slowing to a walk as I hit the driveway of the Cartwright house, I found Jasmine sitting with Breaker and Toby as I went through the gate to enter by the pool. Toby lifted a hand and smiled.
“Morning,” I said brightly, my body feeling well worn and heavy after exercise.
“Abbot’s not with you?” Jasmine asked with a smile that didn’t touch her eyes.
“He came surfing with me this morning,” Toby said.
“Is he missing, or do I need a guard?” I asked as I picked up the water bottle I’d left behind and took a sip. It was weird that everyone kept asking after Abbot. Was I no longer trusted to walk around on my own?
“Abbot’s inside,” Toby said without answering my question. Is he dismissing me? Wouldn’t be the first time.
“You remember the rules, don’t you, Sloane,” Jasmine enquired, her eyes dropping down then lifting up to take me in in my entirety. “They haven’t changed much in the time you’ve been gone.”
“Of course.” No talking about what goes on in the house. No inviting anyone back without permission. There were more, but it basically equated to ‘keep your fucking mouth shut, or else’.
“Then we shouldn’t have any problems that require an escort.”
“None that I can think of.” I gave her a tight smile, memories of that final summer becoming more present in my mind. “If it’s fine with you, I’ll go grab a shower before we head out to the warehouse.” I was also hoping I could wash off the creeping feeling that was climbing up my spine. I’d forgotten how filled with secrets this house was.
“Don’t let me keep you,” she said with a wave of her hand—like a queen dismissing her subject. I could see where Toby got it from.
It was so strange, as I walked away from her obediently, I felt just like a teenager again. My mind conflicted as I recalled snippets of conversations, instructions from Pop, grooming from Jasmine. She’d wanted to teach me how to be like them, train me the way she’d trained her boys. Pop had always refused. He’d trusted me not to get involved but I’d gotten involved anyway. What did he expect? He left me here each year, knowing the kind of people the Cartwrights were. From what I understood, he and Jasmine ran together back in the day, before Jasmine’s husband was arrested over a job gone wrong. They’d disbanded and gone to ground after he was caught, changed the way they did things but always stayed in touch. They had trust. But even that seemed to waiver when it came to me and my future in the ‘family business’. I often questioned myself over that stash he’d found. It was stuff I’d never want for myself. Girly things like jewellery and perfume. It made no sense that I kept it. I knew I wasn’t supposed to have it, and I didn’t even hide it well. Maybe I’d wanted him to catch me. Maybe, the guilt over Nate going to juvie made me want to get caught. Because I had deserved to get caught, too. I was the one who taught him to pick locks, after all. If I hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t have been able to steal that car. Ugh. Who knew what I was thinking. Teenage motives didn’t always make sense to adult minds, and I was incredibly confused at that time of my life. I was angry all the time and lashed out at the people around me, often doing things that were out of character and I later regretted. Things like throwing myself at Toby. I stopped for a moment and shook my head; I didn’t even want to deal with that memory.
Pushing the past out of my mind, I headed for the linen cupboard in search of a towel. When I returned, voices from the three outside filtered through the open back door, clear as a bell.
“You know we’ll need her on this next job too,” Breaker said. “We won’t get that transport emptied without someone like her on board.”
“She needs to get the safe open first,” Jasmine said, sounding unimpressed. Jesus. I’m doing my best.
“Give her a chance,” Toby responded. “It’s her first job for us, and it’s a bloody hard one.” First and only job. Abbot obviously hadn’t relayed that information yet.
“Trev didn’t train her well enough.”
“Are you surprised?”
I wondered if they knew I could hear while I took quiet steps towards my room, turning the handle without sound and slipping inside. I hated hearing people talk about me. As far as I was concerned their opinions of me weren’t any of my business.
“Are you sneaking in so I don’t find out you’re home?”
Holy fuck!
Abbot. I spun around so fast that our noses collided and we both reeled backwards, clutching our faces and groaning.
“What are you trying to do to me?” he groused, dropping to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Me? What are you doing? You shouldn’t be in here when they’re all outside. You are being the opposite of low-key?”
“Oh, I totally fixed that.”
“How.”
“Told Jasmine you’re not into dudes.”
I stopped blinking. “You told your mother I was gay?”
He shrugged. “She had that matchmaking look in her eye. I had to do something.”
“So you told her I was a lesbian.” I rolled my eyes and dropped the towel on the chair Abbot had been sitting in the night before.
