Kiss This (6 page)

“Good. So on to
your
terms,” he
continued. “If
I
lose—which I won’t—what do
you
get?”

She gave him a sweet smile and answered,
“Well I don’t waste my time with losers, so it’s pretty obvious.
You lose, you’re not worth my time. And I’m not nice enough to give
you a second chance.”

“God, you are a ball of fire!” he laughed.
“It’s a deal. I’ll follow your stupid rule and won’t kiss you for a
week. You can count on it.”

Shit, for some reason she could tell he was
going to win this bet. The confidence this guy had was off the
charts. Her damn attempt at a buffer was going to backfire on
her.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked her
suddenly.

“What?”

“You know, a boyfriend. Is that why I can’t
kiss you? So you don’t feel like you’re cheating on your boyfriend?
Then if he ever finds out, you can honestly say you’ve never kissed
me.”

She leaned away just slightly. “That’s the
stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Hey, chicks like to work their wiles all
different ways.”

His eyes were molten by now. Even in the
dark Camryn could tell how tense he was. “Well I’m not that kind of
person, Teague. And I don’t have a boyfriend, but I have a guy back
home that I go out with on occasion. We’re just friends,
though.”

“And he’s not considered a boyfriend?”

“I don’t have boyfriends,” she shrugged.
“I’d rather not be tied down with one. They’re needy and whiny, and
a huge pain in my ass.”

Teague studied her curiously. “Man, I could
say the same thing about girls but probably sound like a total
asshole.”

Camryn pulled her phone out of her pocket
and scrolled through it. “His name is Brandon. Wanna ask him?” She
held up the phone so Teague could see his name and number.

“No,” he scoffed. “But send him a text to
tell him it’s over; you’re seeing someone else.”

She slowly smiled, partly because of the
newness of this arrangement, but mostly because his command was so
sexy. “I told you, we’re just friends. If I told him ‘it’s over,’
he’d be confused.”

He stared at her for a second, studying her
carefully. “It’s that casual, huh?”

Returning the phone to her pocket she
shrugged. “He’s not my type. It’s no loss for him.” Teague’s eyes
narrowed and Camryn could sense his disapproval. “He likes to see
other people, too,” she told him honestly.

“Why the hell would he see other people when
he’s got
you
?”

She forced a smile to hide the massive hole
in her heart. “There’s not much of me to even have, Teague. You’ll
learn that soon enough.”

“Now that sounds like another
challenge.”

“It’s not meant to be. It’s a
disclaimer.”

“Don’t we all come with one? I’ve got
issues, too. I don’t let people get close to me, either. I’d rather
keep my shit in the closet without feeling obligated to share just
because I’ve been with a girl for more than a day.”

Camryn could feel her face turn pale. He was
stating it to her as if she’d already admitted the same thing. I’ve
got issues,
too
; I don’t let people get close to me,
either.
She looked away from him and faced the railing. Was
she glad he’d said that or not? She didn’t like all this serious
talk. She wanted the fun and playful Teague to return.

She felt his presence behind her, and when
his hand softly gathered her hair and placed it over one shoulder,
she felt a shiver travel up her spine. But then she felt his
lips
just below her ear and she couldn’t stop herself from
swallowing, just like she couldn’t prevent her heart from beating
the hell out of her chest.

“This isn’t kissing you,” he whispered, his
breath and lips tickling her skin. “I’m just talking and happen to
be very, very close to you.”

Oh. Good. Lord.

Camryn could feel the heat sear into her
skin and it spread quickly. That was fear, right? Fear and panic
that wanted to consume her any time she considered moving on. But
there was something different this time. She didn’t feel the angry,
defensive reaction that she normally would. Was it because she
actually liked Teague? This was the guy she’d chosen to get her
back into the game, but she didn’t expect to actually feel
something between them.

She was glad the railing was right in front
of her because she might have to hold on.

Teague slid his arm around her waist and
placed his hand against her stomach, pressing her back to his
chest. His body was so warm that Camryn closed her eyes to actually
enjoy the heat against her. His other hand reached for her wrist
and brought it up to his mouth at the same time. He placed her
wrist to his mouth and said, “And this isn’t kissing you
either.”

