Kiss This (18 page)

“You said no sex, but nothing about being
naked in front of you,” she said, her hands reaching behind her to
unclasp the bra as she walked away from him.

“You beguiling woman,” she heard him say as
she entered her bedroom. Laughing to herself, she headed for the
shower.

***

Teague waited a minute before he scooped up
the dress and slowly headed for her bedroom. He paused at the
partially opened door where her bra hung on the knob. He shook his
head with a smile, but because he could hear the shower running, he
peeked inside. The bathroom door was closed, so he entered the
room.

He dropped onto the bed and grabbed the
remote from the nightstand, but not before noticing what was right
next to it.

His heart. His stupid little carved soap
heart sat on her nightstand.

He grinned. Why that thrilled him was beyond
his understanding, but he quite liked the fact that it was there,
right by her bed.

Teague turned the TV on, at least glad he’d
have something to distract him if she walked out completely naked.
Hell, who was he fooling? If Camryn came out naked, of course he’d
gawk at her. He’d seen half of her naked before and it was fucking
amazing.

Ten minutes later he heard a hair dryer
running. It was only on a few minutes and then he heard the
doorknob rattle.

“Sorry I don’t have satellite or anything,”
she said, stepping towards the bed. She was wearing a blue tank top
and plaid pajama shorts, and before she climbed onto the bed with
him, she flipped off the main light and turned on a lamp
instead.

“I’m obviously not here for the TV
stations,” he smiled, receiving her in his arms when she scooted
against him.

He slid his hand behind her neck as her lips
came to his. A thrill shot through him as they repeated their kiss
from the parking lot, only this time she was lying against him and
his hands groped her ass automatically. Holy shit, she had the
nicest ass he’d ever touched. If she was offended that he was
rubbing his hands over it, she didn’t show it. In fact, she was
kissing him deeper, her thigh getting dangerously close to his
growing hard-on.

As much as he didn’t want to stop, he pulled
away and kissed her forehead to end it, and she laid her head on
his chest with a soft sigh.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she murmured,
cuddling close to him.

Kissing the top of her head he replied, “Me
too.” He liked the way she smelled, but it reminded him of
breathing in his sheets after she left town. The scent of her had
lingered and he loved and hated it at the same time. He didn’t like
how he felt inside after she left.

Camryn made a comment about the nineties
movie that was on and nestled closer into him. Teague explained
some of the background that pertained to that particular film and
she listened with interest.

“You sound like a movie junkie,” she
teased.

He paused briefly and replied, “Yeah, I kind
of am.”

Camryn closed her eyes when he started
playing with her hair. She sighed with contentment and Teague was
aware of the very moment she nodded off. It was just like the night
at his house and he was surprised she fell asleep so quickly.

He stayed for three more hours. He told
himself he’d only watch the rest of the movie, but when it was
over, he decided to watch the next one as well. At five in the
morning he had to force himself to be separated from her. He tucked
the extra pillow next to her and made sure she was still covered by
the blanket, and then kissed her forehead and turned off the
lamp.

As he made his way down the hall he heard
the front door open. He watched Melanie quietly slip into the
house, and since there was a lamp on in the living room, she wasn’t
too startled to see him there.

She raised her eyebrows. “Sneaking out?”

“Sneaking in?” he smirked at her.

“I don’t have a curfew, Inferno. I just
always hope my sister is actually getting some sleep and don’t want
to wake her.”

“She sleeps like she’s in a coma.”

Melanie was clearly surprised. “Really?
That’s odd. Camryn hardly ever sleeps. So why
are
you
leaving? That’s kind of rude, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, it could be. But I already told her I
wasn’t staying.”

Before Melanie could make a response, he
said goodnight and let himself out. When he got to his truck, the
first thing he did was pull out his phone to send a text:

I’m back. Got any work for me?

Chapter Seventeen

“Well holy shit, he’s alive,” a gruff female
voice stated.

Teague was sprawled face down on the bed but
pulled the pillow off the back of his head and peeked at her,
trying to focus. “Oh. Hey, Kell.”

“No one said you were coming back. What’s
up, Teague? You here for good?”

