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I smacked him on the chest, and he laughed, curling up his knees, and once he started, he didn’t stop. The skin around his eyes crinkled and his hair was a rich, russet mess of waves, and in that second, I was reminded of why I loved him so much.
Twenty-two
Avery had handed over a bag of ice, promising that Cam was almost under control. Us being under control was a totally different story. I knew when Avery saw me at the door that she had a good idea what had been going in the room between Jase and me. My hair was a ratty mess, lips swollen and cheeks flushed. She didn’t say anything, but as she turned, I swore I saw her grin.
They were in Cam’s bedroom, and we were in the other. Both Jase and I were back in the clothes we’d worn yesterday, which at least made me feel more appropriate, while I held the ice to his jaw. It hadn’t begun to swell, but it was an angry shade of red.
He eyed me over the bag. “That didn’t go as planned.”
I laughed in spite of everything. “No shit.”
A smile turned up his lips and he groaned, pulling back. “Ow.”
“Don’t smile,” I ordered. I pressed the bag back to his jaw. A couple of moments passed. “Some of it wasn’t bad.”
“Wasn’t bad?” His eyes had been a smoldering silver since he’d rolled off me, and they now burned even brighter. Slipping an arm around my waist, he tugged me forward and down, so I was sitting on his bent legs. “Some of it was stuff wet dreams are made of.”
I made a face. “That’s romantic.”
He curled his fingers around my wrist, pulling my hand with the ice down as his gaze swept over my face. “I didn’t mean to lose control like that.”
“I didn’t mind.” My cheeks heated. “Wish we could’ve finished.”
A deep sound rolled out from him as he wrapped his hand around the nape of my neck, guiding my head down. His lips sealed over mine in a slow, languid kiss that stroked the unspent flames of desire. The kiss deepened as his tongue met mine, twisted and spiraled and, damn, this boy could kiss—
The bedroom door burst open and Cam barreled in. “For shit’s sake, do I need to hit you again, Jase?”
“Damnit,” I moaned, breaking away and casting Cam a dirty look. “Do you know how to knock? It isn’t that hard.”
He looked unrepentant as he glared at Jase. “I came in here to try to talk this out and I walk in, and she’s in your lap and you’re fucking her with your tongue.”
Jase’s mouth opened and I had a god-awful feeling he was going to explain that he wasn’t fucking me with his mouth at this moment.
“Cam,” I started, shifting the ice in my hand. “You really need to chill.”
“And you will need to get out of his lap.”
Avery’s eyes rolled.
“She’s where she wants to be,” Jase replied, voice surprisingly calm. “And I’m going to tell you this. I’m not pissed that you hit me. I deserved it. I should’ve told you the first time we kissed, which was a year ago.”
Cam tensed.
“Let me finish,” Jase went on, keeping his arm secured around my waist. “We kissed that night before we left early during fall break. Nothing happened again until this fall. I tried to fight it.”
“Yeah, looks like you tried really hard.”
Irritation pricked my skin as I stared up at my brother. “He did try, Cam. And it wasn’t like we’ve been hiding this forever. We planned to tell you on Wednesday, but you had other things going on.” I waited until recognition flared in his gaze. “And then this with Debbie—” My throat closed up, and Jase’s arm tightened around me. “Anyway, it wasn’t like we were trying to hide it from you. There just wasn’t a good moment for it.”
“And they’re telling you now,” Avery said. Apparently she’d become the voice of reason when it came to my brother. “I think this is a good thing.”
“I think it makes me doubt Teresa’s ability to tell the difference between common sense and her hormones,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair.
My mouth snapped shut as I sent him a look that should’ve shriveled his balls right up. Jase, who’d been rather calm during round two, had a totally different reaction. Picking me up out of his lap, he deposited me on the edge of the bed and stood.
A muscle thrummed along his jaw. “Look, I’m not going to hold you hitting me against you, but if you talk to your sister like that again or say shit about her intelligence or, in general, insult or embarrass her, we’re going to have a problem. A big motherfucking problem. I care about her,” Jase said, meeting Cam’s glare when those words apparently didn’t do anything to make him feel better. “I care about her . . . just as much as I care about Jack.”
Cam took a step back and paled like Jase had punched him in the throat. Avery didn’t catch the meaning, but my brother did. He glanced at me, and I raised my brows, signaling that I knew the truth.
