“Huh? Who is this? Where are you calling from? Are you far away? Are you in a tunnel?”
I laugh and hear the latch of my brother’s door slide free across the hall, alerting me to duck behind the turn in the hallway.
“Why are you yelling in the hallway?”
I turn and talk into my phone, cupping it so it’s loud, muffled, and so my brother can’t tell I’m close by.
“Let me put you on speaker,” Lachlan says. “Maybe I’ll be able to understand you better.”
I say a few more random things and then pause.
“Who the fuck are you talking to?” I hear echoed in the hallway and realize my brother picked up on this real quick.
“I’m not sure, man. The number was unlisted. Must be overseas.”
“Can you hear me?” Lachlan says.
“Oh, I can hear you and your sexiness.”
“Give me that damn thing,” my brother says, snatching the phone from Lachlan. I’m alternating turning to talk and peeking around the corner to see what’s going on, trying my best not to get caught.
“Sis?”
“Sis? Who do you think you’re talking to? Put me back on with my man.”
“Your man? What the—“
“Maybe it’s just an obsessed fan,” Lachlan interrupts. “ You know how they get. ‘Oh, Lachlan you’re going to know how I get all right.’”
I step out from around the side of the hallway and watch my brother’s arm drop, the phone almost along with it.
“Sis?”
“Don’t look so happy to see me,” I joke, rolling my wheeled luggage his way.
He gives me a big hug but still seems shocked. “But how did you…when did you…and how did you two…”
“It’s crazy, man. You’re never going to believe how we bumped into each other.”
“But you don’t even know each other,” Eric says.
“I know. That’s what makes it all the more crazy. I’ve gotta run, but she can tell you the story.” Lachlan pauses and turns to me. “Nice meeting you, Elena,” he says leaning in to kiss my cheek and then stopping abruptly. He shoots out his hand and we do a kind of awkward handshake. Damn, I wanted that kiss, but the electricity that shoots from his hand, into mine, and throughout my body has me feeling butterflies just the same.
“Nice meeting you, Lachlan. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again.” I swear I hear my brother growling like a Grizzly behind me. “Being that you live right across the hall and you two are best friends,” I say, looking back at my brother hoping my reminder will calm him down.
He rearranges his facial expression, but it doesn’t do much. I know he’s still raging inside.
“Yeah. I’m sure you will,” Lachlan adds.
I look back at him and see his eyes raise up to meet Eric’s. Lachlan’s expression changes and I know he saw what I saw.
Then I notice for a split second that Lachlan’s gaze tightens and he bares his teeth slightly too.
I feel my body weakening knowing just how serious this has become. Eric’s willing to fight to keep me away from Lachlan and Lachlan’s ready to fight to have me.
“Have you had breakfast,” I say, turning back to my brother. “I’ll make you some.”
I need to defuse the situation and show him I’m an adult. This is going to take work…and I’ve only got a week.
CHAPTER 4
Lachlan
I said I had to go, but I didn’t say why.
Elena’s lips are swollen as if she’s been sucking the juice out of strawberries for the entire duration of her flight and her body in that dress…damn.
I bite down on my fist, my mind flashing back to how she went into the restroom at the cafe and changed out of the clothes she wore on the plane into that form fitting red dress that only went down mid thigh. She apologized for it being cheap, as if I even noticed. As long as she’s wearing it, she makes it look like a billion bucks.
My eyes were throwing lasers at any guy in our direction as we walked to the car. I didn’t want anyone looking at her, and I didn’t want her seeing my need for her which was completely out of control.
I’ve never been that hard in my entire life. I even carried my surfboard on the side closest to her so she wouldn’t notice. At least I hope she didn’t, but when you’re wearing board shorts and nothing underneath it can’t be that difficult.
What is going to be difficult is having her this close, yet so far away.
She’s so damn close I can practically reach out and touch her, grab her by the hair and drag her across the hall like the caveman she’s turned me into.
“You woman. You mine.” And then I beat my chest. Those are the primal thoughts rushing through my head right now.
That and of course burying all my inches so damn deep inside her that we have to call the fire department to get me out, to separate us. I want to be so deep inside her that there’s no telling where one of us ends and the other begins.
I’ve never had these thoughts before. Never. Sure I’ve dated but it’s always apparent so damn quickly that the women are what are known as a “prohoes,” someone who only chases professional athletes. I don’t know why I only attract those kinds of girls, the ones with a million Instagram followers but a brain capacity balance of zero.
