Keep Me (13 page)

As I rocked into her, my mind jerked itself from thoughts about rules at the pleasing sight of Tessa caressing her own body with
that look
on her face. Her eyes were closed and her mouth open, emitting sounds that made me twitch inside her. One hand tangled itself in the blond waves splayed across the cushion and the other kneaded the peaked bead of her beautiful, pink nipple.
Oh, God, she was fucking hot.
I cupped my hand over hers, helping her cause.
“Open your eyes, baby. Watch me.”

Her lids flickered open—maybe she was reluctant to adhere to my demand—but when her eyes met mine she smiled, and the glow that emanated from her flushed features was enough to make me come right then. “You’re beautiful, baby.”

She closed her eyes again, taking in the compliment.

My body ground against hers as I spoke. “Ah, ah. Open them, pretty girl. I want you to
see
what you do to me.”

Her gaze found mine again and the adoration and fulfillment that seeped through made me eager to kiss her. I lowered myself down to her face and kissed the tip of her nose.
I was doing it again!
Nose-kissing and fucking never went hand-in-hand before! It was unnerving. All I could do was growl like a rabid animal. “You’re killing me. Fucking killing me.”

She giggled into my ear and then pushed me upright. “You can’t die yet. You’ve been awfully generous to me, but…” she hesitated and licked her lips. “I’ve yet to make
you
come.”

It was all the encouragement I needed to take more of her without reservation. To pound into her until I shot out all over the tight, golden skin of her stomach. But I painfully forced control, cocking my head to the side. “No rush, baby. I can go all night.”

Her tongue darted out and grazed the straight line of her top teeth, teasing me. “That sounds
so
good. I do want you all night, Marcus. But right now, I
need
you to come.”

In that moment, I knew I’d never get enough. Tessa was the perfect combination of sweet-as-sugar and sexy-as-fuck. The delectable mixture, along with the flawless package it came in, made it seem like she was tailor-made for me.

I grabbed her silky legs just above the bend in her knee and dug into the flesh of her thighs as I curled both legs around my waist. Her ankles locked together behind me. I fucking loved it. I was drunk from the sensation of slowly sliding in and out of her, watching her eyes roll back, but I picked up the pace, giving in to the need to slam our bodies together. The sounds of flesh slapping and Tessa crying out my name surrounded me, entranced me, as the heat in my core grew more intense and the build-up unleashed. My body left hers and I collapsed on top of her, the hot gush of liquid erupting between us. Our arms wrapped around each other, our breathing choppy and broken. I imagined this being the point where lots of men admitted love, but I wasn’t there just yet. It wouldn’t be long, though.

When the last shudder left me and Tessa’s hands fingered the hair at the nape of my neck, I lifted my head and looked into her sparkling blue eyes.

She smiled, but remained wordless. I hoped she’d say something to let me know what was going on in her head, but she remained silent. I laid my head back down against her chest enjoying the skin-on-skin contact and her fingers in my hair.

I guess I had to brave the waters first. “What comes next, pretty girl?” I had no idea what I had to do to make this a relationship and even if it
was
headed that way, I needed to know what steps to take and in what direction. North, south, east, and west were worlds apart from love, commitment, promises, and forever.

“I don’t know, Marcus. Can’t we just let it be?” She craned her neck and stiffened a bit. “And not a word about this to your sister. I’m not ready to tell her yet.”

That she said ‘yet’ meant it was something she might be willing to do in the future. Still, I couldn’t resist the urge to bust her balls since my ego felt a little bruised. I lifted my head again, resting my chin between her breasts, narrowing my eyes. “Embarrassed to be slumming it, pretty girl?”

“
Slumming
it?” she laughed, taking my face in her hands. “Not even close. We’re friends and I want to
stay
friends and I don’t want to weird things out… for any of us. Mum’s the word, Marcus. And maybe I’ll reward you for keeping it our little secret.”

If friends spent their nights wrapped in each other’s arms, stuck together by the sticky proof of the explosion they just created between them, I’d take friends. For now.

The rest of the night went so much better than I ever could’ve imagined. We made our way to her bedroom after drinking some wine and finishing off the rest of the leftover pizza. Our exertions on the couch—and then that time in the kitchen—created quite an appetite. But even as we tamed the hunger in our bellies, we couldn’t seem to tame how starved we were for each other. Tessa was wild in bed and I loved every single second of it because it came as such a surprise. Sure, she was hot, but she was also a good girl. Good girls didn’t usually have a list of toe-curling dirty words in their repertoire. She was different, and sex with Tessa was more than
different
, it was… incomparable. We were serious and intense when it mattered most, but we also cuddled and laughed with the sheets tangled around us, something I had never experienced before. Hell, it was something I never thought I’d enjoy so much.

So, it would be damn near impossible to look Riley in the face this afternoon and not spill the beans, but I had my honor to uphold with Tessa and I wouldn’t go back on that. I ignored the smoldering fire that crept down from my chest and settled in my groin. Fighting with my mind to control the stiffness growing in my pants, I rolled my head from side to side, cracking out the soreness from the night before and cleared my throat as Riley walked into Dad’s kitchen.

“Rough night?” she asked, resuming her spot at the stove, stirring the sauce.

“Nope.” One word answers. I could handle that.

“Oh, no clubbing with Beck?”

“Uh uh,” I shook my head, as I nonchalantly unfolded the sports section.

