Drive Me Wild. P.J. Mellor
who has called at least ten times in the last few minutes. The only person who has called. Man, don’t you have a life?”
“Yes, I have a life! And I want it back! I knew this was a piss-poor idea—”
“And yet you agreed to it. What does that say about your judgment, big brother?”
“Unless you tell me what the hell is going on, the deal is off, Braedon. I’ll tell your girlfriend everything. I swear, I will.”
“Chill.” He stood and reached for the towel he’d thrown over the patio chair. “I told you. I made some poor financial deals, took a few too many risks. Before I knew it, I was in way over my head. The guy who bankrolled me was getting pissy about repayment. I needed a way to lay low for a while. Then, out of the blue, you called and asked me to lunch.” He stepped onto the sun-warmed patio and toweled his legs. “It was a goddamned sign.”
“Define pissy.”
“Bodily damage, among other things.” Braedon reached into the fridge under the outdoor kitchen counter his goody-two-shoes brother had designed, and popped the top on another beer.
“Real or implied?”
“Both, if you want to know the truth.”
“And you want me to pretend to be you? What if they come after me?”
He took a swig. “How’s Penny?”
“What? Who?”
“Penny. Short, brown hair, light eyes. Never can remember if they’re green or blue.” He paused. “We share a bed. Is any of this ringing any bells?”
“She lives here?” Ryan practically shouted. He lowered his voice to a harsh whisper. “How did you manage to forget that little detail when we exchanged identities? I asked if you were telling me everything. You said yes.”
“No, I think my exact words were sort of . So…have you done her yet? She’s not much on sex, but if you get her primed just right, she’s a fair ride.”
Silence.
“I take it that’s a no? Don’t hold back on my account, big brother.”
“What’s wrong with you? You don’t care if I screw you girlfriend?”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“She lives here, you sleep together. If she’s not your girlfriend, who is she?”
“Technically, my fiancée.”
5
R yan’s stomach lurched. Clutching Braedon’s phone to his ear, he sank to sit on the closed toilet. “What did you say?” he finally managed to choke out.
Braedon’s chuckle sounded malevolent as it floated through space to the earphone. “You heard me. But don’t worry about it. It’s not like it’s serious or anything.”
“Are you a total moron? Of course it means something! Women don’t accept marriage proposals if they don’t think you’re serious about marrying them. What were you thinking?”
“You know, Ry, that was exactly my thought not ten minutes ago. I guess I panicked. That, combined with the world class blow job she’d just given me, well, I guess all the blood was in the wrong head, if you know what I mean. All I can say is it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“She needs to be told.”
“Tell her what, Ryan? What should I say? How about ‘Oh, hi, Penny. Guess what? My twin brother and I switched places. That’s right, he’s the one who’s been porking you.’ How do you think that will go over? I know you’ve been fucking her. That’s why you’re so outraged.” He laughed. “After all these years, you still have that knight-in-shining-armor complex. Hey, I don’t care. As far as I’m concerned, you can do her all night, every night. Hell, it’d save me the trouble. Sometimes she can be such a needy bitch.”
“You’re talking about your fiancée.” A headache wove its way from his clenched jaw up between his eyes.
“Ha! Only until I get this mess cleared up. Then I’m outta here.”
“What was her name? Penny? What about Penny?”
“What about her?”
“She deserves an explanation. After all, you did propose to her.”
“What she deserves, big brother, is a gigantic, mind-blowing orgasm to loosen her up. I never did do it for her. Maybe you can.”
“You’re a real asshole.” Ryan ground out. “She deserves to know the truth. If you have no plans to marry her, you need to tell her. If you don’t, I will.”
“Ah, I don’t recommend that, big brother. Leastways, not right now.”
“Why?”
“You know the guy I told you about? The one I owe all that money to, who wants to take it out on my kneecaps, among other things?”
That didn’t sound good. Taking a deep breath, Ryan asked, “What about him?”
“He’s Penny’s daddy.”
Ryan sat with the cell phone still at his ear long after his brother had hung up. Great. He’d not only just slept with his brother’s fiancée, she was also the daughter of a loan shark. A loan shark who thought he was Braedon.
He dropped the phone to the fuzzy throw rug and hung his head. What kind of hell had he gotten himself into?
One thing was for sure. If he survived this mess, he was going to have to kill his brother.
Penny wrapped her silk robe tighter, padded to the closed bathroom door, and tapped softly.
“Braedon? Honey, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” She swallowed another laugh. “I was just surprised. Um, I actually think you look kind of…sexy in my underwear.”
No answer.
She tapped again. “Come back to bed. Please?”
The door flew open. Braedon stood bathed in the light from the bathroom, with a towel once again wrapped around his lean hips.
Her mouth went dry. Her hormones must be active. She’d never been so turned on by the sight of his naked chest—or naked anything, truthfully. Very strange. Not that she was complaining. Lusting after your future husband was a good thing.
She hooked her finger in the towel and tugged. It fell to the floor.
Oh, yeah, a very good thing…
Ryan stood rooted to the spot. She needed to be told the truth. He needed to tell her. Braedon sure as hell didn’t plan on doing it.
He swallowed, but before he could open his mouth, she dropped the silky robe to stand before him in all her naked glory.
His cock sprang to attention.
She looked at it and smiled.
It was the smile that got to him. It was a secret, sensual smile. The smile a woman gets when she’s confident in her sexuality, knows she’s aroused her mate. Did he want to be the cause of the smile going away?
Images of potentially very hot sex on the rumpled bed flashed through his mind like an X-rated video, making him harder. Sex with her was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.
He wanted to experience it again. Technically, she was single. He’d tell her the truth…later.
She reached toward his erection, stroking him in a whispering, circular motion that had him vibrating with need.
Tomorrow would be soon enough to end things…
6