But her, she didn’t even seem to know anything about me. Her brother has been keeping info about me a secret. That bastard.
There’s no doubt he knows what he’s doing. I could see it in his face when the three of us were in the hall.
In some ways I guess it was a good thing, as I’d sworn off women this past year, deciding to only focus on my sport. I want to be the best in the world, number one. But damn if there isn’t a new number one in my life, and I want to capture that ranking more than any other.
With hard work, practice, and a bit of luck I can always become number one ranked in my athletic stuff. A woman like that? She only comes around once in a lifetime, if that.
I’d sworn off all other women, but not his sister. Had I known about her…but then again she probably would have been underage last time I visited Kill Devil Hills.
It doesn’t matter. I only know she’s at least old enough to go to college, since today. And today is day one in the week I have to pull this off. A once in a lifetime chance.
My dick is so hard right now I can’t even think straight, but I manage to make my way over to my laptop and Google her. I need to find her social media accounts and any information I can about her so I can figure out what she likes. I don’t want it to be obvious. I don’t want to play twenty questions with her, like an interrogation, and then just take her places that make sense.
I need to make this more natural, so she can see we’re meant to be together.
Because we are.
Damn, I sound like a stalker or something. I couldn’t imagine what she’d think if she only knew. She’s so sweet and innocent, she’d probably jump right on a plane and head back home immediately.
But I’ve got to make this her home now. One of the ways to do that, counterintuitively, is to show her how great it is here. She’s got all her family here, her brother. I know their parents were killed in a car wreck and they’re all the other has left. It’s why they were pretty much forced into working those manual labor type jobs.
Her brother’s a good surfer and trying to break into the scene, get some sponsorships, and go on a professional tour.
He’s close, real close.
If he wins the competition at the end of the week right here at Manly Beach he’ll have enough points to get on tour.
And equally as important he’ll be so happy that hopefully he’ll forget about the whole best friend trying to make a move on his sister thing.
But I’m not trying to make a move. I’m going to do a whole lot more than that. There’s no trying.
I’m going to make her mine.
CHAPTER 5
Elena
I get showered and get a nap in, but not a lon
g one. I can’t find deep sleep as I’m tossing and turning thinking about how close I am to finally getting the one thing I want more than any other in life.
Him.
Not to mention the dirty dreams I thought I was having back home are nothing compared to the one that ripped through me just now. Being so close to him, and already experiencing him in the flesh is only heightening my attraction. I have to cross my legs as I stand, remembering the oh so short dream of him pinning me to the bed and kissing his way down between my thighs. I look at my arms and see I’ve got a light coat of sweat going despite the apartment being cool.
Yeah, I’m not going to be sleeping much while I’m here…hopefully for all the right reasons.
I barely slept on the plane I was so excited. I should be passed out, despite the fact that my bed consists of a couch that doesn’t even fold out.
I’m not complaining. I’m here and things have gone perfectly so far…except for my brother.
I get up off the couch and put on some shorts and a T-shirt. I’m loving this Australian summer, the exact opposite of what I’d be experiencing back home right now…if that indeed is my home any longer. We’ll see in a week.
The first thing I notice is my brother drinking a beer mid day as he hammers away at the keys of his laptop. He’s on tilt, acting all edgy and angry. They call it eggy in the surf world, and that describes him to T right about now. He looks so annoyed, his face is a permanent scowl, and when I ask him if I can have some juice from the fridge he practically bites my head off with his words.
“I’ve got to get outta here,” he says, slamming his computer lid shut.
His phone vibrates for about the fifth time and he doesn’t even look at it. That in itself is weird, not to mention he’s always been a ringer kind of guy. He’s avoiding the call.
“I’ll be back later,” he says, grabbing the door handle.
“Can I get a key so I can go out? I mean don’t you want to go out for a bit together?”
“I don’t have a key. I’ll…I’ll make you one while I’m out.” He grumbles, “More bullshit I have to deal with,” as he turns the handle. “I’ll be back later.”
Lachlan’s door comes open fast, but Eric shuts his door just as quickly.
I hear two sets of footsteps as if they’re going somewhere together.
Shit!
I run to the door and place my ear against it.
“Why you in such a hurry, man?” I barely make out Lachlan’s voice.
Another door closes and I realize I’ve missed my chance…until I hear calm footsteps coming back my way.
I look through the peephole, but before I can see his body I hear the knock, just inches from my face.
