They were getting close to the water now and she was enjoying their stroll hand and hand while they talked and passed a few other people. “So what are some of the things he did?”

  “The list went on and on. Typical boy things. But this one instance, it was Jade that got Wyatt. We’d all been running around on the trails like kids do. I’d been with Jade as we always had to be in at least pairs. She wanted to get back at him and decided that was going to be her day.”

  Payton turned and looked at him, saw the smile on his face and could tell it was a fond memory. “I’m dying to know what she did.”

  “First you have to understand that Jade is a girly girl. All dresses and skirts. Even that day she had a sundress on with sneakers.”

  “She ran around in a dress?” she asked.

  “That was Jade. She wears pants and shorts, don’t get me wrong, but to her a dress is like shorts, or so she says. Anyway, she had this little bag on her shoulder, like an accessory. I thought it was funny and an odd place for it, but well, it’s Jade.”

  “Was she hiding something in it?”

  “That was her plan. She collected a few bugs. Nothing major because she was kind of squeamish. But she got a few bugs from the ground, like worms or slugs. I don’t remember. She put them in a plastic bag and then inside her bag.”

  “Was Wyatt afraid of bugs?”

  “Not like you think,” he said laughing. “He was always throwing bugs at her and making her scream.”

  “So then he might not suspect her?”

  “You’re pretty smart,” he said.

  “It’s pretty easy to figure out where this is going.”

  “Wyatt’s a smart guy. He’s a doctor too. Anesthesiologist. I mean talk about having a lot of liability. Putting people to sleep for surgeries and making sure they wake up.”

  “Good grief. How many doctors are in your family?” she asked.

  “Just Sam and Wyatt.”

  “And you,” she said.

  “I don’t count.”

  “Sure you do. But continue on. What did she do with the bugs?”

  “When we got back for lunch she’d taken the bugs out when no one was looking and placed them on Wyatt’s plate when he got up to go to the bathroom. He came back and freaked out and dumped all his food and then struggled to eat because the bugs were crawling all over his sandwich. He’d eaten some of it and wondered if he ate a bug by mistake.”

  “That’s a riot. No one saw her do it?”

  “I knew. Ryder saw it too. We didn’t rat her out. Wyatt blamed his older brothers and they denied it. Then my Aunt Carolyn said it was only a few little bugs and they probably crawled over when he was gone. She was good at stopping the fighting.”

  “So Wyatt never knew the truth?” she asked.

  “I never told him. I doubt Jade or Ryder did.”

  “That’s a great story,” she said and found that they were now circling back toward the parking lot. The trail was shorter than she thought. Of course it looked like a lot of them were anywhere from less than a mile to two miles long.

  “One of many. So do you want to change paths here?” he asked when they crossed by another one. It was good they were coded by colors too.

  “Sure. Did you have any other plans today or can we take our time?”

  “My plans are to be with you,” he said.

  She stopped and looked around the woods, didn’t see anyone and backed him up to a tree, her hands going to his head and pulling him down to her level, her mouth going to town on his.

  He didn’t waste any time returning her kiss with as much passion as she was putting into it.

  When he lifted his head a minute later, his eyes were darker than normal, and soft. Tender almost. “What was that for?”

  “Just wanted to thank you for spending the day with me.”

  “That is one hell of a thank you,” he said.

  “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

  Sweet Girl And Hot Woman

  Bryce was trying to keep all the blood in his body from pooling into his dick.

  It wasn’t just that move—or all the other moves she made toward him—it was the way she looked today.

  She’d opened her door and he had all he could do to roll his tongue back in his mouth. Her hair was pulled away from her face, nothing new there. But she had on a pair of tan shorts that were...short. Everything was covered as it should be, and he’d seen shorter shorts on girls on campus. But Payton in those shorts and her long thin legs had his brain working in overdrive.

  She had a navy T-shirt on that fit her like a second skin but covered her completely, not even a V-neck. All parts of her were appropriately dressed, but showing him what he couldn’t wait to get his hands on.

  And when she reached for his hand to hold, there’d been a moment of shock. When was the last time he’d held a woman’s hand? Probably high school.

  This felt much different than anything in high school though.

  Payton was a mixture of sweet girl and hot woman.

  There were parts of her he had a feeling just wanted to feel like she belonged. Then there were parts that told him she was okay being on her own too. That she was her own person and liked it that way.

  “So is that a promise for later?” he asked her.

  He’d like to know what was going to happen the rest of the day, that he could plan, or anticipate, or maybe just get the disappointment over with now if he went home alone. He wouldn’t ask her back to his place, at least not to spend the night, though he’d love nothing better.

  “I hadn’t planned out too much of our day,” she said. “I figured we could play it by ear, but I had kind of hoped we could watch some more Travelers tonight.”

  “That works,” he said, trying to keep a smile on his face.

  “Then maybe I could cook you breakfast tomorrow,” she said.

  Yeah, his smile just went ear to ear like a Cheshire cat. But just to play it safe, he asked, “So that is breakfast at your place or mine? Meaning do I pick you up or are you staying?”

