Page 72 of Blush Crush

Ariana laughs, shaking beside me. “Cole is my b-b-boyfriend.”

Everyone starts talking at once, noise over noise, with nothing I can discernibly pick out.

I let it go for about fifteen seconds. Long enough to be respectful of the fact that they’re surprised. But also long enough for Ariana’s breathing to go shallow against my side like their words are physically taking the fight out of her. And I don’t fucking like that one bit.

“Listen.” I put enough authority into my voice to cut through everyone. “I get that some of you aren’t thrilled to see me with your sister. But if you’ve got a problem, you can take it up with me. Leave her out of it. She doesn’t need you all screaming at her because of me, and I’m not going to stand by while she’s treated like she’s incapable of making her own decisions without running them past you for a vote. Understood?”

Ariana’s head lifts and she looks up at me, wide-eyed and stunned. I hope she didn’t think I’d let them eat her alive. No fucking way am I standing by while they pick her apart.

The room goes quiet enough to hear the ceiling fan, the faint sound of water against the shore outside.

Before Ethan can recover enough to say whatever is sitting behind his jaw, Scottie steps forward, ever the gracious host. She pulls Ariana into a hug, whispers something in her ear I don’t catch, but whatever it is seems to take some of the tension out of her shoulders. Then she turns to me with a brief hug before waving us to follow her.

“Come on, I’ll show you your room.”

We trail behind her, past the mob. Shane is shaking his head at me like we’re about to face off in a fight and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. He’s got a way worse reputation than me. Talk about pot calling the kettle black. Nora would’ve never, but if she’d ever brought Shane home I would’ve lost my mind, so I guess I get it.

“Okay, here we are.” Scottie points to a decently sized room with a king-size bed at the center. “It’s kind of funny—this is the room Gavin and I stayed in when he was trying to buy the house.” She directs her attention at me. “And the best part is, it’s the furthest from everyone else so you can’t hear a thing.” She smiles a wicked little smile before shooting a wink at Ariana and wandering back to the living room.

I really wish she hadn’t said any of that, because now I’m interested in testing out how true it was.

I must have a death wish—or a kink for danger—because tell me why my dick is twitching at the thought of getting Ariana off in a house full of her family. And honestly, part of me is hoping they hear it.

Might have to start going to therapy again just to unpack that one.

“Well, that was not great.” Ariana walks further into the room, shoulders slumped.

She proceeds to peel off her coat and hat, and my brain starts to get fuzzy watching her. There’s a sliver of her waist showing before she tugs her pants back into place, and the way her tits are spilling out over the top of her buttons makes it nearly impossible to form a coherent thought with a bed between us.

The only reason I stop my appreciative perusal of her body is because Ariana is staring at the bed in horror.

“What’s wrong?”

“The bed,” she says quietly. “We’re going to have to share a bed.”

My gaze narrows on her. “Yeah,” I say slowly. “Kind of what happens when you’re a couple staying at someone’s house. Did you think we’d be in bunk beds?”

Her face is crimson, I can practically see the rapid pulse jutting out of her neck. “I don’t know.” She sounds exasperated. “I’ve never brought a guy to something like this. I didn’t think about it, I guess.”

I know she’s freaking out because she didn’t account for this situation, but I can’t help taking it slightly personally. Am I that repulsive to her, she can’t fathom sharing a bed that’s more than big enough for the two of us for one night? Or am I overreacting?

Not to be cocky, but women usually throw themselves at me. I’ve never really had to put effort in for someone to like me. I’ve definitely never had to convince a woman to share a bed with me.

“It’s a king bed. I could put a pillow between us and we’d still have room to spare.”

“I know that,” she says, still staring at it.

“Do you want me to sleep on the floor?” I’ll do it if that’s what would make her feel the most comfortable, but I’m over thirty,so my body will definitely pay for it for a few days. It would be worth it though if that’s what she needs from me.

“No, of course not.” She looks at me like I’m out of my mind for even suggesting it.

“What’s the actual problem, doll?”

She turns to look at me and I watch her cycle through her thoughts. “Nothing. There’s no problem. It’s fine.”

I drag a hand through my hair and cross the room to drop onto the edge of the mattress. “Come here.”

She eyes me.