Fall

Her hands moved to my boxers.

My body damn near screamed.

With a groan, my hand grazed her side, reaching to the back of her bra.

“HOLY SHIT!” someone screamed.

With a curse, I fell off the couch and hit my head against the coffee table, while Priscilla covered herself with a pillow, even though she wasn’t naked.

“Dammit!” Demetri stormed into the room. “Babe, where’s my gun?”

Alyssa rolled her eyes.

“Bastard!” Demetri walked around the couch and pulled me off the floor.

Well, at least I wasn’t so aroused I was embarrassing myself. I had no fight in me, so I simply smiled.

Even when he punched me across the jaw.

Pris screamed.

Alyssa laughed.

And I smiled. It would hurt like hell in the morning, but I felt buzzed, like I’d just downed an entire six-pack of beer. He could beat the shit out of me and I’d still be smiling. Because I had her.

“I swear…” Demetri shoved me against the wall. “If you screwed her, I’m going to knife you!”

“Violent,” I mumbled under my breath.

“Guys!” Priscilla pushed Demetri away. “Nothing happened.”

At least she’d had enough sense to right all her clothing. It was distracting enough watching her swollen mouth form words. Pretty sure my own mouth was hanging open still, in shock, in arousal, in… lust?

“The hell it didn’t!” Demetri spat. “He was on top of you! He was touching!” He waved wildly in the air. “With his hands!” When I laughed, Demetri set his green eyes on me. “She’s eighteen dude, not a one-night stand.”

“I know,” I said calmly.

“You can’t just screw her and leave her.”

“I know,” I repeated.

“And, and—“ Demetri swore. “Damn I wish I hadn’t given up drinking.” With another curse he went over to the wall and started banging his head softly against it while Alyssa came up behind him. “I’m going to have to burn my couch.”

I burst out laughing.

“You!” He pointed. “I’m not done with you.” He turned on his heel and pointed at Pris. ”And you! You… go to your room!”

“It has smoke in it,” she answered smartly.

“Go to the guest room here. Son of a bitch,” he muttered and walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

“Can I talk now?” I asked.

“Can I kill you now?” he replied.

Alyssa followed after Pris while I just sat and witnessed the rest of Demetri’s nervous breakdown.

“Tell me,” he said in a low voice. “Tell me you didn’t…”

“I didn’t,” I said smoothly. “I know my track record proves otherwise, but I actually care too much about her to strip her naked and have my way with her on your couch.”

“Thanks.” His voice cracked.

“Anytime.”

He took a swallow of water then spit it out onto the counter. “Wait, what?”

I looked at my hands.

“You care about her? As in you care about her like a five-year-old cares for his goldfish?”

I scowled.

“Holy hell…” Demetri sat on the barstool. “I thought when you said you liked her you meant you had a little crush or obsession because you hadn’t been with anyone in a while. I didn’t think you were…”

“Don’t say it,” I warned.

“Fine.” He grinned. “I’ll just think it.”

“Ass. Why are you even here?”

“Seven days off tour, man. We wanted to check out the condo, plus our next stop is in Portland, so it works out.”

“Thanks for the text.”

“Thanks for the naked surprise.”

“Touché.”

“Hey, guys?” Alyssa called from the back room. “Can you order us pizza?”

“Sure,” we answered in unison, both glaring at one another.

“I’m not a whore,” I said, feeling the need to clear the air.

Demetri snorted. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“Ten more minutes.” He shook his head. “I was a whore once. I know how it works. You tell yourself you won’t go too far, you tell yourself you’ll stop, and then, you wake up at five a.m. damning yourself to Hell. You really like her? Prove it. Don’t sleep with her.”

A bucket of cold water would have done less damage to my already pounding blood.

“But—”

“Take it or leave it. She’s Alyssa’s cousin, soon to be my cousin by marriage. You want her, that’s fine. Prove you’re man enough not to do what you’ve been doing for the past five years.”

“I’m not a monk,” I grumbled.

“Be a monk.” He winked. “For her.”

“Fine.”

Demetri burst out laughing. “I can’t wait to call Alec. He’s supposed to meet us down here, but they got a later flight for tomorrow.”

“Thanks for the heads up.”

Demetri reached across the counter and punched me in the arm. “Surprise, bitch.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Priscilla

Pretty sure my face was still as red as a tomato as I sat on the bed and waited for Alyssa to start in on me.