Loving War (6 page)

His name comes out in a cursed praise, and he thrusts in harder until his bottom lip slides between his teeth and his face… Well, it’s a mix of predatory excitement and euphoria when he shudders inside me.

His forehead drops down to mine, and we both pant for air, unable to move. Finally, after somewhat crushing me with his solid frame, he climbs off me and heads to the bathroom. My attempt to stand becomes a mess. My legs tangle on each other, and I’m forced to drop back down to the bed, too exhausted and sated to get my body to cooperate.

Kode’s throaty chuckle comes to reach me while I shamelessly lie sprawled across the bed, naked and depleted of any sort of modesty.

“Here,” he says, handing me a wet cloth while dropping to my side. “I can do it for you if you don’t have the energy.”

I laugh while blushing fiercely. That gives me the ability to move, and I manage to stumble toward the bathroom with wobbly legs.

“You should probably go,” I manage to say, not willing to give him the chance to say it first.

“Damn. Use me and toss me,” he jokes, prompting me to grin like an idiot.

Kode being playful is a good side of him to see.

I manage to walk back into the room after finishing up, and his eyes greedily rake over my body like he’s not as thoroughly spent as I am.

He’s already wearing his underwear and pants when I start pulling on a fresh pair of shorts and a T-shirt. He looks too good, which reminds me what this is—physical. Nothing else.

“So that’s how it is?” he muses, trying and failing not to grin. “Friends with benefits?”

As if it could be anything else. “Don’t say that,” I groan. “It’s too cliché, and I hate clichés. Besides, we’re not exactly friends.”

He laughs again, a sound I refuse to admit is my favorite thing to hear. “Fine. Not friends with benefits. Enemies with benefits?”

The mocking amusement in his eyes doesn’t go unnoticed as I sit down beside him on the bed. He glances down at all the leg my shorts expose, and he draws in a long breath.

“I wouldn’t say we’re enemies either. Just… casual… whatever.”

He grins while lifting his eyes to meet mine, and I get lost in the grayish-blue pits for a moment. It really is too bad that he’s one of the most unobtainable men ever.

“Fine. Casual whatever it is. I’ll see you when I see you then.”

It’s blunt and honest. Just like him. We can serve our carnal appetites without getting ourselves in a messy entanglement that would only end badly—oh so badly—for me.

After tossing on his shirt, he moves like he’s going to kiss me before stopping just barely. He’s so close that my eyes go blurry against the nearness, and his breath coats my lips.

“For the record, I was going to stay the night and make it worth your while. Maybe some other time.”

Yeah… breathing… not possible.

I watch with a mixture of awe and confusion as he walks out of the room, letting the door shut behind him. With a few curses, I drop back to lie on the bed, and the ceiling and I have a staring contest as my mind tries to sort through the wreckage and piece together something rational to explain what I’ve just done. Pathetic.

My phone chirps, and I reach over to grab it. When I see the name on the screen, I tilt my head.

Your Favorite Fuck:
This works both ways. Now you’ve got my number. Use it.

Kode. Only he would program something so crude as that to be a name. Deciding I should respond, I start typing back a message. Then I erase it and start over. Then I erase it again and drop my phone to the bed in frustration.

Never should have left my phone out for him to play with. I’m tempted to tell him I’ve changed my mind and want him back in here right now. Then my phone chirps again, and I take a deep breath before reading it.

Your Favorite Fuck:
Night, Tria.

I guess I missed the opportunity to do something as embarrassing as telling him to come back.

Me:
Should I ask what you have me programmed as?

He responds almost instantly, and a grin forms on my face just knowing he has sent me another text.

Your Favorite Fuck:
I wouldn’t recommend it. ;)

That just makes me smile harder.

I really am stupid.

Chapter 5

KODE

“What the hell happened to you last night?” Maverick asks as I sluggishly drop to the chair next to him. This restaurant has more gold embellishments than I’ve ever seen before. And the glaring glow of all the reflective surfaces is grating on my already frayed nerves.

“Whiskey happened to me,” I grumble.

Tria asked me to leave, which I was actually grateful for, considering I really
did
want to stay. Not sure why the fuck I wanted to stay, but I did.

But like a fucking clingy chick that couldn’t wait five minutes, I sent her a text before I even got on the elevator. I regretted it the second I hit send, and when she didn’t reply, I reacted by sending another damn text. Christ.

At least she sent something back that time, and I had the chance to keep myself looking somewhat suave.

I got back to my massive suite, and had to literally fight with myself to keep from going back down to her room. In the end, I drank myself into a numb stupor until I passed out.

“That’s not what I meant. You disappeared from the party and never came back.”

I saw no reason to go back up there.

“You’re the best man, Mav. I showed up and did my duty as the brother by playing nice.”

I’ll never forget how shitty I felt when Dane asked Maverick to be his best man. It would have been me, but as usual, I fucked it all up. That’s my specialty.

“You call pushing the bride’s sister into the pool
playing nice
?”

