Risk Is a Four-Letter Word (2 page)

"I'll be fine once I can get out of the ocean,"
she finally said, remembering Eric had asked her a question. Zeke moved his
fingers to her back, caressing her cool skin beneath the water. It felt nice.
Soothing.
The waves rushed around them, their frenetic
energy a direct contrast to the zone of quiet around them.

"Zeke will have you put back together in
no time," Eric assured her. His voice went husky and Carrie's lips tingled
with the urge to kiss him, which was insane. She didn't kiss men she didn't
know, even lethally attractive men. She shouldn't even be thinking about it!
His eyes darkened as his glance roved over her face. "You know, I was the
one who found your top."

Carrie fought a smile. "I thought Zeke
found it." She heard a chuckle as the dark-haired man fooled with the
strings at her back.

Eric shook his head and Carrie told herself to
stop thinking about how ridiculously soft his hair looked. She deliberately
avoided looking at his chest.
And his groin.

"No, I found it. He snatched it away from
me," Eric said.

Carrie adjusted the fabric over her breasts to
buy time, thinking,
yeah, so what
?
Zeke finished tying her bikini, but hadn't stood up or moved his hand away from
her skin. His fingers rubbed tiny circles on her spine. If she wasn't so
lightheaded from the attention, she'd probably try to run.
From
herself.
It helped that they were in an extremely public place.
No creepiness here, just two amazing
specimens of male beauty and my own insanity
, she thought.

Eric glanced at his friend before pinning her
with his amused expression. "I found it. Zeke tied it back on. You owe us,
don't you think?" He grinned, the expression bringing a boyish charm to
his masculine face.

Carrie's heart lurched.
Oh, God
.

"Maybe we should get a kiss as
payment."

Carrie stared at him, dumbfounded.
What
?
Was he serious?

Eric's eyes twinkled. He looked past her and
Carrie presumed he was sending mental messages to his friend because just then
Zeke leaned in. His breath ruffled the hair by her ear. "Don't worry. We
promise we'll be good. No tongue."

Carrie stood up from her squat in a rush,
ignoring the water cascading down her body. She had goose pimples. "Are
you joking?" she asked, not because she felt threatened, but because she
couldn't believe either of them would actually kiss her, a total stranger, in
the middle of a crowded beach. Were they crazy?

"Definitely not joking," Zeke stood
and walked around to face her, sliding his hand down her arm and taking her
fingers in his. His hands warmed hers quickly as he pulled them up to his face.
He kissed her palms, one after the other. Carrie liked the stubble on his
cheeks. "Don't say no. You'll break our hearts."

Carrie shook her head. "Are you two nuts?
There are people everywhere." She looked around wildly.

Eric laughed. "Crazy?
Probably.
Can we kiss you anyway?
Pretty please?"

Carrie chewed her lip, thinking about it.
I must be insane for even considering this
except they really are freaking gorgeous
. How often did she get the
opportunity to kiss two hot men?
At the same time?
Her
inner tease came out to play. "Um, ok," she said, then stepped back,
abruptly nervous despite her inner bravado. Her hands slid from Zeke's grip.

"Hey, don't worry. We don't bite,"
Zeke
said,
his tone conciliatory. He reached out a
hand. Carrie stared at the hummingbird on his wrist.
Beautiful.
His fingers were strong and well kept, but he had some
callouses
.
Vaguely, she wondered what he did for a living.
Model?

"Speak for
yourself
,"
Eric retorted, coming closer. "Sometimes I bite.
Just a
little."
He smiled at her as he slid a hand around her head, holding her
steady. Carrie didn't even have time to panic before his warm, full lips were
on hers. She gasped.

"So beautiful," he muttered. His tongue
swooped in gently. He kissed her once, twice, then nipped her lower lip and
stepped back.

Carrie stood there, mouth open, lips tingling.
What just happened? No tongue--yeah right!

"My turn."
Zeke wound his arm around her waist. Carrie tore her eyes away from
Eric just as Zeke kissed her hungrily, rubbing his lips against hers before
licking inside. She moaned, comparing them. Eric tended to use his lips more,
pecking softly rather than licking. Zeke kissed her open-mouthed, his lips hot
and commanding. Her head spun. There was no way she'd ever be able to choose
one over the other. Both men made her want more. Both made her realize for the
first time that her ex-boyfriend was probably a total idiot who couldn't kiss
his way out of a paper bag.

When Zeke stepped back, Carrie almost fell.
Eric caught her, steadying her on her feet until she could get her wits back
together. "Whoa." She touched her lips. They were strangely lonely.

Zeke chuckled.
"Yeah,
whoa."

Carrie watched him discreetly adjust his swim
trunks. Was he aroused? Her eyes widened in shock when she realized he
was
, most definitely.
Oh. My.
God
.
They were on a public beach!
She'd just let two men kiss her in the middle of the afternoon, a few feet from
her sister's kids. Carrie felt faint. It was a good thing Eric still had his
arms around her.

"Whoa, times three." Eric sounded
both amused and shocked. Carrie struggled to calm her racing heart. He let go
of her arms. She locked her knees and luckily didn't fall over. She glanced
down at Eric's shorts only to find he'd stuffed his hands in the pockets. He
followed her gaze and smiled. "Yeah, you made me hot, Carrie."

She flushed.
"Oh, God.
I'm so sorry." She didn't know what to do with her hands and settled for
wringing them in front of her.

Eric laughed. "Oh, believe me, I so
totally do not mind."

Carrie wondered if she could disappear if she
concentrated hard enough

"No need to apologize, honey. It was our
pleasure," Zeke drawled. He hit Eric on the arm with the back of his hand.
"
Gotta
run, dude.
Remember we promised to meet Sherry at the movies?"

