Tempted (A Player Brother Romance Book) (A Standalone Novel) (Player Brothers Book 1) (20 page)

"I don't know." I laughed. "It's a
fish, I think."

"That's very helpful,” he said.

"I don't know if you have noticed, Aiden, but I’m
more of a bookish type."

"You don't say. You were the same way at Okoboji.”
He laughed. In that moment the fish jumped, breaking the surface of the water.
"There it is,” Aiden said.

Seeing it gave him a renewed strength and within a few
more minutes he pulled the creature up onto the pier. I turned my eyes away as
Aiden pulled out his pocket knife, cleaned and stripped the large shining bass,
then placing it in the cooler. I grimaced and placed my hands over my face.

"Ugh!" I exclaimed.

I had known already what would happen if one of us had
caught a fish, but the sight of it still made me a bit squeamish. He turned to
me and smiled.

"Good job," he said. "That was a big
one. We are going to eat well this evening."

"You did the hard part,” I said. "Tell you
the truth, I’m kind of starving."

"Me too,” he said. "You ready to head
back?"

"Yeah," I said.

We returned the equipment to the rental cabin, but
opted to keep the cooler until we got back to the car. We would transfer the
fish over to ours and drive back to return it then.

We headed back down the beach the same way we had
come, though with far less horse play this time, since he had his hands full
lugging the cooler. Once more I felt that the ease of our friendship had taken
over once more. Regardless of what hindrances the rest of life might offer us,
when the two of us got together everything else seemed to melt away.

I smiled as I listened to him telling an anecdote
about his youngest brother heading off to college. He always spoke fondly of
his family. Despite his odd ball status among his brothers, they did all look
out for each other no matter what.

I enjoyed listening to him.

The western horizon blazed with orange as the sun
approached the sea. We had become bathed in the golden light of sunset by the time
we made it back to the car. We returned the cooler and headed back to his
apartment.

"Do you know how to cook a fish?" I asked.

"Do I...?" he sputtered. "Do I know how
to cook a fish? I’m going to cook you a fish so good that you won't want to eat
any more after this meal."

"Is that so?" I laughed.

"That is so,” he said.

We arrived at his apartment a little while later. I
felt exhausted but happy as we walked into his apartment. I wondered if I was
the only one who felt a bit awkward stepping over the very same piece of carpet
where we had once passed out after our lengthy session of carnal embrace.
Though I tried not to let my face show, as I felt a blush creep into my cheeks.
He set the cooler on the counter, and grabbed a couple of beers from the
refrigerator, handing one over to me.

"You deserve this,” he said.

"Thanks," I said. "You speak as if I
had slain a mighty beast today or something."

"You did!" he insisted. "And now we are
going to eat it."

I took a seat on the bar stool along the island in the
middle of his kitchen and watched him work. He pulled the fish from the cooler
and skillfully sliced it into several fillet sized steaks. I watched,
increasingly impressed as he drizzled olive oil into the cast iron skillet and
started it heating on the stove.

The beer tasted good, combined with the events of the
day I felt renewed and invigorated, reminding myself once more that I needed to
do this kind of thing more often. I recognized that I had a tendency to get
caught up in my job and that I needed to let myself relax more often. When I
did, I often felt guilty about it, feeling as if I should be doing something
productive.

The pan sizzled as he placed a couple of the fillets
into the heated oil. He then produced a couple of potatoes which he cubed and
seasoned, placing them under the broiler in the oven. The smell of the cooking
food made my mouth water.

"I didn't know that you knew how to cook,” I said.

"Well, you’re lucky,” he said.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Because I promised you that I could cook this
fish. What I didn’t tell you is that I can only cook fish. It's lucky that you
caught this guy today because otherwise we'd be having ramen noodles and frozen
burritos."

"The way I feel right now, I would eat ramen
noodles and frozen burritos.” I laughed.

We continued to laugh and talk as the food cooked. He
handed me a fresh beer when he dished up our plates. The flaky fish had been
seasoned to perfection and the oven roasted potatoes provided the perfect
compliment.

"This is delicious,” I said, dabbing my mouth
with my napkin. "I’m truly impressed."

"Thank you," he said.

The sun, waves, and activities of the day were
catching up with me, but the food perked me up quite a bit. I started to feel
the whole body happiness of having been in nature. He must have felt the same
way because we both ate in comfortable silence for several minutes, before I
looked up at him and he started laughing.

"What?" I said, unable to stop myself from
laughing as well.

"Nothing,” he said. "I'm just.... you must
have been hungry."

"I was,” I said, taking another bite of the
potatoes. "Today was fun. Makes me wonder what other secrets you have that
you aren't telling me."

He grinned in response.

"You want another beer?" he offered.

"How about a scotch instead,” I said.

"Sure thing.”

He started to head out of the kitchen to the living
room liquor cabinet.

"Should I help you clean up first?" I asked.

"Nah," he said. "I'll put the food up,
but the dishes can wait." He poured me a drink and I followed him out to
the living room. "Be right back."

While I waited for him on the couch, my mind wandered
back to the conversation we'd had when he extended the invitation for today. He
had promised not to try anything. I mulled that over, angry at myself for having
pushed him to that point. Our friendship was a once in a lifetime kind, that
much was true, but I couldn't help but wonder....

"Penny for your thoughts?" he said having
returned. He poured himself a drink and sat down beside me on the couch.

