Page 11 of One Night Seduction (ONS #1)

Logan

I follow after Arianna, just a few steps behind her, and goddamnit, it takes everything in me not to stare at her ass. In my defense, her bikini barely covers her ass cheeks. In her defense, that shouldn’t be an excuse, it’s the only one I’ve got at the moment, though.

I wasn’t planning on tubing. I’ve never been big on all that stuff. But when I see Arianna jump into Tyson’s arms so easily, him taking the opportunity to cup her ass as he carries her to the boat, my plan changes.

My manwhore little brother should be kept as far away as possible from Arianna.

Not only is she over seven years younger than him and Kelly’s daughter, she’s too good for him.

She’s the kind of woman that you’d want to settle down with, and Tyson is only interested in women for a night or two at a time.

He’ll hurt her if she lets him close enough, that’s a guarantee.

Something in me just can’t let that happen.

Walking down the grassy hill that leads to the private dock, a hand reaches out, snagging mine. I look down to see Kelly in a black thong bikini, her tits literally spilling out of the top as she smiles up at me. Jesus, she really has no shame.

“Where are you going?”

“I was gonna join Tom,” I say, tilting my head towards the boat, watching Arianna and Tyson climb into the boat as the twins lay on their stomachs on the tube.

Kelly pouts. “But if you go, who is going to rub sunscreen on my back?” she asks, turning around to wiggle her ass at me.

I don’t even feel tempted to look at her as I pluck the bottle of sunscreen from her hands, passing it to Marissa.

“I’m sure Marissa will help you.”

I walk away before she can stop me again, and I hear her sigh in irritation as my feet hit the dock.

I know I can only push Kelly away for so long before she’ll explode.

She’ll demand to know why I came if it wasn’t to at least hook up with her, and I really don’t have a good answer for that one.

I should probably start coming up with something, and fast.

Tom gives me a head nod as I step on the boat. I return the greeting before my eyes lock on Tyson and Arianna, both sitting on the side bench, looking far too cozy for my liking.

“Are you ready?” he teases, tickling her sides.

She squirms in her seat, doing her best to hold in her laugh.

“Fuck! Stop! You know I’m ticklish,” she says with a smile that’s ready to explode into full-blown laughter.

Tyson grins at her and does it more.

“Oh, are you? Must have slipped my mind,” he says before full on attacking her.

Arianna squeals and squirms as she laughs at the hands of my baby brother.

Bull fucking shit, he forgot. He used to chase her around and torture her when she was younger.

He’d make her laugh until she was crying and made it his entire mission to make her laugh as many times as he could when he was around.

I take a seat across from them, frowning. I was always so preoccupied with Kelly that I never really noticed what Arianna was up to, especially with Tyson. I didn’t realize how close they were or are. I don’t know.

Tom slowly pulls away from the dock, and Tyson and Arianna settle down, watching the twins as they slowly start gliding across the water. I take the opportunity to watch Arianna. Her blue bathing suit looks amazing against her skin, hugging her perfectly. Or maybe she’s just perfect.

I take in the graceful slope of her neck, involuntary memories flooding me from our time at the club.

The way it felt in my hand, how smooth her skin was.

Feeling her pulse thunder in my palm, knowing this beautiful stranger trusted me so implicitly from the start.

It released something carnal, powerful. Now that I know that it was Arianna the whole time…

I still have those feelings, those cravings.

Now that I know what she’s capable of, what we are, I…

A splash catches my attention, and I turn to see Brady has launched from the inner tube, the loss of balance sending Melanie into the water as well.

Tom quickly slows down, making a wide loop as we swing by to grab the kids.

They both climb into the boat, teeth chattering as they wrap towels around themselves.

Just because it’s sunny doesn’t mean the lake is warm.

It’s only April in Western Washington, and the water is unbearably cold until July, but if you live here, you adapt, otherwise, you’d never have any fun.

“Let’s go, Ari,” Tyson says as he stands up, reaching out for Arianna’s hand. She takes it happily, lacing her fingers through his. It takes not only me by surprise as Tyson looks down at her, grinning before squeezing it lightly and leading her to the inner tube.

