“Fine!” I nearly shout into the phone. “His cock is about ten inches, if I’m guessing, and he fucked me in about every position I could explain. My favorite, though, was the corkscrew. Not sure what that is? Google it.”
My finger goes to swipe off the call when I see the name on the screen and drop the phone. “Shit!” I cry, digging through the items on my passenger’s side floorboard until I find the glowing device.
My heart is pounding as I try to decide whether to end the call or talk to Lincoln. Mortified, I bring it to my ear and squeeze my eyes shut. He’s silent.
Maybe he didn’t hear. Please, God, don’t let him have heard that.
“Hello?” I eke out.
“I’d say ten inches is fair and I’ve made a note about the corkscrew. Glad I called,” he chuckles.
“Hey, Landry.” I want to slink into the seat and melt into the leather.
“That’s one way to make me a little less pissed that you snuck out on me.”
“I didn’t sneak out on you. I left a note.”
“For the record, the note didn’t help. But hearing you talk about my cock—who were you talking to, by the way?—that helps. That really helps.”
“Fuck off,” I say, smiling. Ready to change the subject, I flip on the Bluetooth and pull onto the street. “Why did you call? Hoping you’d overhear me embarrassing myself?”
“Baby, there is nothing embarrassing about having a man hear you talk about how much you liked being with him.”
I don’t know what I swoon harder over, him calling me “baby” or the husk in his voice. Sure, he’s called me that before, but hearing it when he’s not inside me is different. More meaningful. Maybe more like a word choice instead of a reaction.
He clears his throat. “I called because I need a favor.”
“Really, Landry?”
“Really, Dani,” he mocks. “My brother needs someone to watch his girlfriend’s kid overnight tomorrow night. They have something to do in Nashville and want to take the kid with them, but he can’t go with them that night. And Alison, my brother’s girl, doesn’t believe in nannies.”
“What do you need my help with?”
“Come over and have dinner with us. Help me entertain him. He’s ten or eleven or something and is a pretty cool kid. His name is Huxley and he’s a big baseball fan. So, naturally, we hit it off.”
“So why do you need me? Sounds like you have this figured out.”
“I’ve never been left alone with a kid all night.”
“I’m not staying the night with you and your nephew, Landry.”
“I’m not asking you to,” he says, mocking me again. “I’m asking you to come for dinner, watch a movie, build Legos, or whatever. Just hang out with us.”
I blow out a breath as I turn onto my street. Again: kryptonite. I can’t say no to this man. Even though I should back away slowly from the predator he is, I can’t. I like being his prey.
“What time?”
“Six,” he says and I know he’s grinning. But that’s fair. So am I.
Lincoln
MY WEIGHT POUNDING DOWN THE hallway causes the pictures hanging to knock against the wall. “I’m coming!” I shout as the doorbell chimes again. Like a kid at Christmastime, I pop open the door. “Hey!”
“Uncle Linc!” Huxley lunges forward, wrapping his arms around my waist.
Chuckling, I rub my knuckles across the top of the Arrows cap I gave him. Then I look up and wink at Alison. “Why’d you bring that guy?”
“Because that guy is her fiancé,” Barrett says, a smile thick in his voice.
“Officially?”
“No,” Alison sighs, rolling her eyes. “He better ask me soon or I might just up and leave him.”
“Try me,” Barrett growls, making her laugh.
I untangle myself from Hux and pull my brother into a quick hug. “How are you?”
“Ready to spend a few uninterrupted minutes with Alison.”
We both turn to the woman at his side. A red dress skims her curves, her lips painted the same color. I’ve seen this monochromatic look done a million times, but on her it looks different. Classy. Distinguished. Not mine.
It’s a running joke that I have a crush on my brother’s girl. It is a joke. I wouldn’t touch her if my life depended on it. As a matter of fact, I’d thrash any jackass if they tried it. Alison’s different. She’s smart. Funny. Nurturing. She’s a lot like Dani.
“What’s that look for?” Alison asks, just before she kisses my cheek. Her fingers find my face and she wipes the lipstick away.
“What look?”
“That look like you’re thinking of something, or someone, else.”
Tossing her a wink, I spread my arms to encourage her to follow Barrett and Huxley into the house. Once inside, I shut the door behind us.
“Can I explore?” Hux takes in the living room. “Please?”
“Better not,” Barrett warns, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. The look of potential horror on his features makes me laugh.
“Go ahead, Hux.”
“Yay!” he says and takes off.
“Don’t touch anything! Don’t open drawers!” Barrett calls after him.
“And don’t look in his phone,” Alison adds, jabbing me in the side with her elbow. “Lincoln Landry, you have no idea the conversation I had to have with my son after he got ahold of your texts.”
I grimace. “It was one text and it wasn’t even a picture text—”
“It was a very, very descriptive—”
“—that she never followed through on. But that’s not the point,” I grin. “He didn’t even get to the good stuff. I told him she was talking about a kitten at the pound. He believed it.”
Alison’s hands go to her hips. “And I had to buy a cat.”
“And I hate cats,” Barrett adds, shaking his head. “Just keep the phone out of his sight. Got it?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Geez, you make it sound like you regret agreeing to leave him with me.”
“We only agreed because we need a night to ourselves,” Barrett sighs. His hand finds the curve of Alison’s hip and he brings her to his side as her head falls against his shoulder. “We’ve not had a night alone in forever. We need a break.”
Smirking, I start to retort with how I’d spend a night alone with Alison if I was him, but am silenced by Barrett’s warning glare before I can get a word out. Instead, I laugh and head into the kitchen. “You guys want a drink?”
They turn down my offer, but follow me into the next room. Hopping up to sit on the island, I look at my brother. He looks at me. We exchange a smile. It’s a gesture that’s loaded with a feeling I’ve never been able to find with anyone but my siblings. A look of comfort, of understanding. Of “I don’t know what in the hell you’re doing, but I’ll do it with you.”
Barrett looks at Alison like that. Ford looked at his girlfriend like that too before they broke things off when he went overseas. I’ve never been close to feeling that way with someone else who wasn’t a Landry.
“Tell me about her,” Alison says softly.
I grin like crazy because Barrett rolls his eyes, earning him a nudge in the side from Alison.
“She’s . . .” I watch my bare feet swing. It’s easy to joke about things, about women, with my brothers. I’m the goofball of the family; I can play everything off. But with Alison, it’s different. She picks up on so much more. It’s like she has a bullshit meter that dings when my mouth opens.