Kane pulled above the slight embankment leading down to the boathouse. They stopped parallel to the lake. “Drives like a dream.”
“I can’t wait to try and handle it,” she said with thick implications.
“Well, then come on over here, and we’ll head back.”
He must have decided to bypass the opportunity for some one on one time.
Too damn bad, she thought.
They were going inside the boathouse. He might look for a way out, but he would not find one. He tried to avoid taking her there in the first place, and she realized why. They were alone and Kane didn’t do all-alone well, at least not with her.
“I will but first… you promised to show me around.”
“I don’t make promises. Braden hasn’t brought you out here?”
“Nope,” she said as she tumbled out of the car with too much spring in her step and bounce in her boobs. It was deliberate. She was blessed, and she liked to flaunt it. Plus, she was eighteen. She needed to shake and bounce around Kane all the more. Maybe then he’d notice what he’d missed.
Kane pursed his lips but he followed her. He took the steps down to the water two at a time. With a key in his hand, he unlocked and pushed the front door open all at once.
“Do you come out here a lot?” she asked.
“Some,” he replied.
“With girls?”
“Women.” He made his point.
She smirked. “Well, I guess I’m in the right place then. I’m eighteen today, and I’ve felt like a woman for years. I have the body to help me look the part, you know.”
“I don’t want to know,” he said, rolling his beautiful dark eyes and grinning enough to sport the cute dimple in his cheek. At six foot three, he looked like a giant next to her.
He walked through the close quarters and pointed out anything worth a mention. “There’s the kitchen. If you’re out here and there’s beer in the fridge, don’t drink it. I count them.”
“I bet.” She whirled around, reached up, and pinched his cheek. “Do you count how many your girlfriends drink so you can charge them by the can?”
“No, I don’t.” he grunted. “Over there’s the bedroom. Two sets of bunks and we’d better not catch you out here using them for anything more than a sleep over.”
“There’s an idea.”
He ignored her and moved into the living room to open the patio door. She rushed by him before she stepped onto the tiny dock where two jet skis were pulled up to the enclosed deck. “Wow! Talk about a bachelor’s pad. Why don’t you live out here?”
“I meant to move out here this summer. It didn’t work out.”
“Why?”
He shrugged and looked at his boots. “Just didn’t.”
“Braden refused to allow it because of me, right?”
Kane chuckled. “Do you think everything is about you, little girl?”
She gritted her teeth. “I’m not a little girl but in case you failed to noticed, it seems most everything with you guys somehow ends up about me.” She walked through the terrace door and headed for the bunkroom. “Where’s the bathroom?”
“Over here,” he said. Walking into the confined quarters, he pulled back the shower curtain and showed her how to operate a faulty faucet.
“Pay attention. You might want water sometime. What you do is hold up the knob here and then jerk it really tight before you turn on the hot or cold. Otherwise, the water pressure is limited.”
She tried to act interested but it proved tough. Looking at his ass, she made a quick decision. She’d figure out the function of water works when she needed a shower. Right now, other things occupied her mind.
“Peyton, are you listening to me?” he asked over his shoulder.
“I’m listening.” She patted his lower back and his body went rigid. She noticed how he quickly straightened his back and reached for the sink.
“Under here, we keep a first-aid kit, extra towels, washcloths, and plain ‘ole bathroom stuff. You know, shampoo and that sort of thing.” His eyes widened when he spotted something sticking out from under a stack of towels.
She noticed the alarming look and peered under the sink quickly. There, she saw a white little tote. “What’s in the bag?”
“Personal stuff.”
“Oh,” she said. “Afraid you might bring a chick here and she has a need for personal stuff?” She wrinkled her nose.
“No, I’m not.” He moved her to the side but she didn’t budge on her own. She stooped lower and reached for the bag.
He caught her wrist. “It’s private.”
“So, I’ll come back out here tomorrow and look. It’s a long way out here to satisfy curiosity but I will come back. I earned a key to the place, you know.”
She watched for a flash of recognition. One telling sign to let her know he took her at her word. Oh yeah, she’d drive back out because she realized what she would find.
“Leave it alone, Peyton,” he deadpanned. This time, he placed his hand on her waist to move her out of his way. She still didn’t make it easy on him. Her knees refused to bend. She stayed put.
“Show me.”
“No. Let’s go. Somebody has a birthday dinner to eat and a friend waiting. Evan and Braden will wonder where we are.”
She stretched her arms over her head and let them fall. Her palms settled on her thighs. “I’m legal now, you know.”
