Caught (5 page)

A frustrated noise pulled him away from the fantasy running through his head.

“Here, let me have your cell and I’ll put in my number, then I can just text you the address once I get back inside.”

She blew out a huff and plopped back down on her delectable derrière. “Okay.”

When Laurel handed over a pink monstrosity of a phone, he couldn’t help but laugh as he typed his name, number and his address in before calling his own phone so he could have hers as well.

Giving it back, he leaned inside the vehicle; he had to have one more kiss before she left, a reminder of their chemistry, not for him but for her. The kiss quickly turned heated, he had to force himself back, closing her door. It pained him to move away, but no good would come of him ravishing her in the parking lot. He would never be able to go as far as he wanted without his brothers coming to see what was taking him so long. Not to mention the rest of the crew leaving to go home.

“See you tomorrow, Laurel. Shoot me a text when you get home tonight so I know you made it okay.”

She seemed flustered and a bit unsure. “Um, okay. Bye Quin and thanks again for everything.”

Stepping back, he watched as she reversed, then drove off. It was ridiculous how at ease he felt around her in such a short period of time and how much he missed her already.

Turning away from her retreating taillights, he headed back to the hanger, preparing to lay down the law with the two men inside. There was no way in hell he was letting them even entertain the idea that they could have Laurel.

Quin gritted his teeth as Rev twirled Laurel around the patio again. Her head was tilted back and happy laughter floated through the air mixing with the soft music playing.

Ever since she arrived an hour earlier he’d barely gotten any time alone with her. It was just his bad luck she was waylaid by Kegen when she pulled into the driveway, who had been out front just finishing up mowing the lawn.

Quin swore his brother cast a quick glance to the huge bay window where he was standing and grinned. Not knowing what Kegen was up to, he stood in bewilderment as Laurel noticed when, as per his usual routine, Kegen whipped off his shirt then rinsed off with the hose. It was a habit they all formed during their youth whenever it was their turn to do the yard work. They also noticed the girls in the neighborhood stopping by to say hello to their parents on those days as well.

Before Quin could go out and rescue Laurel from Kegen’s clutches, Rev called him over to help switch out the propane tank on the grill. Kegen, sans shirt, walked around the side of the house and into the backyard with Laurel’s arm looped through his and her body pulled up close to his side.

Still stunned at the turn of events, he didn’t even get a word out when Rev stepped up and pealed her away from his twin, claiming Kegen was getting her all hot, sweaty and wet. Laurel just laughed and let them manhandle her. The guys were either oblivious to the blush rising in her cheeks from all of the attention or were thinking of other ways they could keep that look there.

He told them in no uncertain terms over the course of the day to keep their hands and minds off her. Seems all that did was make them try harder to gain her attention.

After that, Rev and Kegen spent the next hour basically playing keep away. Quin was the sad guy in the middle and Laurel was the coveted prize. He honestly didn’t know how much longer he could put up with it. And he was certain their parents wouldn’t appreciate him killing their precious babies.

The song they were dancing to wound down and Laurel threw up her hands and chuckled. “Enough. I’d like to sit and relax please. I
was
promised relaxation.” Her gaze flitted to where he was sitting nursing his beer.

“As you wish.” Rev sketched a bow and all Quin could think about was putting a foot up his brother’s ass and knocking him over.

Quin put the beer down. He was done sitting on the sidelines. “Go see if Kegen needs any help Rev. I’ll take care of Laurel.”

Rev smirked and Quin thought he heard him mumble, “So, the man really is interested.”

He shot his brother a dirty look as he got up to snatch Laurel away. He was acting juvenile but didn’t care. He beamed at Laurel, ignoring his brother standing there. “You’re right, I did promise you relaxation. Did you want anything to drink?”

“A water would be fantastic. I’ve worked up quite the dry throat.”

“Why don’t you get that for her while you’re checking on our brother? I’ll get her settled into a nice comfy chair.”

Quin was just about to gather Laurel in his arms when she spun around toward Rev. She placed a kiss on his cheek before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. Quin saw red and barely kept himself from exploding. “Thanks for dancing with me. I haven’t done that in ages.”

It was a damn good thing Laurel’s back was to him. Otherwise, she would be able to see the murderous intent emanating from him. Rev only winked at him and pulled Laurel tighter against him. “Sweetheart, I’d dance with you anytime.”

