Prick Tease (Tangled Desires Book 1) (17 page)

“No you’re fucking not. What’s going on?”

Razer’s grasping my ass, digging his fingers into the crack of my ass while he works me harder with his mouth. I stare down at him. There’s a challenge in his gaze. He’s not letting this go, because he’s testing me. He’s making me prove how much I don’t want this to end. I dart desperate glances around the room, landing on the laptop. “Henley,” I say, and for a moment Razer slows down. “I’ve been checking the Internet to see if he’s hit the news yet. It’s just so stressful.”

“It’s going to be okay.” There’s a soft thud from the other side of the door. He’s probably standing there with his back flush against it. How he can be so ignorant of what is going on in here is beyond me. “This isn’t going to ruin your life, Little Bit. It’s just a hiccup.”

Razer’s finger finds the knot of my ass and presses rhythmically against the sensitive spot. “Sheeet,” I moan as waves of pleasure rush over me.

“Are you sure that’s all it is? I thought maybe it was Razer.”

“Wh-what?” I thump against the door, as my whole body sways under the pressure of my orgasm. And still Razer doesn’t let up. It’s as if he’s starving for me, needing to lick me clean, or imprint my taste on his taste buds in a way toothpaste will never remove. “Jeesus.”

“Bloody hell, you don’t need to throw things, Claire. Don’t dent my walls or anything. I just thought maybe spending so much time around him has brought that crush back. It’s kind of noticeable in the way you look at him.”

“In the way I look at him?” I stare down at Razer when he pulls back, stroking his fingers gently over my pussy before pulling my panties back up.

“Yeah. To me, anyway. I don’t think he’s noticed, which is probably a good thing.”

“Why?”

Razer scowls at me, as though telling me he doesn’t agree with me asking my brother why he thinks we shouldn’t be together. But wouldn’t understanding why Tommy feels the way he does help us work out how to explain ourselves?

“Because he’s never going to see you like that, Claire. You’re always going to be the little sister, like you are to the rest of us. That’s just the facts. Once you’re over this Henley shit, you’re going to find a nice guy who’s right for you and forget this stupid crush. You know that, right?”

I don’t know any such thing. But the way Razer is looking at me, even as he cups my cheek and scuttles his lips across mine, confirms he believes what Tom’s saying. “Whatever you think, Tommy. I need a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay, but then we’re going to play mini-golf.” He shifts off the door. “Speaking of, have you seen Razer?”

“No. No, I haven’t.” I say even as he captures my hand and leads me over to the bed. “I’m sure he isn’t far.”

Lying back on the bed, he drags me on top of him. He stays quiet until he’s sure Tom’s far enough away not to hear us. “I told you that’s how they feel about us. Mace will be worse.”

“They’ll get over it.” I undo his pants, pull them down off his hips and stroke a finger over his erection. “They will.”

“Who are you trying to convince, sugar?” He grabs my face between his palms and drags me down to kiss me senseless. “Me or yourself? They’re not going to forgive me. Surely, you can see that.”

“No,” I say slipping my hand into his boxers and gently squeezing his cock. He’s all hot hardness in my palm. I love the contradiction of it. How something so hard can be so ridiculously soft. I love that I can feel how I affect him. “I can’t see that. I can see how much you want to be inside me, though.”

“Changing the subject?” He chuckles. “I can deal with that for now.”

Wriggling off him, I pull my panties down, but I catch the flash of something out of the corner of my eye, something outside the window. I freeze, and then whip them back up, and race over to the window. Peering outside, I see nothing. There’s no one there.

“What is it?” Razer’s already beside me. He moves quietly, swiftly. I barely notice.

“I think I saw something. Like a camera flash, or…something.” I shake my head. “It must be my imagination. Just stress.”

He pulls me back behind the curtain, kisses me. “It was probably just a bird.”

“But it flashed.”

Over my head he scans the yard. “Tom’s got a bird feeder in one of the trees down there. Probably just the sun glinting off a bit of metal.”

“Do you think?” I breathe easier, keen to cling to his explanation.

“Yeah, I do.” He lets go of me to pull open the window, and straddle the sill. Then he grins. It reminds me of when we were younger, and I tried to climb out my window to meet my friends only to find him waiting for me.

