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WORM

D amn! She’s gorgeous. The thought blasts through Worm like a punch to the gut. He’s appreciated her beauty from the beginning, but seeing her standing there, talking to Emma, with the sunlight glinting off her brown locks? Fucking gorgeous, like the Greek goddess Aphrodite, with curves in all the right places.

“Where’d you go last night?” Virus asks, elbowing his ribs. “I came by your room, but you didn’t answer.” Worm shifts his feet, not wanting to lie, but he can’t admit to where he’d been.

“I fell asleep early,” Worm answers with the truth, just not giving the details.

“I knocked pretty damn hard, dude,” Virus accuses, “I know you don’t sleep that sound, none of us do. So, where’d you go? Did you hook up with that waitress that was all over you?”

Virus has given him the perfect alibi, but letting them believe he’d been with the other woman doesn’t sit right. Still, he can’t tell them the truth. He isn’t one to kiss and tell, and Allison certainly isn’t a one-night stand to brag about. He can’t betray her. Besides, he's already freaked out over how much she’ll tell Emma about what went on last night.

“Something like that,” he replies, deciding to be vague and let them think what they will. He turns away from Virus to address Wallace. “Shouldn’t we get going? That place will be packed with tourists. The earlier we get there, the more likely we will be able to beat the crowd.” Wallace nods and turns to join the women. The rest of them follow.

“Are you ladies ready to head out?” Wallace asks, pulling Emma to his side. Worm can’t keep his eyes off Allison. She is watching Wallace and Emma interact with longing on her face. Their eyes meet. He wants to pull her to his side, but that wouldn’t go over very well. Allison is much too independent to want him to treat her like his teammates treat their women… isn’t she?

“Yes, we’d better get going,” Emma agrees. “Allison, you are riding with me and Curtis. We need to catch up.” Emma’s tone is serious. Is she subtly demanding to know why he was in Allison’s room?

“I’m riding with you guys, too!” Susie Beth yells, hurrying into the third row of seats. “What the hell are you doing?” Susie Beth screeches when Bull, another of their teammates, who arrived late last night, follows her.

Worm glances at them while helping Allison into her seat. Susie Beth is shooting daggers at Bull, who seems to be unaffected by her glare.

“I’m claiming my place,” Bull answers. His tone is full of innuendo, more than claiming a seat. Worm wonders when Bull had become interested in Susie Beth. She doesn’t seem to return his interest, or does she?

Her eyes keep glancing at Bull when she thinks he isn’t looking. Worm chuckles and takes his seat, drawing Allison’s attention. “What are you laughing about?”

Worm leans toward her, nodding his head toward the back seat. “Those two are either going to kill each other, or we are going to get a very entertaining show before the day is over,” Worm informs her. Allison’s eyes widen and peer back at the couple.

“You think?” Worm nods. “Hmm, they’d make a cute couple,” Allison adds, thoughtfully. Facing forward, she buckles her seatbelt. Worm had resisted the urge to buckle it for her, knowing she wouldn’t appreciate it.

He pauses to consider Allison’s assessment of the couple, glancing at them again before securing his seatbelt. Worm admits Susie Beth is pretty but not like Allison. Bull is around 6’ 3” with broad shoulders and would easily outweigh the petite woman by more than a hundred pounds. He has a gruff personality and most of the time keeps to himself. Susie Beth is a social butterfly with an in-your-face personality.

Worm frowns thinking they would make an odd couple, complete opposites, but then, Tank and Ruby come to mind. They are perfect for each other even though they are opposites as well. He shrugs thinking they could work, but there’d be some fireworks in the process.

A half hour later, Worm is waiting patiently in line for tickets to the aquarium. Allison and the other women are waiting off to the side. There’d been a brief argument over who was paying for whose ticket, mostly from Allison and Susie Beth, the only single ladies in the group, but Worm and Bull had managed to dispel their insistence on ‘paying’ their own way.

When the tickets are purchased, the large group enters the aquarium. It’s going to be an interesting day. Worm can tell. While keeping Allison close, he does his best to keep his hands off her. He is mostly successful. They pass tank after tank of various species of fish from locations all over the world. Allison’s face lights up with delight, reading the placards as they go.

About mid-way through, they step onto a slowly moving platform that guides them through a tunnel, completely surrounded by water. Fish, sharks, and manta rays swim overhead and on all sides. “Oh, my goodness!” Allison exclaims when a particularly large shark swims overhead. She steps off the moving platform to get a better look at the creature. Worm follows.