“Has the beast finally been tamed?” The wooden spoon ceased its swirling, and Riley clanked it on the side of the big pot before placing it on Mom’s favorite spoon rest.

I knew it was only a rhetorical question, but trying to find an adequate answer had me squirming at the kitchen table. Without diverting my not-so-undivided attention from the paper, I answered her, “Riley, don’t you have a life of your own to worry about? What were
you
doing last night? Hanging curtains or, wait, no, you must have been analyzing the color spectrum of paint chips.”

With her hands on her tiny hips and a scowl on her face that could make any man flinch, she darted toward me, yelling, “You’re an ass, Marcus! I’m so glad you think so highly of me. Not to mention your unwavering faith in my social life, you jerk! I might have you know that I actually had a
date
last night and it went… well.” Her eyebrows danced and my stomach dropped.

It was moments like this that made me wish I had
another
sister. So she could bounce this shit off
her
. I mean, as her brother did I really want to know what
well
meant? No! Especially not if
well
was the word she used to define the way my evening had gone with Tessa. I resorted to my favorite avoidance tactic. Sarcasm. “Wow, alert the media! Riley Grayson’s dry spell has come to a fucking end!”

She swatted me with a dishtowel and sank into the chair across from me, crinkling the newspaper so that we were face-to-face. “Listen here, you little shit. I don’t need you making fun of me. Charles is a nice guy. We talked and laughed over dinner, then grabbed a few drinks at a bar and he even gave me a little kiss before he dropped me off.” Her resolute demeanor switched to disappointed as she recounted the events of her boring date and she slumped back in her chair. “Damn it, Marcus, you’re right! Dry spell is still in full effect! I have one lame social life!”

I leaned over the table and covered her hand with mine. A heart-to-heart was what a good brother would offer right now, right? “Ry, I was only kidding. You shouldn’t settle for just a ‘nice guy’ anyway. You’re special and you deserve…”

“Oh, fuck it!” She stood up, suddenly energized, the looks of an idea hatching its way into her brain. “I need to break this goddamn spell and I need someone to help me do it. I’m going out with Tessa on Friday night. I better call her so she can line up a babysitter and help a sista out. Last I heard, she needs to get laid, too!”

The mouthful of beer I was guzzling spewed out of my mouth and sprayed all over Riley’s sauce-spattered apron.

“Marcus! What the hell?”

I shot out of my seat, choking on the little beer that did go down, and heading for some paper towels. I coughed past the tickle in my throat and the burning in my nose and shook my head, nearly busting out in uncontrollable laughter. “Sorry, Ry. I don’t know what came over me.” But I did know how it felt to come all over… okay, that was gross, even for me.

“What’s going on in there, you two?” My father’s voice came booming from his Sunday parking spot on his recliner. It reminded me of when Riley and I were scolded as kids for jumping on the bed upstairs or arguing while company was over.

“Nothing!” We both yelled back as we continued to clean up my mess.

Riley left the table to check on something in the oven, and I rolled the used paper towels in a ball and tossed them into the trash. “Three points.”

“
Three points.
I’ll give you three points if you tell me why you get your designer boxers in a bunch every time I mention Tessa.”

This was my chance. I could come clean and tell her I was not only screwing her friend, but falling for her. She would piss and moan and whine and complain, but she would come around because she was Riley. And Riley was kind-hearted and understanding, and with the right amount of bribery and flattery she was usually rational.

But I couldn’t do that. I owed it to Tessa to keep it between us.

“You’re crazy, Ry. It has nothing to do with Tessa. Haven’t you known me long enough to understand when you mention
any
woman and the word ‘laid’ in the same sentence I’m going to get all excited?”

“You’re gross, dude.”

I puffed up my chest and walked over to my sister, kissing her on the cheek. “At least I own my grossness. When’s dinner gonna be ready? I’m starvin’ like Marvin.”

“Twenty minutes, Marv. Now, go sit with Dad and listen to him rant about the Yankees and how they’ve blown their whole season.”

I curled my lip and rolled my eyes. “Fun! Can’t wait.”

Halfway through dinner and three-quarters of the way through Dad’s incessant mumbling about how the increased price of tolls and gas were making him want to start walking to his job in Jersey, I noticed Riley giggling at something going on under the table.

When the ping of her cell phone alerted her of an incoming text, her face dropped, all humor vanished.

“What’s the matter?” I asked, completely cutting Dad off from his tirade on Obama.

Riley jumped out of her chair, and threw her napkin over her half-empty plate. “I have to go. Dad, I’ll be back to clean up and put everything away. Leave everything.”

“Everything okay, baby? Where’s the fire?” Dad maneuvered the morsel of Italian bread in his mouth to speak.

“It’s Tessa.”

My eyes grew wide and my heart stopped. “What’s wrong with Tessa, Riley?”

She rushed to the front door and slipped her feet into her sandals. “I can’t get into it now. I just… she needs me.”

Hurrying to her side, I grabbed my car keys from the hook and placed a hand over Riley’s on the doorknob. “I’m coming with.”

She shooed my hand away and retorted, “No! You’re not. Now, go back to…”

“The hell I’m not. Either you can ride with me right now and cut the shit
or
you can go yourself and
try
to beat me there.”

She stared me down for a good, long minute and finally surrendered. “Fine. You drive. But let’s hurry. She was really upset.”