“Do you have something against lesbians?” he asked slowly, narrowing his eyes.
“What? No! Love is love. I just—hang on, why the hell am I justifying myself to you? You lied to your mother. Again.”
Giving me that boyish laugh of his that took me back to happier times in this house, he reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling until I was sitting beside him.
“Don’t be mad, Sloane. I promise I only did it for your protection.”
“How has being gay ever protected a single person in this world?”
“Where my family is concerned it’s for the best.”
I pressed my lips together, unimpressed. “Explain to me why.”
“I can’t. So you just need to trust me when I tell you I had good intentions.”
He kept his eyes on mine, the contact so strong and sincere that I had no choice but to believe him. He made me melt.
“OK. I trust you. But I still won’t be sleeping with you,” I said, standing up, wickedness entering my mind. “Especially since I’m into girls now. Such a shame, really.” I pouted as I unzipped my jacket and started peeling off my tank so I was just in my sports bra and leggings. “We could have had so much fun.” I slung my clothes over my shoulder and stood with my hand on my hip.
“Sloane.” His voice thickened as he stared at my midriff. “You have abs.”
“I know,” I said breezily, twisting from side to side because I was damn proud of them. “Must be a lesbian thing.” I gave him a wink then walked into the bathroom and locked the door, a massive grin on my face.
“No ringing the devil’s doorbell, Slater,” he called out before I flicked the shower on.
Devil’s doorbell? I laughed to myself as I stripped down to nothing, catching sight of my naked body in the bathroom mirror. Since when did I ever flaunt this? I’d always thought myself so boyish—wide shoulders, long arms and legs, a chest that was barely there. And because I trained so hard, my muscles were defined and strong. I had never felt sultry in any way, especially given I’d always been one of the guys. But just now, watching Abbot bite his lip and resist touching? I’d felt...attractive. Sexy.
I placed my hands over my face to muffle my laugh. This thing between us might just be a game that wasn’t leading anywhere, but my God it was fun. I hadn’t felt desired in a very long time, and Abbot’s reaction to my body felt pretty fucking good. I felt pretty fucking good, and I was really thankful for that.
Chapter Eleven
Wrong Brother
“Come on. We need to take a break,” Abbot said, taking me by the shoulders and pulling me away from the safe. It was already Friday. I’d been at this safecracking thing for almost a week now, and I was fairly sure I had the number ranges narrowed enough that I could
start trying combinations soon. Thank God, because turning a dial back and forth all day was starting to send me cross-eyed crazy, even though I was so close I could taste it.
“I’m close, Abbot. Please.”
“I have been desperate to hear those words come out of your mouth, but that’s not how I imagined them.”
I turned around to face him, a smile on my face. “You just don’t quit, do you?” I’d managed to keep my hands to myself even though he continued to sleep beside me, naked as the day he was born. I was getting good at closing my eyes or looking away just as he dropped his pants to keep the temptation to a minimum. But it was hard. So hard.
Especially in the mornings.
He lifted a hand and brushed a few wayward strands of hair away from my face. “You should probably just give in. Put us both out of our misery.”
I had to fight closing my eyes, because his touch felt ridiculously nice, and I wanted to lean into him. He’d been in my space all week with his teasing and innuendos. It was childish and relentless, yet oh so welcome. I loved his hands on my skin, his eyes on my body and his words in my ears. It would have been so easy to lift up on my toes and plant a kiss on that gorgeous mouth of his, fuck him against the wall or on the dusty floor of the storage unit. I’d thought and dreamt about it enough times that it was seriously tempting. But so was half a million dollars.
I didn’t care how hot the guy was, no cock was worth losing out on that amount of coin. I’ll go bankrupt without it.
“You’ve never had to work this hard for a girl in your life, have you?” I asked, placing my hand against his chest as a barrier of sorts. “I’ll bet they usually throw themselves at you, big breasts and big lips, desperate to turn the rich boy’s head.”
“I like all kinds of breasts. It’s the nipples that are the fun part.” His eyes lowered to the area where my breasts should be, so small that even I forgot I had them sometimes. “And from the way yours like to bud up and press through your shirt, I reckon they’re real sensitive. I’ll bet that if I placed my hand right here”—he held his hand about a centimetre away from my chest without touching—“and rolled them between my fingers, you’d whimper and squirm and beg me to pull them with my teeth.”
Fool’s Errand: Cartwright Brothers, Book 4 Page 7
