“I’m definitely ready to be there. I think it’ll be just what I need right now. I keep worrying I’m gonna run into Zoe and this dude she’s fucking with. Goddamn small towns.”
“I feel ya. Me and London ran into Hunter. It was, well, interesting.”
I laugh. “What happened?”
“We were walking down Main Street, talking and laughing and shit like that. At one point I pulled her into the alcove of that old theater because nobody was around and we were just fuckin’ around, you know? Anyway, we step back onto the sidewalk and Hunter’s there.”
“Shit,” I say with a chuckle.
“Yeah, so we both just stop and she says hi and asks him how he is, but the air around all three of us is vibrating with awkwardness. He looks us both up and down, clearly holding onto some anger and hurt feelings. But I start getting mad that’s he’s sizing me up. I mean, come on, what man is gonna like that shit? But I get it, he’s mad that his girl left him for me.”
I laugh. “Uh-huh. Probably doesn’t even know you had been asking her to do that for a while.”
“Probably not. Anyway, I put my arm around London and smile at him. He doesn’t like that.” Royce chuckles. “Not at all. Meanwhile, he hasn’t even said anything! So I start guiding London around him, and as we’re passing him, he says something like ‘this is what you want?’ Man, I about lost it. I moved away from London and stepped up to him, but then London’s pulling on my arm and trying to diffuse the situation. I think my parting words were, ‘you’re damn right this is what she wants and she gets it every fucking night.’ You know, something petty like that.”
“Fuckin’ crazy, man. He didn’t say anything else?”
“Nah. Can’t wait for that to happen again,” he says sarcastically.
“Well, I don’t think I’d fight this guy, whoever he is. I don’t have that kind of emotion, so I guess that means I was already kind of over that relationship.”
“Yeah, because love makes you a crazy person.”
“I did love her, but somewhere along the way, shit changed. I don’t know. Fuck it. I’m ready to be at the lake, do some drinking with you guys, then relax and start painting again.”
“Fuck yes!” he yells, reaching over and shaking me again.
My phone vibrates from inside the cup holder. “Can you check that?” I ask him.
“It’s from Midge. She says, not looking forward to being the fifth wheel. Why are you coming so late? Everyone will be making out tonight and I’m all alone. Why don’t...never mind.”
“She said why don’t never mind?”
“Shit’s a little misspelled. I sense some drunk texting going on here.”
I smile and shake my head. “She thinks I’m coming tomorrow night. She knows you and Lo will be together and Jon and Daniel, so she wants me there to keep her company.”
“To keep her company? Or keep her company?” He questions, changing his voice the second time around.
“Don’t start.”
“What? I’m just asking.”
“We’re friends.”
“Okay, but remember that one time when—”
“No,” I cut him off.
Royce tosses his head back, laughter floating between us. “You remember. You told me you wanted to kiss her when you were over at her house.”
“I was a horny teenager. I wanted to kiss everybody.”
“I know you like her.”
“Of course I do. So do you. We’ve known each other for a long time.”
“Yeah, but y’all were especially close in high school.”
“Do I need to point out how long ago that was?”
“So you don’t think she’s cute? Funny? Interesting?”
“That’s irrelevant.”
“Is it?” he says with a laugh. I shoot him a look and he raises his hands. “Okay, okay.”
“You hear from Merrick recently?” I ask, changing the subject.
“You know, it’s been a while. I think he’s busy with the tour.”
“Yeah. I think they’ll be ending that tour with a stop in Cleveland. We’ll have to go.”
“Shit, he better stop ignoring us then and give us some backstage, VIP tickets.”
“I’ll try to call him tomorrow.”
The next couple hours go by fairly fast with me and Royce talking and laughing non-stop.
“I wish Elijah could’ve came.” I say. “I think he needs a break more than all of us.”
“I know. I mean, it’s summer. He doesn’t have to work. Did he tell you why he couldn’t come?”
