Sizzle

by Lexi Buchanan

  I banged on the door. “Guy’s? Ryder wants in the room. Hurry it up.”

  Hell. All I could hear was grunting and moans. I did not want to go in that room. No, I did not. Shit. I tried the door, which, surprisingly was unlocked, and pushed it open, slipping inside.

  Instant boner. Donovan was sitting on the desk, legs spread with the woman wrapped around him, his hands on her hips while she bounced up and down on his cock. Reece stood between his legs with his cock in her ass and his hands on her tits, kissing her neck. Twelve months ago, she’d have been in a slightly different position with my cock in her mouth as well. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

  Simone came apart with them both groaning and following her over.

  “Ryder needs the room. Fuckin’ hell!” With that being said, I walked out of the room, slammed the door and came face to face with Ryder. He was leaning against the wall opposite laughing.

  “Sounded good.”

  “You’re a bastard, and you owe me.”

  Walking back to the bar, I was stopped once or twice by someone asking if we were playing later. Seeing the disappointment on their face when I replied in the negative made me smile. Our music was good.

  At the bar, I grabbed another longneck Suzie passed me, knocked it back in one only to have Reece wrap his arm around my neck with a huge grin on his face.

  “Oh man. Going to be sorry to see her go. She had the biggest fucking tits I’ve had the pleasure to suck in a while.”

  I did the only thing I could do; I ignored him.

  For my own peace of mind, I’d needed to leave the house this evening, only to arrive at Kix and witness my two best friends fucking the same woman. I should have known, but needing the escape I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

  “Where’s Donovan?” He was usually the first to appear afterwards.

  “Giving the woman a ride back.”

  I raised an eyebrow in question.

  “She was about to leave with her friend when we arrived so Donovan offered her a ride back.”

  “Seriously?”

  He roared with laughter. “I told her he’d give her a ride back. Don’t have my wheels tonight. Why are you here?”

  “Needed some space.” I was keeping Thalia to myself tonight. There would be plenty of time to mention her, and for them to meet her. Tonight she could be in my thoughts without Reece adding his cent’s worth.

  “Well, as you’re being talkative, I’m going to go and find myself some company for tonight. This new tats hurting like a motherfucker.”

  I watched him walk towards a group of three women, who I hadn’t seen before.

  Chapter 13

  Jack

  With a large coffee poured, I was sitting outside on the back porch enjoying the stillness of the morning. The best times of day for me were in the morning before everyone was up, and the evening after everyone had gone to bed. There was no one to harass me, or to remind me of what was expected, and I had total peace.

  I’d been awake since five, unable to sleep because of Thalia. She was sleeping in the room next to mine and all I’d wanted to do was climb into bed with her. Not for sex, but to hold her, to feel her arms wrapped around me. It’d been a hell of a long time since I’d had a woman in my arms, for anything. Coming home last night had been difficult, and my shoes had felt full of lead as I’d walked to my room.

  I mused at the night before. All through the dinner I’d watched her and tried not to make it obvious. I’d been pissed with my reaction to her, which had caused me to use the term ‘little girl’. Somehow I’d known it would piss her off, but instead, she’d smiled and replied in a sexy voice; my dick had hardened to steel at the tone. Thank God my t-shirt had covered the evidence. Before I ended up embarrassing myself I’d made a quick escape back to my room.

  Nobody had ever affected me the way she did. What the hell had possessed me to go into her room to wait for her, to apologize for being a dick at dinner? We’d been standing so close when I’d reached out and caressed her face. Thalia’s reaction had told me she was just as affected. I hadn’t wanted to leave, but it was either that or drag her into the shower with me. A shower, which I’d ended up taking when I climbed out of bed this morning in an effort to relieve my throbbing cock.

  I sighed. My peace was broken, someone was in the kitchen cluttering around, and then the porch door opened.

  My coffee half way to my mouth, I looked up and froze. Thalia, she was beautiful.

  “You coming out?” I asked, seeing her hesitate. She looked like a deer caught in headlights.

  “If I’m not in the way.”

