Honor Unraveled (22 page)

* * *

Casey sat on the front stoop of her cabin. A few girls were inside napping. A couple of others were working on some macramé at the picnic table in the living room. She was almost halfway through her time at camp. She put her chin on her knees and stared off across the campgrounds to the lake down below.
 

She’d had fun at camp this year—as much as she had for the last three years she’d been coming. But things were different, too.
She
was different.
 

“Hey! I wondered where you were,” her friend, Zoe, said as she came out and sat down on the porch next to her.

Casey didn’t look at her. They’d been best camp friends for three years. Zoe had changed since last summer. She was taller. And curvier. She’d just finished junior high school, and Casey hadn’t yet started it. For three years, they’d shared a crush on the same guy from the boy’s side of the camp.

This year, when the girls’ and boys’ camps had done a few activities together, Davy had only had eyes for Zoe. It wasn’t so much that she was jealous of them. Truly, she just wished her body had more curves so boys would look at her. There was a group barbecue and dance at the end of camp, and Casey wasn’t looking forward to it for the first time in all the years she’d come to camp.

“Davy wants me to sit with him at the barbecue,” Zoe announced in a hushed whisper.

Casey looked at her. “How do you know?”

She held up her phone. “He texted me.”

“You kept your phone?” Surrendering their cell phones had been part of the check-in procedure.

Zoe nodded. “I gave them my old, dead phone.”

“That was brilliant.”

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t.”

“You can sit with us, you know.”

Casey shrugged. “Three’s a crowd. Just tell me what he says, okay? Tell me everything.”

“Sure. I think he’s going to try and kiss me.”

“How?”

“On the mouth, silly.”

“No.” Casey realized she was being too loud and lowered her voice as she looked back toward the door of their cabin. “Is he going to plant one on you in front of everyone?”

“He said there are plenty of trees we could slip behind.” Zoe laughed, the thrill of it giving her goosebumps.

“My dad came home,” Casey blurted.

“What? Casey! That’s wonderful!” Zoe hugged her. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Casey shrugged. “There was so much going on.” She looked at her friend. “And maybe I didn’t think you’d believe me.”

“I always believe you. About all of it. About him.” She reached over and took Casey’s hand. “Is he nice? Do you like him?”

“He’s really nice. He’s big, and kinda scary, but I like him.”

“That’s good. Really good. So why so glum?”

Casey wrapped her arms around her knees. “’Cause everything’s changing. I don’t know how long he’ll be staying and I’m stuck here. I made a big deal about coming here and now I miss him and Mom.” She looked at her friend and decided to spill. “And Davy only has eyes for you. And look at you; you’re beautiful. And, well, you’ve got those,” she said, gesturing to Zoe’s girls. “And I start middle school at the end of August. Boys like older girls.” She straightened and pulled her shirt tight. “And I’m flat as a board.”

Zoe laughed. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll pop out soon enough. My mom says everyone develops differently and at different times. And you’re not going to be twelve forever. The boys will be looking at you soon, too.”

“That’s what my mom says, too. I got my period. Just no boobs.”

“Well, see? Things are starting to happen.” Zoe hugged Casey. “You know what? I don’t care about Davy. He can come sit with us or find another girl to kiss. You’re the one who makes camp special for me.”

“Thanks for being my friend, Z. But, seriously, it’s
Davy
. You have to kiss him.” They laughed about that. Casey glanced over at the lake, looking forward to the afternoon horseback rides they were going to take.
 

Mandy stopped by Ivy’s room while she was getting ready for her date. “Have I told you how much I hate dating?” Ivy grumbled. “I feel like an insect under a microscope.”

“Are you the insect or the scientist?”

“Sometimes both. I don’t like pretending an interest about topics that aren’t interesting so we can walk around each other and kick the tires.”

“Insects don’t have tires.”

“You know what I mean.” Ivy heaved a sigh. “Tell me your accountant is nice.”

“Rick’s very nice. He has two kids. I think they’re in grade school.”

“What happened to their mom?”

“Divorce. She fell for a rancher whose farm accounts Rick handled. It was shocking when she broke up with him. They seemed so happy. He’s not been himself since.”

“Does he have custody of his kids?”

Mandy shook her head. “Except for every other weekend, she has them.”

“God, that would be hard, seeing Casey only two weekends a month.”

“Or never.”

Ivy’s gaze shot over to Mandy’s. She knew what her friend was implying. “Kit missed Casey’s first six years, and that was my fault. But he could have come to meet her at any time after that. He didn’t, Em. He made his preferences perfectly clear.”

“That was then. Things change.”

Ivy set her makeup down on the bathroom counter. “I told Ty I’d go out on a date with Kit, too.”

“Yes!” Mandy clapped her hands. “I was hoping you would.”

“He hasn’t asked me out yet.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m already working on him about it. He will.” Mandy gave Ivy a quick hug. “I’ll go wait for Rick. Don’t want the guys making a big deal about him. I don’t think he’ll handle it as well as Dr. Beck.”

* * *

Kit walked into their sitting room to fetch Ivy for her date. They guy wasn’t here yet, but would be soon. It killed him to know that she was primping for another man.
 

Ivy opened her door when he knocked. She wore a sleeveless scallop-necked dress that was solid cobalt blue. It was conservative yet sexy as hell, molding her curves like sprayed-on linen. Kit’s eyes traveled from where the hem ended above her knees down to the high-heeled sandals she wore.
 

Goddamn, she was hot.

“Hi,” she said. “I was hoping you were Mandy.”

“Well, I’m not.” He ground his teeth. “I can get her for you.”

She shook her head. “It’s just that I got my zipper snagged on the tag. Could you help me with that?”