“Nope. Just said he had plans already.”
“A woman?”
“Fuck, I hope so,” I say with a laugh. “That man is wound tight.”
“Now that you’re single, you gonna be lookin’ for someone to—”
“Not looking. We’re almost there,” I say seconds before the Google Maps lady announces my last turn.
I pull up to the house and park in the driveway. Since it’s dark, I can’t get a feel for what I’ll be painting, so I’ll scope out the area tomorrow.
Royce and I grab our bags and start heading toward the front door. As we get closer we can hear music and laughter.
“Sounds like they’re having a good time,” he says, ringing the bell.
It doesn’t take long before the door is yanked open. The second Midge sees me, she screeches and jumps into my arms. Luckily, she’s a tiny little thing or we would’ve went cascading backwards.
“I’m so happy you’re here!”
I spot Royce over her shoulder smirking at me before he lets himself inside.
10
Midge
“You’re here! I thought you were coming tomorrow,” I say after I drop from Cillian’s arms and take a few steps back.
“I was able to come early and wanted to surprise y’all.”
I smile. “I’m glad. Jon and Daniel have been making out every chance they get.”
“Hey!” the two men protest from the living room.
“And now that Royce is here, I’m sure he and London will be doing the same. Yuck.”
“Why yuck?” London asks, pulling away from a kiss with Royce.
I roll my eyes and grab Cill by the wrist. “Let me show you around real quick so you can start drinking.”
“Sounds good,” he replies.
“So, kitchen and living room here,” I point out as we walk through them. “You know those losers,” I say, gesturing to Jon, Daniel, and London. “I’ll show you the rooms and you can choose which one you want to stay in. There’s four. Two have king-size beds and the other two have two full-size beds in each room. I imagine you’ll want one of the king-sized beds because you’re, well, big. But whatever.”
Cillian laughs. “Yeah, show me the king-size rooms.”
“Why are you laughing? You laughing at me?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder and looking up at him.
“You’re just extra chatty when you’re drunk.”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever. Okay, well, one is downstairs and one is upstairs. Preference?”
“Not really.”
“Well, I’m already walking to the one downstairs. You can drop your shit off in there and if you want to change rooms later, you can.”
He laughs again. “Okay.”
“Here it is. The window actually faces the lake, so you’ll have a nice view during the day. The master bath is right over there. Towels and everything you need should already be in there. Umm. What else?” I murmur, tapping my finger on my lips.
Cillian chuckles and gently squeezes my upper arms while looking into my eyes. “Midge. It’s fine. I’m just gonna use the bathroom and then I’ll be out there and ready to drink.”
A soft sigh emerges from my lips before I give him a grin. “Okay. I’ll just wait out there then.”
“Okay,” he replies with a lopsided smile.
I make my way back into the living room, but spot the group in the kitchen.
&nb
sp; “Oh, you’re back,” London says with a stupid grin. “Wasn’t sure how long you’d be gone.”
“Oh shush,” I say, glad nobody else is paying attention. “What’re y’all doin’?”
“Royce is making us drinks,” Jon answers excitedly, clapping his hands together.
“You ever get tired of making drinks for people?” I ask.
“Nah. I love it. Where’s my brother?”
“Bathroom.”
“All right, well I’m making double shots for us since we’re late to the party.”
“Somebody say double shots?” Cill says when he enters the room.
“Right here, bro,” Royce answers, handing him a glass with dark liquid. “Me and you have some catching up to do.”
“All right.”
Cillian takes the drink and he and Royce clink their glasses together before swallowing down two shots’ worth of liquor.
“Okay, now what does everybody want?” Royce asks, making a variety of drinks for everyone.
London pulls me aside and raises her eyebrows. “So, Cill looks good tonight.”
I tilt my head. “Uh-huh. Aren’t you with, who was that again? Oh right, his brother?”
She smacks her lips. “I’m just saying. Don’t you agree?”