Well, hell. It’s not like I can tell him that I did that out of jealousy. Tria’s right about keeping our shit quiet. Dane will flip out right now, because he’ll think I’m screwing around with Tria to get at Rain. God forbid something not revolve around the two of them. Considering how sudden my inexplicable attraction to Tria is, I doubt I could convince him otherwise. My relationship with my brother is fragile at best right now. Not that I can blame him.

“That was a fluke. I thought something was—”

“Is this about getting Rain’s attention?” he asks in interruption. “I mean, I get it, Kode. Really. I do. But Rain and Dane belong together. And honestly, haven’t you fucked with that enough?”

A mistake when I was eighteen will haunt me forever amongst the five of us. God help me if Rain ever finds out that I took the letter she left for Dane. If you ask me, they were both too prideful and stubborn to be together if that’s all it took to tear them apart.

“I’m not trying to get Rain’s attention. Believe me; I think I got the message loud and clear. She’s always looked around me to see Dane. Her rejection wasn’t a surprise, Mav. It just pissed me off. A lot of things piss me off, so it’s not that big of a deal.”

His eyes scream
liar
, but I ignore the silent remark as effectively as I ignore the massive headache that is punishing me for too much liquor last night.

A swish of long black hair catches my attention, and like a magnetic draw, I’m forced to look up as Tria walks in. Her smile is forced as she follows a girl to a table to sit… alone. And of course she’s wearing a tight dress that fits in too well with Vegas.

Does she ever wear anything else out? Because I’m going to be a raging lunatic if she keeps dressing like that.

Five restaurants. This hotel has five restaurants, and she ends up in the same one as me.

“I feel bad for her,” Maverick says, blowing out a breath.

“Why’s that?” I ask absently, watching the girl who is unaware of my eyes on her. This corner spot isn’t as exposed as her window seat. The place is pretty dead, considering it’s a late breakfast and it’s the least popular restaurant in the place.

“Ash and Raya didn’t come, and Tria doesn’t really know anyone besides Rain and Dane. Then you go and push her into the pool. Now she’s sitting here and eating alone.”

My jaw grinds as I watch her, feeling the urge to go join her. She twirls her finger along the top of her glass of water, her eyes staring out the window at the crowded sidewalk outside.

Corbin walks in, his eyes searching and landing on Tria who looks up and immediately goes still when she sees him. He forces a pleasant smile before scanning the room for us. Dale joins him at his side, and the pair spot us together. The second they move in our direction, Tria’s hazel eyes come up to meet mine, going wide in her face.

She says something to herself, while averting my gaze, and she shifts her attention back to the window.

“If I invite her to come sit with us, are you going to behave?” Dale asks when he reaches us, always sounding so damn mature.

“I’ll behave.” The words are clipped, but only because I want to be the one to go save her. She’d probably panic if I went and asked her over.

Just as Dale walks away, the waitress brings a tray of drinks that Maverick must have ordered for us. I’ve never been so happy to see a glass of orange juice in all my life, and I start guzzling it as my eyes drift over to where Dale is trying to talk Tria into joining us.

“Rain wants us to be friends with her. We’re adults now. I realize we didn’t like Tria in school, but we’re seriously old enough to at least be dignified adults. That includes you, Kode. Try not to do anything crude while she’s around,” Corbin says.

The word
crude
applies to everything I want to do to her. Images swirl through my mind, memories from both nights. Tria’s body underneath mine, the sounds of ecstasy and my name falling off her tongue as her body writhed against me. The sweet taste of her—

I choke and sputter the orange juice when the citrus finds the wrong pipe, invading my lungs like an acidic assassin. Everyone looks at me, and I wave off the attention while coughing louder, trying to get air that isn’t infused with the irritating liquid.

Tria walks up, her face a mixture of resentful resign and confusion when her eyes land on me having my strangling fit.

“Wrong… pipe,” I say through a rasp strain, earning a few mocking snickers from my asshole cousins.

Tria’s lips twitch, but she doesn’t say anything or react other than that as Dale takes the seat next to Corbin, leaving the last available seat next to me. Tria takes it without looking my way again, and I refrain from scooting my chair closer.

After a few seconds, and a hefty sip of Maverick’s glass of water, I manage to get my air and liquid back into their rightful places, and the conversation gets going. As the guys talk about Maverick’s upcoming birthday, my eyes continue to rake over Tria.

Her silky, tan legs are hidden underneath the white tablecloth, but the top part of the dress looks like it was designed to accentuate her phenomenal tits. It’s then it dawns on me that she has a meeting later. That’s why she’s so dressed up.

“We’re going to hit a few stores after we leave here, and tonight we’re hitting the casinos. You in?” Maverick asks her, trying his damnedest to make her feel welcome.

She fidgets in her seat, her eyes moving to the plate. I never realized how shy she is until recently. It’s like she’s afraid to talk to people she doesn’t know.

“I… don’t know.”

“We’re partying like kings tomorrow and the next night, then Pretty Boy is giving us a ride home in his shiny plane.”

I groan at the mention of that hideous nickname. Fucking Pretty Boy.

