Chapter 29

CHAPTER29

He really needed to stop thinking about last night, Bryce told himself even as he was forced to bite back a groan as he thought about the moment when he ran his eyes over Cayley and realized that none of the fantasies that he’d had about her over the years came close to the real thing.

God, she was so fucking beautiful, Bryce thought as he grabbed another piece of sheetrock and placed it on the wall of what would one day be his sister’s office and-

He really needed to stop thinking about her, Bryce told himself as he grabbed the drywall gun and set to work. As he punched the screws through the drywall, he thought about her large breasts tipped with the prettiest pink nipples that he’d ever seen in his life, the way that her nipples hardened under his gaze, the soft line running down her belly and nearly fucking groaned when he found himself thinking about the dark, neatly trimmed curls between her legs that glistened in the moonlight.

He’d nearly fucking came right then and there when she’d parted her legs for him and gave him a view that he would never forget. She’d been so fucking wet, Bryce thought, struggling to focus as he finished what he was doing and grabbed another sheet. Her lips had been so soft and swollen, and that clit…

God, even in the moonlight, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off the pretty little pink clit as he’d imagined what it would be like to take it between his lips and lick it. He hadn’t meant to take things as far as they did, but with every stroke of her tongue and roll of her hips, he hadn’t been able to think straight. It felt so fucking good to touch her.

He’d been tempted, so fucking tempted to push inside her last night and find out just how fucking tight she really was, but he’d managed to stop himself, knowing that she wanted to take it slow. But that wasn’t the only reason he’d resisted sliding inside her and putting them both out of their fucking misery.

He wanted to savor every kiss, touch, and moan with her.

He didn’t know if that made him a hopeless romantic or just a fucking idiot. He’d never cared before, but with Cayley…

He wanted so much more from her.

He-

“How are things going with Cayley?” came the curious question that had Bryce biting back a curse as he placed the drywall gun down and faced his sister, not really all that surprised to find her watching him curiously as she sipped what he already knew was hot cocoa from a coffee cup with a bright yellow smiley face painted across it.

“They’re fine,” Bryce said as he wiped his hands off on a rag and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler.

Nodding absently, Rory asked, “And by good, does that mean that you’re willing to admit defeat?”

“Not even a little fucking bit,” Bryce said, taking a sip of water even as he had to admit that he had no fucking idea what he was doing anymore.

He’d never expected to feel like this, never thought that he’d come this close to losing control, and now that he’d had his first taste of her-

He’d never been more terrified of anything in his life, Bryce realized, finishing off his water and tossed the empty bottle into the barrel in the corner before grabbing his measuring tape, needing something to do because if he stood there thinking about just how fucking happy Cayley made him, he-

Would lose his fucking mind.

So, instead, Bryce was going to focus on the job that he’d been hired to do, spend time with Cayley and enjoy this while it lasted. Then…

He didn’t want to think about what was going to happen when this was over. The only thing that he knew was that it was only temporary because if he allowed himself to believe that this was going to last, Bryce would never survive what he knew was coming.

“So, the fact that you beat the shit out of Sean and stuffed him under my kitchen sink last night…” Rory said, letting her words trail off.

“Helped pass the time,” Bryce said, shrugging it off.

“And the way that you watched Cayley’s every move last night?” Rory asked, letting him know that he wasn’t going to be able to play this one off.

“I thought you promised Connor that you were going to stay away from construction sites while you were pregnant,” Bryce said, deciding that a change in subject was necessary because the last thing that he needed right now was for his sister to know just how badly he was struggling with this.

He didn’t want to let Cayley go and that…

Wasn’t a fucking option.

“I did,” Rory murmured in agreement as she reached into her bag and pulled out a set of keys and tossed them to him, “but we decided to make an exception today so that I could give you these.”

Frowning, Bryce caught the keys as he sent his sister a questioning look. “What are these for?”

“Thomas House,” Rory said, shrugging it off as she took a sip of her cocoa.

Nodding absently, Bryce glanced down at the keys in his hand and realized that this was probably going to be the only thing that got him through this. Once this was over, there was no way in hell that he was going to be able to stay in that apartment, not with Cayley living across from him. He was going to need somewhere else to go to clear his head, Bryce thought even as he resigned himself to never setting foot in this building again once it was done, knowing just how fucking difficult it would be to see her.

He’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t tempted to say the hell with it and-

God, what the hell was he thinking?

“You’re selling Thomas House to me early?” Bryce asked, forcing himself to focus on the only thing that should matter.

“No, but we’re going to let you start working on it,” Rory said, sounding thoughtful as she looked around, taking in the large office that would one day be hers.

“And why is that?” Bryce asked because he knew his sister well enough to know that she was up to something.

“Well, given the way that you couldn’t keep your eyes off Cayley last night, we figured that it would probably be for the best if you started working on the house as soon as possible so that it was ready in time,” Rory murmured innocently.

“I’m not planning on keeping the house. As soon as it’s done, I’m flipping it and moving on,” Bryce said, shrugging it off as he moved to measure the remaining space on the wall.