Quin knew that voice his brother was using. It dropped low and gravelly; he swore it revved the woman up to where they would just drop their panties at a moment’s notice. Rev called it his “fuck me” voice.

Laurel didn’t seem affected by it at all. Her arms tightened around Rev for a second, then she pushed back against his shoulders forcing him to let go or look like an idiot. “You are so sweet. Could I get some ice in my water please?”

All of the rage that was building up within Quin dissipated and he finally relaxed a bit. Pulling his phone from his pocket he quickly took a picture of Rev’s stunned face, for future teasing or blackmailing of course. It’s what brothers did when given such a great opportunity to relive a crushing blow.

Laurel turned toward him again. “Now, about that comfy chair? I wasn’t expecting to be on my feet this much.” She pointed down to the dainty brown sandals. Her bright red nail polish was quite the surprise and he liked it. “These were not made for so much activity. Not enough cushion.”

He couldn’t help but smile. Whenever she was looking at him or close to him, he felt shear happiness settle in his bones. “I have the perfect seat for you then.” He would prefer she sat on his lap to keep her close and stake his claim, but didn’t think she would go for it. Instead, he guided her over to the lounger next to the chair he had taken up residence in earlier. “This will let you rest those feet for a bit.”

Before he let her sit, he pulled her into his arms. Any residual tension in his body all but disappeared. He rested his forehead against hers. “I don’t think I’ve had the chance to say hello to you properly.”

Unlike the hug she gave his brother, she slid her hands up his chest before twining them around his neck. It was a sensation he experienced before and it felt just as good this time, maybe even better. “I don’t think so either. How are you going to fix that?”

“Like this,” he whispered before placing a kiss on the tip of her nose. “And this.” He dropped a kiss on one cheek, then the other. “And most definitely like this.” He settled his lips on hers, pressing lightly. He wanted it to be a sweet, sensual assault. A build up of pleasure he knew they would both enjoy but was interrupted too soon by Rev…again. Brother or not, the man was really starting to get on his nerves.

“Here’s your water, Laurel.”

Laurel stepped back and took a seat, her toned legs stretched out in front of her, while Quin took the chair to her left. Rev handed her the drink then immediately sat on the edge of the lounger, slipping her sandals off. “I didn’t mean to wear your poor little toes out.” He picked up her right foot and started to rub. Her head tiled back, eyes slammed shut and a low groan escaped her lips.

Quin saw Rev’s body stiffen even as he continued the massage. Quin completely understood what the sound did to his brother because it did the same to him. It made him hot and horny. Rev looked over at him, eyes wide and mouthed
holy shit
.

Laurel had unwittingly turned both of them on with a single sound. She had no clue just how sexy she was with her friendly disposition and down to earth attitude. He knew she didn’t dress to be provocative yet the small brown sandals, knee length light blue flowing skirt, and brown and blue matching top exuded sensuality instead of the casual look it was meant to possess.

A shuffling noise to his left snagged his attention. Kegen stood there holding the steaks with the same look of desire Rev had etched on his face. Seemed he wasn’t the only one that was seeing her in a new light.

Laurel must have sensed Kegen’s presence. She lifted her head and opened her sleepy eyes. Her gaze bounced between them all. “Was I drooling or something?”

“No,” Quin answered. “Why do you ask?”

“You’re all staring at me strangely. I thought that maybe I fell asleep for a second, started snoring.”

“I didn’t realize you were that tired.”

“Not tired, just finally relaxed. If you ever decide to give up skydiving Rev you would make a wonderful masseur.”

“Thanks sweetheart, I’ll keep that in mind in case I get tired of working with him.”

Rev pointed to him and Quin snorted. “I should be so lucky.”

Everyone laughed and the tension in the air evaporated.

***

Laurel stood up from the table and started gathering the dishes. It had been a wonderful evening hanging with the Ferris boys with all of the laughing and storytelling. They never talked about high school, for which she was grateful. Instead, they kept to topics that were relevant in their lives currently, such as her photography and their skydiving.

