Fireworks: A Holiday Bad Boy Romance (17 page)

"Fuck it up?" Her smile faded a
little as she stopped moving. "Is that what you think a night together
would do?"

"Do you want a night together? Cause
I can give you that." I licked at my lips as my heart started to race.

What
the fuck was I doing?
I was unwinding the calm between us and
driving us back to her being defensive and me being back on the chase. It had
been three days. Three days and she was softening. I wanted her to open up to
me, but for some reason, it felt like sex would be the end of things, not the
beginning. Was I refusing sex with her?
No
fucking way.

"A night?" She moved back
another step and wrapped her arms around herself. Hurt brushed across her
features, but she seemed to be working to hide it from me. "Anyway, I
guess the ambiance and the music made me think... You know what, never mind. It
was stupid."

She turned and I reached for her, but she
wasn't having any of it, anymore. I walked behind her until we made it to the
restaurant and stopped beside the bikes.

"I think I'm going to walk. Thanks
for dinner. It was great." She gave me a half wave and turned, walking
across the street without waiting on a reply from me at all.

"What the fuck just happened?" I
pressed my hands to my face and let out a low growl before walking back out on
the sandy shore of the lake and sighing loudly.

How the hell had we gone from having a
great dinner to her leaving before I even got a kiss in or learned anything
more about her?

Had she wanted sex? Just sex? Was she like
every other woman around here?

"Fuck this life," I mumbled and
stared out at the water, unsure of what to do, but too mentally fried to figure
it out.

Chapter 18

Three
Days Later

Brody

I pressed my arms to the railing on the
deck and turned my head to give Clay a look. He'd been after me to talk about
what happened between me and Cora since Wednesday, but I didn't have anything
to say.

"Dude, I fucked up. Okay? Lay the
fuck off of me over it. I'm not telling you again." I stood up and pushed
my chest out a little, warning him that I was done talking and ready to hand
out an ass-whooping to the next idiot that brought her up.

"You can blow up to someone else,
Brody. I'm your best friend, and we've been watching you mope around this
fucking cabin for three days. At least tell me why?" He moved up closer,
pressing his chest to mine.

"There's nothing to say." I
pushed him back as I deflated. "I like her, okay? I can't remember another
time liking someone this much. I want to know what her favorite candy is and
where she likes to read books or shop for panties or...ugh. I like her,
shit."

"That's great news. Why are you so
damned depressed?" He patted my back as I leaned back over. "Hell,
why is she so depressed? What did you do on Wednesday? Something got fucked up.
What was it?"

I pressed my face into my hands and
growled. "I know. Fuck. I know."

"What?" He moved up beside me
and pressed his shoulder against mine. "Stop being a dick and just talk to
me."

I glanced over at him. "I need to
leave it alone, Clay. I know you think I should make amends and fix this thing
with her, but I'm pretty sure she's the kind of girl that could have me
swearing off all others. I don't want that right now, and I'm telling you, she
deserves far better than me."

"Did you guys fuck?" He turned
and glanced out toward the lake.

"No, but she wanted to. Or I think
she did." I stood up and rubbed my chest just over my heart. The dull ache
inside of me wouldn't seem to go away. "Maybe I need to find some other
chick and just lose myself in the carnality of sex for the afternoon."

"I think you should fix this shit,
but then again, I'm a different kind of guy than you are. I like long-term.
Being with one woman feels good—right." He shrugged. "If you need a
fuck-fest to get you past this depression shit, then get to it. It's almost the
Fourth of July and we're going to have fun—together, which means Cora will be
there. I'm not choosing between you and Emily. That's not happening, and as
selfish as you've been our whole fucking lives, you own me this shit."

"You're right." I stood up and
pulled my phone from my pocket. "I'll hook up with some hot piece of ass
this afternoon and get my mojo back. Cora's a great girl, but I bit off more
than I could chew, Clay. She's like the catch of all catches. I'm not grown up
enough for that shit yet."

"I agree." He patted my back and
went into the house, leaving me with my tarnished thoughts. I should have just
taken her back to the house and made love to her all night, given her anything
she wanted, but I couldn't.