“What about Cayley?” Rory asked, making him go still before he forced himself to get back to work as he told her the truth.

“She’s better off without me.”

* * *

I wouldn’t do that if I were you.

Frowning, Cayley read the text message one more time before she shifted her attention back to the sandwich that she was about to eat and-

You’ll regret it.

-once again found herself glancing up at the large man glaring at her.

“Why are you texting me?” Cayley asked, watching as Sean, who’d narrowed his eyes on her in the last twenty seconds, reached over and grabbed her sandwich.

Never taking his eyes off her, Sean took a big bite of her sandwich as he glanced down at his phone and typed something with his thumb. A few seconds later, there was another chime, drawing her attention back down to her phone and-

I’m no longer speaking with you.

-sighed heavily as she glanced up just in time to watch Sean help himself to her drink. When she reached for her chips, he snatched them off her desk with a glare. “Do you really need to be in here to tell me this?” Cayley asked, shaking her head in disgust as she opened her bottom desk drawer to grab her backup lunch, only to sigh heavily when another chime drew her attention back to her phone.

I ate it to help me get through the trauma that you put me through last night.

“What trauma?” Cayley asked, once again sighing heavily as she closed her desk drawer to find him glaring at her before shifting his attention back to his phone and-

I heard the deeply disturbing noises coming from Bryce’s apartment last night.

“I see,” Cayley murmured, clearing her throat as she shifted in her chair and found herself smiling when she thought about last night. The way that Bryce touched her and kissed her…

She hadn’t been able to get enough of him.

After the most intense orgasm that she’d ever had in her life left her struggling to catch her breath, Bryce kissed her, gently pushing her hair out of her face while he’d waited for her body to stop trembling before he picked her up and carried her into his bathroom where they took a shower. They’d taken their time washing each other’s bodies and when they were done, Bryce pulled her into his arms and kissed her until the hot water ran out and they were forced to turn the shower off.

That led to Bryce taking his time drying her off with a towel while sneaking kisses until finally, he dropped the towel on the floor and picked her up, carrying her back to the bed where they spent the rest of the night kissing and slowly caressing each other’s bodies until that wasn’t enough and she found herself reaching between their bodies and wrapping her hand around him.

Just thinking about the groan that he’d made when she ran her hand over him…

A small chime broke into her thoughts and had her once again looking down at her phone and shaking her head in disgust when she read the text message reminding her that Sean wasn’t talking to her.

“Why are you in my office?” Cayley asked as she-

To glare.

“Can’t you do that from another room?” she asked, glancing back up to watch Sean finish her soda and move on to her chips.

When he only continued glaring at her, Cayley grumbled, “I give up,” as she shifted to her left, opened her bottom desk drawer to grab her bag and-

Payback’s a bitch.

-read the text message letting her know that the big jerk had stolen her bag in a sad attempt at revenge. Shaking her head in disgust, Cayley stood up as she pointed out, “You do realize that Jess will let me put my lunch on a tab, right?”

That was followed by a muttered, “Shit!” as Sean shoved the rest of her chips in his mouth, jumped to his feet and blocked the door. After clearing his throat, Sean folded his arms over his chest as he returned to glaring at her while Cayley stood there, debating which window she was going to crawl out of. There was the one that led to the back parking lot or…the one that led to the back parking lot.

Deciding to go with the first option, Cayley started to turn around only to decide that it would probably be for the best if she stepped out of the way when she spotted Bryce standing behind Sean and-

“He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” Sean asked on a resigned sigh as Bryce grabbed hold of him by the back of his neck and dragged him out of her office.

“This will not be forgotten!” Sean yelled as he was dragged towards the stairs and handed over to his brothers, who all looked really happy to see him for some reason.

That was followed by Sean realizing that he was in deep shit, turning to run only to get tackled by Brian and Johnny as Craig, who looked seriously pissed off, took his time selecting a roll of duct tape. At her questioning look, Bryce said, “He got them a one-day ban from your cousin’s diner this morning before they could order breakfast.”

“That would explain the text message that Jess sent this morning letting me know that today was going to be the day that she beat the shit out of Sean,” Cayley murmured absently as she watched Craig reach down and-

Quickly looked away when the screams for mercy began.

“You ready?” Bryce asked as he grabbed her jacket off the hook and handed it to her.

“Where are we going?” Cayley asked as she forced herself to look straight ahead, knowing that if she glanced back at her best friend to find out why he was making those disturbing sounds that she would regret it for the rest of her life.

“Well, since the little asshole got us banned from your cousin’s diner, I thought I’d show you something instead,” Bryce said as he held the door for her.

“Wait. How did I get banned?” Cayley found herself asking, which even she had to admit was a stupid question.

“He pissed her off,” Bryce said, shrugging it off like it was no big deal as he took her hand in his as his thumb absently caressed the back of her hand, sending goosebumps racing up her arm and had her hoping that whatever he wanted to show her involved spending the rest of the day in his bed.