by Anna Paige
"There are a lot more little surprises, but half the fun is letting you discover them for yourself." Brant shuffled around us, leaving the room so we could all fit.
I turned and caught sight of Kane's disappointed frown. "What's wrong?"
He tucked in tight behind the girls, looking around morosely. "I never should have agreed to that game of poker. This could be my bedroom, dammit."
•••
The cabin Lauren had rented us was enormous; there were three stories of living space, plus a game room and indoor pool on the basement floor. Six bedrooms, three baths, and a view of the mountains that could inspire a lifetime’s worth of songs. It was amazing.
Jared, Ethan, and Lennox all snagged rooms on the first floor, leaving me, Aubrey, and Kane to the second floor. The third floor was entirely dedicated to the kitchen and enormous living area. When all of us had settled in, we gathered on the top floor to wait for the rest of our friends. Clay, Spencer, and their wives were all working at the camp, but they'd be heading our way soon.
True to her word, Lauren had stocked one of the two massive, industrial refrigerators with nothing but beer—except for a few bottles of wine she'd tucked in the door, presumably for Aubrey. It was early yet to start drinking, so I grabbed myself a bottled water from the other fridge and took a seat at the table, positioning myself several spots away from the girls, who appeared to be chatting like old friends.
"Talia and Ali get to spend more time on the mountain, but I get up there as often as I can. Brant and I own and operate a diner in town, plus I'm still working toward my degree in child psychology and getting Alex all settled in, so it's not easy to carve out free time." Lauren smiled fondly at the thought of Milly's Mountain. "Those kids are way more important than getting eight hours of sleep, though, so I sneak up there a lot at night and sit in on their story time or movie nights, whatever they're doing."
"The kids love her," Brant announced proudly.
"They love you guys, too." She smiled over at her husband before turning an amused eye toward Aubrey. "You should see Brant, Clay, and Spencer running and playing like a bunch of kids themselves. It's priceless." She quirked her mouth in thought. "Maybe I should drag out some of the pictures."
"No, no, no…" Brant placed a hand on her arm, pleading in his eyes. "Don't you dare."
She pursed her lip, pouting playfully. "But I bet they'd love to see the sunflower costumes you all wore for that play last summer."
"We were daisies.” He replied automatically, going wide-eyed at his slip before shaking his head, pretending he didn’t say it. “She's lying," he frantically looked around the room. "Don't believe a thing she says."
"So busted," Ethan laughed and shot Lauren a wink. "Bring on the pics."
"I think I hear Clay's truck." Brant jumped up from the table and went to the kitchen window, which overlooked the driveway.
"I smell horse shit," I mumbled, catching Aubrey's eye as I spoke. She giggled softly and nodded in agreement before turning to watch Brant.
"See? I was right. And Spencer's Chevelle just pulled in behind him." He motioned toward us, brows raised. "Who wants to help them bring in dinner?"
"Best food in town, if I do say so myself," Lauren said proudly.
Kane and Ethan jumped up to follow Brant downstairs, while Jared and Lennox both decided to wash up before the food arrived. As soon as Aubrey, Lauren, and I were alone, Lauren shot me a look.
"I haven't said a thing, but I'm not sure I'll have to." She studied me for a beat, assessing. "You're sure no one has picked up on anything between you two?"
"I'm sure. Why?" I cut my eyes in the direction of the stairs, making sure no one was within earshot.
"Because you're about as subtle as an atom bomb, that's why," she chided, shaking her head at me. "Every time she moves, your eyes are on her. You're making private jokes under your breath, which is a huge tell considering how seldom you make jokes, period. And if you think sitting a few seats away is helping conceal anything, maybe you shouldn't have your entire body pointed at her like she's got a damn tractor beam on you."
Aubrey rolled her lips between her teeth to keep from smiling.
"See? I'm sitting here telling you not to watch her, and you're right back to it before I even finish talking. How can you have so little self-control?"
