Page 23

Jackson

Okay, so I might’ve said bro code was important. But as I stood at the bar watching Thea dance in a dress that had to be illegal, I was wondering if there was a cheat code I could use.

She entered the bar without a care in the world, completely oblivious to the fact that she looked like a walking thirst trap in that tight purple bubble dress. It barely covered her thighs, hugging every curve, and all I could think was who the hell let her leave the house like that?

Her dance moves were possibly the worst I’d ever seen, but I couldn’t stop watching her. For some reason, she thought mouthing the lyrics to every song while creating her own sign language depicting said lyrics was sexy. This, ladies and gentlemen, was why Thea hadn’t dated.

And I was so. Damn. Thankful for her terrible moves because it meant she was waiting for me. All this time, she was meant to be mine.

With every overreacted sway of her hips, I fell more and more in love with this woman. If things were different, I’d saddle up behind Thea, slip my hands across her hips, and calm her erratic moves. She’d melt into my arms. Probably wrap her hand around my neck, giving me access to her collarbone, and I’d kiss my way up her throat.

When she knocked into her brother, I was reminded that wouldn’t happen until we told him, and now most certainly wasn’t the time to do it. He’d hardly noticed Thea’s knock, too busy checking his phone. The one I convinced him to turn back on and text Aster to apologize for leaving her alone with no explanation.

The guy was freaking out, and he didn’t know what to do. At least that text opened the door for them to talk, and we could only hope Aster was understanding and hadn’t actually broken up with him.

Thea danced around him, completely unfazed by his lack of enthusiasm or that no guys were approaching her. Good. None of them were good enough for a goddess like her. Not even me, but I wouldn’t tell her that. I planned on worshipping every inch of her body once we got her brother through this little blip.

With another beer for Tanner in my hand, I strolled over to them and pulled my lip into a snarl as I eyed Thea. It only felt right if we were keeping up with the hate-you vibes. Honestly, it was sexy. Would it feel like hate sex next time? After living with Aiden and suffering through nights of hearing him with Alyssa, I wanted to give it a go.

“You good?” I asked Tanner as I handed him a beer. He tipped his chin up in an act of acknowledgment before taking a swig. He wasn’t much of a drinker, so the fact he was on his second beer of the night was a surprise.

“Thank you.” Thea plucked my beer out of my hand and swallowed down the liquid. Okay, that was hotter than expected. I swiped my palm across my face to hide my smirk. She was so fucking sexy when she was trying to piss me off. We would definitely have hate sex later.

“Oh, guys,” Tanner said, his gaze glued to his phone, but he was smiling, so that was good. “I, uh, think I have to go. I think Aster wants to talk.”

Thea squealed, clapping as she did a little dance on her toes. It was her best move of the night.

“It means nothing,” Tanner said, more to himself than us.

Thea pulled her lips together, holding herself back.

“How about we all head home?” I suggested.

“No,” Thea said. “Let’s give Tanner a little privacy.”

“Okay, but does that mean I have to stay with you?” Oh, I loved this fake contempt.

“Please don’t kill each other,” Tanner said, echoing the moment he left us alone at the beginning of the week.

“Hey, I suffered a week with her, and she’s still breathing, isn’t she?”

“I’d say I was the one suffering, Baseball Cap.”

Oh, we were back to that old nickname again.

Don’t smile. Don’t make it obvious you’re banging his sister.

Thea danced over to Tanner, giving him a hug. She said something in his ear, but the music was too loud for me to hear it.

“See you guys later,” he said. His lips were flat, but his hand was clutching his phone, and there was an unmistakable glint in his eyes. He was hopeful, as he should be, that they’d figure things out.

As Thea’s brother walked away, she stood in front of me with her arms folded and her lips pouted. I watched Tanner’s manbun all the way to the door, waiting for him to walk out of it and then a few seconds more before I dared to look at Thea with anything other than discontent.

When I was satisfied he was gone, I took in her scowling face, and my chest constricted. Fucking beautiful.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a terrible dancer?” I asked as I swept my arms around her waist and drew her in.