He refused to stare at her breasts when she tried to get his attention. Instead, he concentrated harder on her face. Damn if she wasn’t a pretty thing.
Ah shoot, why not notice the boobs? He allowed himself the indulgence. With her scoop neck white T-shirt, and perky little nipples pressing through the thin material, when she stretched, he looked. He stared hard. It was long overdue.
“I didn’t get a birthday kiss,” she pointed out.
“Yes, you did,” he reminded her. “Three hugs and three kisses.”
“On the cheek, only on the cheek.” She pointed where.
“I’m not kissing you, Peyton,” he told her.
When Peyton first moved in, she gave them attitude. Every day started with a new game. One day, she’d leave the bathroom door open while showering. The next she ate breakfast in her thong and bra. It was never-ending. He moaned. Until she realized they didn’t look because of her illegal age status. Oh boy, a long winter straight ahead rang out with trouble.
“Have it your way.” She stooped again and pulled the white leather bag from under the sink.
Before she opened it, he caught her hand and tugged her against his body. “Listen to me, little girl, we’re not opening this for your virgin eyes.” He tore it from her grip, and she shrugged then walked out.
He tossed it on the counter so he wouldn’t forget to take it with him. If he forgot it, she’d come back to snoop. What he had tucked away inside might scare her to death.
On second thought, knowing Peyton, she’d probably strip.
“I bet it’s your loss,” she teased.
He followed her into the bunkroom. She climbed to the top bunk, and let her legs dangle over the wide iron frame. She twirled a few strands of hair. “It is, isn’t it?”
“What? Not living out here?”
“No, I mean, I bet whatever you’re toting in your sling pack, you can use on your women. Since I’m very much a woman now, it’s your loss.” She rolled over on her stomach and stared at him. “Are you sure you don’t want to go get your little goodies? We’ll pretend we don’t know one another and play house.”
“Come on, Peyton, let’s pretend we do know one another and play house. I’m taking you home.”
She crossed her ankles, twirled her hair again, and looked down at her nails. “I’m not ready to go.”
He scratched his head, studied her for a long time, felt his dick twitch, and waited. The gnawing sensation he usually had around her didn’t kick in, the one reminding him of why giving in to her advancements might work into a real dumb idea. At least when he felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck, he stopped long enough to consider what he wanted to do most and why he shouldn’t give in to temptation.
His conscience must have been out to lunch or on an extended break. Either that or her birthday really changed everything.
His dick throbbed as he stared at her chest. Yep, in a matter of twenty-four hours, things definitely changed. He was hungry, and he stared at the source of where he’d find his fill.
With a grunt, Kane walked back in the living area and picked up the remote control. He clicked the television on before he flipped through the local stations. He plopped down on the sofa and rubbed his hand through his hair. He looked like a man ready to stay awhile. The package in his pants provided even better ideas. He glanced down at the bulge and cursed under his breath.
“Peyton, I’m ready when you are. Remember, Vicky is waiting. We need to start home.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Damn her for making his dick hard and double damn her for trying before she even blew out the candles on her birthday cake.
At least then he’d have some sort of proof, something solid to etch in his memory to remind him of her new ‘legal’ status. He refused to feel guilty now and since he decided he didn’t, boy oh howdy, he really needed to get her out of there.
A few minutes later, she tip-toed across the room and he expected her. She started by his chair in pursuit of his big boy toys. He reached behind his head, snapped her wrist and tugged her onto his lap. He meant to stop her, and he managed to do it.
He didn’t mean to catch her weightless body and keep it sprawled across his lap. He didn’t want to make it easy for her to wrap her slender arm around his neck and he damn sure didn’t mean to kiss her.
His lips took control and changed all plans once she melted down his defenses. She locked her eyes on his mouth, her mouth watered, lips parted and well, it was her birthday. He might as well act like Braden and give her everything she wanted. Well, almost everything.
Peyton giggled when she landed across his lap, and she fully expected him to kiss her. Of course he would, she initiated it. She’d tried for over three months to get his lips on hers and failed each and every time. Now, he was there, nipping at her lower lip and tracing her jaw with a hungry mouth. Oh God, she’d never had a kiss like this. His tongue traced over her mouth and those dark brown eyes looked at her with a whole lot of lust. She lost her mind watching him.
His tongue swept along her tongue. Her heart turned cartwheels as he kissed her without enough deliberation to stop the act they were certain to find. What a man, she thought, as she curled her fingers into his blond hair.