“What are you doing?”

“Sneaking out of your room. Don’t want to get caught by Tommy boy now do we? And he’s waiting for you.”

I snicker. “You don’t need to do that. There’s a perfectly acceptable door.”

He swings his other leg over the sill and pushes off, landing lightly on the grass. “You get ready to join the others. I’ll go round front and make sure Tom doesn’t suspect I just had my mouth all over you.”

With that he stalk off, and I slide the window shut, taking one last look around the yard. He was probably right. It was nothing more than a trick of light.

Razer

“Can you just fucking swing already? Does it always take you this long to line up a shot? It’s only mini-golf for fuck’s sake.” Mace scowls at Chelsea, his massive arms crossed over his barrel chest while she shuffles her feet and inches side to side.

“Shut up, Mace. Don’t be a dick.” Her tone is sharp, but she’s grinning, purposefully ruffling him. Tom’s swinging from side to side, an iron over his shoulders, limbering up. He’s the only one of us beside Mace taking this seriously, but he’s got a title to uphold. Losing for him will lead to a shit-load of ribbing.

Chelsea finally swings, sending the little white ball rolling down the green felt and straight into the hole. Jumping around Mace, she slaps his arm. “This is why I keep getting hole in one’s and you don’t.”

He traps her hand, on his arm. “You don’t think I can beat you in any game you want to play?”

She winces, drops her gaze at the same time he drops her hand. “Whatever. You’re just a sore loser.”

“So where did you get to this afternoon?” Tom says, coming up beside me as Claire steps up for her turn. His gaze narrows on me, and I wonder if he ended up putting two and two together.

“Nowhere, just went for a run.”

“Are you sure about that?” He practices a few fast swings with his iron.

“What are you trying to say?” I slouch a little, not giving any hint that internally I’m not as relaxed. A golf iron can kill just as effectively as a bullet when wielded by an angry older brother.

“You’ve been acting a little weird. So has Little Bit.”

“I’ve been busy.”
Doing your sister. Being the asshole I promised I would never turn into. Breaking the oath I made to always treat Claire like a sister.
I shrug.  “I have a lot of stuff to do before I leave, and she’s probably just stressed about that asshole.” 

“Yeah. You’re probably right,” Tom says, as Claire comes over to get a high five from him for her hole in one. “Well, I have a title to keep.”

Claire brushes up against me. “What did he say? He doesn’t know, does he?”

Does he know? The way he glances over his shoulder at me, his brow furrowing, I’m not convinced he doesn’t. But if he does, he’s keeping it from Mace, because if Mace knew he wouldn’t be calmly tapping a golf ball down the miniature green. No, he’d be wielding that golf stick as a weapon and probably trying to plant it in my brain.

“I don’t know.” I move away from her. Sooner or later I’m going to have to work out what I plan to do about me and Claire, and how the hell I’m going to get her brothers to understand without hating us both.

“It’s your turn, Raze,” Claire calls out, and when I turn back I get a glimpse of how worried she is. Not because she doesn’t want them to know, but because she understands what I’m going to have to give up for her.

***

There’s a pile of rubble where the old house used to be. The demolition crew came in over the past week and knocked down the old building. I scrub at the back of my neck. It’s kind of weird how this place is so much a part of my past even though I spent all my time at the Hadley’s. I guess it’s because it’s one of my first memories. The house had seemed bigger, scarier when I was a kid.  Now it’s just a pile of bricks and broken plaster. There’s no old man ready to beat my ass every time I take a step out of line. The smell of rotgut whisky though, stays strong, like it leaked into the wood and plaster itself. Or maybe it’s just that I’ll never forget the smell as long as I live.

“How long do they think it will take to clear all this away?” Claire pulls my arm around her shoulder and sinks into my side.

“Another week or so.” I don’t look at her. After this is done, I’m leaving. Or at least that’s what I told her originally.
Don’t expect me to stick around.
I’m pretty sure were the actual words I might have used. But it was meant to scare her off. Instead she stands beside me like…I don’t fucking know. I don’t know how to put a name to this thing between us. It’s always been family. People who care for you, look after you, fight for you. They’re your real family, not bastards like my grandfather or my pathetic excuse for parents. But what Claire is, it’s more than family. That night I took her virginity, I remember some kid calling her my girlfriend. I’ve had girlfriends before. Never been serious about a single one of them. I twist to slant my mouth across hers. “Let’s get out of here.”