Kit stepped toward her, making a motion for her to turn around. She scooped her hair over the front of her shoulder as she presented her back to him. The zipper was long, reaching from the top of the dress all the way down to the curve of her hips. She bowed her head. Unable to resist, he touched his fingers to the soft, smooth skin of her upper back, inching lower until he hit the snagged zipper. He fiddled with it—it took a bit to get it to back off its hold on the tag’s fabric.
 

When it was loose, he drew the zipper down to its base. He ran the back of his knuckles from her bra down to the small of her back. Unable to resist, he slipped his hand inside her dress, around her waist. Spreading his fingers out, he pulled her back against him. Bending close, he drew a long pull of her scent into his lungs.
 

“I love the way you smell,” he whispered against her temple. She didn’t push away. Her dress was lined, the fabric heated from her skin. He moved his hand lower. “I love the way you feel.”
 

He slipped his hand down, reaching the top of her panties. She arched back against him. He moved lower, dipping beneath the stretchy fabric to push through the crisp hair covering her sweet spot. His fingers spread her feminine creases. Her clit was swollen already. Feeling her response, he groaned.

His other hand eased around her shoulder, to stroke her throat, reaching up to turn her chin to him. He needed to be inside her, in some way. He bent to kiss her. Her lips were soft, sticky with lipstick. She reached up and hooked a hand around his neck. He parted her lips, frenching her with aggressive thrusts of his tongue. He slipped his free hand inside the other half of her dress, reaching up to grasp her breast.

She was writhing against his hand. He walked her a few steps into her room, pushing her unresponsive legs forward with his own. He shut the door behind them, then leaned back against it. He could feel her body tightening, close to release. He pressed his lips against the soft skin behind her ear and growled an order. “Come. I’ve got you. Let go. Let me feel you peak. Ivy, now.”

Her lips parted as she sucked in sharp breaths. His arm tightened around her ribs, holding her slight weight as the waves of her passion rumbled through her. The scent of her arousal, rich in the air between them, caused his balls to tighten.

Someone knocked on Ivy’s door. “Yeah?” he answered, cursing the interruption that made Ivy tense.

“Ah….” He could hear the surprise in Mandy’s voice. “Rick’s here.”

“She’ll be right out. Keep him busy for a few minutes, ’kay?”

Ivy leaned back against him, limp and still breathing hard. Kit slowly retracted his hand from her panties, stroking it up her stomach, then pulling it out of her dress. He put his fingers in his mouth, watching her while he licked the taste of her from them as if his fingers had been dipped in cake batter.
 

“Let me take care of your date for you. I won’t be mean.” He showed his teeth in a nice smile. If wolves could smile. “I’ll just invite him to leave.”

Ivy blinked. Twice. Then straightened in his arms and started to mess with the zipper. “No. I can’t.”

He pushed her hands aside and pulled the zipper all the way up to the top of the dress. “You don’t have to go out tonight.”

“It’s an obligation. I have to keep it.” She straightened her dress, then moved to check herself in the mirror and fiddled with her hair. “How do I look?”

Soft and fuckable. “You look like my woman.”

There must have been something in his expression, for her eyes softened. She reached up and set her palm against his cheek, then leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed his mouth. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing her in against his body. He took her kiss and transformed it into something warm and passionate. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the groan she made sounded as if it came from his own throat.

When she pulled back, he let her go. Red was smudged over her mouth. Probably was on his mouth, too. He was tempted to say nothing, let her go to her date with the evidence of his kiss on her face. But he never wanted to see her shamed.
 

“Iv….” He pointed with his finger to his own lips, making a circle around the sticky lipstick he still felt on them. “You might want to fix your mouth.” He wiped his own lips with the palm of his hand.

“Oh. Oh! Right. Thanks.” She hurried into the bathroom. He waited while she ran the water and clattered around in a drawer. When she came out, she looked perfect. More than perfect. Her lips, swollen from his kisses, were once again shimmery. Her hair was neatly brushed and arranged around her face and shoulders.

He couldn’t bring himself to ask her again not to go. For a crazy minute, he felt like he had when he was ten and begged his mom not to go out for the night, looking for a john so she could score some crack. He hadn’t been reason enough for her not to go out then. And he wasn’t now, for Ivy.
 

Kit reached for the doorknob. Opening her bedroom door, he set her free. He didn’t say anything to her. He couldn’t wish her an enjoyable evening because he didn’t want her to have fun. They walked in silence down the hall to the living room, where he could hear his sister talking with her accountant.

His ears started to buzz when he stepped into the same room with Ivy’s date. His eyes zeroed in on the man as he mentally flipped through all the ways he could kill him. Mandy made the introductions. Ivy shook hands with him, greeting him with a smile. The man reached a hand out to him, but Kit shoved his hands into his pockets. He still had Ivy’s essence on his fingers. He hadn’t washed it off. Hadn’t wanted to wash it off. And he goddamn sure wasn’t going to share her with the oddly nervous man who’d come to take her to dinner.

The group started to move away, heading for the front door. Ivy sent him a dark look; he could feel the weight of it. He pulled his glare from the guy and gave it to Ivy.

Ivy moved toward the door with Mandy and Rick. She could feel Kit’s heated gaze boring into her back. She glanced back at him. Once. Immediately, she wished she hadn’t. It was dinner. That’s all it was. Dinner and maybe a little more time before she had to face the inevitable: she was still crazy in love with Kit.

Mandy opened the door and held it for them. “Did you decide where you’re going to go tonight?” she asked, bringing Ivy back to the moment.

“Feel like a steak?” Rick asked.

An image flashed through Ivy’s mind of a blond girl grinding herself into Kit’s lap. “Um. No. Not a steak.”

“Mama Rosa’s has a mean ravioli. Or we could go down to Laramie. I know a few good restaurants down there.”