  Shaking my head, I offered her the seat across from me. There was no way I wanted her sitting beside me, but as she sat down, I got a look at her deliciously long legs. She had her pale pink robe on, which came down to her toes. Her dark hair was haphazardly piled on top of her head with bits flying around her face and neck. I gripped the cup of coffee tighter as she looked at me.

  She took her time looking at me, but for the blush slowly creeping up her cheeks, I would have said she was in a trance.

  “It’s beautiful here. I could sit here all day and never move.”

  I chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Oh, you’d move alright. I’d give you maybe ten minutes from when good old mom joined you before you’d think up excuses to leave.”

  “That’s not a nice thing to say.” She scowled.

  “Yeah, well it’s been a while since anything nice was said about me.” Shit, why the hell did I go and blurt that out? It was the truth, but not one I’d ever admitted to before.

  She’d started to look at me with pity and I felt anger narrowing my eyes. I didn’t want pity. I wanted… “Do not pity me,” I growled at her.

  Thalia looked away from me, and then took a deep breath before she met my eyes again. “Don’t get pissed with me, Jack. You’re the one who told me that.”

  “What’s going on?” Liam asked, walking onto the porch with his own coffee making us both jump.

  “We were just talking or debating something. Depends on which way you look at it,” Thalia said, looking straight at me. Having her eyes on me hurt, knowing she was with my brother. It was crazy and I needed to leave.

  Standing, I risked a glance at Thalia, and she looked disappointed that I was leaving, whereas Liam looked relieved.

  “I’ll catch you guys later.” I was half way down the porch steps when I remembered I still held the cup. Fuck. I turned and started back up the steps, nearly knocking Thalia, who’d stood up, off her feet. I made a grab for her, pulling her against me. I dropped the cup; my arm went around her waist while I steadied us both by grabbing hold of the railing with the other.

  Thalia had one of her hands wrapped tight in my t-shirt, against my back, causing a shiver to run through me. She felt damn good in my arms. I briefly tightened my hold before letting go. “Fuck.” I shoved her at Liam as I picked the cup up from the floor, which surprisingly hadn’t broken. With a quick glance at them both, I slammed the cup down onto the table, practically running to the stables to let off steam on my bike.

  Around Thalia, I needed to think about Mia, to stop myself from practically falling over my tongue when I looked at her. There was no way she would have missed the instant erection I’d gotten when she was in my arms. I’d felt her curves and those large breasts. God, I needed a cold shower or to call Mia, although I had the feeling it was only the latter that would get me to calm down!

  Chapter 14

  Thalia

  “What’s going on between you and Jack?”

  So I hadn’t imagined the tension between us? Sitting back down, I looked at Liam. “Nothing. Why?”

  “When he crashed into you, he looked ready to sling you over his shoulder and take you with him,” Liam grouched.

  I wish he had.

  Liam’s forehead creased in worry and I sighed. “There is nothing going on between me and your brother. He was sitting out here drinking his coffee when I walked out, not five minute
s before you, plus we only met last night.”

  He ran his hands through his hair, and then looked at me. “Thalia, you need to remember he’s engaged and getting married in a few weeks. No matter what happens, he will be getting married, that I can guarantee you. Just be careful with him.”

  “I have no intention of needing to be careful with him, okay? I would like to be his friend, because something tells me he doesn’t have that many.”

  Liam scowled not looking too keen on that idea. “He’s your brother so why can’t we be friends? Wouldn’t you expect to be friends with his fiancée, Mia? After all she’s going to be your sister-in-law.”

  At first glance he looked upset, but then he offered me a wry grin. “Okay, you have me there. Let’s just forget it. Do you want to go to the lake today? You’ll probably like it there. We could take a boat out as well.”

  Liam held his hand out, so I placed mine in his and let him pull me up from the chair. “That sounds great, but I think you should know, I’m not a very good swimmer. I tend to stay in my depth, otherwise I struggle.”

  “If we go out on the lake, we have to wear life preserves anyway, so you’ll be okay. Just remember not to get too close to the bank without wearing the preserve, because it drops pretty deep within four feet.”