His lips tickled her skin again and she was
already regretting her little challenge to him. She’d wanted to
shed herself of the fear she felt whenever she was around anyone
but Brandon, but really… What was she thinking orchestrating such a
bet?

And Teague was probably the
last
person she should be doing this with. He was way too charming; way
too playful and witty and just…too tempting. And he was going to
use every arrogant advantage he could in order to come out
victorious.

He dragged his lips softly along her forearm
and then whispered, “You must be freezing since your skin is so
full of goose bumps.” She could hear the triumph in his voice and
she wasn’t sure if she should beat his ass or just laugh about
it.

“Well it is about thirty-five degrees out
here,” she replied casually.

When he took both of his arms and wrapped
them tightly around her, she laid her head back against his
shoulder. It felt dangerously natural, especially since she warmed
up almost instantly.

He placed his cheek against hers and said,
“Come on, let’s go inside.”

After a tender act like that, Camryn was
afraid her legs wouldn’t move. But Teague took her hand in his and
she followed, grabbing her empty bottle from the railing on her way
by.

“Here, I’ll take that for you,” he said,
removing the bottle from her hand. He held the door for her as she
entered the house, and he stepped in behind her. “I’ll dispose of
this and meet you at the couch.”

She nodded as they parted for opposite
directions.

***

When Teague returned to the party, Camryn
was sitting on the arm of the couch this time since it was occupied
with Kyah and Jay, plus two others. Teague watched her from a
distance for a bit, trying his best to figure her out. She had
something that intrigued him, but it didn’t really matter. One
week. It was perfect. She’d be leaving town shortly after that and
he didn’t have to worry about anything more. He could do this. A
week and he could have this girl.

She smiled when he approached. “Did you get
lost along the way?” she asked.

He stood next to her and slid his arm around
her shoulder. Pressing his cheek against her head he replied,
“Nope. But if I ever do, I’ll always find my way back to you.”

Her body seemed to tense a little, but maybe
he was reading into it too much since her response wasn’t anything
he was expecting. “Well it was a polite way of assuming you were
taking a dump,” she replied dryly.

He lightly laughed as he squeezed onto the
arm of the couch behind her. “You’re such a mood killer,” he
whispered against her ear.

She laughed, but then she tensed again when
she looked across the room. She turned to him and said, “Can we get
out of here and grab some food or something? I feel violated just
by the way that guy looks at women.”

Teague was aware that Garrett was staring at
them, and even though he felt bad that Camryn was uncomfortable, he
was also glad. She’d literally laid into Garrett down in the
basement, but she was smart enough to avoid him in case he caused
more trouble.

“Let’s go,” Teague agreed with a nod.

He made sure Kyah could take Jay home, and
then they left.

Chapter Six

“Is it in the guy handbook that they all
have to name their vehicles with girl names?” Camryn asked. She was
feeling a little anxious being with Teague alone and was trying to
keep the conversation casual. He put the Jeep in park and shut the
lights off. The moon was out enough to see the white of the waves
ahead in the Pacific Ocean, so she focused on those.

“I’m not sure, but this Jeep belongs to my
buddy Quentin. He’s in Europe for a year. But Ruby is just a name,
not a nickname or whatever.”

“It’s a name but not a nickname?” she
smiled. “I’m thoroughly confused. You mean because it’s red?”

“Because it’s a Rubicon. It’s the specific
model.”

“Ah, that’s right,” she slowly nodded. “They
do usually say that on them, don’t they. Crossing the Rubicon,” she
murmured to herself.

“What?”

“Oh,” she shrugged. “It’s a saying. There’s
a river in Italy named the Rubicon. When Julius Caesar crossed it
with his army, it was said that his rebellion passed ‘the point of
no return.’ So the saying ‘crossing the Rubicon’ is sometimes
referred to as ‘the point of no return.’”

