I climbed out of the water, grabbed my towel and headed up the path.
My heart sped up, thinking of what to say, and worse: what to do. I tried to channel my inner porschay. I’d be daring and take a risk. I wanted a reaction from him. No risk, no fun—that was pretty much his motto.
VEGAS
I was glad to be away from pete. In the past, our encounters had been mildly entertaining due to his awkwardness and crush on me. I’d watched his innocent flirting with amusement but never taken it seriously. he was a child and I couldn’t imagine him as a grown-up, much less my husband. Our life together had been an abstract concept.
Already at our last encounter I’d noticed a change, and now it was impossible to ignore. I noticed pete, not because he deserved my attention due to our planned future together. No. I noticed his curves, his beautiful face. Pete wasn’t a kid anymore. he was a young man with a desirable body. Now, his flirting didn’t seem amusing or like a game. It felt like a promise of what would soon be in my reach, a dangerous temptation.
I wasn’t a man who acted on impulse or followed his sexual drive without a second thought, but the mere fact that pete tempted me when he was still off-limits set my teeth on edge. I didn’t enjoy this feeling of being a slave to my instincts, but when I saw pete’s body, certain body parts definitely held more power than others.
The house was quiet and dark as I made my way toward macau’s room. I carefully opened the door and peered in. Macau was asleep, his back turned to me. he was still my little brother, still a little boy in my eyes, which was at odds with my perception of pete who was barely older.
I closed the door again and headed back out because I’d promised to return.
When I stepped out onto the patio, my body tensed at the sound of steps but relaxed when pete appeared before me. he had his towel wrapped around his shoulders, for which I was grateful.
“Are you heading to bed?”
he shook his head. “Actually, I was looking for you.”
My eyebrows shot up. The way he said it raised my hackles. It was difficult to make out his face in the dim light, but I had a feeling he was flirting with me.
“Maybe we can take a walk?”
“Okay,” I said slowly, not wanting to deny him even if I didn’t think being away from the others was a good idea. To my brain’s displeasure and my body’s delight, pete dropped his towel on the chair then headed down the path that meandered around the house. I followed him, trying not to pay too close attention to his peach-formed ass in his tiny bottoms. “Is there something specific you want to discuss with me?”
pete stopped and looked up at me. he appeared nervous. “I just wanted to be alone with you. We’re engaged and are soon going to be married, but we’ve never been alone. We never really got the chance to get to know each other better.”
pete probably meant it in a very innocent way, but I couldn’t help but imagine all the ways I wanted to get to know him, especially when my gaze dipped to his erect nipples straining against the wet fabric of his shirt. “We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other once we’re married. Being alone with you like this is against our rules.”
pete shrugged as if it didn’t matter, but it did. We didn’t need another scandal on our hands. The porsche debacle had caused enough uproar.
pete glanced around, and then without a warning, he unbuttoned his shirt standing before me with his puckering nipples.
Blood roared in my ears. “What are you doing?” I growled, grabbing his arm. The motion caused his nipple to graze my skin. I released him and picked up his shirt, then held it out for him. “Put that back on.”
