Flanked (6 page)

Garret turned on the hot water and let it run, fishing out his razor and shaving cream while he waited. He’d just wet and lathered up his face when he heard the muted sound of a knock and voices coming from Aaron’s room next door.

Skeeter glanced at the closed connecting door from the bed where he was surfing television channels. “Sounds like Aaron’s sister is here.”

“Good. That means we can go back out instead of waiting around in the room for her to get here.” Garret shaved a swath of foam and facial hair off and rinsed the blades.

“You ever meet her?”

“Nope.”

“It’ll be interesting to see what she’s like.”

Garret let out a laugh. “If you say so.”

“Aren’t you curious?” Skeeter frowned up at him.

“Nope.” Garret already knew enough. She was Aaron’s sister and she was a schoolteacher. She probably wore those ugly holiday-themed sweaters and corrected people’s grammar. It’s
may
I, not
can
I
.
Enough said.

“Why not? You’re the one who doesn’t stop checking out the girls in the stands until you’re actually in the chute and taking your wrap, then you finally concentrate on the bull.”

“That’s not true.” Garret shot Skeeter an unhappy look.

“It’s damn near close enough to the truth, and you’re trying to tell me you don’t give a shit that there’s going to be a smoking-hot girl staying right in that room next door and hanging out with us all weekend?”

“I don’t give a crap because bull riders’ sisters are off limits.” Besides, who said Aaron’s sister would be hot? Garret seriously doubted it.

“That’s bull shit. I’ve seen riders date, hell even marry other guys’ sisters.

“Yeah, I know. It happens, but that’s just looking for trouble if you ask me. But hey, you do whatever the hell you want, kid.” In his opinion, Skeeter should feel free to go after Aaron’s sister if he wanted. Garret would enjoy the show.

A deep frown knit Skeeter’s brow. “Will you stop calling me kid?”

“Luke calls you kid all the time.”

“Luke’s in his thirties. He’s old. He can call me kid. You’re only like, what? Three years older than I am?”

“Three and a half years older and I’ve been riding pro for many years now which means I know way more about this shit than you do.”

“Whatever.” Skeeter rolled his eyes.

Having proved his point, Garret went back to finishing shaving so they could get the hell out of this room and start searching for some chicks who weren’t related to one of them. As he splashed hot water over his face and throat, something Skeeter had said struck Garret.

While wiping his wet face with a towel, he glanced at Skeeter. “And what makes you think she’s hot anyway?”

“I thought you didn’t care?” Skeeter raised a brow.

“I don’t. Just wondering why you said that is all.” He noticed the satisfied expression on Skeeter’s face and backpedaled. “Never mind. You’re right. I don’t care.”

“I know because Aaron told me his sister just bought a motorcycle and a hot-as-blazes girl drove up on that Harley out there in the lot about a minute before there was a knock on his door.” Skeeter hooked a thumb at the window next to his bed and looked even more cocky than before.

“Well, Sherlock, with all your sleuthing, let me ask you this, how can you tell she was hot from all the way up here on the third floor?”

“Dude, she literally stopped traffic in the parking lot. One of the Aussies jumped the curb with his truck trying to look at her while pulling in.”

“Maybe Aussies are just bad drivers.”

Skeeter laughed. “Fine. Think whatever you want. If you’re not interested, that just means I have a better chance with her.”

“Fine.” Garret shook his head. Kids. Skeeter would learn his lesson one day.

A knock on the door interrupted Garret’s lecture to Skeeter, but he was basically done anyway.

“You guys dressed?” Aaron’s voice came through the door.

“Yup. Come on in.” Skeeter jumped up from the bed and actually wet his hand with his tongue and ran it over his hair. Garret shook his head and waited for the door to open to see what, or rather who, had Skeeter acting like this.

He didn’t have long to wait. Aaron and—holy crap—his hot-as-hell sister were in the doorway the next moment and Garret understood why the Aussies had run off the road when they got a look at her. If she looked this hot standing in a cheap hotel room, he could only imagine what she looked like straddling a Harley. Her thighs spread wide. The powerful machine between them.

Garret glanced at Skeeter to make sure the kid wasn’t watching his reaction since he was pretty sure his jaw had dropped when he saw her. He needn’t have worried because Skeeter only had eyes for her.

