Prick Tease (Tangled Desires Book 1) (11 page)

“He’s a good kisser.” I dip my head, blushing under my admission. “And he’s huge. I mean…”

“You’ve seen his cock?” She gasps. “Really? And you don’t know whether he’s into you?”

“Well, he was in the shower.”

“Please do not tell me you walked in on him like some psychotic bunny boiler, Claire.” Chelsea laughs and her drink sloshes over the side of her glass and runs down her fingers.

“It wasn’t like that. I didn’t do it on purpose. At least not until.” I snap my mouth shut. The details are too much for me to share. Besides, I like having that private connection between me and him. “It doesn’t matter. He’s moving out of Tom’s tomorrow to get away from me. I’ve got to give up. I’m going to lose him completely. I don’t even know.” I shake my head. “Wanting him is ridiculous.”

“No, it’s not.” She squeezes my knee. “But it’s time you owned up to still having feelings for him. This isn’t about sex for you.”

“Why can’t it be? Why can’t I be like Henley? Or Tom? Even you? You slept with my brother when you were what, fifteen? He can’t have been the only one.”

She laughs and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “Because you’re you. You’re not as sweet as the image you’ve been living up to these past few years, but you’re not us, either. There’s a middle ground somewhere.”

“Do you think?”

“I do.” She grins. “And I wouldn’t give up on what you want. With the way he stares at you and glares at anyone else who glances in your direction, it’s only a matter of time until he comes to his senses.”

“Maybe.”

“Definitely.” She gets to her feet. “Now, do you know what I want?”

“What?”

“Another one of these cocktails.” She drains the glass and drags me up beside her. “More drinks, more dancing. Let’s find some boys who don’t mind busting a move. Maybe we can make him jealous.”

“You’re devious. Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“It’s up to you.” She hustles me inside. “You have to decide whether you can be happy with status quo.”

And that’s the problem. I no longer want to just get him into my bed. I want the whole package. But the idea of him leaving me behind again is agony.

Razer

“I was talking to Robert Long, you remember him? He was a couple years older than us. Owns Blazer’s now.” Mace talks while he leans over the pool table to take his shot. 

“Yeah, I remember Bobby,” I grumble, unable to peel my gaze from where Chelsea and Claire are dancing with some local boys. One of them keeps trying to get a little too familiar with Claire, his hands finding her hips far more often than I can handle. I clench and unclench my fists, imagining strangling the cheeky prick.

“He said there’s a need for more security in Reverence, since the town keeps growing.”

“Yeah.” Tom nods. “A couple of the guys from the gym are always saying there’s not enough of them to fill the need. Hell, I could use a couple extra hands with my self-defense classes so I could run them during the week as well. Thinking of staying?”

“Yeah, maybe we all should. It’d be nice to see a bit more of each other, don’t you think, Razer?”

“Right.” I’m only half listening, since Claire’s now turned into the guy’s arms and he’s squeezing her ass cheeks like they’re a stress ball.

“It’s your turn.” Mace tries to hand me the cue, but I push him out of the way and storm toward the couple on the dance floor.

I haul the kid back by his shirt. “Keep your hands to yourself, asshole.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Claire tries to get between us, pushing at me as she yells, “Let him go.”

With a growl I tighten my fist in his shirt, lifting him off his feet. I should let him go. Should walk away. But there’s no way he’s getting his hands on her again. “I’ll let him go when you leave the dance floor, Little Bit.”

The kid squirms, trying to get loose. “Who the hell are you?”

“Claire.” I snarl, a warning that I’m close to losing my temper.

“Fine. I need to go to the bathroom anyway.” She storms off, pushing through the other dancers until she exits into the hallway on the other side of the room.

Then I drop him. “Find some other girl to paw. This one’s taken.”

“Sorry, dude. I didn’t know she was your girlfriend. We were just having fun.”

I lunge toward him, my fist raised to scare the little shit, but he’s smarter than I give him credit for because he’s already racing off in the opposite direction of Claire.

Claire, my girlfriend?
Ridiculous
.

“Nice going, Razer.” Chelsea yells in my ear. “What the hell did you do that for?”