He rolled over and squinted at the room
that’d been filling with sunlight for the past several hours as
Kellie sat at the end of his bed. “Not sure. Maybe.”

“You here for something in particular?”

Stretching, he sat up. “Do I have to be?
Can’t I be in my own home without reporting to you?”

She gave a short laugh. “Of course. I was
just curious.” She watched him for a moment, checking him over for
anything new. His chest was bare but there were no crazy tattoos or
anything unusual on his body. “You okay? Last I talked to Jay you
were, you know, not doing good. That was a few weeks ago. You won’t
call me back.”

“I texted you back.”

“Not the same thing. Texting ‘I’m fine’
doesn’t say much. And then with my smartass brother telling me shit
like you’re dressing in drag, or hitting the gay bars, or picking
up prostitutes… What am I supposed to think?”

Teague smiled but didn’t give her a verbal
response.

“So…you going back to work?” she asked.

“Don’t know. Depends.”

“On what? The right job?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

She paused and glanced away when she asked,
“You seen your dad yet?”

“Fuck no,” he said, yanking the covers off.
He climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom in his
boxers.

“Do you plan on it?” Kellie called after
him.

He didn’t answer for several seconds.
“Probably not,” he finally said. When he returned to the bedroom,
his cousin was still sitting on the bed. “You gonna talk to
your
dad?” he smiled.

“Fuck no,” she chuckled. “God, we’re from
such a stupid family. I heard about Christmas,” she smirked. “My
dad was at his finest, huh?”

“Yep. He was already drunk by the time we
got there. His girlfriend is nice, but without a spine.”

“That’s what I hear. And I’m sure my dad
will keep it that way. The McCallan men are such fucking studs,”
she laughed sarcastically. “I can’t believe he ended up in that
small cow town. Five years ago he wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere
but big city.”

“Drugs and alcohol will do that to a
person,” Teague said, pulling on a pair of jeans. He grabbed a
t-shirt from the dresser and slipped it on. “Jay made an effort
but…”

“I know,” she shrugged. “Oh well. What’s my
brother still doing there? How come he didn’t come with you?”

Teague stuck his wallet in his back pocket
and grabbed his keys. “I’m not sure how many days of work he
decided to finish. He’s been rebuilding a Camaro and they were just
about to start painting it. I caught a flight before he gave me an
answer.”

“So what’d you do, just up and leave? I
thought you were working in a surf shop?”

“I quit.”

“And…just headed south? You got your
breather?”

He barely shrugged. “Kind of. I met a
girl.”

Kellie’s jaw dropped open. “A girl? Really?
What’s her name?”

“Camryn. She lives in Fresno but was up in
Oregon visiting her mom.”

Kellie shook her head at him. “I can’t
believe you chased a girl, Teague. Oh my God. Fresno? That’s a few
hours north.”

“I know.”

“So have you seen her yet?”

“Yeah, last night. Well, I got home early
this morning.”

“Dog.”

He smiled as he slipped some shoes on.
“Wasn’t like that.”

“So tell me about her.”

“Maybe later. I gotta meet up with Glen, but
first I need to run some errands.” He playfully messed up her dyed
maroon hair and said, “See ya, cuz.”

***

“Melanie!” Camryn shouted from the front
room. She stood with her arms over her chest with a
less-than-pleased expression.

“What?” her sister asked, entering the room.
She noticed the extra visitor right away and squealed. “Ooh, he’s
here! Hi, Tucker!”

“What the fuck is that?” Camryn growled.

“It’s called a dog, you freak.”

Camryn sighed. “I know it’s a damn dog, but
why is it in my house?”

“Because we’re going to doggysit for the
week.”

Camryn took a deep breath to keep calm.
“Some guy brings his dog over, hands him to me, and says, ‘She can
call if she has any questions.’ I say, ‘What the hell is this?’ and
he says ‘It’s Tucker, tell her thanks again, I gotta go.’ ”

“He’s going to New York for the week.”

“And he didn’t have the decency to talk to
you in person when he dropped off his mutt?”

“I just talked to him on the phone. I was
just out of the shower so I said to drop him off with you.”

Camryn rolled her eyes. “And when were you
going to tell me this?”