"Nothing, I'm just..." I turned to face him,
tucking my legs up onto the side of the couch. "I've had a lot of fun
today."

"Me too,” he said.

I leaned my head on my arm curled up on the back of
the couch. He looked at me with his piercing blue eyes, brightened from the day
in the sun. I wanted so desperately to say what was on my mind, but I knew as
soon as I brought it up I would sound like a hypocrite. The last thing I wanted
to do was to push Aiden away any further than I already had.

"It seems to me," he began. "That
whenever we hang out, you end up having a good time."

"That's true,” I said. It seemed as if he were
leading up to something.

"So it seems to me that if you enjoying doing
something, and that something makes a person happy, then the person should do
more of that thing."

"That seems logical." I nodded.

He reached over and absently played with my hair,
tucking it behind my ear, smoothing down a flyaway.

"So what's the problem, Blair,” he said in a more
serious plaintive tone. "Why can't we give this a shot? We already know
that we care about each other. We definitely have a good time together. I mean,
I know the circumstances are not ideal, but dammit, Blair.... I want
this."

I hadn’t expected such a declaration and didn’t know
immediately how to respond.

He continued, "Okay, you have told me that you
don't want to jeopardize your chances of this job, right?" I nodded.
"We've already proven that we can keep our personal relationship separate
from our professional lives. I for one, would never do anything to hinder your
chances at getting it. Sure, I want the position just as much as you do, but
either one of us could get it, I think. You deserve it just as much as I do,
and I don't want to take that away from you. Nor do I think you would do differently
for me. I don't know which of us will get it, but I do know that no matter who
gets it, we will both still be living here. Maybe we'll end up working for
opposing law firms. Who knows? But I do know that I like you."

I sat in stunned silence.

I thought maybe he would try and kiss me or get me
into bed in some way. His flirtations had waned over the past few weeks and I
had thought he had accepted my rejection. Throughout the course of the day he
had time and time again passed up any opportunity to make a pass at me. Aside
from light flirtations he had remained true to his promise.

Still I felt torn.

I knew that what my heart wanted lay in a far
different direction that what my mind would allow. Since the moment he had set
foot in that office I hadn’t been able to get him out of my mind. I had almost
convinced myself that the night we had spent together after our date had been a
mistake, but having been with him in such an intimate way had just increased my
feelings despite my inner protest.

I knew that I felt the same way about him, and I couldn’t
longer deny it.

Not even to myself.

I looked at him, his expression one of patient
expectation.

He wanted an answer from me, and I had none to give. I
had been so career focused that I found it hard to let go, even now.

Without a word, I placed my hand behind his neck and
pulled myself to him, placing a small but expectant kiss upon his lips. He
looked stunned when I pulled back, but soon the crooked smile danced at the
corner of his lips and he leaned forward and kissed me back. The heat of his
lips sent shock waves through my whole being.

Of its own accord my arm tightened around the back of
his shoulders as I felt his hands slide around my waist. Neither of us had
changed out of our swimsuits and I became suddenly aware of the sand and
saltwater that had dried to my skin. His tongue probed me, teasing along my
lips searching for mine. I tasted the scotch on his mouth, twisting my fingers
into his hair as my body already ached for more.

His hands slid down my waist along my hips and over my
exposed thigh, finding the edge of the sundress, where he traced along the edge
of the fabric teasing me as he continued to kiss me.

Just when I thought my lips would erupt into flame, he
lightened his kisses and began to trail his lips along the side of my neck.
Just as I suspected he left a trail of fire until he landed right beneath my
ear, where he flicked his tongue.

I heard him inhale when my breath caught in my throat.

His hand slipped beneath the hem of my dress and he
stroked the flesh of my thigh, moving upwards to my trembling abs. Even still I
remained cautious as to how far I should let this go. My caution was silenced
when he nipped at the curve of my earlobe, inciting an inner frenzy in me.

I pulled my hands back and traced the outline of his
collar bone, smooth and tan from the day, but hindered by his linen shirt. He
leaned back a bit to let me pull the garment off of him exposing the expanse of
his muscular chest, where I placed the palm of my hand relishing in the feeling
of his heart pounding beneath it.

My own matched his pace when I realized his fingers
had found the edge of my bikini bottoms underneath my dress. He didn’t go past
the edge, but traced small circles along the flesh just at the edge.

"When you touch me like that, it turns me on,” I
whispered into his ear.

He curled his lips back in a heated grin.

"Do you know how much I love hearing you talk
like that?" he growled, tightening his grip around my waist and pulling me
closer to him.

I realized then that I wanted nothing less than what I
had before me.

I wanted him, with everything that I had.

I arched my back to his touch, placing my eager lips
back to his. I felt his fingers slide along my side, coming to a stop at the
string of my bikini top. A momentary question passed between us, as he stopped
and searched my eyes.

I looked at him with expectation.

His tentative trembling fingers found the tie around
the back of my string top and pulled it loose. I pulled it over by head and
tossed it aside, leaving just the then cotton fabric covering my alert breasts.

He returned to kiss me, allowing his lips to linger
slowly over mine, while his fingers traced my skin, moving closer and closer to
my awaiting breasts. I sighed when he grazed his thumb over my nipple,
cautiously as if gauging my reaction. The sensation made my eyes flutter and my
breath grow ragged.
 

"Take me to the bedroom,” I whispered.

"Not yet," he sighed.

What was that supposed to mean?