She ached for this kiss to continue forever, and she wanted it to last long enough for him to realize he liked her, wanted her enough to take her in the bedroom and strip her down to bare bones. She wanted him to show her what he kept in his satchel. She’d heard stories. She’d eavesdropped in the local shops enough to know Kane liked it rough and wild. She wanted the animal in him to come alive in her.
She clutched him closer, tugged at his shirt, ready to rip it, and right then and there, it ended. He grabbed her wrist and glared into her eyes.
He swallowed tightly. She did the same.
“We gotta get outta here.”
She brushed his hair away from his forehead. “Kiss me again, Kane. Please kiss me again.”
His mouth curved into a wary smile. “Happy birthday, Peyton.” He licked his lips and she thought he might give her one more for the road. Wishful thinking. Instead, he stood and then dumped her where he’d been seated. Then, he strode across the hardwood floors, locked the door leading to the docks and grabbed her hand on the way out. “Let’s go.”
He shouldn’t have kissed her.
The lone thought reeled through his head as he drove them back to the ranch. She said she couldn’t drive because her knees turned to squish and jelly. He made her knees turn to mush.
No, he shouldn’t have kissed her.
Braden and Evan wanted him to keep her away from the house long enough to set up for a surprise birthday party. He imagined Vicky made herself available for the surprise.
His brothers were probably having a field day checking out her ass and boobs. Everyone liked to look at Vicky.
A common tease, Vicky possessed a saucy reputation. If he had to do a teeny bopper, he might consider Vicky. She didn’t live with them. She was safe…and legal. Plus, rumor had it, the girl could blow a man like nobody’s business. Yeah, he’d think about Vicky.
He took a deep breath, let his cheeks fill with hot air and slowly let it out. Peyton laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“You are. Vicky told me about the little charade in the barn after I kissed you on the cheek. She claimed you kicked the barn door, ran your hand through your hair, bit your lip and cursed like hell.
“Did she now?” he felt his lips twitch as he fought a smile. “Your friend is trouble.”
“She said the same thing about you.” Peyton leaned over the console and propped her chin on her hand. “Kane?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you trouble?” With her index finger she ran the tip around the scoop of her neckline and then with the same finger, seconds later, she had it trailing up his thigh. His inner thigh. By the time he pulled off the road and safely made it into the emergency lane, her hand lingered mere inches from his balls.
He held her wrist against his leg as he reached over the steering wheel with his left hand and threw the gearshift into park. “Peyton.” He refused to hurt her feelings but he couldn’t play games here either. If they messed around like this, things might get complicated because he did like it rough, and the games he played were too dangerous for a woman like Peyton.
“Kane?”
“This can’t happen.”
“What can’t happen?” She batted her eyes and smiled.
“We can’t do this again.”
“We can’t go for a drive again?”
“No.”
“Why not? Do I tempt you so much you can’t stand to be in the same car with me?”
“Yes, you do.”
Hell! Why did he have to say it? He bit his lip and fell back against the headrest with his eyes closed. Damn it! He just said the wrong thing to the right girl, and he’d bet money on it. She’d run with it and consider him an open challenge.
Her hand stroked his leg then. “You might like me better than some of those ditzy broads you date.”
“I don’t date.” And he knew damn well he’d like her more. It provided enough reason to stay away from her as much as possible.
“Are you going to tell them you kissed me?”
“No, and you aren’t either.”
“Wanna bet?” She twisted her painted lips into a challenging smile.
“All right, that’s it.” He shifted and immediately saw the only disadvantage in Corvettes. For someone over six foot three, and two hundred pounds, the seats confined him. Good, he thought, she won’t get laid in this car. Braden probably thought the same thing when he bought it.
Peyton continued to bat her eyes and bent down for her purse, pretended uninterested in the pending conversation and pulled out some Dentyne. “Wanna a piece of gum?”
“No.”
“I’ve got some candy too. Wanna peppermint?”
“No.”
“Wanna pop my cherry?” She smiled deviously.
“No.” Yes! Hell yes! He blinked to be sure he heard her correctly. The first bead of sweat burned his brow. “What did you say?”
She laughed. “It’s a game.” She pulled out a hand-held device. It looked like a palm pilot.
“It’s called Cherry Popper.”
He let out a sigh of relief and shook his head. “Don’t tell me, the winner is the one who pops the most cherries.”
“You got it.”
“Great.”
“I bet you’re a big winner, aren’t you, Kane?”
He pulled back on the road and concentrated on the pavement in front of them. If she didn’t shut up about popping cherries, he was going to pop his zipper, and then Lord only knew what else he might snap. Oh yeah, he’d go for that cherry, if she still had it. If not, he’d look for a fuckin’ strawberry.