Carefully, they both climb on, and when they’re ready, Tom takes off again. Leaning forward, I rest my forearms on my thighs as I watch them. They laugh and smile at each other as they hold on for a surprisingly long time.

Tom begins swaying from side to side, forcing them to catch the wake from the boat. They start to gain a little air with each wake until they launch. Arianna screams as Tyson laughs before they land with a hard slap against the water that sends Arianna skimming across the surface.

I feel my chest clench as I watch her slip underwater. Leaning over the side of the boat, I frantically look for her in the water before she resurfaces just to the side. Relief fills me until I see her swimming awkwardly.

Forcing half my body out of the boat, I reach a hand out for her.

She looks like she’s going to refuse me, so I grab her, hauling her up and into the boat.

She lands in my lap, and when she tries to get up, I wrap an arm around her, keeping her in place as I look her over.

Her right hand is cupping her left wrist as she winces.

“What hurts?” I ask as my eyes run over her in concern.

She shakes her head before looking away. “I’m fine.”

Frowning, I pinch her chin, forcing her to look me in the eye and say that.

“What. Hurts,” I repeat.

Her blue eyes snap to mine, a million different emotions playing within them.

“I tried to hold onto the handle too long. Probably just hyperextended it. I’m fine.”

She squirms in my lap, and it takes everything in me not to enjoy it.

Releasing her chin and unwinding my arm from around her, she stands as Tyson climbs into the boat.

“You good?” he asks, looking her over with worry.

I frown, watching my brother carefully. I’m not sure what he’s up to, but whatever it is, I can tell you I’m not a fan .

She smiles up at him the way I wanted her to smile at me when I asked her what hurt.

“My wrist got a little twisted on my epic fail of a departure.”

Tyson laughs at that, examining her wrist carefully.

“I swear to god, you were by my side one second, then in the clouds the next.”

She chuckles softly, rolling her eyes as he gently touches it. She winces when he moves it, and I have to physically restrain myself from biting his head off and telling him to be more fucking careful.

“We can wrap it with some bandages when we get back to the house for support.”

Arianna nods, a shiver running through her as the breeze rolls in. I grab a towel almost instantly, handing it to her. She takes it with a quick smile before Tyson snatches it from her and wraps her up tightly. They both sit down as the twins climb onto the tube again.

When we take off, Tyson wraps his arm around Arianna’s back.

It’s a casual move, but I can see right through my brother.

He’s fucking into her. She looks up at him, and I wait for her to seem uncomfortable or offended, something that will give me permission to knock his front fucking teeth in.

She doesn’t, though. Instead, she smiles and leans into him, causing my stomach to sour as I roughly look away.

After a day on the water, we decide to have a bonfire and barbeque.

I helped Tom do some baby back ribs, baked potatoes, and a salad, while Marissa and Kelly set up the backyard.

There is already a picnic table, but it’s not big enough for everyone, so they set up a few extra chairs around the firepit.

The sun is beginning to dip down behind the tree line when I decide to make a fire. Tom hands me several pre-cut logs from the woodshed to the side, and it’s not long until we have a roaring fire that everyone is gathered around.

I’m currently sitting at the picnic table when Kelly comes over, dropping into my lap. I fight the instinct to immediately push her off as she wiggles her jean shorts clad ass against me.

“Well, hi, stranger.” She giggles before a hiccup slips out of her.

I lift an eyebrow as I stare at her. Kelly and Marissa have been getting into margaritas all day, and it looks like they finally caught up to her.

“Hey, Kel,” I say, casually moving my arms as far away from her as possible.

“I’m so glad you came, like, I genuinely didn’t believe you’d show up. Thought you were screwing with me or something.”

I shrug, not sure what to say. My eyes move around the firepit to see Melanie roasting a s’more while Brady taps away on his phone.

Tom and Marissa are snuggling, and Tyson and Arianna are standing around the fire, deep in conversation.

