Loving War (15 page)

“You mean you’re ready to apologize to me?”

My mouth falls open in shocked disbelief.

“Me? Apologize to you? Tria, you started this. I just reacted. You owe me the apology.”

She yawns as though I’m boring her and lies back down while pulling the sheet back over her bare chest. I almost demand for her to remove the sheet again while we discuss this, but it’s probably better that she doesn’t distract me.

“You started it, Kode. I was the one who reacted. You spent most of the night flirting with one girl who has fucked you, and another who clearly wants to. When you want to apologize, just let me know.”

She closes her eyes again, acting as though her conscience is clear enough to sleep.

“Tria, you’re the one who refused to tell anyone we’re together, and you told me to treat you like I used to in front of everyone.”

Her eyes open again, and they narrow at me. “I didn’t tell you to let to girls paw all over you.”

Okay, so she has me there. “I was trying to make you jealous,” I admit.

“You succeeded. It also means you’re admitting that you started this.”

Her eyes close again, and she shifts so that she’s on her stomach, letting the sheet travel down her bare back. It’s times like these that I hate the fact she loves to sleep in the nude.

Deciding it’s not worth the effort to keep arguing with her, I move to climb in on the other side of the bed. I’d rather be fucking her than arguing anyway.

Wearing nothing but my boxer-briefs, I slide in behind her and wrap my arms around her waist before assaulting her neck with a rough trail of kisses.

“Uh… what are you doing?” she asks, but she only angles her head to give me better access.

“Do you really need me to spell it out for you?” I ask while running my hand down her hip, slowly working my way toward her—

“Ow!” I yelp, drawing back the hand she just pinched the fuck out of. “What the hell was that for?”

She sighs as though she’s annoyed. She’s annoyed? She’s not the one with a wounded hand and a rapidly swelling whelp.

“You can’t have me again until you apologize.”

She has to be kidding. The only other alternative explanation is that she has suddenly started living in another universe where unicorns and pixies really do exist.

“I’m not apologizing, Tria.”

“You’ll apologize, Kode. Every man has a breaking point.”

She kicks the sheet off, forcing me to bite back a groan as she uses her body like a weapon against my hungry eyes. Deciding not to show her she has me on the ropes, I move to turn the tables.

Putting my body just inches from hers, I lean down to her ear to whisper, “If anyone caves, Tria, it’ll be you. I don’t play fair.”

Goose bumps visibly rise on her skin, and I smile with a hint of triumph.

“Good thing I don’t plan to play fair, either,” she says with a daring tone that has me cursing myself for celebrating too soon.

Still feigning confidence, I ask, “Care to place a wager on this? Who caves first?”

One thing I’ve learned about Tria is that she loves having sex with me. It’s what we do better than anything else. She can’t hold out for long.

Ah, hell. Why is she grinning? That has me admittedly a little worried.

“Sure. If I win, you have to announce to everyone in Sterling Shore that you’re an asshole and that you made up all that shit about Rygan Clanton and me.”

My laughter comes out in a harsh breath, but I quickly smother it with my hand in an effort to keep her from getting even more pissed. I needed to keep her away from that fucking tattooed prick that seems to be around more and more. Now I’ve accomplished that while also getting a little revenge.

I’m so fucking brilliant.

“Fine. If I win, you have to admit to everyone that I’m the greatest lover you’ve ever had. In public. A few details of my awesomeness wouldn’t be discouraged.”

She grins, but quickly banishes it.

“Fine,” she says in echo to my own answer. “And we have rules.”

“What rules are those?” I muse, staying as close as I can without touching her.

“Nothing public, nothing too malicious, and no cheating.”

My teeth grind together. “By cheating, I assume you mean other people. If you so much as—”

“By cheating, I mean no self-gratification to take the edge off. It’s a given that there won’t be anyone else, or this relationship is over.”

I breathe out in relief and in pained arousal at once. I can’t take things in hand? This is going to be hard.

“Agreed. So this is a battle of seduction. Got it. Personally, I think I’m going to enjoy this little war.”

She shivers a little, much to my delight. No. She won’t make it at all.

“No more vicious rumors,” she says. “This is a sexy game, not an evil contest.”

“That goes for you, too,” I growl, scowling at her. “My mother already caught wind of this one, and now she feels guilty for not being more supportive of me. Fifteen calls from her, Tria. All of them promising me that she’ll love me no matter what my sexual preference.”