She dropped her head back and laughed. “I’m not dancing for the male gaze, or anyone’s gaze, for that matter.”

“Clearly.” I kissed the spot behind her ear as my hands skated up her ribs.

“You look fucking phenomenal, Pyro. Wanna set my bed on fire?”

“With you in it … Yes. I think about it all the time.” She had such a cute tone as she threatened my life, but I was fucking addicted to it.

“Come home with me.”

“I live with you.”

“Then let’s take this up a notch. Stay in my room tonight.”

“No.”

I backed up, tilting my head. Her face didn’t change. She was serious.

“Wow. Way to knock a guy’s ego.”

“Tanner’s back. What if he wakes up and hears you impaling me with that football post you call a dick?”

“Football post? Do you think my dick is two headed?”

“I bet it does more damage. It’s huge.”

“You’re too kind.”

“I’m just speaking the truth, Baseball Cap.”

“We’ve got to tell your brother about us.” I pressed a kiss to her lips before sinking my teeth into her plump bottom one and drawing it out so I could watch it fall back into place.

“We do, but maybe not while he’s having a crisis of confidence. Let’s make sure he and Aster are talking before we tell him anything.”

“Agreed,” I said reluctantly, kissing the crook of her neck and smelling her flowery perfume. The same scent I’d gotten hard over in the shower. I wasn’t doing any better right now. At least this time I was grinding my erection against Thea’s hip instead of my hand. I’d leveled up.

“Agreed. It does mean I won’t be able to touch you like this for a while.” I dipped my hands down to her ass, squeezing, and groaned at my own frivolous behavior. Resisting her would be difficult now that I’d felt her like this.

She squealed, her fingers curling into my shoulders before she brought her lips to my neck. “Is that all you think about? Sex?” she husked out as if she wasn’t also thinking about it.

“More like sex with you. That’s pretty much it for me. I don’t need anything else going on in my tiny, little pea brain.”

Lacing my fingers with hers, I brought them to my heart and rested our foreheads together. We swayed to the music even though it was hard rock and everyone around us was head banging. We didn’t care; we were happy in each other’s arms.

“I like this,” she said, biting her bottom lip, almost embarrassed at the statement.

“Me too.” I liked it a little too much, in fact. She was my best friend’s sister, and while he was having a melt down over his relationship status, I was planning on how to tell him I was in love with his sister.

Thea looked up at me, her eyes deep and searching, pulling me in without even trying. I winked before frowning.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, squeezing my hand, then kissing the tip of my nose. It was cute, and I never thought I’d be into all that obnoxious couple shit, but apparently, Thea brought that out of me.

I shrugged, holding firm with her in my arms as people shuffled past us, knocking into me. “I’m just sad I won’t get to sleep with you tonight.”

She shook her head, a frown marring that beautiful face of hers. “I’m sorry.” She didn’t seem too sorry about it.

“Sucks to be me, I guess.”

She let out a laugh and rested her head on my shoulder. “Please. You’re acting like this is the biggest sacrifice you’ve ever had to make.”

My brows rose as I thought about my empty, cold bed. “It is. You don’t know how hard it is. Not just my dick, but the idea there will be a wall separating us, and I’ll have no way to get to you.”

“It’s one night. I’ve only slept in your bed twice before.”

“And those two nights I had the best sleep of my life. Face it, Pyro, you’re meant to be in my bed.”

She rolled her eyes. “We’ll tell him tomorrow. Once he and Aster have straightened things out.”

“How can you be so sure that’s going to happen? He asked her to marry him, which even I think is nuts.”

She lifted her head from my chest with wide eyes. “You can’t be serious, can you? He didn’t ask her to marry him. She found the ring.”

“That he was going to use to propose. Same thing.”

“No, it’s not. Having the ring shows intent. Asking is a completely different thing, and once she realizes that, they’ll be able to talk through everything.”

“If you say so.”

“Come on.” Thea tilted her head before pulling me off the dance floor.

