Faceoff

Chapter Six

When Kyla finally rolled out of bed at nearly noon the next morning, fire burned her inner thighs and her legs gave out and she fell back onto the bed. Oh my god. The skiing yesterday had damn near killed her. Oh man, she was so out of shape. How pathetic. She managed to get to her feet and hobble to the bathroom. Her arms and shoulders screamed with pain at every movement. Lifting her arms to brush her teeth and her hair caused more burning across her muscles and she grimaced at her reflection.

She found the cottage empty and quiet. She hadn’t even heard Emily get up. The guys had planned to go golfing at a nearby course first thing in the morning. The girls were probably outside or over at the Hellers’.

She found coffee still hot in the coffeemaker and painfully made herself a piece of toast and peanut butter. Jeez. She needed some ibuprofen or something. Thank god she’d turned down the golf invitation, though she’d been tempted to tag along with the guys like she always had. Today she was going to go down to the beach, on hands and knees if necessary, flop down on the sand and lie there for the rest of the day.

She changed into her pink bathing suit, the black one still damp from yesterday, scooped up a bottle of SPF 30, slid her digital reader into a Ziploc bag to protect it from sand and grabbed a towel and a beach blanket. With painful steps she made her way across the yard, through the poplar trees and shrubs, and onto the beach.

She spread the blanket and sat, her thigh muscles crying out as she lowered herself. She picked up the sunscreen. She wouldn’t be able to do her back. Oh well. She’d just tan her front first. So she slathered up her front with sun protection, lay down, closed her eyes and breathed in the warm air. Some distant laughter and splashing and the hum of a boat out on the lake reached her ears. The sun warmed her face and relaxing heat seeped through her body. She sighed. Why had she not wanted to come up here again? She loved living in the city, loved restaurants and movies and concerts and shopping, hated leaving all that…but it was so nice here.

She might have dozed off a little, but awoke when a shadow covered her face. She cracked open one eye to see Tag sitting beside her on the blanket. “Hey,” she said. She tried to sit up, but gave up at the protest of her muscles and fell back down with a whimper. “You’re done golfing?”

“Yeah.”

“Who won?”

“Depends who you ask. Honestly, it was me. But it was close and I personally think all those other guys cheated.”

She laughed.

“Getting some sun, I see,” he said, and the husky tone of his voice prompted her to open her eyes again. He was wearing sunglasses, but she could feel his gaze on her, studying her from head to toe. Her nipples tingled and tightened in the thin cups of her suit and her stomach did a little flip.

“Yes. Actually, I could use some help putting sunscreen on my back.”

“I’m your man.”

She went to roll over but stopped with a groan. “Oh god.”

“What’s wrong? Are you sick again?”

“I was never sick,” she said crossly. “I just have a few sore muscles today.”

“From that little bit of skiing? Mac, honey, you clearly need to work out.”

“Thanks so much.”

“I don’t mean you look like you need to work out. You look…” He paused and cleared his throat. “You look freakin’ amazing. But don’t you go to a gym or something?”

“I haven’t for a while.” She pushed herself slowly over onto her stomach, painful knives stabbing into her muscles. “Too busy.”

“No wonder you’re so stressed. Exercise is the best way to deal with that.” A cold squirt of liquid landed on her back and she twitched. Then he started rubbing it in with slow, sensual strokes. “Seriously.”

“I know, but I’m busy. Some day I’ll have time for that.”

Some day. It seemed like a lot of her life was going to start “some day”―the day she made partner. Tag’s hands moved up and down her back, pressing into sore muscles.

“Oh my god,” she moaned.

“Feel good?”

“Mmmm.” He kneaded her sore shoulders, his thumbs pressing into the hollows beneath her shoulder blades, his palms sliding with firm pressure down the ridges of muscles along her spine. “You’re good at that.”

“I’ve had a few massages,” he said, sounding amused. “I may have picked up a few things.”

“Oh yeah.”