From the top of her head to the tips of her black biker boots, this chick was so not what Garret had expected. Her short dark hair, cut to frame her heart-shaped face, was tousled and messy, likely from the helmet. It made her appear as if she’d just rolled out of bed, but in a sexy rather than sleepy way. Then there were the black leather pants that stretched across her wide hips while pinching in at her tiny waist. He mentally willed her to turn around because he was sure the back view of her ass in those snug pants would be even better than the front view.

Aaron brought her a step farther into the room. He glanced at his sister, not that Garret could see any resemblance between this babe and dorky Aaron, but whatever. “This is Garret and Skeeter.” Aaron pointed to each in turn. “And this is my sister S—”

“Silver.” She didn’t let Aaron finish. Rather, she took a step forward and extended her hand to Skeeter.

When she could finally get her hand back from Skeeter, who pumped it happily while grinning, she stepped to Garret. Silver had a good firm grasp to go along with her other firm assets, both front and back—but they were all attached to a fellow rider’s sister. He had to keep that in mind.

Garret stoically kept his gaze off her leather-clad legs and her cleavage peeking out of the top of her shirt and instead noticed her violet-blue eyes, the color so unbelievably intense he frowned. “Are those colored contact lenses?”

“Uh, no. All mine, just like his.” She laughed and hooked a thumb in Aaron’s direction.

“Oh. Yeah. Um, nice to meet you.” Crap. A girl’s eyes could be his downfall, even without the rest of the package being so enticing. Garret glanced over and saw Aaron frowning at him, and noticed he did have almost the same color eyes. Funny Garrett had never noticed that before, or how angry Aaron could look when his dark brows pulled down low and unhappily over his eyes. Shit, time to change the subject. “Uh, so we all going out now or what?”

Aaron screwed up his mouth. “Maybe. And maybe Silver and I will just hang here. Maybe she’s tired.”

“I’m not tired. I’m up for anything.”

“Great.” Skeeter stepped forward, looking excited at the prospect. “Where are we going?”

Now that Skeeter had a fake ID so he could get into bars that required proof of twenty-one or over, he was always up for a night out. But Garret had a feeling it wasn’t the prospect of going out that had Skeeter excited tonight. It was definitely Silver. The kid hadn’t taken his eyes off her or stopped smiling since she’d arrived in the room. If Skeeter had been a puppy, his tail would be wagging.

Aaron raised a brow. “Don’t get too excited. Choices around here are pretty slim. It’ll probably be an early night.”

Garret wasn’t sure if the warning tone in Aaron’s voice was for him or Skeeter, or both.

“We’ll find somewhere, I’m sure. I’m just gonna go change. Be right back.” Silver turned, waltzing that heart-shaped ass through the door between their bedrooms.

When she disappeared from view, Garret could finally wrestle his focus back, though the memory of those rounded leather-clad globes of hers remained. He realized the room had gone very quiet. He glanced at Skeeter and found him looking dazed. Then he dared a look at Aaron and found his face screwed up into a scowl.

“I’ll go get my keys.” With one more unhappy-looking glance sent in their direction, Aaron turned and went back to his room, slamming the connecting door shut behind him.

“Told ya sisters are off limits.” Garret looked at Skeeter.

“He’ll get over it.” Skeeter shrugged and turned toward his duffle bag. “Maybe I should change clothes before we go out.”

Garret shook his head at Skeeter, knowing exactly why he was reconsidering what he was wearing. That reason was currently in the next room peeling leather off her hot little body. Meanwhile, as Garret glanced in the mirror at his own shirt and jeans, which had seen better days, he was wondering the same thing as Skeeter.

Chapter Five

Silver scowled at her brother as he eyed her with that look that made her want to punch him in the stomach like she used to when they were little and fighting.

Aaron might as well be her father. Worse than that. He was acting like a perfectly nauseating blend of her mother and her father combined. Conservative. Boring. Their oldest brother wasn’t such a stick in the mud. He was cool. So how the hell did Aaron get to be one?

“You got another drink?” Aaron frowned at Silver after she returned from the bar with a glass in her hand.

Silver added
judgmental
to her list of adjectives describing Aaron as she took her seat again at the table. “Yes, Aaron, I got another drink. I’m not driving.”

“Yeah, I know, but you already had two and it’s getting late.”

“Late? It’s like nine.” She frowned at her brother.

“I know, but we have to ride tomorrow so I’m not staying out too late.”

