“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.”