  She laughed at him. “Sometimes you say the funniest things. I was hoping to stay the night at your place. Your bed is bigger than mine so I’m sure you’d feel more comfortable there. If you don’t have the makings for breakfast at your apartment, we can stop and get what you’d like before we get some clothes at my place.”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  She seemed to hesitate. “I shouldn’t have assumed anything. I’d like to spend the night. I guess I should ask that. I know some guys aren’t big on that. Sorry, didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”

  “You didn’t put me on the spot. I’m not one of those guys even if my brother Sam was. Call me old fashioned in a way, but I like to spend the full night with a woman if it works out.”

  “I’d like that too.”

  They spent the next two hours walking some more paths, then decided to leave and get some lunch. They were moving through the parking lot toward a restaurant when he heard a horn beep and turned, then waved.

  “Who’s that?” Payton asked.

  “My cousin Noah.” He saw the car turn around and then come to the parking lot. Drake was with him.

  “What’s up?” he said when Drake rolled down the window.

  “We were just going to go to the driving range. Having lunch now?” Drake asked, looking past Bryce to Payton.

  “We are.” He took the eye wiggle as a sign to introduce his cousins. “Payton, this is my cousin Drake and his brother Noah.”

  “Hi,” she said from behind him.

  “I’m hungry too,” Noah said. “How about you, Drake?”

  “I was just thinking the same thing. Pull into a spot.”

  “Asses,” Bryce said, then stood back. He and Payton walked away and into the restaurant. “We are going to have company.”

  “They’re coming in?” she asked.

  “Yep. I didn’t invite them either. They invited themselves. I can’t say anything though because we do this all the time in our family.”

  “Do what?” she asked.

  “Table for four,” Bryce said to the hostess. “There are two guys coming in behind us.”

  They were led to the table and seated. “Park ourselves at someone’s table if we see them out. Then we leave them with the bill. Ryder and I did it to Sam a few months ago when he showed up at a bar that we’d just gotten too. We sat at their table, then left Sam with the bill.”

  “That’s horrible,” she said, her jaw dropping.

  “It would be if we didn’t all do it to each other. It’s almost expected now. Don’t worry, they’re good guys...sort of.”

  “I didn’t think they wouldn’t be. Well, I did want to know more about your family, didn’t I?”

  “Exactly. Now is your chance to pester them.”

  “I wouldn’t do that. And here they come. You weren’t kidding about your family genes. Holy cow.”

  He frowned. He’d never been jealous of his cousins before so why was he now? “Have a seat, boys. Behave yourselves.”

  Noah laughed. “We always do. So how did you two meet?”

  Figured Noah would waste no time. “I own Millie’s and he came in to eat with a gift card his mother gave him.”

  “Bonding over food,” Drake said. “I never figured that for you, Bryce, but I should have with the way you put away food.”

  He snorted. “You make it sound like all I do is eat.”

  “He does like to eat,” Payton said.

  “If I had someone as sweet looking as you making my food I’d be in there for all three meals.”

  She laughed and then looked at him. “I guess I know the way to Bryce then.”

  He liked that she didn’t add, “a way to his heart.” “Don’t be jealous,” he said to his cousins. The waitress came over and took their drink orders while they looked at the menus.

  “We aren’t jealous of you,” Noah said. “It’s just good to see you getting out of the house now and again. You aren’t even as pasty white as normal. It looks like you’ve got a little sunburn.”

  He frowned at them. Sure, he spent a lot of time indoors, but he wasn’t pasty white. “We just left Eno River Park. We were walking the trails.”

  “Nice day for it,” Drake said. He was always the calmer of the two of them.

  “It was.”

  “So does Bryce put you to sleep with his science talk?” Noah asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

  Payton laughed. “We don’t talk about science all that much. He knows it’s over my head. We have a lot of other things we talk about.”

  “Good for you,” Noah said. “We’ve tried to get Bryce to talk about other things for years. If you ever have insomnia, he’s the man to put you to sleep while he talks about atoms and protons and such.”

  Rather than get offended, Bryce snickered. “That’s because you majored in history. You wouldn’t know an atom from a proton from a bug bite on your ass.”

  He heard Payton giggle next to him and didn’t worry that she might be offended by what he’d said. Whenever he got with his cousins he relaxed more.

  “History?” Payton asked. “Are you a professor too? You can’t have your doctorate because Bryce told me just Wyatt and Sam and he are doctors.”

  “He actually told you he’s a doctor?” Drake asked, looking surprised.

  “I didn’t,” Bryce said.

  “No. My mother works with his mom and it came up he was a doctor. He probably wouldn’t have told me if I didn’t ask.”

  “Bryce doesn’t tell too many people he is,” Noah said. “Anyway, no. I’m a high school principal. I try to get the snot-nosed kids ready for him, but it seems these days it’s harder and harder.”

  “Tell me about it,” Bryce said.

  “Why don’t you ever tell anyone you’re a doctor?” she asked.

  “Because he says it doesn’t change who he is,” Drake said.