  Liam held my hand all the way back through the house and upstairs. He only let go when he shoved me back into my bedroom telling me to get dressed so we could eat breakfast by the side of the lake.

  The idea of going out on the lake filled me with dread, because of my fear of deep water. I could spend all day sitting on the beach watching the ocean, but being in it was something else entirely.

  It was a warm day and as it got closer to noon the temperature would creep up as well, so as I wiggled into my jeans and a black and pink ‘Pink’ t-shirt, I tossed a bottle of sun lotion into my bag. I sure as hell didn’t want to end up looking like a lobster while I was staying with Liam and his family.

  Which brought my mind back around to Jack. He’d felt good and hard up against me. Yeah, he had tight abs, but I’d also noticed the hardness against my stomach. Liam said that he’d looked ready to carry me off with him; I wouldn’t have protested. Sitting down on my bed, I buried my face in my hands.

  Jack made me all hot and bothered, which was so not good because I was with Liam and Jack was getting married. He didn’t look or react like a man who was about to get married. How could he react to me like he did when he already had a woman? It just didn’t make sense. I wasn’t stupid and knew that some guys were unfaithful to their girlfriend or wife, but Jack didn’t come across like that. He came across as – lonely.

  “Thalia, you ready?” Liam shouted through the door.

  “Yeah. One minute.” I grabbed my purse and met him on the landing. “How far is it to the lake?” I asked walking down the stairs.

  “Not too far. Maybe about ten minutes in the car.” He picked his car keys up out of the dish on the table by the door. “The restaurant at the lake has tables out on the deck with views across the lake.”

  “That would be great.”

  “What would be great?” Stephanie asked. I hadn’t noticed her standing in the doorway to the kitchen. She didn’t look as elegant as she had yesterday; today, she was in jeans and shirt, and she actually looked like a ‘mom’.

  “I’m taking Thalia to the lake for breakfast.”

  She frowned. “Are you sure? I can make you some pancakes if you’d like?”

  Oh God, no!

  “It’s okay, mom. I promised Thalia we’d spend the day there, and I want her to see the view from the restaurant. You know it’s not as busy in the morning as it is for lunch and dinner.”

  Stephanie turned around and started to head back into the kitchen. “I’ll see you both later then. Enjoy yourselves.”

  Liam took my hand and dragged me out of the house. “Glad we had that arranged before my mom spotted us. I need a break after last night.”

  I laughed at his response, because it had been what I was thinking.

  We’d no sooner climbed into his car; we were speeding down the drive.

  “Slow down a bit. I can’t look around at this speed.”

  He glanced over at me, rolling his eyes, but a warm smile spread across his face. He shifted into a lower gear and the sights of Alabama became clearer through the window. “You do realize that there are only trees and fields between here and the lake?”

  “That doesn’t matter. I’ve never been to Alabama before so I want to take it all in.” Take it in I did, the hills, trees, farms, the covered bridge we drove through and then the beautiful view of the lake as we approached.

  The day was starting to warm up some, as Liam pulled the car in to the lot at the restaurant which didn’t look too busy. He parked out front of it before climbing out of the car and running over to open my door.

  “Thalia, I’m not sure this was a good idea,” Liam said, looking worried while I climbed out of the car.

  What was he on about? I thought it was the best idea he’d come up with. “Why?”

  He seemed on edge. “Jack’s here with Mia.” He pointed towards two cars parked towards the back of the lot.

  “I haven’t met Mia yet so let’s go in.” I took his hand while we walked towards the entrance, about to let go once we were inside, but Liam tightened his hold on me. I gave him a quizzical look. “Liam?”

  He glanced over my shoulder then groaned. Turning I spotted, who I presumed to be Mia, sitting with Jack, a frown on her face.

  “No escape,” Liam grumbled.

  As we walked closer I chanced a look in Jack’s direction, only to find his eyes fixed on me, while Mia hugged Liam in greeting.