Honestly, I don’t know. Claire makes me lose control. For so many years I’ve relied on my ability to control a situation, using rational thinking and sharp instinct. But with her, my instinct drives me to go against everything my brain tells me I should do. Like I should walk away. I shouldn’t find her, drag her up against me and kiss that sweet mouth until she’s wet for me, desperate and aching for more. No, I shouldn’t go after her. “I better go apologize.”

I bump into her in the hallway as she comes out of the bathroom. Okay, I’ve been hanging around the door waiting for her. The word
girlfriend
keeps going off between my ears like an alarm. I’m heading into dangerous territory, letting her get under my skin the way she has. 

“What do you want?” She glares at me.

You.
“To apologize. That was a dickhead move.” I take her hand, draw a circle over the inside with my thumb. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

She tilts her head, not yanking her hand away, just letting me hold it as though this situation between us isn’t destructive. “Why did you do it?”

“I want you, okay? That’s what you want to hear, isn’t it? I’m going to lose my ever loving mind if I have to see some other guy paw you. Someone who isn’t me.” I pull her flush against me and devour her mouth until she’s breathless and whimpering, her whole body arching into mine. My hands on her ass, I grind into her. “You make me hard as a fucking rock. I lay awake in that room next to yours and all I can think about is whether you’re naked, and how tight your pussy will feel when I slip inside you.”

She gasps, her hands fluttering up from my elbows to my neck pulling me down to get drunk on her lips again. “Then stop avoiding me. Stop pushing me away.”

I am so fucking close to giving into her. The strength to fight her whittling away with each touch, each kiss. With the wall to her back I grasp her ass and spread her legs with my knee. “You think this is what you want, but you don’t. Not really. This is nothing but a distraction.” I disentangle her hands from my neck and step back. “I’m not for you, Little Bit, and you’re sure as hell not for me. The sooner I put some distance between us the better.”

“Is everything all right, sis?” Mace stalks down the hallway. “Was that kid harassing you?”

“Everything’s fine.” She slips past me, distracting Mace to give me a moment to deal with the obvious bulge in my pants. “It just takes some people a while to realize they’re wrong.”

She glances back over her shoulder, sadness filling her violet eyes. “Coming, bro?”

And just like that, she’s shut herself off. I’d wanted that. Wanted her to realize what I’d known all along. She and I can never be more than we are.

***

“Looks like Tom struck out.” Mace laughs when I get back to him. They’ve given up on the game of pool, and he leans on the half wall that separates the tables from the dance floor, nursing a dark ale.

I follow his line of sight, to see Tom getting the stink eye from a rather pretty brunette. “I didn’t think it was possible after this week. When the hell did he become a fucking lothario?”

“Remember when he used to stutter?” Mace grins as he impersonates a memory from our childhood. “Now I swear he’s got more luck with the ladies than I do.”

“Both of us put together.” I reach for the full beer beside him when he gestures for me to take it. “So are you seriously considering sticking around here?”

“Yeah. Might as well. There’s plenty of the kind of work I like to do. And family, you know? I missed them more than I’ll ever admit.”

“Yeah.” I take a long swig of my beer. “I get it.”

“But you’re not considering it?” He furrows his brow.

“Nope.” I stare at Claire, her arms tossed up in the air as she shakes her hips, back out on the dance floor. “I’m out of here as soon as I get the land sorted out.”

“Can’t tempt you, then?” Mace asks.

No. I’m pretty sure the only thing that could tempt me to stay is the one thing that shouldn’t.

“Did you see that chick?” Tom grins as he slides up beside Mace and snatches up the third beer. “She gave me an earful.”

“It’s not like you didn’t deserve it, dickhead.” Mace crows, smacking him on the back, before pulling out his wallet. “Time for something harder.”

“Shots,” Tom yells out as Mace swaggers toward the bar. “I’ll get the next round.”

By the time Chelsea and Claire stumble off the dance floor, Tom and Mace are three sheets to the wind, their arms around each other’s shoulders, swaying to the music as they stumble over the words to the song.

“We’re ready to go,” Chelsea yells over the music. “My feet are freaking killing me.”

“I can help with that.” Tom grins, hoisting her into his arms and spinning her around.

“Put me down,” she squeals, giggling.