A few minutes later and they pulled through the gates of the ranch. Balloons decorated the gates and a sign with streamers directed the traffic expected. Her eyes immediately danced with excitement.
“A party?”
“Looks like it.”
“Are you serious? A real birthday party?”
“Good God Peyton, it’s a party. It’s not a car.” With a seventy-five thousand dollar price tag.
“You don’t understand,” she shouted excitedly as she jumped out catching the keys as he threw them to her, “I’ve never had a party before in my life!”
He stopped where he stood as she ran off toward the pool area. Her sweet little apple-bottom ass shifted back and forth as she hurried toward the noise.
He looked back at the car again. “Damn, that’s sweet.”
“Yeah, but it’s not as sweet as she is, now, is it?” Evan’s knowing eyes met his brothers as he walked out of the barn.
Instinctively, Kane ran his thumb over his lower lip, and for a second, he remembered how wholesome her lips tasted. He resisted the urge to tell Evan all about her hot little mouth. He didn’t want anyone to hear them and from the looks of things, they’d invited everyone in the county to the biggest celebration of the year.
Peyton Storm’s eighteenth birthday party.
“They look good enough to fry up for breakfast.” Vicky giggled as she sipped on her Shirley Temple drink. She dipped the two cherries in and out of the liquid.
Peyton eyed the long stems for a second and then glanced over at Kane. He watched those cherries too and once Peyton caught his eyes, he laughed and turned away.
“He likes you,” Vicky pointed out.
“Yeah, I know he does.”
Vicky pressed her friend for details immediately. “Did you do what I think you did while you two rode around town?”
“Hell no. I wish.”
“Still nothing?” Vicky probed.
“Nothing.”
Peyton smiled. For now, it was her secret. One shared private moment with Kane Cartwell.
“I don’t believe you.” Vicky laughed but her laughter soon dropped to a low grumble. “Oh…my…God.”
“What?”
Peyton turned around and caught a glimpse of Frank Sanders making his way around the patio area, working through the crowd with a bouquet of flowers. He definitely stood out with his gift in hand and his bright multi-colored shirt.
She glanced back to the Cartwell brothers. “They invited him?”
“Why wouldn’t they invite him?” Peyton snapped.
Vicky’s lips twitched. “For starters, you almost fucked him, and Evan almost broke his jaw for trying it.”
“I didn’t almost fuck him,” Peyton corrected. “We made out and they blew it out of portion.” She tilted her chin upward, in the direction of her guardians, as if Vicky had no idea who she meant.
“He asked Braden to take you to homecoming.” Vicky’s lips formed a tight line. “Braden and Evan said no, in case you’re interested.”
Peyton glanced at the Cartwells and then back at Frank. “I kind of thought so.”
“You knew?” Vicky asked.
“I guessed it when he asked Marcy Johnson to go, she must’ve been second runner-up.”
“Did you ask him about it?”
“Nope, not really. I don’t particularly care.”
“Guess you have your sights on someone else?” Vicky smiled and waved at the Cartwells.
Braden, goofy as ever, lifted his hand as if he started to wave back in much the same fashion.
Thank God he didn’t. Peyton would’ve died right there. He was too sexy for his own good but didn’t act it. Of course, Braden really wanted to do right by her. He promised her mother and since he spent the better part of ten years eating breakfast at the diner where she worked, they were tight friends. When Braden made promises to his friends, he kept them. Everyone in town admired him.
Frank walked over to her and handed her the flowers. “Happy birthday, Peyton.” He leaned in and started to kiss her.
Peyton’s hands flew to his chest. “My watch dogs are nearby.”
“Yeah, I see them. I can’t steal a birthday kiss?”
Peyton bit her lip and then thought what the hell. As an adult now, she could make her own choices. Surely they wouldn’t care. If they did, let them look the other way.
“Thanks for the flowers,” she said as she took them and slapped them against Vicky’s chest.
She didn’t bother to notice the grumble in her best friend’s voice. Instead, she grabbed Frank’s hand and led him to the other side of the pool where many of her friends danced in front of the band.
Frank’s arms draped around her waist, and they began swaying nice and slow. The first slow song of the night allowed Peyton to fall right into Frank’s body as his hands rubbed over her lower back.
She’d lost the casual wear as soon as she realized she had party guests waiting and now she wore a fitted short skirt and sleeveless turtleneck, the fall air still humid enough to allow for it. The cotton material cropped at her waistline and she felt Frank’s hands on her bare skin within seconds.