“Look at how beautiful it is,” Allison says with awe in her voice. Her head turns to see his reaction. Worm is in wonder, but it has nothing to do with the shark. It’s the woman standing in front of him that has him fascinated. “Don’t you think he is amazing?”

“How do you know it’s a he?” Worm questions, crowding in behind and pressing her against the railing. He doesn’t care if the shark is male or female. He just enjoys goading her. Allison frowns, looking back at the shark.

“I don’t know…it’s just…” she looks back at him, realizing that he is teasing her. Her face scrunches up, and she swats his arm. “Oh, you! Can’t you just be serious for one minute?” She turns to move on, but he grabs her hand, pulling her to him before she can get away.

“Yes, I can be serious when I want to be,” he says, turning her to face him, wrapping his arms around her waist. “The shark is amazing, but I’d rather stare at you instead.” Allison’s frown softens into a smile. “You are so beautiful. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of looking at you.” At this declaration, Allison rolls her eyes. Her hands come up to rest on his chest.

“That’s the worst pickup line ever,” she grouses, pushing against his hold, but he doesn’t let her go. They’ve been left behind from their group. A couple of children squeal with laughter, running by on the moving platform.

Then, they’re alone, just him and her, surrounded by water and fish. Only one thing is on his mind. His gaze drops to her lips. Her tongue darts out wetting them like she is thinking the same thing. He glances up. Her eyes are focused on his lips. Lowering his head for a kiss, she opens immediately, inviting him in. Groaning, he dives inside. She tastes fucking delicious.

Their tongues dance. His arms tighten around her, knowing he’ll never get enough. She is intoxicating, addictive, and he wants more. This week won’t be long enough. He jerks back, breaking the kiss.

“What’s wrong?” Allison inquires, concern on her face. He doesn’t know what to say. He can’t tell her the truth, that he is thinking about an impossible future which freaked him out.

Just then, Wallace and Emma appear looking for them. He drops his hands from her waist but not before Wallace narrows his eyes. Fuck!

“Um, Emma and Wallace are incoming,” Worm says, letting her believe that’s the reason for his abrupt end to their kiss.

“There you guys are!” Emma announces, turning toward Wallace. “I told you they were fine, just taking extra time in the tunnel.” She faces Worm and Allison. “Right?”

“Yeah,” Allison replies. “I saw a really cool, big shark.” She looks up. “Oh, look! There he is again!” They all look up at the long, sleek, grey beast as it swims by.

“How do you know it’s a male?” Wallace asks with genuine curiosity in his tone. He is studying the shark, intently, as it moves overhead. Allison looks at Worm. They burst out laughing hysterically. The other couple stares at them with baffled looks, which only makes them laugh harder.

“We should catch up with the others,” Wallace commands, after a minute. Worm can see the anger in Wallace’s gaze. The women lock arms and step onto the moving base, chatting softly. Worm turns to follow, but Wallace’s hand on his arm stops him.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Wallace growls, fiercely. “I told you to lay off. Allison is like a sister to Emma, and that makes her my sister, too. I won’t have our wedding ruined by you causing problems with Allison.”

“What makes you think I’m going to cause problems?” Worm retorts, trying to keep his anger in check. He doesn’t want to ruin anything, but he won’t let Wallace keep him from Allison, of that, he is certain.

“I know you, Worm,” Wallace drawls, “Fuck ‘em and leave ‘em. It’s how we all were before we found our one. It was our damn motto, but Allison isn’t that kind of girl. If you do this, you will upset Allison and, by extension, Emma. I won’t allow that to happen, not even by you, one of my brothers.”

“Fuck, Wallace! I have no intention of upsetting Allison,” Worm grumbles, running his hand through his hair and turning to pace. “I didn’t plan on any of this happening, but there’s something about her. I…I can’t stay away, man.” Worm throws his hands out to his sides.

Wallace stares at him for a long minute. His lips firm into a tight line, but he gives a single nod. “Don’t hurt her.” Then he turns to follow the women. Worm lets out a heavy breath. What the fuck am I doing?

He wasn’t lying. He can’t keep his hands off her, but, at the same time, he knows he can’t offer her more than this week. She lives in California for God’s sake, and she isn’t expecting more than a good time, right? Could she secretly be hoping for more?

Worm shakes his head to clear his mind. He needs to tread carefully. He can’t ruin a years-long friendship over a woman, but the thought of not spending time with Allison, not touching her, kissing her, doing other things with her, makes him feel sick. Being with her feels so good, so right. He is totally fucked. This is going to be a long damn week.