He kept massaging until she felt like she’d melted into a puddle of that sunscreen on the blanket.

“Where else is sore?”

“My…uh…thighs.”

“Oh yeah. Skiing’s hard on your abductors.”

“Whatever.”

His hands moved lower and began rubbing the backs of her legs, pushing her legs apart a little in a gesture that had her pussy aching and her entire body tingling. His touch was firm but gentle enough that he didn’t hurt her sore muscles too much. Then his fingers slid up under the edge of her bikini bottom onto her ass. She jerked.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “Just making you feel good.”

Oh, was he ever. She drifted on a cloud of sensual bliss at his expert touch until his fingers slid between her legs again. Oh hell, she wanted more there, wanted him to touch her where she needed it, where she ached. A tiny moan escaped her and she swore she could feel his smile. Then he bent over her and kissed her shoulder, a soft, open-mouthed kiss that had another slow wave of lust rolling through her. God.

“You’re killing me,” she groaned.

“Am I hurting you?”

“No.”

“Ah. Maybe you need your front done now.”

“I did the front already.”

“Well, the UV factor is high today. You should do it again.” And he gently flipped her over like she was a doll. She gazed up at him with heavy eyes. He squirted a line of lotion on her chest, tossed the bottle aside and started rubbing there.

“Jesus Christ!” She jolted. “Oh my god, my pecs! That hurts.”

“Sorry.” He smiled and gentled his touch, but kept kneading the tender muscles. “You need to do some pushups.”

“I can’t do pushups.”

His smile deepened, and his fingers slid lower, down between her breasts over the soft flesh there. Her breath stuck in her throat and heat swept over her from her toes to her hairline.

His fingers paused. “This is crazy,” he muttered. “Holy shit, Kyla.”

“What?”

“I should never have put my hands on your body. Now I…” With his fingertips he gently massaged her breasts, right to the edge of the little cups, then just inside them…so close. Her nipples stood at attention, hard and aching, but he didn’t touch them, just massaged so slowly and carefully. She groaned again, her entire body tingling and alert. So much for the relaxing part.

“What?” she whispered again.

“I want to touch you everywhere.”

“Oh.” She wanted that too. She ached for that too.

He moved to her stomach, rubbing gently, then slipped his fingers just inside the top of her bikini bottom. “Tag,” she breathed. His fingertips brushed against the triangle of hair she kept there and she gasped.

“I wondered what you had under your little bottoms,” he said, voice gruff.

“Oh god, Tag.” Warmth unfurled inside her and her heart thudded in her chest. And then his fingers slid lower, over the fabric of her swimsuit between her legs, rubbing over her sensitive skin. “Oh dear god.”

“Are you wet, Kyla?” he murmured. “You sound like you’re getting turned-on.”

She whimpered. He cupped her pussy, so gently, then rubbed, and then his fingers slipped beneath her bikini bottom. Oh sweet Jesus, what was he doing? But all she could think was more, more, more. His fingers slipped over her slick folds. Yes. She was wet. She squeezed her eyes shut, her cheeks flaming. “You shouldn’t…” she tried to say. “Someone might…”

“I’m watching. No one’s coming. Except maybe you…”

“Oh my god.” Her thighs fell apart to allow him access and his big fingers played over plump flesh, sending pleasure tingling through her veins. “You can’t…”

He bent over her, fingers still between her legs, brushing over her clit, and he kissed her mouth, his head blocking the sun. “Kyla.” His mouth opened on hers, his tongue licked her bottom lip. Oh god, oh god, pleasure hummed and buzzed where his fingers touched her, and heat slid over her body from his kiss. She lifted her arms to reach for him and dug her fingers into his shoulders.

“Tag, oh god, Tag…” Everything tightened into a sharp point of pleasure that shattered then and she gave a little cry against his mouth as he gave her the orgasm.

She lay there panting in the sun, letting him brush his mouth over her cheek, her jaw. “Nice,” he said. “You needed that.”