"I blame her," I offered meekly, doing my best not to look at the woman in question. "She enjoys it when I stalk her like prey, so I’ve kind of gotten in the habit of tracking her movements."
Lauren looked over at Aubrey, giving me the freedom to do the same. "Seriously?"
Aubrey just shrugged, not the least bit pissed that I’d thrown her under the proverbial bus. "When he watches me like that, all intense and foreboding…" She cleared her throat, blushing. "I guess we didn't realize how obvious we were being."
"Christ on a crutch," Lauren huffed in exasperation. "There's not a drop of willpower or self-control to be found between you. This is going to be a fail of epic proportions." She eyed me warily. "Talia and Ali are going to zero in on this shit so quick it will make me seem dense; you realize that, right?"
"Then I'll just have to persuade them to keep quiet," I countered, unaffected.
She ran a hand over her face before giving me a pointed look. "You know, if men weren't so oblivious to shit like this as a general rule, the entire band would be onto you by now."
I just shrugged and gave her a sarcastic grin. "Well, thank goodness for testosterone-induced stupidity."
Lauren just shook her head and stood, moving to the kitchen to start gathering plates. Aubrey followed her after catching my eye for a moment and giving me a seductive wink, leaving me to watch the gentle sway of her ass as she walked away.
I realized what I was doing—staring with my damn tongue hanging out—and shook myself, forcing my eyes closed. It wasn't much help, though, since the insides of my eyelids were the backdrop on which I kept replaying the scene. She really had an amazing ass, round and firm, I loved the way it curved perfectly into my hands when I'd tugged it toward me and buried myself inside her.
What the hell was I doing? I shook myself again and jumped from my seat, turning my back to them as I struggled to get my arousal reined in. Goddammit, Lauren was right.
I really didn't have any self-control.
Chapter Ten
Aubrey
It was kind of nice watching the guys interact with their friends. Something about the easy way they were together reminded me of a family reunion, laughing and catching up over amazing food and a boatload of beers. I liked everyone immediately—especially the wives—and they all acted like I was part of the group, which wasn't something I expected.
After finishing our meal—an amazing lasagna prepared at Lauren's restaurant but credited to Talia's recipe—us girls set about cleaning up while the guys sat around the table talking trash and making jokes.
As soon as Clay's wife, Ali, and I began loading the dishwasher, the questions started. She leaned over to load some pieces of silverware, a knowing smile playing on her lips. "Is it my imagination or is Kade watching you like a hawk?" She caught my eye and her smile widened. "He's definitely trying to fight it, but I've caught him several times. He's so preoccupied with staring at you that he's nearly forgotten to be a grump today. It's kind of nice not to have to decipher his angry scowl."
"Jerk face," I offered absently. "The guys call it resting jerk face, the male equivalent of resting bitch face, according to Kade."
She snorted softly, nodding. "Perfect. Absolutely perfect."
"Who's perfect?" Talia asked Ali as she handed her a freshly rinsed plate, catching my eye.
"We were discussing Kade's general expression of annoyance. Aubrey says the guys call it ‘resting jerk face.’"
Talia laughed, her long blond curls bouncing. "Yep, that really is perfect."
"He's not a jerk. He's brooding, and that's sexy." Lauren cut in from behind me and bumped my shoulder playfully, the four o
f us officially gathered around the dishwasher like a coven of witches around a damn cauldron. "Right, Aubrey?"
Mildly panicked, I backed away and snagged a dish towel from the counter, drying my hands and dutifully ignoring their attempts to extricate information about Kade and me. One last glance at the trio told me I didn't have to say a thing, so I muttered something about wiping down the table, grabbing a dishcloth to go with the towel in my hand and hurrying to a safe distance.
