Come to Me Softly (Closer to You #2)(45)
Author: A.L. Jackson

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

He wrapped Aly up in his arms. “Didn’t know I could miss you so much, little sister. The apartment is boring as f**k without you there.”

“Well . . . thanks,” Aly drew out, all sarcastically offended as she squeezed him back.

Christopher cracked a smile and stepped outside. “What? Here I was thinking you were nothing but a complete pain in my ass, and it turns out I kind of liked having you around.”

“You are such a jerk.”

He winked, and a true smile curved his mouth.

Aly smiled back. “I miss you, too, Christopher.”

Christopher eyed Megan, who was hugging me good-bye. “Well, since I’m so lonely, maybe Megan can come over and keep me company tonight.” The edge of his words and the gleam in his eye reeked of suggestion. The ass**le couldn’t stay serious for more than two seconds.

“Not on your life,” Megan shot back. Laughter rumbled around in her chest as she hugged me closer, wishing me good-bye.

“Oh my God, don’t you dare go there, Christopher.” Aly waved a scolding finger in his face. “Do you know how many times I’ve had to warn our little brother to keep his hands and thoughts to himself? Both of you lady-killers had better keep the killin’ away from my best friend.”

“Says the girl who’s shacking up with my best friend. And lady-killer? Come on, Aly. You can do better than that. I’m a lady pleaser . . . believe me.”

Aly smacked him on the back of the head. “Whatever you are, just keep your dirty away from Megan.”

Christopher laughed and pinched Megan’s side.

She squealed and swatted him away. “Oh, I don’t think so. No touching, dirty bird.”

Christopher hooked his arm around her neck. “I’m just playing, Megan.” He dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “I don’t want anyone who’s slept with my sister.”

This time, it was Megan’s turn to smack him.

Megan stepped up and hugged Aly hard. “The house is beautiful, Aly. I’m so happy for you.”

Aly’s attention jumped between Megan and Christopher. “Seriously, you guys, thank you so much for coming over and helping us out.”

“Of course,” Christopher answered kind of soft, like his sister was crazy for even considering it a burden. Christopher had been there for her when she was at her lowest. He’d be there for her in the good times too.

“I’ve got nothing better to do unless I’m doing Megan here,” he added with a smirk.

“Ugh . . .” Aly groaned.

Megan just shook her head and muttered, “In your dreams.”

I laughed. Dude was such an ass**le.

They waved and headed down the sidewalk.

Slowly, Aly shut the door and locked it, turned around to lean up against it. Contentment etched into every line on her face.

God, she was so beautiful.

I edged forward, pitching my head to the side as I slowly took her by the waist. “Thought I was your best friend, baby,” I whispered low as I sought out the skin of her neck.

The softest moan slipped from her mouth as she lifted her face toward the ceiling, before she nudged me back a fraction, her head rocking on the door as she met my face, her expression serious and severe. “No, Jared, you’re not. You’re my everything.”

• • •

I tore my shirt over my head as I walked through our bedroom door, heading right for the shower.

I was late.

Aly’d texted me earlier, saying Christopher wanted us to meet him out, to grab a few beers and maybe play a round or two of pool. Apparently he was bored out of his mind. He didn’t know what to do with himself since Aly had moved out, since she’d become a permanent fixture in this home I was building for us. It’d only been three days since he and Megan had been here, lending a hand to get these walls painted.

Not a night went by that he didn’t call, check on Aly, ask her how she was doing. Then he’d make some wiseass joke and act like she was wasting his time.

I chuckled low as I tossed my shirt to the hamper just inside the bedroom. I knelt down, unlaced my work boots, heeling them off before I shucked the rest of my clothes from my body and headed toward the bathroom.

I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these days I found Christopher’s sorry ass sleeping on the couch. God knew he had plenty of friends and even more acquaintances, not to mention an endless string of girls clamoring over him for their chance to keep him company. But apparently spending time with his sister was much more appealing.

I couldn’t agree with him more.

Swinging open the bathroom door, I crossed the threshold. I stumbled, my feet nearly giving out. Regaining my footing, I froze in the doorway, my mouth dry.

Every last one of my muscles jerked and my heart sped, pounding the blood that beat through my veins. One glimpse of the girl and I just about came undone.

Motherfucking trigger.

She stood at the bathroom counter, leaning over it, inclined toward the mirror. Jaw slack, her mouth drifted open, her attention entirely focused on the job at hand as she applied a coat of mascara she most definitely did not need. Long lashes, just as dark as her hair, framed the intensity of her green eyes.

The only thing covering that delicious body was a towel, the tiny scrap of material wrapped under her arms. It came to her thighs, but since she was bending over the counter, it just skimmed the bottom of that glorious ass.

And those legs . . .

Those legs.

So f**king long and every kind of sexy. I wanted to live in them, wrapped up in them, lost in them.

God, she was impossible. A miracle.

And just like that, I grew hard, standing there in nothing as I looked on my girl from across the steamy room.

Moisture clung to the walls, her skin dampened from her shower, her hair wet and dark and clinging to her shoulders and back.

Through the mirror, Aly caught my eye. Her gaze drifted down, me standing there watching her, her watching me.

Need vibrated my body.

Pretty sure I would be content to spend the rest of my life coming home to this.

Exactly this.

My girl standing there. Ready for me.

I stalked up behind her, my hands impatient as they found her waist. I tucked my hips against her ass, my c**k trapped between us.

I placed a gentle kiss on her spine right between her shoulder blades, that gentle action at complete odds with the intense urge I had to devour her.

Chills started there, beneath my mouth. A rush of goose bumps lifted on her back and spread in a slow blaze across her skin.