Teague raised his eyebrows. “God, brains
and
beauty. I don’t even know what to say.”

She smiled but continued. “Caesar even said
‘
alea iacta
est
.’ The die is cast.”

“Hmm, yeah rings a bell. History major?”

She took her time answering as she stared
ahead at the waves barely visible in the dark. “No, I didn’t go to
college.”

Teague didn’t reply at first and then asked,
“Was that your choice or…?”

“Yes and no,” she replied. “I’ll give you
the abbreviated version, okay?”

He smiled and said, “I’ll take
anything
you give me.”

For a moment, she faltered. She could see
him enough in the dark that his dimple was visible, and for some
reason, it was her Achilles heel. The attentive way he looked at
her didn’t help either.

“Well, my dad died when I was fifteen,” she
said. “My parents were already divorced for several years, but my
sister and I had lived with my dad for the most part. My mom ended
up marrying for the third time when I was a senior in high school.
She wanted to run off with Lyle and move up here, but me and Mel
wanted to stay and finish school in Fresno. My Uncle Tim ended up
taking us in—my dad’s brother—and we just ended up staying in the
area. I kept working and my sister kept playing and…not much has
changed, I guess.”

Teague seemed to take it all in and then
nodded. “Huh. So what kind of work do you do?”

“I’m a dancer.” She could tell that caught
him by surprise when he didn’t respond, so she added, “Before you
picture me naked, twirling around poles, let me just say that’s not
the kind of dancing I mean.”

His expression changed and his crooked smile
appeared again. “Pssh, I was not even thinking that. The poles
didn’t even enter my mind yet.”

She laughed and lightly backhanded his arm.
“But you did assume I was a stripper.”

“Well, yeah, for a brief moment…”

She thought he looked a little unsettled
about the idea so she asked, “And that would bother you? If I
were?”

He studied her for a second as he slowly
nodded his head. He leaned across the console until their faces
were twelve inches apart. “You’d have to quit, because there’s no
way in fucking hell that I would ever let any other guy see you
like that. In fact, if your boy toy has it in his fucked up head
that he’s getting in your pants when you get back, I’m gonna shove
his dick down his own throat.”

Her heart launched into overdrive. So he
thought Brandon was her friend with benefits, huh? Well, she
figured that was okay for now, although her chest was pounding
frantically because he was so close to her and because of his
possessiveness. But it was actually the first time a guy’s
arrogance didn’t royally piss her off, which was confusing.
However…

“I’ll let you know if you ever have that
kind of say in my life, okay?” she smiled evenly.

He didn’t answer her, and they continued to
stare at one another. Finally Camryn opened the door and stepped
out, a blast of wind curling around her body in an instant.

“Holy shit, that’s cold!” she shivered.

***

Teague remained in the Jeep when Camryn got
out, but his thoughts were still processing her previous challenge.
If
he has a say? How about
when…
“That would be New
Year’s,” he answered himself as he grabbed a blanket from the
backseat.

“Huh?” Camryn asked, rubbing her arms with
her hands.

He got out and shut the door, so she shut
hers too, and Teague smiled at her over the hood of the vehicle.
“Don’t you have something thicker than just that jacket?” he
asked.

“It’s all I brought. I didn’t even think
about needing thermal underwear when I left a sunny sixty-four
degrees behind.”

He came around the front of the Jeep and
unfolded the blanket. Stepping behind her, he wrapped it around her
body and held it there. Trying not to think about how good she
smelled and the fact that his junk was pressed against her lower
back, he said, “No worries. It’s working out just fine.”

“Are you warm enough?” she asked. She tilted
her head back at the same time, and their mouths were barely two
inches apart.

Teague felt like he was already wearing down
every time she was so close to him. It felt natural to be able to
kiss her in a moment like this, to find out with his tongue just
how good she tastes. But there was no way he was losing the bet.
He’d spend the week it would take just so he could sink inside of
her. It would be worth it.

He lifted his chin and set his cheek against
her forehead instead. “Just being this close to you heats me up
pretty good, Camryn. You keep the fire burning, beautiful.”