She wanted to punch him. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted him to do that again. And again. She reached for his leg, found bare skin, hairy muscular thigh, slid her hand up it beneath his shorts.

He made a choked sound and drew back. She smiled up at him, slipping her hand higher, his skin so soft there, and then holy crap, she encountered his hot, hard shaft. She blinked. She looked down at him. Good god, he was huge. Guess it made sense, since he was big everywhere. “Good thing these shorts are long,” she murmured.

“Kyla,” he croaked.

She got past her surprise at finding his cock so quickly, and stroked it. “Maybe you need this too.” She curled her fingers around the thick stalk and rubbed her thumb over the head.

He hissed. Then he groaned. Then he went very still. “Don’t make a fast move,” he said, voice constricted. “But Matt and Logan are coming.”

She couldn’t help it, she jerked her hand out from under his shorts. “Oh my god.”

“It’s okay. They didn’t see anything.” He looked at her, arousal tightening his face. “Goddamn. Listen, Kyla. I set up the tent in the backyard. Come there tonight.”

She sank her teeth into her bottom lip and stared at him. “Really?”

“Yeah. We can be alone.”

“Tag…?” Her voice ended in a question.

“Hey, I thought you were going swimming,” Matt called.

“We’ll talk later.” He rolled away from her and sat up straight. “I am,” he replied to his brothers. “Just talking to Kyla for a minute.”

“You’re going swimming,” she said. “You just finished golfing. Do you ever sit still?”

He grinned and jumped to his feet. “Nope.” He held out a hand. “Coming in?”

“I can’t move,” she said. “My muscles hurt too much.”

He went to his knees beside her, scooped his arms beneath her and lifted her. “Tag! Put me down!”

“Want to get dropped into the water or want to walk?”

“I’ll walk!”

He lowered her until her feet touched the soft warm sand. “Okay.”

She followed them into the water, wading through it up to her knees, the shallow water pleasantly cool on her heated skin. She kept walking, the water climbing higher and higher, and when it touched her stomach, she tightened her belly muscles and went on her toes. Tag turned to look at her, the water still at his thighs because of his height. He grinned. “Coming, Mac?”

She gave him a look, up through her eyelashes, as if to say, I just did, remember? His eyes darkened and her heart fluttered. Was she really going to go to his tent tonight?

“It’s cold,” she said.

“Yeah, and I need that,” he muttered. And he strode farther out, then jumped to do a shallow, perfect dive. She sighed once more at the male perfection of his body, his athletic grace. And taking a deep breath, she too dove under. Cool water closed over her head, shocking her body, stealing her breath, and she emerged with a gasp. But it didn’t take long to get used to the water and she rolled to her back and floated, staring up at the blue sky and the clouds gathering right along the horizon.

“There you go,” he said. “Swimming’s good exercise.”

She kicked her feet and splashed him a little. “Why are you trying to get me to exercise?”

“It’s good for you. It’s good for your body and your mind. And your soul. Actually the best exercise for all that is sex.”

She almost sucked in a mouthful of lake water. “Okay then!” She rolled and dove beneath the surface again, kicking hard. When she came up for air, she heard him laughing. She couldn’t resist turning to look at him, at the water glistening in his hair, his eyes gleaming, his wide mouth parted in a sexy smile that tugged a curl of heat inside her.

Oh god. What was he trying to do to her? He’d practically seduced her there on the beach, touching her like that, so intimately, and her pussy clenched at the memory. Now he was flirting with her.

Maybe he was right. Maybe some hot sex in a tent was just what she needed.

With Tag, though? That might be a big mistake. She’d had a secret crush on him forever. Sure, part of her wanted to know what it would finally be like. But the practical, sensible part of her was afraid of what that would finally be like. Also there was the family to consider. What impact would something like that have on the rest of their families and their friendships if she and Tag…oh lord.