Through the course of the evening Rev flirted shamelessly with her. She was positive he did it to mess with his older brother. Kegen even got in on the fun every once in a while. For the most part, Quin would laugh and brush off what they were doing but occasionally, when he didn’t think she was looking; she could see the anger and jealousy burn through his carefully created mask.

It was those times when she questioned what she thought she was doing. She accepted his invite to come over; although, never thought of it as a date, so she didn’t think twice about splitting her time between the guys. Sure Quin was the one who kissed her and held her hand or found a way to keep their bodies in contact with each other. She just assumed he was attracted to her.

She glanced at her watch; at this point she wouldn’t have time to find out. She needed to get going if she wanted to meet up with her friend Evan at her favorite wine bar in an hour.

“Set those down Laurel. You’re still our guest,” Kegen said snapping her out of her musings.

Kegen’s no-nonsense tone had her setting the stack of dishes down in front of her and plopping back down in her seat, as she looked at the men around the table. “Are you sure? I don’t mind helping. We go with the 'you cook, we clean' rule in my family.”

“Even if you’re a guest?” Kegen looked at her in question from across the table.

“Well, usually it’s just with family. But…”

She never got her next words out. Rev suddenly hopped out of his chair next to her and knelt on the ground with one knee raised. “My dear, sweet Laurel does that mean you’ll finally accept my marriage proposal?”

She couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. All night long the stories Rev told about his two brothers made them out to be the bad guys while he was the young, innocent baby brother in all of their shenanigans. She chanced a glance at Quin, whose face seemed set in stone. She could feel a frown forming on her own face. She never expected him to be the jealous type and it was starting to tick her off.

Flashing a quick wink at Rev, she jumped up from her chair almost knocking it over. “But of course Revlin Ferris. It took all I had in me to wait this long.” She clasped her hands to her chest and forced out a dreamy sigh. Nothing like the dramatics to irritate the guy you liked. Screw him if he couldn’t take a joke.

Laurel screeched when Rev bolted to his feet, scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the living room, placing her on the couch where she collapsed into a fit of giggles.

He sat down next to her and leaned in. “You know my brother is dying in there?”

She tilted her head slightly and took a second to catch her breath. “Really? Which one?”

A naughty little grin kicked up the side of his mouth. If only she was attracted to him instead of the grouch in the other room. “Oh, Laurel, you are a bad one. You know exactly which brother would like to pummel me into the ground.”

She studied him, the humor of the moment gone. “Why don’t you explain that to me because I’m not quite sure where I stand with Quin. He invited me over but hasn’t spent much time with me. He laughs right along with us yet beneath it you can see he isn’t happy. He had no problem watching us dance or when I spent time with Kegen, so I wouldn’t exactly call this a date.”

“I can guarantee he had a problem with both of those things.”

“Then why didn’t he say something?”

Revlin shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“You want to know what I think,” she whispered conspiratorially.

“Sure.”

“I think he didn’t say anything because he wants to like me yet, at the same time, isn’t sure he should. I think he’s stuck in the past where I’m the geeky
Camera Girl
and he’s the popular jock.”

Rev seemed to be taken aback by that, moving away a couple of inches. “Is that who you see when you look at him now? The high school jock with the ego the size of a blimp?”

“A blimp, really?”

Rev gave her a pointed look.

“No, that isn’t who I see. The kid from school is long gone and I’m glad. He was hot and all, but a bit of a jerk.”

He sat forward, excitement gleaming in his eyes. “Exactly! Well, not about the hot part, he’s my brother and that’s just weird. It’s good to hear someone who agrees with me on him being a jerk. It’s a very solitary stance you know.”

“Have a bit of 'little brother' syndrome?”

“Nah. I like it when a woman agrees with me though.”

It dawned on her then that whoever fell in love with Rev was going to have her hands full. She couldn’t help but wonder if he came as a package deal with his twin. That train of thought was for a different time.

“As for your question about who I see, I just see a man who loves his family, enjoys his job, and is a guy I’d like to know better, even if I only get to be his friend.”

“Uhh…you know guys can’t just be friends with a woman, right? They’ll think about sleeping with her at least once in their life.”

“You’re such a dork, Rev.”

He laughed and slumped against the back of the couch pulling her with him. “You really are a special woman Laurel. Makes me wonder if I would have had a chance with you in high school and why I never noticed you back then.”