Her head peeked around from the door of the fridge.
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Katie. An eighteen-year-old didn’t have no business drinkin’ the way you used to. It got worse in college, didn’t it?”
“I don’t really wanna talk about it right now.”
“But you know you can with me, right?” I asked. “Anythin’ and everythin’.”
“I appreciate it, Caleb. But I’m not in the mood.”
“Do any of my brothers know about it?”
“I told Dylan. I think I told Andrew. I don’t know if I’ve told Wyatt. It’s hard to keep up sometimes with who I’ve told and who I haven’t. It’s why I don’t talk about it.”
“Why not me?” I asked.
“Caleb—”
“Not about—not about your drinkin’, Katie.”
“Then what are you talking about?” she asked.
“I know about Dylan and Andrew.”
Her head whipped back around the edge of the fridge, but this time she let the door shut.
“What?” she asked breathlessly.
“We’re all assuming Wyatt as well. What I wanna know is, why not me? Why haven’t I been able to experience you the way they have?”
I watched Katie bite down on her lip as she approached me. That small gesture, watching her tongue flick out to capture her lip. It was enough to drive me wild. I felt my cock twitch as she grew closer and closer, her body heat beating down on my chest. Holy hell, this woman was beautiful. There wasn’t no way I was going to be able to give her up to my brothers. She was standing toe-to-toe with me, her eyes locked onto mine as my heart leapt into my throat.
I leaned forward to kiss her, my arm slipping tentatively onto her hip. I pressed my lips to hers, feeling the warmth of her body press into my torso. Her hands came up to my chest, gripping my shirt and tugging me closer to her.
Holy blessed shit.
Katie was kissing me back.
It felt like all the things I knew it would feel like and so much more. White hot and passionate. Electric and warm. My toes tingled, and my heart thumped in my ears. I could hear the blood rushing through my veins as my other hand rose to cup her cheek. She tasted like the beer she’d just had, and I was ready to back her into the shadows. Press her against the wall and fill her with my growing cock.
But heavy footsteps behind us startled her, and she pushed away as quickly as she had pulled me to her.
“Hey, you two okay?” Wyatt asked.
Of course, it was him.
Of course, it was fuckin’ Wyatt.
“Yeah, we’re good,” Katie said.
“Care if I join ya? The guys are, well, bein’ guys out there,” he said.
“Sure,” Katie said. “We don’t mind.”
I minded. I very much minded. Wyatt cast me a look, and I could’ve sworn I saw a grin playing on his face. That fucker knew exactly what he’d done, and if he thought he was going to get away with it, he was sorely mistaken. Now that I’d had my moment with Katie—that moment where I knew she wanted me as much as I wanted her—things were different. The war was on for Katie’s heart, and I was determined to be victorious.
That kiss had given me hope, and I was dangerous when I had hope.