She snickers quietly while nodding. “No more rumors.”

“Then let the games begin,” I say, forcing myself to turn over and not curse my painful erection that won’t be getting any relief for a while.

Chapter 15

KODE

Cold showers suck. Three days ago, I was getting laid multiple times a day, and now… nothing but icy cold showers to kill the raging hard-ons. And she’s still using that fucking sexy, curvy body against me.

After drying off and tossing on a pair of workout pants and a T-shirt, I head into the kitchen, only to stumble to an abrupt halt. Tria is sitting at the bar, her long hair braided in two pigtails, and she feigns interest in a magazine as she licks her popsicle.

I’ve been imagining her mouth on me like that since we started this relationship, and now we’re at a stalemate, making my dreams go awry. Every day she finds a way to look like a motherfucking wet-dream. This isn’t war—it’s torture.

“Thought you were opposed to clichés,” I announce, regaining forced composure while moving to grab the orange juice from the fridge. “Don’t you think seducing me by licking something is one of the most cliché things you can do?”

“Just enjoying something cool after a run on the beach,” she lies. Even though she is wearing shorts that are much too short, and nothing else but a sports bra, she looks too sexy to have gone running.

Fucking games. How’d I get myself into this mess?

“I had to delay our New York trip. My business associate pushed the meeting back to the next weekend. I suppose that’s for the best. It gives you time to fold,” I tell her cockily.

She’s holding out much better than I am, but I can’t let her see that.

She snorts out a laugh before standing and pushing the remaining part of the popsicle into her mouth. She sucks it hard, cleaning the popsicle stick of anything solid before discarding it into the trash.

My knees buckle, and I might whimper internally, but I grab onto the side of the counter to stabilize my weak and pathetic self. She grins over her shoulder before swallowing the chunk of frozen stuff, and she tugs her bra over her head before tossing it at me.

“Kode, you’re barely hanging on. I’m not too particularly worried about winning this little bet. Right now, I have to get ready. Brin is coming to pick me up for a shopping trip.”

She shakes her ass in shorts that might as well be underwear, walking away with a strut that makes me feel all the weaker. I can’t wait to meet up with my trainer. I need to punch something since I can’t fuck anything.

***

TRIA

Ow. Ow. Ow! Brainfreeze!

It’s so hard not to wince in pain when your head feels like it’s stuck in an artic inferno. How can something be so cold and burn so painfully at the same frigging time?

Now I’m standing under the hot water with my mouth wide open under the flow. Stupid popsicle. Even my ears hurt.

The pain finally subsides, and I flip the water on to be cooler—much cooler. Before Kode, it had been forever since I’d had sex. So obviously thinking I could go a long time without sex again seemed perfectly logical. Only… When you have sex regularly, numerous times a day, with Kode Sterling, and then you stop, but yet you share a home with the man who stars in all your fantasies… It. Is. Painful. Brutally painful. Especially when he spends all his spare time seducing you with every weakness you have.

I swear I don’t know who I am anymore, because the old Tria didn’t wake up desperate to ravage the man next to her. It’d be easier to sleep in another room, but then he’d know how weak I’m getting.

It’s only been three days, yet it feels like months have passed. It’s maddening.

The only good thing is that, without sex, we’ve managed to have very lengthy conversations. Out of all his antics to get me to cave—strutting around naked, brushing his erection against me, talking dirty enough to make me pull my own hair—it’s the times when he just talks about nothing in particular that has me wanting to cave.

I didn’t judge Kode wrong all these years. He’s an asshole. But only to people he doesn’t care about. It doesn’t make it socially acceptable, but it’s the way he is. Unfortunately, I’ve grown rather attached to the complex enigma he is. Too attached.

By the time I finish getting ready and walk out, Jax Marshall—Kode’s friend and personal trainer—is here, and I’m getting a sexy show. The furniture has been pushed against the walls for their session, and mats have been laid down. Usually he goes to Jax’s studio for this, but since he’s trying to make me swoon, he has moved his workouts to the house.

Both men are shirtless and a sheen of sweat glistens on their sexy bodies. Kode is in the process of taking Jax down, scissoring him between his legs after leaping through the air.

Yeah… It’s definitely hot.

Jax struggles to get free, but finally manages, and then he pins Kode to the large black mat with a
thud
that has me wincing. But Kode doesn’t flinch before wrangling Jax back down, and pinning him.