We both look over at him as he stands in the kitchen talking to the guys. He does look damn good. And in that brief moment when I threw my body against his, he felt damn good too. Somehow Cillian’s able to make jeans and a T-shirt look runway ready, and all that ink covering his body makes me want to strip him down and study each and every piece.
“Yeah,” I finally answer on a breathy sigh. I peel my eyes from Cillian’s tall frame and connect with London again. “He’s a walking wet dream, but—”
“Why’re y’all being all secretive over here?” Cillian asks, walking up to us with a drink in his hand. “Did you say something about having a wet dream?”
“What?” I feel my face flush. “No.”
He smirks. “Right. So what’re y’all talkin’ about? Royce?” He rests his arm on my shoulder as he looks at London.
London’s eyes flicker to mine before meeting Cillian’s. “Oh. Yeah.”
“He in trouble already?”
She laughs. “No, nothing like that.”
“That’s good.” He removes his arm from my shoulder and shifts to face me. “I can’t wait to see this place in the daylight.”
London makes her way back to Royce in the kitchen, leaving me and Cill together in the living room.
“Oh, yeah. It’s beautiful. I’ll show you the grounds when we get up. Which will probably be in the afternoon.”
“Definitely. How’s the water out there?”
“It’s nice, pretty smooth usually. The grass slopes down, leading into a rocky area before you hit the water. It looks better than I can explain,” I say with a grin as I tuck my hair behind my ear.
“You gonna go swimming with me?” he asks with a flirty smile. No, not flirty, just friendly.
“You want me to go swimming? With you?”
“Well, you don’t have to sound so thrilled,” he says with a laugh.
“Sorry,” I say with a small giggle. “I didn’t mean it like that. Yeah, sure. We can go swimming.”
He eyes me curiously with a tiny grin on his face as he brings his glass to his mouth. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Hey, Midge!” London calls. “We’re doing shots. Come on.”
I look back up at Cill and find he’s still watching me. My stomach does a flip as my entire body warms up. “Guess we should join them.”
When we get to the kitchen, London and Royce are whispering and laughing near the fridge before turning around.
“Okay, we’re doing body shots. Me and Royce will obviously be paired up, and Jon and Daniel too. So, I guess that means y’all are stuck together.”
I widen my eyes at her and mouth what the fuck? She giggles and gives me a shrug. I know she’s just getting me back for when I tried making her take a body shot off Royce.
“That works,” Cill says calmly. “Who’s first?”
London raises her brows at me, giving me a smug grin. “I think you should take a shot off Midge, since you still haven’t had much to drink.”
Cillian shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Okay. Royce, give me a shot of Patron. You got some salt and limes?”
London happily gets what he asked for and places them on the counter between us. Cillian finally turns and looks at me. “You ready, shorty?”
I put my hands on my hips. “Hey. I am not short. Just because you’re a giant.”
He laughs. “Of course not. You’re the perfect size.”
I find myself smiling. “Whatever.”
I squeal as Cillian picks me up and places me on the counter. He smirks. “See. The perfect size.”
I roll my eyes and attempt to appear all cool and collected while there’s a million butterflies taking flight in my stomach and heat coursing through my bloodstream like lava.
His eyes roam across my face, and then he steps to the side and eyes my neck and chest.
“Preference?”
My pussy is what I want to say, but instead I just shrug and act like I’m completely unaffected. “Your choice. Doesn’t matter to me.”
He arches a brow and does another once-over, this time glancing at my exposed legs. All I’m wearing is a pair of black shorts and an off the shoulder gray T-shirt, so there’s plenty of skin to choose from, but usually people stick to the neck area, so I’m assuming that’s where he’s going. I’ll just have to do my best not to moan when he does it.
I glance over my shoulder and spot Royce and London giggling about something. Probably this situation. Great, now I’m going to have both of them trying to push me toward Cillian. Doesn’t Royce think this is a bad idea? I’m going to have to talk to him. Jon and Daniel are looking at something on Daniel’s phone, not really paying attention, so I look back at Cillian.