“Sorry, last night was kind of crazy. I
didn’t get home until after five. About the time Inferno was
leaving,” she smirked.

Camryn’s interest was piqued. “You saw him
leave?”

“Yep. So let’s talk about that instead…”

“No, let’s not. Tell me about this stupid
dog and how you’re going to take care of it when you’re
working.”

“Well, I just…figured you’d help me
out.”

“Well you figured wrong. I hate dogs.”
Camryn left for the kitchen and Melanie trailed behind, calling the
dog to follow.

“You’ll love this dog, I swear. He’s so
quiet and he listens well. That’s what I was told, at least. And he
just needs to be pet once in a while. See?” She bent down to
awkwardly pat the dog on the head.

“Oh, you’re a natural,” Camryn laughed
sarcastically.

“Hey,” Melanie scoffed. “I’m just…not used
to dogs. We were never allowed to have one.”

“I get that, but you did this because it was
for a guy. Tell me about him.”

“He was cute, right?”

“Sort of.”

“Sort of? He’s
super
cute. His name
is Henry.”

“
Henry
?” Camryn coughed. “Good lord,
Mel. Since when are you interested in men that aren’t named Trick,
or Razor, or…Douchebag.”

“You’re so rude,” she laughed. “And you
should see this guy in a suit and tie—”

Camryn choked on her juice. “Are you kidding
me?!”

“Hey, shut up!” Melanie laughed. “He works
at the offices across the street.”

“He’s a lawyer?”

Melanie partially shrugged.

“Yeah, and how old is he?” Camryn narrowed
her eyes.

“Twenty, um, something…”

“Twenty-something?”

“Okay, so I’m not exactly sure how old he
is. But he’s new to the area and doesn’t know many people. He had a
business trip and—”

“And you told him you’re an expert
dogsitter.”

“No, just that I liked dogs a lot and if he
wanted some help…”

Camryn sighed. “You have this guy’s number
then?”

“Yes,” she nodded.

Camryn looked at the pile of dog items she’d
dropped by the door. “Fine, go get his things organized and leave
Henry’s phone number on the white board.”

“Okay. Thanks Cam!”

Melanie skipped across the room, a big brown
furry ass following her when she called him.

“Do we even know what kind of dog this is?”
Camryn asked, looking him over from a distance. He was entirely
brown, but had the face of a St. Bernard. He wasn’t that large
though, maybe the size of a Lab, but he was a cute dog.

“I have no idea,” Melanie shrugged.

“Well text or call and find out. I hate not
knowing stuff like that.”

“Hey, where’d the flowers come from?”
Melanie asked, noticing the large bouquet of lilies and roses by
the couch. “My heavens, they’re gorgeous! I can smell them from
across the room. There’s no note,” she stated, snooping through the
arrangement. Camryn was already smiling when Melanie turned to face
her. “Are these from Teague? Ooh, you’re so lucky!” she
squealed.

Camryn had already squealed over them after
they’d been delivered that morning, so she couldn’t help but be
excited over her sister’s approval.

“What’d the note say? You aren’t going to
keep it from me, are you?” she pouted.

Camryn lightly laughed, but Mel was actually
a romantic soul like herself and she didn’t want to hide such a
sweet and thoughtful gesture. “It just said, ‘Miss you like crazy,
can’t wait to see you again.’ ”

“Oh my God,” Melanie gushed. “How frickin’
sweet. So is Teague coming over again?”

With a shrug Camryn brushed her chicken
breasts with marinade. “I don’t know. He said he had some stuff to
do today.”

“While he’s down here visiting you?”

“He’s got family down here. I know Jay’s
sister lives somewhere nearby, at least. Teague’s cousin.”

Melanie sat on a stool at the counter. “Tell
me about last night, Cam. Please?”

Camryn faced her sister, fully aware that
Melanie was dying to know. She felt like sharing too, but didn’t
know where to start. “Well, he was kind of bugged that I left
Oregon without saying goodbye.”

“He had good reason.”

“I know. I apologized.”

“And?”

“And?”

“You let him kiss you, Camryn. That is…so
huge. You said you were never going to kiss a guy unless—”

“You don’t have to remind me.”