Tria grins lightly, but hides it behind her hand. Corbin’s phone chirps, and he checks it while Maverick lays out all the casinos around.

“Change of plans,” Corbin announces. “Rain wants us to meet her and Dane at noon for some random show they scored us tickets to see.”

Almost instantly, everyone else’s phones chirp, including Tria’s. She puts her phone away after reading it, probably getting the same message we all just did.

“You coming?” Corbin asks her, forcing her to squirm uneasily again.

“I suppose so.”

Tilting my head, I ask, “Don’t you have a lunch meeting about your cosmetic line?”

The words are out of my mouth before I even think about it, and her eyes grow wide in her head as all my cousins turn a questioning look my way. Shit.

“Rain mentioned it,” I say quickly, covering my ass.

She breathes out in relief for the fast recovery, and shakes her head. “It… The lady cancelled. It’s okay though. She just didn’t think my line was a good fit with her store.”

The guys instantly start talking to her the second they find common ground—business. Any Sterling can talk business all day when we’re not busy partying like rockstars.

Dale is quick to point out the fact she’s the niece of a man who owns a chain of the largest fashion stores in the nation, but she shoots him down the same way she did me. Creating your own brand is too hard to do without using contacts. I never thought about her being so prideful.

“Well, I know a few guys in New York that I could put you into contact with,” Corbin says, pissing me off when his eyes drop to her cleavage.

No. If he hasn’t noticed how sexy she is before, then he doesn’t need to start noticing now. I’ll kick his ass.

Christ. I’m losing my mind. Or it’s already gone. That’s a strong possibility.

Tria graciously refuses his offer, promising the table of business enthusiasts that she’s going to do this on her own. She’s underestimating how hard it is to gain ground in a world that runs based on who you know. If she’s not going to trade in on her name and her opportunities, then she’s going to fall on her face.

The food comes, and we eat during casual conversations. Tria never says much of anything else, and I keep finding my eyes drifting over to her. The second we’re done eating, Tria glances at the time.

“I should get back to my room and change before the show. I got dressed for the meeting. I thought it’d be good to get here early and grab us a good table, but she cancelled just before I got here.”

She tries not to show her disappointment, but her crestfallen expression is too hard for her to hide. Everyone tells her
bye
as she leaves, and Corbin lets out a low whistle.

“You know, she’s really not so bad,” he says, his eyes on her ass as she makes her way out of the restaurant.

If he doesn’t stop looking like he’s going to run up behind her and mount her, I might throttle him.

“If you’re into girls that shy and awkward. Those kinds of chicks are boring in the sack,” I lie, trying to dissuade him from doing anything stupid.

“Man, you’re a dick,” Mav says, rolling his eyes. “The girl is still scared shitless of us. Give her time to warm up. You just pushed her into the damn pool last night, so obviously she’s skittish.”

Shrugging, I try not to let them see my smug smile. I’m the only one at this table she
is
comfortable with, and I happen to like the hell out of that fact.

***

KODE

“Didn’t know Dane was going to have a bunch of ass-suckers hang out with us at that lame show,” I mumble, walking out of the
magic
show three—yes,
three
—hours later.

Maverick laughs under his breath when a dude who seems to be in love with argyle heads our way, his grin too big for his face.

“That douche is totally man-crushing on you,” Maverick says just before the guy reaches us.

“It is so awesome to meet the legendary Kode Sterling. I’ve seen you in so many magazines. I bet the women flock to you on a regular basis,” the sweater-vest wearing, annoying-as-hell guy says. “What’s it like?”

That’s all I can take. This prick took the seat beside me at the show, while Rain took the other side of me. Tria had to sit next to Corbin and Maverick, which pissed me off to no end, and now she’s all the way at the end of the sidewalk, turning into the casino with Dale. Everyone is going to steal her away with all their fucking charm.

“It’s like hell when I’m being tortured by wanna-be guys like you,” I snap.

His lips flatten to a thin, disappointed line. “That’s a jerk thing to say,” the argyle-wearing fool says, affronted.

“Well, I’m a jerk who doesn’t give a shit,” I grumble while pushing through the revolving doors.

It doesn’t take but a few seconds to find her sweet ass in her tight jeans. The high-heels she’s wearing would put her at the perfect height to bend her over. Which I will be doing. Soon.

Maverick is laughing when he catches up with me, telling me something about not being such an ass, but my eyes are zeroed in on someone that is far too close to Tria.

“What the hell is Rye Clanton doing here?” I demand.

He’s talking to her with that look in his eyes that
will
get him laid the hell out. Tria knows him because of her cousin, Ethan Noles, and I know damn well Rye has no qualms about fucking his best friend’s cousin.

“Rain invited him, but he couldn’t make it out here until today,” Maverick answers, shrugging as though it’s no big deal. “Guess he’s meeting everyone here. Lucky bastard. He missed that terrible, horribly long show.”

Tria’s head falls back as she laughs at something he says. My fists are clenched before I start walking toward them with fury leaking from me, but I’m intercepted by a feisty blonde before I can reach the infuriating brunette.