Of course, fleeing the inquisition in the kitchen only landed me right in the middle of testosterone alley as I made my way around the enormous table, leaning across and around the guys as they talked, all of them politely moving aside when I neared, and every single one taking the time to thank me for my efforts. With the exception of Kade. He didn't move out of the way or even so much as nod in appreciation when I cleaned the area in front of him, which was typical Kade when he was being a grump—as Ali had described it. I moved on without letting it bother me, which just made his eyes bore into me harder. I could feel the heat of it on my skin, not like a caress but rather a hand around my throat— delicious, dangerous pressure.
He glowered at me as I leaned between Kane and Jared, making quick passes at the crumbs left by their garlic bread. I took my time with the damp dishcloth, snaring every last speck, then shifted to using the towel to dry the area. Just to piss him off, I spent a bit longer in Kane's space, pressing my hip into his shoulder and smiling back at him a little too brightly when he spoke. Instead of moving away and declaring my victory, I stayed there a while, engaging Kane in conversation and loving how rigid Kade's body had gone across from us. For his part, Kane seemed to know what I was doing, because he glanced at his twin and shot me a wink, letting me know he was aware of Kade's annoyance and approved of my efforts to torment him.
I wasn't exactly flirting with Kane, not really. I didn't see him like that, despite what had happened between the three of us. Kane was my friend. I didn't have a lot of those, and even fewer that I actually trusted, but he was one of them. Kade being Kade, though, he probably didn't like seeing me get close to his brother. Me just being in close proximity to Kane was suddenly enough to annoy the hell out of him, so I was going with it.
Jared eventually turned to join our conversation, and I slid into the seat next to Kane, leaning over him to address the quiet rhythm guitarist, genuinely focused on the fact that he was talking because he tended to say startlingly little.
From the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of movement and turned just as Kade got to his feet, still glaring at Kane and me as he made some feeble excuse about needing some air and left the room.
A hush fell over the room, and I sat back in my seat, staring after him as he stalked down the stairs and out of sight.
"Dude needs to get laid. He's been heavy on the bitchy lately, and it's harshing my tour buzz," Lennox grumbled then cut a look to me. "Sorry. I know we're supposed to be on our best behavior, but I think he really needs to grab a couple groupies and take the edge off before he fucking explodes."
"Nice, Lenn." Lauren shot him a look, a lock of her black hair falling over her face.
"Seems to me, the last time he grabbed a couple groupies, he ended up all over the damn internet and you guys wound up saddled with,” I pointed at myself, glaring back at him, “the polite police babysitting you to save your irresponsible asses from getting sued and dropped from your label." I crossed my arms over my chest, annoyed, though I wasn't sure exactly why. Maybe the images of Kade with those girls meant something different to me now. Or maybe the idea of him “taking the edge off” with some random groupie—or groupies—made me unreasonably jealous and a little sick to my stomach. "Indiscriminate sex is what got you all into this."
"Damn, Aubrey. It was just a joke," Lennox grumbled, looking hurt. "Mostly, anyway."
"Maybe she's the one who needs to get…" Ethan started, giving me a withering look before Jared punched his shoulder to shut him up. I couldn't fault him, not really. He was sticking up for Lennox, whose feelings just got stomped on. I was such a bitch.
What was wrong with me all of a sudden?
"What I need is to get away from this bullshit." I stood and dropped the towel and dishcloth onto the table, glancing around at the four remaining band members, seeing the disapproval in their eyes, even Kane's. "I'm going for a walk. If you guys are lucky, I'll get mauled by a bear, and you'll be rid of me. Then you can go right back to destroying your careers in peace." Stop this, Aubrey. They didn't do anything. I took a steadying breath and peered over at Lennox, feeling tears threaten. "I'm so sorry I snapped at you. I don't know why I did that."
He just stared, not ready to forgive.
Kane thawed first, catching sight of the tears welling in my eyes. "Aubrey, wait." He reached for me but I was already walking away.
•••
I could hear Kade moving around on the second floor when I darted down the stairs, so I didn't pause, didn't even glance at anything except the light spilling through the door on the ground floor landing. The more stairs I descended, the farther away my destination appeared to be. It seemed to take eons to get to the bottom, and once I did, that first breath of muggy summer air was a complete letdown. It didn't help at all. If anything, it made me feel worse.