He winks at me when he sees me drooling, so I decide to ice his triumph while leisurely strutting through the house, swinging my hips just enough to distract him and earn Jax an opening of escape.

“Great way to prove you’re not gay. Invite your sexy male trainer over to have private sessions together.”

Jax’s eyes grow wide in confusion, and Kode pins him again before shooting me a glare of warning. But of course that doesn’t stop me from continuing.

“By the time he leaves, his clothes are rumpled, his hair looks just-fucked, and there’s sweat all over his body. Just saying.”

Jax strangles on air, coughing out a laugh, and Kode stalks toward me a little too scarily. I stand my ground, trying not to look as intimidated as I feel right now. Probably just crossed a line.

“Keep talking, Tria, and I’ll add a public exhibition to my demands for winning the wager.”

My cheeks heat in surprise and embarrassment as Jax rises from the mat, his brows high as his eyes glisten with curious amusement. Kode’s gaze travels down to the respectable amount of cleavage my shirt is showing.

“Or I can just give you a private demonstration of what I want done in public right now,” he dares, his voice full of lust, tempting me more than I want him to know.

Fortunately for me, the doorbell rings, and I send a silent
thank you
to Brin.

With a steeled moment of false bravery, I step into him, forcing contact with our bodies. The magnetic charge between our heady attraction is almost too much to bear, and we both take a deep breath.

“As soon as you fold, you can demonstrate any position you want to.” My voice is huskier than intended, but it seems to work, considering how hard he’s forced to swallow.

He walks away woodenly to disappear into the bedroom. I start to wonder if he’s caving right now, and a thrill shoots through me. Jax starts rolling up the mats while I walk toward the bedroom.

My victorious grin turns into a frown when I hear the water running from the bathroom.

Drat. Cold shower.

“Guess our training session is over,” Jax says with his charming grin.

Brin grows impatient and calls out that she’s coming in when she realizes the door is unlocked. She walks into the living room, joining us, but she stumbles when her eyes catch sight of the dark-haired MMA fighter.

“Do we have to go shopping?” she asks, her eyes greedily taking in every sexy line of muscle.

“Yep. I need coffee and clothes.” And sex, but coffee and clothes will have to do.

Brin pouts playfully, and we laugh as we head out.

“Has he given in yet?” she muses when we reach her small, old Camry. It’ll draw less attention than one of Kode’s flashy cars. There’s no way Pete would be looking for me in this. He assumes I’m a snob that thinks I’m too good for the blue-collar ways. Just like most people, he doesn’t know me at all.

My phone rings just as we start down the road, and I frown when I see Rain’s name. She probably went by the empty condo again.

“Do me a favor,” I tell Brin.

“You need me to talk to you while you’re talking to her so that she knows you’re really with me. Got it,” she says, reading my mind and impressing the hell out of me.

“You really should be doing something more than assisting the director of the museum.”

She laughs while nodding. “I agree. Now answer.”

As soon as I answer my sister’s call, Brin starts speaking as though she was in the middle of talking before promptly apologizing for not realizing I’m on the phone. I mouth
thank you
before moving my attention back to Rain.

“Sorry, we’re on our way to do some shopping. What’s up?”

“Well, Corbin called to see if we could all get together tonight. I wanted to see if you would go with us. He thought it’d be a good idea, and I totally agree.”

Of course Corbin thought it would be a good idea. He’s the only one of Kode’s friends besides Jax that knows what’s going on between us. He wants me to be there for entertainment value.

“Will Kode be there?” I muse, wondering why he didn’t bother saying anything to me.

“Probably. Corbin was calling him next. But don’t worry; he’ll behave. I swear.”

Almost immediately, I get a text. I pull the phone away to read it, and groan when I see Kode has changed his name in my phone again.

Master Of Your Universe:
We’re going out with the guys tonight. Maybe you can fold then, and I can spend the night getting reacquainted with your body.

I stifle a grin while rolling my eyes. “I’ll come,” I tell Rain.

After she gives me the place and time, I hang up. Another text comes in, and I bite back a grin when I see it’s from him.

Master Of Your Universe:
If you fold now, I’ll cancel on the guys and fuck you like I hate you all night.

Considering the pain I’ve been in, it wouldn’t be too hard to fake it.

“You’re grinning,” Brin says as I leave Kode hanging.

“Yeah. I think I need a really sexy dress for tonight. Kode is close to breaking.”