“Fine. We won’t stay out too late. We can leave after this drink.”

“I gotta hit the head before we go. I’ll be right back.” He shot the two other guys at the table what looked almost like a warning before heading for the bathroom at the back of the bar.

Silver watched him walk away and then turned back to the two cowboys at the table with her. “He always this much fun?”

Long-neck beer bottle poised halfway to his mouth, Garret shook his head. “Actually, he’s usually the first one to order a round of shots.”

“Shots would be good.” Skeeter’s eyes lit up. He leaned closer to her. “I have a fake ID now.”

Good God, this kid wasn’t even twenty-one yet? She hid her horror at how old that made her feel, even at twenty-four.

“Good for you.” She kept her voice low but imbued it with all the enthusiasm she used for her classroom full of students.

Leaning back, she glanced at Garret. He was a lot hotter in person than he looked the time she’d seen him on television. Of course, her opinion could be influenced tonight due to her jeans fitting too tight because of the damn gauze bandage wrapping her tattoo. The seam was pressing her hood ring and making it bump her clit every time she moved. Shit. If she didn’t relieve this pressure soon, she’d explode. Hell, if she rocked a bit in this chair she’d probably come. But actually, it would be really nice to have a partner in that.

She eyed Garret again. He seemed like he’d make a really nice partner for what she had in mind. Nice firm muscles. He was taller than she was and unlike Skeeter, Garret looked to be about her age. More importantly, if he was like most twenty-something-year-old guys, he was looking to get lucky, which was quite all right with her. And since he was Aaron’s friend, he must be a decent guy. Her brother wouldn’t tolerate an asshole as a friend. 

Yup, he could definitely be the one. “So why is Aaron being such a dick tonight?”

“I would guess that’s because you’re here.” Garret grinned and raised his bottle to her in a toast.

“Because of me? Lovely.” That figured. She let out a loud breath. Aaron and his overprotective brotherly ways would be the death of her one day. “Sorry about that, guys.”

“We don’t mind at all. Really.” Skeeter shook his head so enthusiastically he looked even younger than his underage self.

“No problem.” A cocky grin bowed Garret’s mouth as he said it, but Silver didn’t miss when his gaze dropped down her body.

She may not have a boyfriend, but she certainly knew when a guy was checking her out, and Garret was. And as soon as she could get him out of earshot of the other two, she’d make it clear that if he was interested, so was she.

Aaron returned from the bathroom and eyed the three of them at the table carefully. “You all about ready to go?”

It was obvious there’d be no fun to have here. And definitely no sexual relief on the horizon either. Not with her brother the bodyguard watching her like a hawk. She stood. “Sure. Let’s go.”

As Skeeter downed the last of his beer in a hurry and jumped to his feet, Garret drew in a big breath. He planted his bottle on the table with a thud. “Well, you’re our ride, so yeah, I guess we’re ready.”

He rose, slow and calm, and shot Silver a smirk. Yup, Garret sympathized with her plight, and since he apparently thought Aaron was as stuffy and as much of a kill joy as she did, Garret would probably love the idea of sneaking out to be with her behind his back. But there was still nothing either one of them could do about Aaron being in her room and inquisitive young Skeeter being in Garret’s—or maybe there was…

She hung back as Skeeter ran ahead to open the exit door for them. She put a hand on Garret’s arm. “Hey.”

His brow rose. “Yeah?”

“Aaron sleeps like the dead, especially after a few drinks. How about him?”

Garret glanced in the direction she’d nodded, at Skeeter ahead of them. “Yeah. He’s kind of like a puppy that way. Runs hard all day until he crashes even harder at night. Why?”

Garret’s report on Skeeter’s sleeping pattern was really good news since her clit nearly throbbed, begging to be touched by human hands—or mouth, or cock or anything besides the smooth metal ball that had been warmed by her body but was still hard and unyielding.

Silver smiled. “Good. What do you say we wait until our roommates are sleeping and then meet up out in the hallway?”

She could see the surprise in his expression. He paused a beat. “Uh, yeah. Sure. I guess. Um, but there’s no bar in our hotel.”

“That’s fine. I’m in the mood for something, but it’s
not
alcohol.” Aaron and Skeeter were both standing by the door waiting, so Silver didn’t wait around for Garret’s answer. She did notice him blanch a bit, but she headed out the exit anyway, trusting he’d follow behind her.