He hands me a lime wedge. “I’ll let you put this in your mouth.”
“Gee, thanks.” I want to tell him he can put something else in my mouth, but whatever.
He smirks, then bends down and licks a tiny patch of skin right…on…my…thigh. Mostly the top, but very close to my inner thigh. And I almost shove his head between my legs. Jesus McChrist, I have got to keep it together.
Cillian sprinkles some salt over the moistened skin, grabs his shot glass, and gazes into my eyes. “Ready?”
Probably should’ve asked me that before licking my thigh, but what can you do? “Yeah, sure.”
I hope I’m pulling off this nonchalance stuff as well as I think I am. He grins. Christ, I probably moaned those words out.
Cillian leans down to lick the salt off, but this time he’s much more thorough about it. His warm tongue caresses my thigh as he makes sure to lick off every salt crystal. He even administers a second lick in order to get it all. I’m ninety-eight percent sure I make a noise. A moan, a gasp, a curse. Something comes out of my mouth, but I’m intoxicated by the alcohol—and even more so by the man—that I’m not even sure what’s happening.
He stands up and takes the shot while watching me, and when I run my tongue across my lip, I realize I need to put the lime wedge in still. Once it’s between my lips, his large hands find residence on the counter on either side of me, and then he leans forward and takes the wedge into his mouth.
His lips barely touch mine, but it’s enough to know I’m utterly screwed. His eyes penetrate mine in a gaze so intense, I shiver. Hell, maybe that’s me remembering what his tongue feels like on my skin.
I’ll never forget this moment for the rest of my life. I’m going to bed thinking about this moment, for sure. Cillian Kingston has just started something that I’m not sure I’m willing to let come to an end.
I swallow and lick my lips again. “My turn.”
11
Cillian
I suck the juice from the lime and
wipe my lips with the back of my hand, as I watch Midge slide from the countertop. She puts her hand on the middle of my chest and pushes, making me take a small step back.
Jon and Daniel hoot and holler, but when my eyes look over Midge’s head and meet the gazes of London and Royce, I know I’ll be hearing shit from both of them. Royce’s bright green eyes are wide and I can tell he’s holding back a laugh. London’s jaw is practically on the floor with eyes as wide as Royce’s.
Okay, maybe I took the body shot a little too far. Sure I could’ve put the salt on her forearm or some shit, but where’s the fun in that? This is a party, right? We’re all trying to have a good time. I don’t think Midge minded. In fact, with the way she’s looking at me right now, I have a feeling she’s about to enjoy returning the favor.
Royce wasn’t off base before. I liked Midge in high school. A lot. I always felt she was way too cool to ever be with me, but we were friends, and I was happy with that. She talked to me about her boyfriends and boy problems, and that’s when I knew I was in the friend-zone.
But we’re adults now, and we’re both single, and lately I feel like she doesn’t look at me like that tall, gangly kid from school. She looks at me like she wants to see more, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued.
I was shy and nervous back then, but a lot of things have changed.
“Your turn, huh?” I ask, stepping close to her as I put the lime wedge back on the table.
Her breath hitches as she looks up at me. “Yeah,” she breathes. “Fair’s fair.”
“Oh, God. Please don’t make him take off his pants so you can lick his thigh,” Royce murmurs.
Everybody except me and Midge laugh. We’re too busy staring at each other. I raise an eyebrow. “Where do you want me?”
Midge does her best to appear unaffected, but I know better. She clears her throat. “You can stay where you are.”
“But I’m almost a foot taller than you.”
“I’m aware,” she says, turning around and pouring another shot. “Take off your shirt.”
Everybody goes quiet. I don’t hesitate. I reach behind me and pull the shirt over my head and toss it on the counter.
Truth or Dare (Kingston Brothers Book 2) Page 5