“Where are you taking me, Pyro? Do you know of any empty coat closets we can fuck in?”

She stopped in her tracks and looked at me from over her shoulder with disdain. Oh, hey, it was almost like old times. “Again? You’re going to bring up fucking me yet again?”

I shrugged, throwing her a grin that usually got me out of trouble. “Can’t help it. I’ve felt your tight little pussy clenching around my cock, and I can’t get enough.”

She sighed and continued to drag me out of the club. It was much quieter outside, so I took charge. She yelped when I changed direction, pulling her around the side of the building. Luckily, the dumpsters were farther down the alley, so there was only the slightest smell of trash lingering in the air.

“What are we doing here?” she asked as I leaned against the brick wall, pulling her into me. She was settled between my thighs, and I answered with a kiss. No words. Just one hard kiss full of intention. My tongue played with hers, and when she moaned into my mouth, my pants tented. Fuck. I wanted her so badly. Almost more since I wouldn’t be able to have her tonight.

I rolled us over so she was leaning against the wall, and pushed my erection into her center, knowing the thin fabric of her dress wouldn’t be enough to stop her feeling me. “Jackson,” she groaned out, her head falling back.

With how quiet the area was, I played with the hem of her skirt and considered fucking her here. She shivered when my fingers skated across her thighs, and gasped when I dipped my hands under.

Soaking wet panties.

All for me. Fucking, Pyro.

“You’re so wet for me, P.” I danced my fingers across her panties to get a feel for how wet she was without dipping my fingers under. Not just yet. I wanted to tease her a little bit more before that.

Thea’s fingers dug into my jacket, reminding me I hadn’t been a gentleman and offered her mine when we left. I’d do it once we finished here since I had a better way of warming her up in my mind.

My name slipped past her lips again, and I’d never tire of hearing how sexy it was. Her hips bucked against my hand, her legs widening. Well, if that wasn’t a hint she wanted more, then I didn’t know what was.

I pushed her panties to the side and plunged my fingers inside her before she had time to take another breath.

“Oh my—”

Thea’s lips parted, but nothing came out as I fucked her with my fingers at an unrelenting pace. There was no time to be leisurely. Not when anyone could walk by. Her pussy was so wet she was dripping down my wrist. Fuck. I wished I could see and taste the arousal I’d caused, but even I knew that was too risky in this setting.

I bent forward and pressed my lips against her neck before biting and nibbling at her skin, knowing full well I would leave a mark. Good. This girl was mine, and I would make sure we’d get that tattooed on her ass the minute we could.

Property of Jackson James.

That thought alone had me ready to shoot my load in my pants. Just imagine taking her from behind and stroking that tattoo on her ass. Yes, fucking please.

She pushed onto her toes, and her chin tipped up just as her nails sank into my shoulder. She was close to coming, so I pressed my thumb against her clit, rolling it as well as I could with her bucking against me.

“I’m com—”

She didn’t get the full word out before she clenched, then let go. Over and over, her pussy squeezed my fingers as the release left her body. I watched every moment of it on her face. The crinkle in her brow just as it was about to happen. The way her lips parted when she sucked in the tiny breath before she couldn’t take it anymore.

Her breath heaved as she looked down between us. My fingers were still inside her, and I was in no rush to remove them. Frankly, I wanted to let them wrinkle so I knew she’d soaked her way in.

“I can’t believe we did that,” she said. Her face was flushed as she cowered into my chest.

“I can’t believe I’m going to have to sleep without you tonight.” She gasped as I moved my fingers around, making sure to get them wet.

“I can’t do it again. It’s too soon.”

“I know,” I stated, pulling my fingers out before covering her center with my palm.

“Then what are you doing?”

“Making sure when I use my hand tonight, it will feel as much like you as possible.”

It took her a few minutes to get the implication. I wanted to smell like her. To have that lingering on my cock when I finally got the chance to get myself off.

“You’re dirty.”

