Mine.
“Thank you,” she said in a husky voice that sounded like sex and whiskey.
“You’re welcome,” I replied with a smile. Then I cocked my head to the side and winked playfully. “Now that our bodies are acquainted, perhaps we should introduce ourselves. I’m Sawyer. I work with Jesse.”
“Oh! Sawyer! I’ve heard so much about you. It feels like we’ve already met. It’s kind of crazy that we haven’t. You’ve been my brother’s best friend for years, and—”
Whatever she was saying faded as everything inside me froze, and dread trickled through me like ice, putting out the fires that had been building. “Katie?” I croaked.
“Yes! Sorry! I meant to say that, but I got caught up in—anyway, that’s me.”
This was Jesse’s little sister. The one he described as “the life of the party.” He’d told me enough stories over the years that I felt like I knew her too. According to him, she was wild and a little flighty, unsure of her direction in life, and more focused on a good time than her future. Definitely not someone ready for a serious, long-term commitment. Not that I’d been considering that seconds after meeting her. Liar.
“Katie, what the fuck is taking so long?” Jesse’s grumpy voice preceded him as he appeared in the doorway. We both turned to look at him, and I took an instinctive step away from his sister even though I hadn’t been suspiciously close to her.
“Language!” someone yelled from inside.
“Sorry, Mom!” he shouted back.
“Yeah, Jesse, stop fucking swearing,” Katie snickered.
“Would you grow up?” he asked with a sigh, but the twinkle in his eyes said he was teasing.
She stuck her tongue out at him, then spun back around and skipped down the steps. “Nice to finally meet you, Sawyer!” The light caught her hair, and I noticed the pink shine once again. Was her hair pink?
“Um, you too.” I ascended the rest of the stairs, and Jesse stood back to let me in.
“I see you met my little sister.” I tried to read his tone and see if he suspected the filthy things I wanted to do to her, but thankfully, he sounded normal.
“She tripped, and I caught her,” I explained unnecessarily. Off to a great start, idiot.
“Figures. That girl can’t stand on her own two feet”—he rolled his eyes—“unless she’s dancing on a table.”
I nearly choked but managed to keep my tone even when I replied, “Pardon?”
Jesse laughed and took my coat and bag, setting them on a bench in the entry before walking away with a beckoning gesture. “She went to one of those country places where you can dance on the bar. I haven’t the first clue how she did that without falling off, especially after a couple of drinks.”
“You let her do that?” I asked, puzzled at why he wouldn’t have snatched her down and made her leave. I chose to ignore the jealousy burning in my gut.
Jesse shrugged. “First of all, nobody ‘lets’ Katie do anything. That little rebel did a high dive off a cliff just because I told her not to. And second, as long as she didn’t break any bones, I didn’t see any harm. It’s not like she was pole dancing at a strip club. I put a stop to that the second I found out about it.”
My mood darkened with every story Jesse told me about his sister, but it was Christmas, and I was spending the holiday in someone else’s home, whom I was meeting for the first time. I’d met his parents several times over the years, but somehow, his sister and I had never crossed paths.
I told my dick to back off, then grew some balls and put on a show of the carefree, fun-loving friend.
I was restless, and after rolling over and punching my pillow for the umpteenth time, I finally grabbed it and threw it across the guest room. Sleep was eluding me, and I was trying not to examine why even though I knew.
It was the day after Christmas, and I would be leaving in the morning. My parents were back in town, and we’d planned to have a family dinner and exchange presents. But for the first time, I wasn’t eager to see them. All I wanted was to go home and drink until I finally fell asleep.
Sleep had eluded me for most of my visit with the Blakes. I tried to tell myself a million different lies, but the truth was, I hadn’t been able to relax knowing Katie was sleeping a floor away.
And when I did finally succumb to exhaustion, I woke up sweating and hard as a fucking rock from the erotic dreams I couldn’t get rid of.
After spending the past five days with Katie, I wasn’t sure Jesse’s view of her was wholly accurate. She often seemed to be scatterbrained, rambling on about things and losing her train of thought while talking to me. But I’d noticed her talking to someone else a few times, and she’d been quite eloquent and thoughtful.