I take her hand as we stroll back to the bike. “We never did get those waffles that night.”

“You want to get waffles?” She smiles, picking up the helmet Tom loaned her and jamming it over her head. “You’re developing a sweet tooth in your old age.”

“If, by sweet, you mean you, then I think I always had it.” I cover her fingers with mine, securing the chinstrap. I know she can do it herself, but there’s something about being able to do little things for her that makes my chest swell.

“Is this a date, Razer? Are you asking me out on some kind of weird after sex date?”

“More of a between sex date.” I grin, swatting her ass before putting on my own helmet. “I fully expect you to put out afterwards.”

***

Watching Claire eat waffles is like watching porn. Sinful, delicious, and not nearly as much fun as sticking something of mine in her mouth. She darts her tongue over her bottom lip to catch a drip of cream as she takes another bite, and I have to shift in my seat. My mind is still mulling over how serious this thing between me and her has gotten and how I’m going to approach telling Mace. He’s going to be pissed, but when she slipped into my arms at the house I started considering exactly what expectations I’d like her to have. “When do you have to go back?”

“I should have gone back weeks ago.” She tucks the blade of her knife into the prongs of her fork and reaches for her hot chocolate. “Olivia’s fantastic at holding down the fort, but it isn’t fair that I dumped everything on her.”

“So soon then?” It’s going to suck when she leaves. But I’m supposed to be leaving, too. Only, I’m more than half-tempted to join Mace in this security gig he’s lining up, or help Tom with the classes he wants to set up. Anything to stay, but only because she’s here.

“Soon.” She nods. “Before the ball. I have to be there for that. What about you? You’re supposed to be in Lanston, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

When she pushes away her empty mug, we slide out of the booth and make our way back to the bike. She’s right. I was supposed to be gone weeks ago. Now I’m not sure I plan to leave. There are things I could do here. I have more than enough collateral, thanks to the old man, to be able to do what I want. “Do you ever think about moving back here?”

“I don’t know.” She glances around, as though she’s never considered it. “I avoided this place for so long. And the charity. That’s really important to me. But these last couple weeks? I could see myself settling here long term.”

I lean against the bike. “What do you do, exactly? I mean what does House to Haven raise money for?”

“Kids.” She beams at me. “It’s all about making sure kids that don’t have anywhere to go have the basic necessities. But we try to make it a family environment, where they get the support they need on other levels as well.”

“Shit, sugar.” My chest swells with pride, and I squeeze her hand and pull her between my legs. Needing to touch her, needing her to understand without words how what she’s done with her life affects me. Does she even know how amazing, compassionate, and perfect she is?

“Every little bit helps, right?” She shrugs it off as though it’s nothing. “But it’s complicated now. Henley’s family’s company has more than doubled their backing for House to Haven since we started dating. I guess they liked the image I presented, because it was an important part of the contract we signed.”

“There’s nothing not to like about you.” I nibble her lip, tasting the sweetness and vanilla of the cream that had me hard as a rock.

“I’m pretty sure there is.” She starts ticking things off her fingers. “Stubborn to a fault, somewhat prone to doing irrational things, and the worst is I’m not as wholesome as the image I’ve been living with. I’m trying to provide these kids with a better life, a better view of the world, but I’m not perfect. I swear far too much, I drink, and…” she leans into me to whisper in my ear, “I have sex. Our donors aren’t going to back someone who doesn’t portray the image they expect.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” How they don’t see her the way I do is beyond me. It doesn’t matter that she’s not this pristine unadulterated image they want, she’s the most dedicated person I’ve ever known. They should be ecstatic to have her as a role model. “That’s bullshit. You’re amazing just as you are, and if your donors can’t see past your image to help the kids, then that’s on them, not on you.”

“If only it were so easy,” she says as she picks up her helmet. “Right now the idea of giving it all up and coming home, starting something new, is far more tempting than you can imagine.”