Page 97 of Forbidden Kisses

"But this is fun," I said. "I like being with your family."

He captured my mouth, kissing me desperately. How could he need me so much? And how could I need him even more?

I lost myself in the kiss and the feel of his cold skin beneath my fingers. His body got mine wet too. As I pressed myself against him, I realized he was getting semihard. Heat coursed through me at the sensation.

I jumped back and said, "No, no, no." Pointing directly to his swim trunks, I added, "That needs to stay under control."

Duncan threw his head back, laughing. "That ship has sailed when it comes to you, Riley. I have zero control over myself when we're alone."

"Then let's get back to the group before everyone realizes what's going on."

"Yeah, you’re right," he said.

We walked back to the pool side by side. Finn was smirking from ear to ear. Knox laughed. I wondered why Griffin was staring at us.

"How about those towels?" he asked lazily.

Holy shit.I'd completely forgotten that we’d used that as an excuse. We wouldn't have been able to go up to the condo even if we’d wanted to, though, because neither of us had taken a key.

"All of them are, uh, in the washing machine or the dryer," I stammered.

"No, they're not," Jeremy said. "I had some in my changing room."

Crap.

"Yeah, buddy. Those are a bit small. I'll go later and bring some after the drying cycle is over," Duncan said.

"All right, everyone," Knox said. "Let's resume the game. We can come back to making things awkward later."

Jeremy blinked. "What's awkward?"

Duncan glared at his brother.

Knox winked. "Oh, this is fun."

As Finn had predicted, the pool filled soon after. And what do you know, it was mostly with female neighbors. Hannah and I exchanged a glance and laughed.

"They do like an audience, don't they?" I asked.

The second they noticed they had a gathering, their attitude changed. Before, they were playing to win. Now, they were playing to show off their muscles. Griffin, Knox, and Finn were especially obvious—which was also probably why they lost spectacularly.

"Dad, Uncle Chase, and Uncle Wyatt won," Jeremy declared. His voice was incredulous.

"Buddy, you don't have to sound so disappointed," Duncan said. "That's what your other uncles get for not paying attention." The corners of his mouth twitched as he walked to the edge of the pool.

Wyatt was shaking his head, laughing.

The losing team absolutely didn't seem to give a shit about it. I liked that they didn't let their egos get in the way of having fun with the family.

As the others got out of the pool, Jeremy yawned. He’d spent a lot of time in the water without any breaks. He was probably exhausted.

"Jeremy," I started tentatively, thinking how to best phrase this. If I suggested that he needed a nap, he’d feel humiliated. "Want to go upstairs with me? I want to get a new bottle of sunscreen.”

Once inside, I’d talk him into lying down.

"What a coincidence," Susan said, rising to her feet. "I was going to do just that. You can stay down here, Riley, and I’ll bring it back down."

"I’ll go up with you, Grandma," Jeremy said excitedly, wrapping a towel around himself.