I hear her laughter, the sound echoing around the backyard, and I wonder if anyone else can feel her stealing the oxygen from the air around us or if it’s just me.

Goddamnit, I can’t keep doing this.

“What’s wrong?” Kelly frowns.

I look at her, shaking my head.

“I think Tyson is into Arianna. I’ll talk to him about it, though. Don’t worry.”

She scoffs, laughing softly.

“Why would I care? She’s a grown woman, she can handle herself, and Ty is a sweetie.”

Now, it’s my turn to laugh, albeit considerably less humorously. “Tyson is a playboy, and we both know it. ”

Kelly shrugs. “Ari could use a little fun. She hasn’t had a boyfriend in years.”

“And you think Tyson is boyfriend material?” I ask dubiously.

“I don’t know, maybe. Who really cares?” she shrugs as she lifts a cup of what smells like straight vodka to her mouth.

Who cares? You should. You’re her fucking mother. How could you not care about your daughter?

Of course I say none of that, but fuck, I feel blindsided.

I can’t believe I missed the true nature of Kelly and Arianna’s relationship for years.

I always thought Kelly was a good mom, a little self-centered for sure, but what I’ve seen just over the last forty hours or so has me really reevaluating how checked out I was in our marriage.

Or maybe how blinded I was by Kelly to notice the blatant disrespect she delivers to her daughter.

I should have paid better attention, intervened more. Arianna didn’t deserve to grow up being treated like that, and she sure doesn’t now.

My eyes naturally come to her, like I can’t stop them from doing so, as I watch Tyson lean down, whispering something into her ear that makes her grin up at him.

He smiles down at her, and I suddenly can’t fucking stand it out here.

Roughly, I push to my feet, cupping Kelly’s hips so she doesn’t fall, but once she’s on her feet, I’m gone.

I can feel my footsteps thundering against the grass until I reach the back of the house. I slip inside the kitchen, heading for the fridge, before grabbing a beer. I don’t know if I can do this. Maybe I should just pack up and go home.

“There more?” Tyson asks as he steps inside the house, shutting the back door behind him.

I pause for a moment, pointing my bottle towards the fridge, before taking a much needed swig. He slips by me, grabbing two beers. I don’t have to ask who the second one is for.

“She’s not old enough to drink,” I snap far more aggressively than intended.

“Uh, yeah, she is,” Tyson laughs.

I frown. Fuck, I guess she is. Otherwise, how would she have gotten into the club?

“I guess you’re right. Time flies.”

Tyson nods, an awkward silence settling over the room.

“What’s going on with you?” Tyson asks.

I realize I’ve been staring at a blank wall, and I blink quickly, shaking my head.

“Nothing, why?”

He laughs bitterly.

“You’ve been a grumpy ass all day. You seriously pissed that I showed up? Bro, I came to talk you out of whatever weird reunification thing you and Kelly are trying. She hurt you, and she doesn’t fucking deserve you. I’m sorry, but it’s true,” he says, lifting his hands in defense.

I don’t dispute anything he says as he continues.

“But imagine my surprise when I show up and notice that you spend more time looking at your ex-stepdaughter than your ex-wife.”

I feel my heart rate spike as I try to maintain my unaffected demeanor.

“What are you talking about?”

Tyson just stares at me, like he’s waiting for me to come clean. Fat fucking chance.

He shrugs. “You just don’t seem to be spending much time with Kelly, that’s all. I thought you wanted to get back with her?”

“When have I ever said that?”

“I don’t know, why are you here then? ”

Shit. He’s got me there.

“It’s complicated,” I say cryptically.

Tyson narrows his eyes.

“Uncomplicate it.”

I shake my head.

“C’mon, dude. I’m your brother,” he says.

Still, I stay silent. Tyson waits a few more seconds before shaking his head with a disappointed sigh.

He makes his way out of the kitchen and to the backdoor, beers in hand.

Running a frustrated hand through my hair, I huff in irritation before tipping back my bottle and draining the last of my beer.