“Wow,” Kimber breathed. “This is gorgeous. Luc has wonderful taste.” Why did women always say that? Normally, men with “wonderful taste” were gay, but he knew firsthand that Luc was as straight as he was.
For the first time in ages—no, ever—Deke regretted Luc’s heterosexuality. If not for that and his interest in Kimber, Deke might find a way to have her all to himself, legs spread from one end of the bed to the other while he alone climbed between them and fucked her.
No! In all the ways that mattered, she was his worst memory come back to life.
Not that she actually was Heather, but…close enough. Like he had for the past twelve years, since that terrible summer, he was going to share the woman and just be happy for the great sex.
“Luc enjoys decorating and cooking and shit.”
“He’s wonderful.” Her hazel eyes lit up as they traveled the room.
Deke shoved aside a prickle of irritation. Luc was damn good with cooking and decorating, so of course, she was going to be impressed. But she’d come here for sex, and he vowed that when it came to that, he’d impress the hell out of her.
Pivoting, he exited the office and made his way to the end of the hall. He shoved the door open and tossed her duffle bag in.
“This is Luc’s room.”
Spacious, an eclectic blend of modern and Tuscan, technology and Old World.
Taupes, olives, and gold with a splash of red, along with a cozy king-sized bed, invited women to come in and get…comfortable. It bothered him like hell that Kimber wouldn’t be the exception.
She glanced at her bag on the floor of Luc’s room, then at his bed. “I’ll be staying here?”
Deke swallowed and tried not to picture Kimber naked on Luc’s bed, tried not to picture the two of them alone sleeping, touching, fucking, while a few walls separated him. The thought charged a violent surge of fury all the way to his fists.
He clenched them to keep still.
Kimber sleeping with Luc…it was better this way. Less temptation. Luc slept like the dead most nights. Deke didn’t have that luxury. And if he wasn’t lying right next to the woman who’d most revved his libido in the last decade when the next sleepless midnight rolled around, he couldn’t caress her silken skin, whisper naughty suggestions to her, and sweet-talk his way into her pussy. And he’d want to. Hell, he wanted to now.
Bad, bad sign.
“Yeah. Luc has the bigger bed. I sometimes have trouble sleeping. I wouldn’t want to keep you awake.”
Kimber turned slowly and shot him a considering stare. “I know you think I’m making a mistake, and that you’re not thrilled about helping me…” She was both right and wrong. Her being here, learning from him and Luc, it was a double-edged sword. Deke did think she was making a mistake. Kimber just didn’t strike him as the kind of woman who could make ménage a way of life. But to indulge his purely selfish need to touch her, he’d give her a thorough education.
Still, he hated like hell that she wanted to learn all about ménage so she could please pretty-boy Jesse McCall—a rock star who likely had a willing hoard of groupies in every city around the globe and would eventually break her heart. Hell, as long as he was being honest, he didn’t even want to share her with Luc.
Whoa! They were more like brothers than cousins, and since that disastrous summer with Heather, he and Luc had shared damn near everything, damn near every woman. And here he was admitting that he wanted Kimber all to himself.
Confession couldn’t be good for his soul, Deke decided, since he felt like shit.
Kimber reached out, touched his arm, making him want to crawl out of his clothes and put her flat on Luc’s bed. Fuck dinner. Some crazed part of him was nearly ready to ditch his resolution never again to take a woman to bed alone.
“But,” she murmured, “I’m not trying to make your life difficult. I promise. I know you don’t really want me here.”
No, he really did want her here, way more than he should. And Kimber was a smart girl; she’d figure that out before too long. “It’s fine.” He shut the door to Luc’s bedroom—and the disturbing images of his cousin and Kimber entwined alone together—then stomped back down the hall. They passed through the living room again, then down another hall.
“Game room.” He pointed to the spacious room with a minibar and a pool table that, thanks to Luc, managed to have enough class to avoid looking like it belonged in a bachelor pad.
“Den.” Deke pointed to another room that held a big-screen TV, a pair of leather sofas, a couple of gaming consoles—and perfectly masculine window treatments.
Leave it to Luc to think that a man’s domain needed freakin’ drapes.
“We chill here. There’s a library of both books and movies on the shelves along the back wall. So if you’re ever bored…”
“Thanks. Right now, I’m studying for my nursing exams so I imagine a lot of my time will be devoted to that, at least when we’re not…busy.” Color flushed her cheeks again. Her perfectly pale skin didn’t allow her to hide from much. The thought thrilled him. The more aroused she got the rosier her skin would turn. Damn, what a fucking turn-on.
Deke ducked behind one of the sofas to hide his erection and grimaced. How the hell was he going to hold it together through the two-hour affair Luc liked to make out of dinner? At the moment, he’d give anything for fast-food burgers—as long as everyone was willing to eat them naked.
“During most days, it’s quiet in here, so it will be a good place to study. Now you’ve seen pretty much the whole house. There’s a hot tub outside.” She frowned. “Dang it, I didn’t bring a suit.”
“Even if you had, you wouldn’t be wearing it.”
“Oh. Well—”sexual awareness dawned, brightening her hazel eyes—“I see.” She sipped her wine, then bit her lip again, and Deke was damn near ready to leap over the couch, pin her to a wall, and get her out of her clothes.
“That makes sense.” She sent him a flustered smile. “You’re going to see everything, anyway.”
Yeah. He was going to do a lot more than see it. That moment couldn’t come soon enough for him.
“Dinner!” Luc yelled from the kitchen.
Thankful to commence the next two hours of razor-sharp anticipation so they could get on to the big show, Deke walked Kimber back to the center of the house.