I wouldn't have been able to sneak out
before the sun came up and ignore her for the rest of the summer. How she'd
gone from ignoring me and talking trash to wanting to be close to me so quickly
was almost stifling. Had her friends convinced her that I was a better man than
I was? Fuck, had my friends helped to convince her? Someone had because her
change of heart was almost overnight.

"Help!" an attractive girl
yelled from across the street, her face a mask of terror as she waved her arms
at me and turned to dive into the water.

"Shit." I jumped over the
railing and ran to the water to see what she was screaming about. A kayak was
sitting a little ways into the lake, but it was turned upside down. She was
swimming furiously toward it, but not getting there fast. I raced down the dock
and dove in, swimming hard until I reached it and forced it over with all of my
strength.

The little boy in the thing couldn't have
been more than ten years old. He took in a deep breath as I reached over and
rubbed his chest.

"It's okay, buddy. You're okay. You
good?"

He glanced over at me as he bit his lip,
fighting back tears like I would have done, as well. He nodded, and I moved
back as the woman reached him and half crawled into the thing, crying and
patting his face.

I pulled the kayak back to shore and made
sure it was secure before walking back up. The girl called to me and I turned
around, offering her a kind smile.

"Thank you so much." She helped
the little boy out and walked up to me, pressing her hands to my chest.
"I'm Vanessa. I can't thank you enough."

"Is he your son?" I looked
around her and smiled at the kid, grateful as hell that he was okay.

"No. My brother. I was supposed to be
watching, but I closed my eyes for five damn minutes." She pressed her
hand to her lips and shook her head. "Thank you so much."

"No problem. I'm Brody." I moved
back a little and extended my hand. Her bathing suit was tight and looked damn
good on her, though it really didn't seem the time to hit on her.

"Listen," she glanced around before
looking back up at me, "I was going to take Charlie home in a few minutes
and then hopefully catch a ride out to the island. You're not headed that way
are you?"

"Yeah, we're going out there in about
fifteen minutes. We'll give you a ride." I smiled and waved at Charlie.
"Be safe, kid."

"Yeah, thanks." He nodded and
turned to pull his kayak out of the water.

"I'll be here in fifteen
minutes." She smiled shyly, though something told me she wasn't at all the
shy type.

I turned and jogged back to the house to
find Daniel standing outside, watching the show.

He clapped his hand and shook his head.
"Bravo. That was pretty damn cool."

"What? It was nothing." I walked
up the stairs and reached for a towel that was hanging over the edge. After
wiping myself off, I stripped out of my shirt and rolled my shoulders.
"She's going with us to the island in a few minutes. Let's load up."

"You just got a date over saving her
son? Do you even sleep with chicks that have kids? Aren't they a little
more..."

"Needy?" I rolled my eyes and
popped him with the towel. "It was her brother, but you're being quite
judgmental for a doctor, aren't you?"

"I didn't mean it like that. Never
mind." He shook his head and dropped down onto the bench next to him.
"Hey, guess what?"

"What?" I stopped before going
into the cabin and glanced back over my shoulder.

"I asked Dedra out, and she said
yes." He smiled widely as his cheeks colored pink.

I stifled a chuckle. "Like out on a
date or out like she's your girlfriend?"

"Like a date. Do people really ask
each other out like boyfriend-girlfriend anymore?"

"No clue. Either way, that's cool as
hell. Congrats, man. It would seem that your balls have finally dropped."
I winked at him and walked into the house to the sound of him berating me.
"Let's go, fuckers. I want to get out of here for a little while and go
out to the island. You guys coming?"

"Yep." Derek got up from the
couch and stretched. "Are the girls going with us?"

"Nope. It's a guy’s afternoon. We're
taking a hot little number out to the island with us, but we'll drop her off
and go play some volleyball or something." I rolled my shoulders and
turned as Clay stopped by the opening to the kitchen.

"What hot little number?" He
asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just fucking left you on the
porch, and you already got some girl's digits?"

"You know it. Some chick whose
brother was drowning, and I saved his scrawny ass." I beat on my chest
like Tarzan. "I'm a hero; she wants to pay me back. She's a good girl,
obviously."

He rolled his eyes. "I swear, dude.
You're impossible to figure out."

"Like a human-sized Rubik’s
cube." I grabbed my swim trunks from the basket by the couch and stripped
out of my shorts before tugging my trunks on.