And it’s contagious because Claire starts laughing as she slides an arm around Mace. “We girls are going. You guys can stay.” 

“No, Little bit.” Mace lifts her chin. “Can’t let you go home alone.”

“I’m old enough to catch a cab by myself.”

She glances at me for backup, but right now I want to be home. Away from them all. Away from her and the smile that melts my resolve. “Not a chance. Let’s get out of here.”

Stumbling out onto the pavement, we mill around trying to hail a cab, but it’s a bad time of night for it.

“I’m going to walk,” Chelsea says. “It’s only a couple blocks.”

“I’ll walk with you.” Mace stalks over to her. “And make sure you get home safe.”

“Thanks, but it’s really not necessary,” she says, giving Claire a hug. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, honey.”

We watch them heading up the block for a minute before Tom takes off after them. “Wait up. I’ll come with you.”

Shit. Now it’s just me and Claire. I glance down to find her staring up at me, and the spark in her eye tells me I’m in a shitload of trouble.

Chapter Ten

Claire

Tom’s house isn’t that far from Blazer’s, but my feet are sore from dancing in stilettos all night. Stupid medieval torture devices. It’s a pity they’re so gosh darn pretty. Razer slows his pace to match mine while we wander along the street, past a couple of empty restaurants and darkened shops.

“Are you hungry?” he asks as we pass a late night pizza joint. “Do you want to get a slice?”

There is something so perfect about a grease-laden slice when you’re full of alcohol and have burned copious amounts of energy on the dance floor. It’s almost as if the very act of drinking vodka makes everything taste better. My stomach gurgles at the smell of the pizzas coming out of the ovens. “Yes, please. I could totally go for a slice.”

He takes my hand and pulls me inside. “You go find a booth. I’ll grab a couple, okay?”

It doesn’t take long for him to come back with the food, and a couple bottles of water, which he places between us. “I thought you could use it for the dehydration.”

“I think I’ll be okay.” I nibble on the end of a slice. “I didn’t drink anywhere near as much as Mace and Tom.”

“Maybe not.” He brushes a string of melted cheese from my chin. “But you’re tiny compared to them, and they’re going to feel like shit.”

“Are you saying you care about how I feel?” I swallow the lump of pizza. Am I ever going to get to the bottom of the puzzle that is Razer? But I guess he just doesn’t want to share a bathroom with me if I’m seedy in the morning. Or he’ll say it’s because I’m like a sister to him. I drop the slice, my appetite gone. “Never mind.”

“More than I should,” he rumbles. “I thought you were going to leave it alone.”

“I can’t.” I slide out of my side of the booth and carefully wedge myself onto his lap, capturing his face between my hands so he’s locked into my gaze.

“What are you doing, Little Bit?” His breath hitches, even as he grows hard beneath me.

“Stop doing that.” The thick stubble along his jaw pricks the pads of my fingers. He’s so much man, and I want to own him. I want to snap my fingers and have him give in to me.

“What?”

His hands scrape up my thighs, and his gaze drops to the sliver of skin revealed by how my dress spills forward over my breasts.

My skin warms under his attention, but I pull his gaze back to my face. “Trying to put me in that box. It’s not what you want.”

“What I want doesn’t really matter.” He shrugs, his fingers digging into my hips.

“It does.” I lift one of his hands to my chest. “It matters to me. Why didn’t you answer any of my letters, Raze? Why do you keep trying to make me that sixteen year old kid you left behind?”

“Because the way I felt about you then, the same way you’re making me feel about you now.” He shifts beneath me, pressing his erection against me. “It’s fucking wrong, Claire.”

Screw right and wrong. There’s only the needy ache he draws up in me. The way I can never stop wanting his hands on me, his mouth on mine. I lean down, my hair cascading around his face while I nibble his bottom lip. “It doesn’t feel wrong to me. It feels like heaven.”

“Stop, sugar. Shit.” He groans, disentangling me from his lap. “You make it so damn difficult for me to remember my place.”

Standing up, he takes my hand and leads me back outside.

“I don’t understand.”

He gives me a lopsided grin, and tugs me in under his arm. “You really don’t, do you? You know, I still remember the first time I met you. You were this tiny squalling thing, bundled all in pink.”

“I don’t remember it.”