  “Mia, this is my girlfriend, Thalia. Thalia, this is Jack’s fiancée, Mia.”

  Mia seemed to wince and I wasn’t sure whether it was because Liam introduced me as his girlfriend or herself as Jack’s fiancée. “Hi,” I said, feeling embarrassed with Jack’s gaze not wavering. What was he doing looking at me like that when his fiancée was sitting across from him?

  “Thalia, that’s a real nice name. Why don’t you and Liam join us? I’m not eating anything so you can keep Jack company.” Without waiting for a reply, she pulled Liam down beside her on the bench seat, which meant I had to take the seat next to Jack.

  Jack slid further along to make room for me to slide in next to him. I met his eyes again, which hadn’t moved since I’d walked into the restaurant. He made me so damn hot with just one look. It was so unfair. Why didn’t I have that kind of reaction to Liam?

  The server appeared with menus so I ordered sausage, pancakes with syrup and a large coffee. Sitting back in my seat I ended up brushing against Jack’s arm. He froze and straightened in his seat; his thigh brushed against mine. He cursed under his breath, but didn’t move. All I wanted to do was climb astride him. I could feel my blush working its way up my neck as tingles shot through me from where we touched, ending between my thighs. I felt like squirming.

  “How can you eat so much?” Mia asked, as our piping hot food was placed in front of us.

  Mia had a glass of water and that was it. “I’m hungry, plus I like my food. Fast metabolism, I guess.” I shrugged and glanced at Liam. “Are we going on the lake after breakfast?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  I was really unsure about going out on so much water; it just made me feel uncomfortable.

  “Thalia, you’ll be fine,” Liam said, trying to reassure me.

  I’d just taken a bite of my pancake when I felt Jack looking at me; again. I turned my head and met his look head on.

  “Why are you nervous about going on the water?” he asked under his breath.

  Shifting in my seat to face him, it brought our thighs even closer together, in fact any closer and I’d be sitting in his lap. His eyes flared. I gulped and replied, “I don’t swim too well. I get kind of nervous when I’m in, or on water, out of my depth.”

  He stayed silent,
brooding.

  “What’s the big deal, she’ll be fine. If the worst happens and we end up in the water, then I’ll be with her, and I can swim fine,” Liam grumbled, carrying on eating his breakfast while he listened to Mia going on about what she’d been up to since she’d last seen him.

  “How well do you swim?” Jack asked.

  “I can’t,” I whispered under my breath.

  “Fuck. Perhaps going out on the water isn’t such a good idea.” Jack seemed worried about me. “You need to have lessons.”

  Teach me please! I wouldn’t mind seeing him in swim shorts.

  Reaching out, I touched his thigh, before I even knew what I was doing. “Liam said I’d have a life preserve on. I can do this.” I tried to convince Jack at the same time as myself. I went to remove my hand, but found it engulfed in his under the table. He held on briefly, squeezed then let me go.

  Through the rest of the meal I was conscious of Jack sitting beside me with our thighs touching, and an occasional brushing of arms. I tried to concentrate on finishing my breakfast, which was easier said than done, because all I wanted to do was run my hands all over him.

  I glanced at Liam to see if he’d noticed the exchange between his brother and me, but luckily he’d decided to switch off, and Mia was watching the antics of some girls at the side of the lake through the window.

  When Mia turned back to the table, she glanced at my plate, then me, and then my plate again. She seemed shocked that I’d eaten everything that had been put in front of me.

  Mia pulled herself back together and looked at Jack for the first time since we’d started to eat. “Jack, I’m just going to the little girl’s room. I’ll be back in a minute.” She shoved Liam out of the way and, standing up, sauntered off towards the restrooms.

  “I need to take a leak as well, before we go on the water.” Liam followed Mia.

  Sitting alone with Jack felt awkward, I chanced a glance at him, but he was looking out of the window. Without a word to Jack, I stood, and started to walk to the cashier desk, only to have Jack come up on my right side taking hold of my arm, which he held on to, until we’d reached the front. I reached into my purse, but Jack put his hand over mine.