  “That’s right,” he said. “I didn’t get it so I could have the title. I got it because I wanted it.”

  “Because you like to learn,” she said.

  He watched his cousins look at each other and then him. He’d like to know what was going through their minds. Then when he was kicked under the table realized maybe he didn’t really want to know at all.

  “They actually left you with the bill,” Payton said when they were in his car and driving back to her place for a change of clothes for tomorrow.

  “I told you they would.”

  “And it doesn’t bother you?”

  “Nah,” he said. “It happens a lot. Though honestly I probably date the least, so I’m not sure the last time it happened to me. Actually, I’m not sure it ever did. I think I’ve done it to my brothers or cousins more.”

  “I think it’s kind of a nice tradition that your family has.”

  He turned his head. “I never thought of it as a tradition before, but I guess it is. Things you don’t miss if you’re an only child.”

  “That’s one way to think about it. Or another way is the good memories you’ve got.”

  He wasn’t sure why, but part of him felt like she was holding things back. Then he reminded himself they’d only been on a few dates and it wasn’t his place or business to ask or even know. Not yet.

  The Right Words

  Once they were back at Bryce’s place and their food put away, Payton started to feel a bit self-conscious about being so bold and forward in regards to spending the night with Bryce.

  “You can still say no,” Bryce said.

  She turned from where she was unloading the eggs, bread, and bacon they’d picked up at the store. “What?”

  “I said you can still say no. Just because you said you wanted to spend the night and we got your clothes, you can still change your mind.”

  “I won’t,” she said, smiling at him. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because you seem kind of quiet.” He pulled her into his arms. “I’m wondering if you’re changing your mind or maybe you think we are going too fast. I won’t get mad if you want to wait.”

  “Do you want to wait?” she asked.

  He snorted. “There is no way to answer this question. If I say hell no, then I feel like it’s putting pressure on you. If I say we can, then you might think I don’t want you.”

  “You’re the smart one,” she said, running her hand along his shadowed jaw. She liked that he hadn’t shaved today. Sexy mixed in with the sweetness of this conversation.

  “My mama didn’t raise a fool.”

  “No, she didn’t. But in this case, I’m sure. I guess you can say I’ve got a bit of nerves. The first time you’re with someone it’s normal to be nervous. What are the expectations? Fast or slow? How many times? Are they kinky? I’m not into kinky.”

  Her damn looks again. She’d lost track of the number of times a guy thought she was this wild thing in the bedroom. Like that saying “blondes have more fun.” Who the hell came up with that? And if she ever found out who it was she’d knock them upside the head for labeling blondes that way and putting a huge amount of stress on their shoulders and pressure to live up to.

  “What made you think I was into kinky? Those bars hanging in the doorway are for my pull-ups.”

  She laughed at the shocked expression on his face and then when he winked at her, she knew he was joking. Trying to make her feel better, she was sure.

  “I had wondered.” She ran her hands up and down his arms, never realizing how much she was into biceps. Just touching him was enough to calm her. “You know. Maybe if we went into your bedroom now my nerves would be gone.”

  “Maybe I’ve got some nerves too,” he said.

  “What could you be nervous about?”

  “Maybe you’re into leather and whips and all of mine are being repaired. Or you’d want to go five to ten times and I don’t have any little blue pills left in the house.”

  “Oh my God, Bryce. You know the right things to say.”

  “Do I?” he said, lowering his mouth to hers. Not fast and hurried like she always wanted to kiss him. But sweet and tender and gentle. Calming, soothing her.

  He knew the right moves along with the right words.

  “You know you do.”

  “How about this?” he asked, swinging her up in his arms. “Tell me to stop and I will. Or I can take you to my room where I hope neither one of us talks again until we are done. I have a hard time talking and working at the same time. I need to focus.”

  “Focus is good,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. No man had ever picked her up before. Carried her like this. Like she was something to be treasured.

  He walked to his room, pushed the door open with his foot and then placed her on the bed, coming down on top of her. His mouth went right to her lips, his hand up her thigh and under her shorts.

  “I feel like these shorts were a tease all day long.”

  That hadn’t been her intent but she wasn’t disappointed in the results by any means.

  “I’ve got another pair just like them but in a different color.”

  “Mmm,” he said, his mouth moving to her neck. What a wonderful mouth he had. And when his hand found its way to the outside of her heated core and cupped her under her shorts she jerked up and then pressed into him some more.

  There was no way she was going to be able to wait much longer, but didn’t want to rush this either. What a shitty position to be in. Rush or enjoy?

  Her hands when to his hair, holding his head in place and kissing him with as much aggression as she could, hoping he’d get the hint.

  When his hand moved out of her shorts and under her shirt she knew he got the message loud and clear.

  She started to wiggle under him, moving her hands to the hem of her shirt and lifting it up so he could see what he was touching. He took over and flung her shirt across the room, then tackled her bra and sent it in another direction.

  His eyes were like a torch burning her nipples as he stared but didn’t move. “Bryce?” she asked, wondering what was going through his head. She’d always thought her nipples were larger than normal, and now she was feeling pretty vulnerable over it.