It startles me and I smile. There’s no way this is a deliveryman.
I run my hands along my clothes and take a couple deep breaths. I feel energized and I know I’m already smiling real big.
I open the door and see…nothing?
“Got ya!” he says. His back is against the wall and he’d extended that long, inked arm of his to knock. He didn’t want me to see him.
I jump.
“You were looking through the peephole, weren’t you?” he says playfully.
“Me?” I point at my chest before raising my palms skyward. “Never.”
“Uh huh. Right.”
A moment passes between us and his eyes lock on mine. Slowly they drift to my lips and then back up…slowly. I swear he’s thinking about kissing me and my body is leaning in, ready.
The hallway door slams and my brother suddenly comes storming back through.
“Forgot my fucking jacket,” he says. “What are you two doing?”
“Just talking, man. Why are you leaving your sister alone here? She just got here. You should show her some stuff.”
“You should show her some stuff. I’m busy. I mean, no. I’ll show her stuff. You stay…you do what you have to do.”
He grabs his jacket quickly and storms off, shutting the door behind him with me standing behind it now and the two guys back in the hallway.
My brother is really not taking this well and nothing has even happened yet.
A few seconds later there’s another knock at my door.
“Not sure what got into him today. He’s never like this,” Lachlan says.
“It happens to all of us. So?” I want to get the conversation right back to where it was.
“So. Right. I was thinking how absurd it is that I’ve lived here my whole life but never climbed that darn bridge.”
My body tingles with excitement.
“It’s sunny, warm, and surprisingly there are some spots available in a couple of hours. I just checked online. There’s no way you should be cooped up in here when you can be out exploring my city, and I want to be your guide.”
I open my mouth to reply but nothing comes out. “It. Uh. Yeah. Sounds great!” I finally spit out.
“Okay then,” he says, just standing there.
I freeze up, not completely understanding.
“Oh! You’re ready to go now. I need to—“
His arm shoots out and I feel his fingers along my forearm. Surely he feels the goosebumps that instantly cover it.
“You don’t need anything but yourself,” he says, his eyes raking down my body and back up. “You’re perfect as you are.”
My body tenses at his words.
“Perfect for climbing the fence,” he says, as if he said something wrong when what he said was oh so right.
“Fence?”
“Bridge I mean. Bridge, fence, they’re similar.”
“Riiiight,” I say. “Just let me grab my purse.”
His grip tightens slightly. “Just yourself. No money or anything. Nothing to carry. My treat today.”
“But I—“
“You can buy me ice cream later if you insist.”
“I do like ice cream.”
“Then we’ve got a deal.”
I go to slide my forearm out of his grasp, but it’s tighter than I thought. He senses what I’m doing and loosens up just enough that I can.
I kind of finagle my hand down to his hand and do a weird handshake, as it’s the wrong hand to be shaking hands with.
He does a quick shake with me, but then quickly spins me around and pulls me in closer to his body.
My breath hitches as he looks at me so deeply, his blue eyes like the ocean that sends waves into the beaches of Sydney all day and all night.
And we’re about to start off what sounds like one heck of a day, and I’m just as excited about that as what the night might turn into.
He takes a few steps forward, and I move with him. It’s funny, like we’re tangoing. I like how he’s playful and full of energy.
“One sec,” he says, and releases me from his grip.
I miss him instantly, feeling the void. He backtracks to the door, pulling it shut and checking to make sure it’s locked.
“Is this building safe?” I ask.
“You’re with me so you’ll always be safe.”
I feel my cheeks heat and he quickly catches up to me and we’re off.
CHAPTER 6
Lachlan
“You’re a tough cookie,” I say as she gets all strapped in and ready to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
“Me? Not even.”
“You are. You’d be surprised how many people are terrified of doing something like this.”
“Well you said I’d always be safe with you, and I believe you.”
“Good,” I say, my voice deepening even more than its normal throaty baritone.
I reach for her hand and she takes it, the other grabbing the side of the bridge. I want her to know I’m the kind of guy who knows what to do with his hands…and where to put them depending on the situation.
I move her body in front of mine. If anything were to happen, even though I know it won’t, I want her small body to fall back into me, not from me. She’s roped in. I’ve got her hand. And
worst case scenario I can catch her if Australia suddenly decides to have an earthquake. I prepared for anything, which is a stark contrast to this morning when we met.
Australian Obsession Page 3