“And you’re the hottest person at Covey U,” I said before removing my hand and tugging her dress down her thighs. Then I brought my hand between us and licked one of my fingers, tasting her on me. I could smell her too, so I knew it would be a good session later. Especially knowing she would be just on the other side of the wall.

“You can’t do things like that and expect me to not get aroused.”

“You can’t breathe and expect me to not get aroused.” I shook off my jacket before placing it over her shoulders. “Now, come on. Let’s get home before you freeze to death.”

I wrapped my arm around her, and she snuggled into my side as we walked across and off campus to the apartment only a couple of minutes away.

“Do you think Tanner will be in on the couch?” Thea asked.

I dropped a kiss onto her forehead. “No.”

“How do you know?”

“He sent me a text while we were still in the club.”

“Why would he text you that and not tell me?”

I grinned and waited for her to look up. When she did, I said, “Because he thinks I’m going to bring a hot girl home and bang her so hard that he’ll be able to hear it from his room.”

She barked out a laugh. “Wow. He’s got real belief in your skills, doesn’t he?”

I squeezed her side, pulling her in a few inches more. We were already close together, so this was a lot. “Am I not bringing a hot girl home right now?” She pursed her lips, not wanting to answer. “I also believe I just got you off and only touched your clit for the last three seconds.”

She groaned, rolling her head into my chest. “Did you have to talk like that?”

“If you’re going to question my skills, yes.”

We walked through the apartment block in silence, taking the stairs, and every now and again, I would stop to kiss her, knowing I couldn’t go too far since everyone knew us in this place.

When we got to the apartment door, my stomach dropped. This was it. We had to go back to Baseball Cap and Pyro. Hating each other for purely breathing.

I leaned against our door, kissing every knuckle on her hands. “I guess this is the part of the night where I say goodnight?”

Her cheeks pinkened as she watched me. “I guess so.” She paused. “You’re right. It’s a little weird that we aren’t going to sleep together tonight. Guess I didn’t realize how quickly I’d get used to being in your stinky room.”

I arched my brow. “Stinky? The only thing my room smells of is sex because I’ve been fucking you for the last forty-eight hours.”

She groaned, whacking me lightly on the chest. I grabbed her hand, pulling her in, and kissed her again. This time with more meaning than I could ever convey. She was part of me now. A piece I didn’t know was missing until she kissed me.

When she pulled away, disappointment curled through me like a slow burn.

“I want you in my bed so bad it’s unreal.” The words slipped out before I could stop them, but they were the truth.

Thea bit her bottom lip, hesitation flickering in her deep eyes. “You know that’s not possible. That’s not the way I want Tanner finding out.”

I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. “I know. I know. I just …” I paused as an idea struck me. My lips curled into a smirk. “Wait a minute. I think I have a plan.”

Her brow lifted. “Yeah?”

“Yes. Come on.”

I pressed a finger to my lips, telling her to stay quiet, then cracked open the door and dropped her hand.

“Tanner?” I called out, loud enough for him to hear if he was in the living room but not if he was already in his room.

Silence.

I took a few cautious steps down the hall, just enough to see the couch. Empty. My shoulders relaxed.

He must’ve been in his room. I wasn’t sure why I even questioned it—Tanner was the most honest guy I knew.

Turning back to Thea, I whispered, “Wait here.”

Then I jogged into my room, rummaging through my desk drawer until my fingers wrapped around a small white case.

When I returned, Thea eyed it suspiciously as I placed it in her hand.

“Headphones?” she asked, brows furrowed.

“Take them with you.” I led her across the living room toward her bedroom. “I’ve got a plan.”

“Okay …” Curiosity flickered in her eyes, but before she could push for answers, she rose on her toes and pressed a quick kiss to my lips.

The soft moment shattered when we heard movement from Tanner’s room.

Thea instantly backed away, mouthing something I couldn’t decipher—I was too busy thinking about all the things we were about to get up to.

“Goodnight,” I said as she slipped into her room, shutting the door behind her.

I headed to my own, still wondering how the hell I got so lucky to have her look at me like that.