“You’re daring, tonight.”
She smiled before she snuggled into his arms.
“You’re not their kid sister and they did invite me,” he whispered into her ear before nipping at her earlobe.
“Oh God, you can’t do that here.” She shuddered and closed her eyes. Right then and there, she imagined Kane touching her, swaying across the patio with her in his arms.
“Then, I’ll do this.” He lifted her chin and kissed her.
And she kissed him back. Poor Frank would never know how much she used him, but in the moment, she had opportunity. Since her classmate gave her the chance, she wanted to take it. Leap at it. Seize it.
Her hands cupped his face, and she kissed him like a woman kisses a man. She wanted to be sure the Cartwells watched and understood one thing if nothing else. She didn’t smooch a boy like a teenage girl. She kissed like a woman.
It wasn’t a sweet innocent kiss, the kind of dead-end kiss leading nowhere. Instead, she clutched him closer and pretended her lips meshed against Kane’s daring mouth. Once the act started, the hunger pulsed through her veins, and it proved easy enough to make believers out of the onlookers.
A few of the kids behind her clapped and several of the boys congratulated Frank for landing a babe like her. Another one or two whistled.
“Wow! Get a hot kiss, Frankie boy!” One of the other jocks drew more attention with crude remarks and comments about his hands. She imagined her private Peyton-posse hurried around the pool with well meaning intentions.
Frank’s wrists crossed behind her, and his hands cupped her bottom. Even if it promised a quick ending, and she knew time ticked away now, she decided to ride this thing out.
She pressed closer until she felt the ridge of Frank’s cock pressing against her skirt. She kissed him deeper. She closed her eyes and counted the seconds, felt their eyes on her body, her mouth, her ass. Oh yeah, they were cringing, debating on when and how to stop it.
“All right love birds, enough.” Braden broke them up with a firm hand on Frank’s shoulders. “I thought Evan here taught you a lesson last time you stopped in. We don’t want you pawing all over Peyton. You might give her a bad reputation, and we wouldn’t want something to happen between the two of you, if you know what I mean.”
Evan glanced down at Frank’s pockets, and Peyton laughed. Frank had told her about the rubber incident after the fact. They found condoms on him, and Evan wanted to kick his ass. Now, it looked like Kane and Braden wanted to clobber him too.
“We’re just dancing,” she purred as she watched Evan motion for the lead singer of the band. “What’s he doing?
Kane smirked. “He’s telling him he’s fired if he plays another slow song tonight.”
Peyton’s lips formed a tight line. She refused to pout but by golly she could set her jaw and cross her arms. “Frank, can you give us a second?”
“Sure.”
He walked away without a second glance. Who could blame him?
“Why are you doing this?” She glared at all three of them. “You throw a party for me and then you don’t want anyone to dance with me. You’re making me look like a nun.”
“Darlin’, I hardly think the skirt you have on tonight is something anyone would expect to find in a convent.”
“Shut up, Evan,” she said before she returned her focus to Braden. “Please let me have fun at my own party.” Her plea was deliberately intended for Braden, and no one else.
“We want you to have a good time,” he told her.
“But not with him,” Kane interjected as he pointed at Frank.
“Why not?”
Evan snickered, “For starters he wants to fuck you.”
“Language,” Braden reminded. “We just want to keep you safe, and Peyton, boys like him aren’t going to care if they leave a gal knocked up and pregnant before they go away to college.”
Her mouth dropped, and then she closed it. She lowered her voice. “Must we discuss the pretty little birds and dripping horny bees right now?”
Kane laughed. “I like the sound of dripping horny bees,” he almost growled. “And I bet that honey is oh so sweet.”
Braden glared at him. “Drink much?”
Peyton studied Kane. Sure enough, his eyes looked glassy.
“Come on, let’s get a beer and sit out on the upper deck. We’ll see everything better from up there anyway.” Braden encouraged the other two to leave her alone. If she understood Braden, and she did, he wanted to move Kane and Evan as far away from temptation as possible. He wouldn’t allow them to use alcohol for an excuse if their hands found some form of entertainment.
With a lopsided smile, Evan warned, “Tell Frank if he puts his paws on your ass again, I’ll kick his.”
“I’ll make sure I tell him.”
She moved between them then and deliberately pressed her chest against Kane as she made her way back through the crowd. She couldn’t wait to use Frank more. By the end of the night, three tough talking cowboys would know what it felt like to want a woman.