Chapter 26

CHAPTER26

“What the hell are you doing?” Bryce demanded as she grabbed her cellphone off the kitchen island and-

Sighed when she found herself placed on the edge of her kitchen island and her phone plucked out of her hand and placed on the kitchen island. That was followed by Bryce, who was back to glaring, she’d like to point out, coming closer until he was standing between her legs as he placed his hands on the kitchen island on either side of her hips, effectively blocking her in.

“I have no problem pissing your brother off,” Cayley managed to get out, calling his bluff, and she knew damn well that he was bluffing.

His eyes narrowed on her seconds before he reached over and picked her phone up and handed it to her. “Fine.”

Nodding, Cayley said, “I’ll do it.”

“Then, do it,” Bryce said, pulling his arms back so that he could cross them over his impressive chest while she sat there, struggling against the urge to wince because she really wasn’t sure that this was a good idea.

“I would, I really would,” Cayley said with a helpless shrug, following that up with a heartfelt sigh before adding, “but I don’t think that I can really do that, not when you haven’t answered my questions yet.”

“You haven’t asked me anything yet,” Bryce pointed out, not really looking like he was planning on backing off anytime soon, which may end up being a problem since she really didn’t feel like looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life.

God, Sean was going to kill her…

“Fine, then let’s get started,” Cayley said with a firm nod as she shifted to get more comfortable.

“Let’s,” Bryce said dryly.

When she only sat there, staring at him as she tried to come up with a way to get out of this, he said, “You’re bluffing.”

“Am I, though?” Cayley asked with a pitying look that was met with a pointed look down at her phone.

Telling herself that she wasn’t afraid of her best friend, Cayley cleared her throat, prayed that he was sleeping so that she could erase the message before he had a chance to see this. Swallowing hard, she looked down at her phone as she willed her fingers to work and typed Your brother is my favorite, before holding it up for Bryce to see.

Bryce didn’t even bother to look at it as he pointed out, “You didn’t send it.”

“Are we really back to this?” Cayley asked with a sad shake of her head as she put her phone back down and-

Oh, God…

“Ask away,” the man that reached over and pressed Send said, effectively ensuring that his brother was going to make her life a living hell.

“Why would you do that?” Cayley mumbled weakly as she grabbed her phone and-

This isn’t going to end well for you.

Not. At. All.

-forgot how to breathe when she saw the text messages waiting for her.

“Because I love tormenting you,” Bryce admitted. “Next question.”

“That wasn’t a question,” Cayley said as Bryce plucked the phone out of her hand and placed it back on the kitchen island.

“It really was, which means that it’s my turn to ask you a question,” Bryce said, making her frown.

“This is my interrogation,” Cayley said, folding her arms over her chest as she glared up at the large bastard that kept changing the rules.

“Are you afraid?” Bryce asked, dropping his hands so that he could place them back on the kitchen island as he leaned in closer and she had to admit that he might be better at this whole intimidation thing.

“Are you?” Cayley asked, cocking a brow in question as she did her best to keep up.

“Terrified,” Bryce murmured as his gaze dropped to her lips.

“As you should be,” Cayley said, licking her lips as she once again prepared herself for the harsh interrogation that she had no choice but to put him through, only to swallow hard as she watched the way his jaw clenched tightly, but not before he released a groan that sent her heartbeat racing and-

She was definitely in over her head on this one, Cayley decided as she sat there, watching him and found herself thinking about how much she liked it when he touched her, the way that he held her, and those mornings when she pretended to be asleep when he gently ran his fingertips over her back while she sat there thinking about just how badly she wanted to touch him again. She thought about the night they picked out a Christmas tree a lot, probably more than she should.

“How long have you been thinking about me?” Cayley found herself asking as she reached up and ran her hands over his chest, absently noting the way that his muscles jumped beneath her touch as she watched her hands move over him.

“Too long,” Bryce said hoarsely as his hands gripped the edge of the kitchen island as she moved her hands over him, enjoying the feel of warm, smooth skin beneath her touch.

“I’ve thought about you,” Cayley found herself admitting as she glanced up to find him watching her. She watched his jaw clench tightly as her gaze dropped back down to his chest as she pulled her hand back just far enough so that she was now running her fingertips over his chest and down his well-defined abs.

“How long?” Bryce asked, only to groan when she ran her fingertips down his chest and over his abs.

“Too long,” Cayley admitted as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his chest, only to smile when she heard the soft moan he released when she did it.

Curious to see if she could make him do it again, Cayley tilted her head back and pressed her lips against his throat, earning a groan and a muttered curse that had her tilting her head back more so that she could kiss the spot just beneath his chin. She loved the way that he responded, Cayley thought, turning her head back down so that she could kiss his throat as she started running her hands over him again.

“I thought you were interrogating me,” Bryce said, groaning as she kissed a path down his throat and moved her hands over his chest and down his stomach.

“I am,” Cayley said, unable to help but moan as she ran her hands along his sides before sliding them over his back. “This is the accelerated version.”

“Is that what this is?” Bryce murmured, only to groan again when she turned her head and kissed the side of his neck.

“How often do you think about me?” Cayley asked as she continued taking her time, kissing his neck as she ran her hands over his back as she thought about all those times that she found herself watching Bryce, thinking about him, and those times when Kevin’s touches weren’t enough.

She’d tried to stop thinking about him, tried not to think about how much she wanted him, how good it would feel to touch him, and when she couldn’t, she felt sick to her stomach. It wasn’t long before she’d started pulling her hand away when Kevin tried holding it, started avoiding his touch, and made up excuses when he wanted to spend the night as the guilt ate her alive. She’d never been able to understand this pull that Bryce had on her, never wanted to, and when he was around…

“Every fucking day,” Bryce said as his hands cupped her face and gently pulled her attention back to find him watching her. “How often do you think about me, Cayley?” he asked as his gaze searched hers.

“More than I should,” Cayley admitted softly.

“I don’t want to wait for Friday,” Bryce said, gently shaking his head.

“For what?” Cayley asked, watching as his gaze dropped to her lips.

“For this.”