Eric grimaced. "Your sister hates
me."

"She likes you. Man up and stop being such
a baby about it."

"She's sixteen! Nine years younger than
me, are you crazy?" Eric's voice rose.

"I don't want you to kiss her, for God's
sake! Just be nice. Until she figures out that the little dickhead she was
dating wasn't worth her time. She's still moping around."

"I thought he dumped her last month? She's
still upset?" Eric asked.

Zeke nodded. "He did and she is."

Eric sighed and ran his hands through his hair.
"I don't see why we can't just pound him like he deserves. Just a little
bit. I won't do anything really permanent. Maybe just rearrange his face. It'll
make him look better."

Zeke shrugged. "She'd kill me if she found
out I even knew. Mom was the one who told me about it."

Carrie looked from one to the other, chuckling.
They were cute.
Like brothers, only, well
not
.
Zeke slung an arm around Eric's shoulders and rubbed a thumb into his skin.
Eric leaned into his friend comfortably. Carrie didn't think either of them
realized how hot they looked like that, all cuddled together.

"What? Do I have something on my
nose?" Eric demanded, catching the look on her face.

Carrie bit her lip. "No, you don't. Thanks
again for rescuing my top."
Wow, I
sound so lame.

Zeke smiled at her. "It was nothing.
Really."
He nudged Eric with his hip.

"Yeah, what Zeke
said.
It was nothing," Eric agreed. His smile lit up his face. Carrie's skin
prickled with heat.
Again.
Ask them out, you ninny
, she told herself.
You're already embarrassed; it won't kill you to ask.
"Hey,
would you like to--"

"Aunt Carrie! Aunt Carrie! Come quick!
Caro got a splinter! And Scott isn't helping, he's laughing at her!" Gina
threw herself at Carrie's legs. Carrie glanced toward her sister and saw her
trying to calm down
an
hysterical four-year-old while
her oldest child, Scott, made faces at the girl. Carrie shook her head. Scott
wasn't a bad
kid,
he just wished he didn't have two
younger sisters. She bent down to Gina's level so the six-year-old would calm
down.

"Okay, hang on. I'm coming. Let me just
say goodbye--" Carrie looked back, but her two rescuers were nowhere in
sight. She frowned, but didn't see them on the beach. Where did they go? She
squinted out to sea.
Maybe they'd swum
off?
Before she could search more, Gina tugged at her more violently.
Specifically at her bikini top.
Carrie grabbed for it. The
last thing she needed was for the damn thing to come off again.

"Okay, hold your horses, silly girl."
She took Gina's hand. They waded to shore, but by the time they reached the
center of the disaster, Carrie's sister had everything under control.

"Is Caro okay?" Carrie asked, walking
up to the blanket.

"She's fine.
Just a teeny
little splinter from a piece of dried grass."
Olivia set the girl
on her feet and watched her toddle off to the sand castle. Scott was already
digging at the moat, oblivious, Carrie noted. Gina let out a shriek and ran off
too, joining in the digging. Amazing how quickly they recovered.

"What about you? Are you okay?"
Olivia asked.

"What?
Of course.
Why wouldn't I be?" Carrie brushed the wet sand off her arms, avoiding eye
contact.

Olivia snorted. "I saw you making out with
the two
hotties
."

Carrie flushed all over again. "I don't
know what you're talking about." She straightened the pink blanket Olivia
had set up under the umbrella then dropped down on it, arranging her torso in
the shade. She leaned back on her elbows, but left her feet in the sun. When
she glanced at Olivia and saw her sister's expression, Carrie dug her toes into
the hot sand uncomfortably, hoping her sister would let it drop. No such luck.

"You lie so badly." Olivia settled
back into her beach chair. "I saw tall, dark and handsome times two
locking their lips with you not five minutes ago. And don't try to weasel out
of coughing up the details. Inquiring minds want to know."

Carrie sighed, knowing her older sister would
nag until she'd dragged everything out of her. "Okay, okay. I lost my
bikini top in the ocean." She glared at Olivia. "I told you bikinis
were a bad idea for me."

Olivia rolled her eyes.
"Yeah,
yeah.
Details."

"So, I was down in the water, trying not
to flash anyone, when out of nowhere these two guys show up, one of them
dangling my top right in front of my face. He helped me put it back on while
his friend watched, and I gave them each a little kiss in thanks. That's it.
Nothing else to it."

Olivia pursed her lips. "Those were
not
little kisses. Believe
me,
I know what a peck looks like. I get them all the time
from my kids."

"Fine.
Okay, so they were more than pecks. I don't see how it's any of
your business," Carrie said. This whole thing was embarrassing enough
without picking over the details.

"Carrie, you kissed them in front of the
whole beach. How is that not my business? Besides,
everything
you do is my business. I'm your older sister." She
picked up her drink and sucked on the straw noisily.

Carrie did her best impression of a statue.
Even though everyone probably saw me
smooching the
hotties
, I'm
gonna
act like nothing happened. Denial is my friend.

"And anyway," Olivia continued.
"Even if you'd kissed them in the privacy of your bedroom, it would
still
be my business. Sister
privileges
."

Carrie flopped down onto her back. Her sister
was only teasing, but telling herself that didn't help. "Do you think
anyone else saw?" she asked with a low voice.
So mortifying
.

"Carrie, if they did, they were jealous. I
thought my eyes were going to catch fire watching you.
Whoooo
boy! Did you at least get their numbers?"

"No." Carrie wondered if they
would've gone out with her if Gina hadn't barreled into her and interrupted her
pathetic attempt to ask them. "I tried to but your daughter derailed me
mid-sentence."

"That's a damn shame." Olivia sucked
on her drink again.
Loudly.

Carrie winced. "Yeah, well, that's the
story of my life."