flushed skin with his nose.
“Wow, that was…unexpected.”
Raking my fingers through his dampened hair, I peered down at him. “Why was it?”
Ari leaned up on his elbows, his provocative gaze staring as he pushed a dampened strand of hair off my face. “I came here to talk, and somehow we ended up here.”
“Are you complaining?”
His sculpted mouth curved wickedly. “No, not in the slightest. We needed to deal with years of pent-up feelings, therefore explaining my inability to last longer.”
An inappropriate giggle erupted, and Ari cocked his head eyeing me quizzically.
“What’s so funny?”
“You pretty much confirmed what the girls had said all along.”
“Enlighten me, please.”
“Somewhere in their warped minds, they all decided whenever we're around each other, this supposed sexual tension between us is capable of blowing a roof of its rafters.”
Ari let out a small laugh. “Really? According to Eve, if we were any hotter, everyone would be on fire.”
I chuckled. “Well, now we can happily inform everyone there’s no need to go calling the fire brigade, or a builder.”
“About bloody time too.” He chuckled rolling off me and onto his back, his forearm coming to rest across his eyes. “We really should leave this room before someone comes looking for us.” Running a hand over his damp face, Ari blew out a disgruntled sigh. “Namely my sister.”
Considering us sleeping together hadn’t been part of my plan, I sadly agreed, “And mine. It seems our sisters’ have an uncanny knack for bad timing. I’m amazed they aren’t banging the door down right now.” Rolling into his side, I drew circles through the smattering of dark hair across his chest.
“Give it time,” he groaned, stretching out his limbs along the length of the bed.
I furtively peered up at him. “Maybe we should make the most of the time alone? Persuading you to stay in bed for the rest of the day shouldn’t be too hard, should it?”
“Generally no…” he remarked candidly, darting a dark gaze down at me before sitting up and swinging his feet to the floor. “But we need to make an appearance before they do.” He twisted at the waist and skated a hand along the top of my thigh. “Come on.”
“Gimme a minute.”
“Okay.”
As Ari moved about the room, my intrepid gaze followed. Well-defined muscles in his arms and back rippled, flexing underneath flawless skin with each fluid motion. He bent down to scoop up his discarded clothes off the floor, and my head tilted, highly appreciating the lovely sight of his rounded rear.
Slipping his shorts over his feet, he tugged them the rest of the way up wearing a knowing smile. “What’s the matter? Is my hair a mess?”
“You have seriously bad bed hair,” I teased, my amused gaze watching him as he approached the mirror and adjusted the thick strands, so they were just so. And here I thought I was terrible.
“Better?” he asked, swinging back to me.
“Much. Now come here.” I crawled to the foot of the bed and rose to my knees in full view of Ari’s searing gaze. Although slickened with his seed between my thighs, I couldn’t help but want him again. “Make love to me again.”
A long finger stroked my cheek as curious eyes studied me. “Demanding little thing, aren’t you?”
“Always,” I whispered, grabbing the edge of his shorts to haul him back to the bed. That time, my mouth and tongue commanding him.
Chapter Six
Ari
FRESHLY SHOWERED, and satisfied, Teddy and I eventually decided we needed to move past the bedroom and join everyone outside before someone came breaking the door down. Thankfully, no one hadn’t.
My steps slowly faltered in the doorway as I saw the reason why. My sister was otherwise preoccupied – with bloody Damien, my father’s new junior associate of all people. Won’t our father be pleased when he discovers their little dalliance?
My sudden stop caused Teddy to run directly into my back. Noticing my deathly glare, she circled me to my front, her chin jerking towards the unsightly view.
“Leave it,” she firmly whispered, hastily turning her irate gaze back on me.
“Yeah right, like that’s going to happen,” I scoffed stepping onto the patio to the sound of jeering wolf whistles and loud clapping, distracting us away from our little disagreement.
I slung an arm around Teddy’s shoulders, chuckling as she buried her crimson face in my shoulder. “Okay, settle down you bunch of degenerates. We’re aware you’re all just as delighted as I am, but please, my poor girls blushing like a tomato.” The poking comment earned me a smack to the chest. Feisty. I had better watch myself.
Snaking my other arm around her, I pulled her closer and pressed my lips to her temple as my narrowed gaze furtively observed the cosy couple over the top of her head. My jaw ticking tightly as the pet project whispered sickly-sweet nothings in her ear, leaving Dominique in a fit of riotous giggles.
“I’d need more wine for that,” she murmured, biting down on her lip, and looking at him like …. Ugh, I now had a ghastly image seared into my brain. I needed a drink, something stiff preferably. Oh Christ, another gruesome image worse than the last one just gave me third-degree burns.
“I’ll be right back,” I heard her say as she jumped off his lap, not before performing a lap dance much to the drooling idiots' delight. My watchful gaze following her as she sauntered into the kitchen, an opportunity that was well worth seizing.
“I’ll be back shortly.” Cupping Teddy’s cheek with my palm, I gently pressed my mouth to hers. Ever so slightly, I pulled back. With a well-shaped eyebrow raised questioningly at me, I simpered, “I need to take care of something.”
The shake of the head said it all; I was in the shit. Already.
Dominique’s happiness was apparent as she strolled back inside the house. She hummed, retrieving another two bottles of Pinot Grigio from the bar fridge in the butler’s pantry, twisting their lids off at the island bench.
“What do you want, Ari?”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I snorted; our mother certainly hadn’t raised a fool. “Is dad aware his new protégée came home with you last night?” I asked glowering at her over the marble counter.
“No, he doesn’t,” Dominique haughtily informed. “And you aren’t going to tell him either. Daddy doesn’t need to know,” she boldly added. Attitude plus that one. Whatever happened to my sweet, innocent baby sister?
I scowled. “What were you thinking, Dom? Bringing him home