She stroked through the water in a leisurely crawl, rolled onto her back and floated again. She’d had relationships with guys, quite a few in fact. But a serious relationship was another one of those “some day” things. She didn’t have time for that right now. But maybe…soon. Depending on what happened with that partnership decision.

Or maybe she’d be even busier if she made partner.

Or maybe she wouldn’t even make partner.

Her feet dragged along the sandy bottom of the lake, the ripples of sand bumpy beneath her feet, and she stood, the water only just above her waist here. She’d drifted back closer to shore. Logan had gone to retrieve a football.

“Wanna play, Mac?” Tag called.

She had to smile as she shook her head, wading out of the water. She couldn’t catch a football if her life depended on it, despite the many times they’d tried to teach her. She’d tried so hard. “That’s okay. I’m going to go get warm in the sun.”

She toweled off and sat on her blanket, letting the sun dry her hair and warm her skin, watching three gorgeous guys throw the football and catch it with flexing muscles, taking fearless flying leaps into the water to catch it with hoots of laughter.

Remi appeared then. “Hi,” she said. She paused beside the blanket.

“Heya,” Kyla said with a smile. “My Trivial Pursuit partner in crime. Have a seat.”

Remi smiled with what looked like relief. “Thanks.” She lowered herself to the blanket. “That was fun last night.”

“It was.”

“Thanks for…uh…playing with me.”

Kyla turned back to look at her. “Uh…sure.”

“I just…feel a little overwhelmed, sometimes. Trying to fit in with this whole family.”

“I’m not family.”

Remi tipped her head to one side. “Well, practically. You’re all so close.”

Kyla remembered their brief conversation and Remi’s comment about fitting in. She’d never even considered how Remi felt in her first visit with the families. She sighed. She was so wrapped up in her own problems, she hadn’t spared a thought for someone else. She should have been nicer to her. She sent Remi a smile. “You do fit in.”

Remi smiled too. “Thanks. But I don’t have the same kind of history you all do. It’s just hard not to feel a little excluded sometimes.”

“Jase loves you. That’s obvious. It just takes time, right? To build that history. It’ll come. And his family all really likes you too. I can tell.”

“Thanks. I really like them all too. Laura’s been awesome.”

“God, I love Laura.” Kyla grimaced. “When I was a kid, she was what I wanted to be—a tomboy who could play any sport the boys could. I was hopeless at sports though.”

“So am I.” They exchanged a look of understanding.

“Did you know she played hockey?”

Remi grinned. “Yeah. I heard that. She is pretty amazing, dealing with all those men.”

“Yeah. That’s the other thing I admire about her, how she controls all those men without barking like a drill sergeant. She’s like a second mom to me.”

“See. You are practically family. Except…what’s with you and Tag?”

Kyla blinked. “Me and Tag? Nothing.”

“Uh-huh. He wasn’t looking at you like a sister last night. There were a few times I felt like the rest of us weren’t even there, the way you two were looking at each other and talking to each other.”

“Oh. Oh god.” Kyla bent her head and studied the fine grains of sand.

“You two aren’t…haven’t…”

“No!” Her stomach tightened. “But…” She glanced at Remi. She wasn’t used to talking about stuff like this with other women. “Oh wow. Um.” She didn’t even know how to say it.

“You like him?”

“Well, of course I do.”

Remi laughed. “Okay…do you want to do him?”

“Yeah.” Kyla breathed out a long sigh. “I always have. From the time I was about fifteen years old.”

Remi’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Don’t say anything. Please. Don’t tell anyone. I tried so hard not to let on. One summer, when I was about eighteen, Tag figured it out. But nothing ever happened because he basically turned me down.” She made a face.

Remi gave Kyla a slow, pretty smile. She was really sweet, Kyla had to admit. And smart. “I won’t say anything. But I think he’s figured it out again.”

Kyla blew out a soft breath, remembering the near-sex-on-the-beach they’d had earlier. “Yeah.”