"Come on, man. Shit." Derek
covered his eyes and stopped by the couch.

"Jealousy doesn't look good on you, Derek."
I laughed and turned, walking back out to find Daniel on the phone, laughing
with someone. It was cute, too cute, and left me wanted to gag toward him. It
made me want to see Cora again. "Let's go."

I jogged back down to the boat and got
everything situated as the other guys walked down the pier. Vanessa walked up a
few minutes later in a much more revealing bikini.

"Damn," someone muttered behind
me.

"Right?" I reached up and smiled
at her. "Hey, you. Your brother okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks again, Brody." She
reached down and slid into my arms, fitting almost too well. Guilt blasted
through me, but I couldn’t find a reason to hold onto it. I was doing Cora a
favor. Having come to respect the beautiful brunette over the course of a week
or less, I was taking a step back and leaving her alone because she was too
much woman for me. Plain and simple. I'd never admit it in a million years, but
the fact still remained.

"Guys, this is Vanessa." I moved
back, releasing her and getting into the driver's seat. The guys greeted her as
I started the boat. "You just need a lift to the island?"

"Yeah, and a date for the big Fourth
of July party they’re throwing out here. I don't suppose some lucky girl already
has you for the night?" She gave me a sexy smile that should have thrown
my hormones in overdrive, but I felt nothing but a small thrill over the fact
that my favorite holiday was coming up.

"I'll give you my number, and we can
talk about it later. I'm pretty sure I have plans, but if not, I'm all
yours." I winked at her and turned back to the wheel before pulling on the
gearshift and hitting the gas.

The boat picked up speed fast, and I moved
us easily in between the various boats around us. The wind felt good in my hair
and rushing past my skin. I should have been enamored with the beautiful blonde
beside me, but I couldn't seem to find any desire to do much more than press
the gas harder and push my luck with the speed of the boat.

"Hey. Slow your wild ass down, or
you're going to get us a ticket. Shit." Clay patted my shoulder, reminding
me that there were rules that even I had to keep to.

"Sorry, man." I glanced up and
looked over to find Veronica watching me closely. I winked at her again before
pulling my glasses out of the container below the dash. I was going to force
myself to pay her a bit of attention, but it wouldn't come naturally. I
couldn't shake the thought of how badly I wanted it to be Cora watching me like
that, fucking me ten ways to Sunday in her mind.

I pulled up to the dock, slowing down
significantly and smiling over at Veronica. "We're here, pretty girl. You
need help off?"

"Are you not coming?" She stood
and moved just beside me.

The guys got off and left me to deal with
the girl and the anchor on the boat. I stifled the need to sigh and stood up as
Veronica reached out and brushed her hands over my chest.

"I'm coming. I just wanted to let you
get to your friends or whoever you're meeting over here." I reached out
and gripped her narrow hips, not really having anywhere else to rest my hands.

"Then, I'll help you and we can go
together. I owe you for helping me this morning." She took a step toward
me, filling the space in between us and sliding her hand up my chest to cup the
back of my neck.

"No need to pay me back." I kept
a firm grip on her, not quite sure I could spend the afternoon with a girl I
wasn't interested in.

"I want to." She pulled me down
and lifted to her toes, pressing her mouth to mine and brushing her tongue
across my lips. I opened up and let her in, sucking on her tongue and closing
my eyes so that I could imagine her to be Cora. It was horrible, and yet ever
cell in my body woke up at the idea of it.

I pulled her closer and ran my hands over
her ass, letting my fingers play along the side of her bathing-suit as she
groaned softly into my mouth.

"So hot," I whispered against
her lips and tugged at the soft curves of her rear to press my budding erection
more firmly against her tummy.

"Let's go find somewhere to get lost
in each other." She nipped at my lips as I opened my eyes.

I had to force myself not to take a step
back. Instead, I dropped down into my seat and reached for her, tugging her
into my lap and clasping my hand over her thighs, the other around the back of
her neck as I brought her down for another wave of kisses.

My eyes closed, and I was right back there
again, the woman in my lap none other than the intelligent, sexy, rich girl
that was sure to spike my pulse from afar for the rest of the summer. Every
girl could be her. I could do this. No big deal.

"Cora," I mumbled against the girl’s
mouth as I dove in deep, greedy in my need to claim her as my own.