Chapter 32

CHAPTER32

“That’s not what I meant!” the woman that he’d been thinking about for the past two hours screamed somewhat hysterically as his apartment door was thrown open and his brother stumbled inside with the little pain in the ass latched onto his back, desperately trying to stop him from doing something that was going to get him killed.

Bryce watched as the reason why he needed to put a stop to this before it was too late narrowed eyes that matched his on him seconds before his expression became determined. He never should have touched her, Bryce thought as he watched his brother make his way across the apartment, most likely to do something to piss him off while he sat there thinking about just how badly he’d fucked up.

As much as he wanted Cayley, and God, he’d never wanted anything more in his life, he never should have fucking touched her, not when it could end up hurting his little brother. She was his brother’s best friend, something that Bryce should have remembered when he’d touched her, especially when he knew how this was going to end, but he’d been too fucking focused on finally having her in his arms to think straight.

When this was over, Sean was going to end up being the one to pay the price and he couldn’t do that to his brother. He-

“She’s not your fuck buddy, asshole,” Sean snapped, making everything in Bryce go still as his gaze shifted from his brother to the small woman struggling to bite back a wince.

“That’s not exactly what I said,” Cayley mumbled, not quite able to meet his eyes as she cleared her throat, moved to release her hold on Sean, only to clear her throat again and mumble, “I’d really like to go home now.”

“Get out,” Bryce said, never taking his eyes off the small woman that had a lot of explaining to do as he stood up.

Nodding, Cayley said, “That sounds like a good idea,” as she waited for Sean to turn around and do just that. When Sean only stood there, glaring at him, Cayley cleared her throat again, released her hold on his brother and dropped to her feet where she stumbled, righted herself, and then with a nod, murmured, “I’ll just be going then.”

“Not. You,” Bryce bit out as he moved to reach past his brother to stop her, only to have Sean push his arm away.

“Not fucking happening,” Sean bit out as he stepped in front of his best friend in a move that had Bryce’s respect rising for his little brother. He appreciated the fact that Sean would never let anything happen to Cayley, he really did, but at the moment, that just wasn’t going to work for him. So, with a sigh, Bryce shifted his focus to his brother and-

“Ow! Why do you have to be so mean?” Sean demanded as Bryce dragged him across the living room by the back of his shirt and shoved him into the hallway before slamming his door shut and locking it.

“This isn’t over!” Sean yelled as Bryce turned around and focused back on the woman standing in his apartment, her mouth working soundlessly as she wrung her hands together and-

“Start talking,” Bryce said, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the door, ignoring Sean’s sputtered demands to be let back in, which quickly turned to threats of tattling.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Cayley said, nodding solemnly.

“And why’s that?” Bryce asked as he pushed away from the door.

“Because that didn’t work out the last time that I tried it,” she admitted, unable to bite back that wince this time.

“And the reason why my brother thinks that I’m treating you like a fuck buddy?” Bryce asked, crossing the room so that he could glare down at the small woman that was driving him fucking crazy.

He should have taken the out that his brother just gave him, but…

Sean was never going to forgive him, Bryce thought as he found himself reaching for her. He noted the way that she was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as he carried her into the kitchen and set her down on the kitchen island. Noticeably swallowing hard, Cayley moved her legs apart to make room for him as she opened her mouth, thought better of it, closed it, winced, and then finally admitted, “My interrogation backfired.”

“You were trying to interrogate my brother?” Bryce asked, placing his hands on her thighs as he waited for an answer.

“I don’t feel that it would be in my best interest to answer that question,” Cayley said as he stood there, absently nodding as he thought it over.

“Fair enough,” Bryce murmured, deciding that they had more important matters to deal with at the moment. “Let’s focus on the reason why he thinks I’m treating you like a fuck buddy, then.”

“I can honestly say that I have no idea how that happened,” Cayley said, looking really fucking relieved, which had him making a mental note to ask the little bastard about that later.

“Try,” Bryce said, watching as his hands moved over her thighs, enjoying the feel of smooth skin against his hand before he was met with the soft material of the shorts that she liked to sleep in before he looked up to find her sending his door a wistful look that had his lips twitching. “Cayley,” he said, feeling his lips twitch as he watched her shoulders slump in defeat as she shifted her attention back to him.

“He commandeered my interrogation,” she mumbled sadly with a helpless shrug. “I don’t know how he did it.”

“That is a mystery,” Bryce murmured dryly, feeling his lips twitch as he watched her nod in agreement.

“It really is,” Cayley murmured as she shifted to get more comfortable, only to end up worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she took one of his hands in hers and began absently toying with his fingers.

For a moment, Bryce stood there, watching her as he told himself that it would be so much easier if he’d treated her like a fuck buddy. He could spend the next two weeks living out every fantasy that he’d ever had about her while he did everything that he could to work her out of his system and out of his life and when the time came to an end this, he could walk away and never have to spend another sleepless night wondering what it would be like to hold her in his arms.

Instead, he would spend the rest of his life knowing that she should have been his.

Swallowing hard, Bryce said hoarsely, “We’re not fuck buddies,” knowing that would never be enough for him.

“Then, what are we?” Cayley asked, only to wince and shake her head as she muttered, “I can’t believe that I actually asked that,” as she released his hand and moved to climb off the kitchen island with a mumbled, “Forget that I asked that,” only to sigh when he moved closer.

“We’re figuring it out as we go, but there’s one thing that I know we’re not is fuck buddies,” Bryce said as he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, praying like hell that this didn’t destroy him in the end.

