Dahlia Aldridge
As I left my bedroom, jogging down the large marble steps that circled up five stories, a soft hum of appreciation left me because of how beautiful our house looked at this time of the day. The early morning sun and how it showcased the bright white marble left me in a state of awe despite having grown up in this house nearly my entire life. There was just something utterly magical about the place, and I found it hard to imagine living anywhere else.
Then again, the idea of another house, created to be a home for the guys and I, was extremely appealing. But if it meant leaving Wildberry Lane? It was something I would clearly have to reconcile with, despite hating the concept.
Before my thoughts could turn heavy, I slammed right into a very hard, shirtless chest. A sound of appreciation left my throat because,sweet christ, I knew exactly whose thick, muscular chest this was, and I had only seen it a few times. I swallowed before my eyes flicked up to meet a pair of bright green eyes, streaked with emerald, that were shining with an emotion that I didn’t even know how to begin to process.
For the record, lookingupwas very much way up, up, and up… because Dermot Ross was around two inches taller than his cousin at 6’5”, if not taller, and was so large that he seemed to literally command the entire space around him by just being there. There was no light and no oxygen. Just him and his sexy Irish accent. Our natural connection strummed between us, and any insecurities about how it would be between us after last night disappeared, reaffirming that whatever it was about how the two of us ‘worked,’ and there was absolutely no room for weirdness or awkwardness. Those elements should have existed, considering our lack of history, but they just didn’t.
Some people were just connected like that. I didn’t want to sound cheesy, but that was truly my opinion on the matter.
“Careful, baby girl,” Dermot mused, his fingers sliding down my waist to my hips as my fingers brushed over his chest. Not to push him away, either. No, I was fighting the urge to dig my nails into him so I could leave small crescent moon-shaped marks. I wanted to mark the man… which was so incredibly not like me.
Unlike King, I could see a bit of sleepiness in his vibrant eyes, and his dark reddish-brown hair was damp as if he had just taken a shower. Had he showered here? If so, why the heck hadn’t he invited me…
No. No, I was not making showers athing.If I did that, I would never be able to look at a shower without getting turned on, and that was terribly inconvenient. Then again, could anyone really blame me considering the stunt King pulled just the other day?
“You,” I began, feeling my throat go dry as my pulse picked up, “You are shirtless.”
My body was betraying me, already deciding the answers I needed weren’t nearly as important as feeling his shirtless body pressed against mine. Both of us, completely naked, skin to skin. My words and thoughts dried up as I continued to just stare at his chest, noticing that he had a tattoo over his right pectoral that I was almost damn positive was the Ross family crest. My fingers twitched to run over it with interest.
“That is correct.” His voice was amused and thick with heat as he stepped further into me. “Is that okay with you, Dahlia?”
“Okay with me?” I questioned, a soft squeak escaping my throat as I nodded sharply. “Oh yes, totally okay. I mean, wait, that sounds weird. You know what? Whatever you’re comfortable with—shirt, no shirt. Pants, no pants. Wait! Not no pants. Well, unless that’s what you want—”
Dermot’s lips suddenly seared to mine in a hungry kiss, pulling a surprised moan from my mouth. He just kissed the heck out of me, and when his hand wrapped around my braid, letting him position me how he wanted, he deepened and slowed the kiss. I didn’t even try to stop myself from digging my nails into his hot chest, the groan that escaped his mouth making me realize that I’d left deeper marks than I’d originally intended. I started to apologize until I pulled back and met his nearly feral gaze, his now dark eyes moving from the markings to my lips, his breathing rough.
Nevermind, heclearlydidn’t mind, and I more than liked them.
Was that weird? Weird that I loved marking him?
A throat clearing had me jumping as Dermot’s intensity disappeared almost instantly, an amused sound leaving his lips as my eyes moved to the doorway of the kitchen where King was leaning and staring at the two of us. I worried momentarily that he would be pissed or something, considering Dermot was his cousin and not one of the others, but instead he just looked pleased and entertained at my surprise.
“Need anything?” Dermot called to King, not taking his eyes off mine while running his rough fingers up the back of my neck and tightening on my braid once more. “I’m stopping over at the house to grab some shite.”
“Nope,” King answered as Dermot leaned down, kissing me hard again and leaving me breathless before offering a wink and striding past me. I looked over at King and found him staring at me with an intensity and a hot smirk that had me blushing.
“What?” I murmured, slowly approaching him and stepping into the doorway, my aim to slide past him. At least that’s what I told myself. Of course, almost immediately, his arms came down on both sides as he trapped me there, stepping into my space. I shivered as his nose brushed over my cheekbone, my breathing hitching at the way the simple action lit up my entire body.
Clearly the years of sexual frustration towards these men were catching up to me.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” he cooed softly. “I am well aware of how my cousin feels about you, princess.”
And how did his cousin feel about me? Because we hadn’t truly had that conversation yet. I examined his expression, finding only truth as he continued his little speech.
“I can’t exactly blame him. Hell, I can’t fault most men for being attracted to you. You’re exquisite. However, Icankill those other men—”
“King!” I chastised at his dramatics, but then my eyes widened in realization that they may not be dramatics…
He chuckled at my reaction. “Luckily for him, my cousin is exempt from that.”
Rolling my eyes, I pinned him with a look. “And I’m not embarrassed, for the record. I just don’t know how Dermot feels about me. It’s more complicated than that.”
“I managed to uncomplicate it for us.” He offered a small smirk, his eyes dipping to my lips.
“King, you aren’t exactly subtle when you decide you want to make something known.”
The man in question flashed a dangerous smile. “And here I thought I’d been subtle for the past eighteen years, princess. You did say you didn’t even realize we’d been dating this entire time. That you’d beenoursthis entire time.”