So much for clear, crisp, mountain air.
I turned right back around and marched inside, descending the last flight of stairs and opened the door to find myself in the basement. There was a small sauna in the far corner and a half bath tucked on the opposite side of that, past the double doors that led to the porch that housed the hot tub. The porch was supported by thick beams that were driven into the side of the mountain at an angle, its roof actually the floor of the first floor porch, and the roof of that one was the floor of the second floor porch, and so on and so on. It was beautiful, and I would have gone out to sit in one of the antique rocking chairs if the afternoon air wasn't so stifling.
Maybe after the sun went down. I had something else in mind just then.
The indoor pool was pretty big for a residential space, and its cool water was inviting as hell. The decorative stone waterfall on the far side created a curtain of water about three feet wide, and suddenly, all I wanted was to duck behind it and never come out.
I dragged my shirt over my head and shimmied out of my shorts, kicking them and my sandals across the room without caring where they landed. My bra and panties would have to be swimsuit enough. The pool was eight feet deep at one end, complete with a small diving board. I marched over to it and strode to the end of the board without pausing, throwing my arms over my head and slicing through the water head first, the frigid depths setting my heart racing. I didn't surface until I heard and felt the waterfall above me, the rush of water creating a line of disturbance on the surface that allowed me to swim directly into the secluded nook I craved.
I surfaced, pushing my hair back off my face and treading water for a moment, finally getting a lungful of gloriously cool air. The water tasted salty on my lips, and I nodded in approval. Much better than chlorine. Droplets clung to my lashes, and a few rivulets rolled down my face, tickling my cooling skin. I let my legs drift up to the surface as I reached behind me to lightly grip the edge with both hands to keep myself in place, floating there as the falling water beat against my ribcage.
My eyes closed and I let out a breath, my body dipping slightly in the water as the tension inside me began to unfurl. I could have stayed like that forever, just floating, not caring, not feeling. Just breathing.
Since the moment I'd given in to my attraction to Kade, I'd been fighting for air, almost consumed by equal parts lust and self-loathing. I wanted more of him—all of him, actually—and I also felt like a complete failure for being unable to fight it. I hated feeling weak. Hated. It. And adventure or no adventure, I’d given in after swearing I wouldn’t. After the accident and my complete breakdown, I'd vowed to never lose control again, never let myself bend, much less break.
Kade would break me. I knew he would. It was just a matter of time. And instead of leaning toward self-preservation, my instincts were screaming to let him do just that. Even if having him meant losing absolutely everything and everyone else.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone suddenly jumped in the pool, their shadowy form stalking me from below, a hand closing around my waist just as I frantically shifted my body upright in the water.
His chiseled, brooding face was suddenly inches from mine, the waterfall sending a stream down his blond hair as he latched onto my waist with both hands and tugged me forward, toward his chest. "You should have locked the door, warden. Any old delinquent could just barge in here and snatch you up."
"Looks like one just did, but you're not just any old delinquent, are you?" I breathed against his lips, feeling brave.
"Nope. I'm the one who had the presence of mind to lock the door behind himself so he could fuck you against every surface in this room without interruption." His tongue darted out to flick my lip as he gave me a dark look, igniting me just that quickly.
"And if I don't want to be fucked?" I couldn't just fall over on my back with my legs in the air, now could I? I had to play the game.
"Then I'll have to lick that sweet pussy until you change your mind." He bit my lip before disappearing beneath the water. His hands locked around my thighs as he ducked between them, tugging my legs over his shoulders as he kicked with his long, powerful legs, moving us toward the shallow end before he planted his feet on the bottom and stood, lifting his head—and me—out of the water with his face inches from my core.
I fought for balance as he gripped my ass and dragged me closer, his hot breath setting my pussy on fire. I let out a low moan, desperate for him to do just what he threatened. The licking and the fucking. I wanted it all.
So much for fighting it.