* * *

“What did you ask my brother?”the man that was making it very difficult to think asked as he brushed his lips against hers while he slid his hands over her thighs.

“Things,” Cayley whispered, loving the way that Bryce’s lips pulled up into a smile against hers as he murmured back, “Things?”

“Mmmhmm,” Cayley murmured as she ran her hands down his chest, knowing just how badly this would end for her if she allowed this line of questioning to proceed, so she did the only thing that she could think of to save her ass.

The groan that Bryce released when she found him through his pants had her breaking off the kiss so that she could sit back and watch him. She loved the way that his eyes, which were normally hard to read, turned hungry when she touched him, watching her as he struggled to stay in control even as they told her just how badly he needed her.

Keeping her eyes locked with his, Cayley slowly ran her hand over him through his jeans, noting just how good he felt against her hand before she reached for his fly. The stoic gaze that hid the real man from the rest of the world searched hers as she unsnapped his jeans and slowly slid his zipper down so that she could hook her fingers in the waistband of his jeans and boxers and pull them down just enough so that she could free him.

She watched as Bryce clenched his jaw tightly shut as he struggled to stay in control, only to end up parting his lips on a groan when she wrapped her hand around him. He really was a good man, Cayley thought as she slowly ran her hand over him, gently squeezing the thick base before running her hand up to the tip as she watched him struggle to stay in control.

He was always doing the right thing, always watching over everyone, and putting everyone else first, Cayley thought as she placed her other hand on his chest and gently pushed him back. When he stepped back, she climbed off the kitchen island, keeping her hold around him as she watched his eyes search hers as she slowly knelt down and-

“Fuck,”Bryce bit out on a groan as his head dropped back and he was forced to reach over and slap his hand on the kitchen island when his legs threatened to give out when she pressed her lips against the large, smooth tip.

She’d never enjoyed doing this before, but as she parted her lips so that she could take the tip between her lips, Cayley struggled to remember why. He felt so good in her mouth, she thought, unable to help but moan as she gently sucked on the tip, making sure to run her tongue around it as she watched Bryce.

As she moved her mouth over him, Cayley moaned when she saw Bryce lick his lips as he watched her. She took as much of him as she could before she was forced to pull back, letting his cock slide free as her tongue caressed the underside, making him groan as she reached for his pants only to have Bryce beat her to it. While she gently sucked on the tip, Bryce pushed his pants down, careful not to interfere with what she was doing as Cayley reached up and wrapped her hand around him to make it easier to pull him back into her mouth.

She could do this all day, Cayley thought, moaning as she slowly pulled back and allowed him to slip free from her mouth. Licking her lips, she stood up and was met with a hungry kiss as Bryce picked her up and placed her back on the kitchen island. As soon as she was settled, he reached for her shirt, only breaking off the kiss long enough to pull it off and toss it on the floor before he was back, taking her mouth in a hungry kiss that had her moaning as she reached down and started frantically trying to work her shorts and panties off.

Breaking off the kiss, Bryce stepped back as he gently brushed her hands away and took over. “Lift your hips,” he said softly, only to lean in and brush his lips against hers before he stepped back, pulling her clothes down her legs as he went. Once he had her naked, he was picking her up and-

“God, you feel so fucking good,” Bryce said as he carried her down the small hallway to his room as his mouth found her neck.

They needed to slow down, Cayley told herself, unable to help but moan as he laid her down on his bed and settled between her legs so that she could feel just how much he wanted her. She was definitely tempted to say the hell with it and find out just how good he felt inside her, but…

“I’m not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but I don’t normally do this kind of thing,” Cayley said, really hating herself at that moment because the last thing that she wanted to do was to slow down, but this was going too fast for her.

Two weeks ago, he couldn’t stop glaring at her and was determined to ignore her and now, they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other. It was happening too fast and she just needed a chance to wrap her mind around this. She’d never felt like this about anyone and the fact that it was Bryce James…

That terrified her.

She’d never rushed into sex, had never even been tempted, but with Bryce, all she wanted to do was lose herself in his arms. She’d waited two dates to hug Kevin, three to kiss him, and four months before she’d spent the night with him, and never once during the two years they’d dated had she ever felt like this.

It was happening too fast, Cayley thought even as she ran her hands over him, unable to resist. She just needed a chance to think straight and figure this out, she thought, moaning when she felt Bryce’s lips press against her throat one last time before he was pulling back so that he could look down at her, his gaze softening as he watched her.

At his questioning look, she said, “I’m a good girl.”

“Is this your way of telling me that you’d like to take this slow?” Bryce asked even as he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers.

“Yes?” Cayley mumbled weakly as she closed her eyes, really hating herself at that moment and-

Wait.

Why was he pulling away from her, Cayley couldn’t help but wonder as she opened her eyes to watch as Bryce moved out of her arms with a heavy sigh and dropped down on the bed next to her, leaving her wondering why he was stopping because she definitely didn’t want to stop. She just wanted to slow down long enough to figure out what they were doing while they passed the time finding new and interesting ways to make each other-

Moan, Cayley thought, unable to help but do just that when the devious man that was driving her crazy reached over and picked her up like she weighed nothing and settled her above his mouth so that she had no choice but to grab hold of the headboard and hold on when she felt his lips press against her slit. Licking her lips hungrily, Cayley looked down to find Bryce watching her as he pressed another kiss against her slit as his hands slid over her back.

“Is this okay?” Bryce asked, only to leave her unable to do anything more than moan his name when she felt his tongue slide inside her and-

This was definitely okay.