Текст книги "Misbehaving"

Автор книги: Abbi Glines

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“I get him after Sadie,” Amanda’s voice called out just as I saw her walking into the room.

“You get him all the time,” Sadie told her, smiling down at the baby.

“He loves his aunt Manda,” Amanda cooed over the baby. I hadn’t seen Amanda since Marcus and Willow’s wedding. Her long blond hair was hanging loose down her back, and she was wearing a skirt that showed off her tanned legs. Preston walked up behind her and placed his hand possessively on her hip, and I froze. This might be a bad idea.

“I swear to you he’s over it,” Jax whispered beside me.

I nodded and started down the stairs toward the group. It wasn’t that I was scared of Preston—I just didn’t want to spend my night feeling like the unwanted guest. I was fine with not showing up to this thing.

“Cage and Eva are coming. They’re still getting used to life with a baby,” Willow told Sadie.

“I can’t wait to see Bliss,” Sadie said with a happy sigh.

Another baby? Damn, this group was multiplying like rabbits.

“She’s gorgeous,” Willow said. “I’m not kidding you. Like, stop-in-your-tracks gorgeous. Her little cheeks are so chubby, and her eyes are Cage’s. Eva can’t take her anywhere without being stopped by a million people to ooh and aah over her.” She smiled happily.

We reached the bottom step, and Sadie noticed us. She beamed brightly. I didn’t make eye contact with Amanda or even look in Preston’s direction. Instead I walked over to shake Marcus’s hand and congratulate him on the kid.

“Good to see you,” Marcus said, grinning at me.

“You too. Looks like you added another member to the family,” I replied. “Congrats.”

“Thanks. He’s keeping me up at night, but I’m okay with it. It’s a good time to talk football. Teaching him early.”

I laughed and turned to Sadie, who was holding the little guy out for me to see him. “Jason, meet Eli Hardy,” she said in a soft voice reserved for babies.

“Nice to meet you, Eli,” I replied. The kid smiled and stuck his hand in his mouth. The little fluff of hair on his head was as red as his mother’s, but the kid reminded me of Marcus. Maybe it was his eyes.

“I’m hungry. We gonna stand around and look at babies all night, or is there food here?” a new voice said, drawing my attention from the baby. I recognized him, but I couldn’t remember his name. He had his dreadlocks pulled back in a ponytail. Tattoos decorated most of his arms, and he even had one coming up his neck. I didn’t stare long enough to figure out what it was. His lip was pierced, and when he talked you could see the metal in his mouth.

“We have plenty of food, Dewayne,” Sadie replied, smiling at him like he wasn’t a scary-ass dude.

“Good,” he said, walking over and stopping to kiss Eli’s head, which was not what I was expecting him to do. “Damn, that kid’s cute. But then, he looks like his momma.”

Marcus just chuckled.

Dewayne looked over at me and stopped. His gaze shifted from me to where I knew Amanda and Preston stood behind me. A slow grin stretched across his face. “Hell yeah. This should be a shit ton of fun. Preston, you gonna play nice with Jason?”

Sadie’s eyes went wide, and everyone went quiet. I decided now was a good time to turn and address them and get this over with.

Amanda was glaring at Dewayne like she was about to take a swing at him, but Preston had an amused grin on his face. “I always play nice,” Preston said with a lazy drawl that went well with his surfer-boy appearance. “I got no problem with Jason. At least not anymore.” He dropped his arm from around Amanda’s waist, stepped forward, and held out his hand to me. “No hard feelings,” he said.

The guy was hard to dislike. I shook his hand. “Not at all,” I replied.

“Good,” he said, stepping back to put his hand back on Amanda. “See, dickhead? We’re all good,” Preston said to Dewayne.

Dewayne just chuckled and shook his head. “Sure you are.”

“Okay, Dewayne, don’t go getting everyone all stirred up. We’re at the Stones’ house,” Marcus said, trying to sound diplomatic.

Dewayne shrugged and glanced back at Marcus. “Just having some fun.”

The doorway was filled again, this time with the massive brick wall that was Rock. A little girl with a head full of curls ran around his legs, squealing Preston’s name. I turned to see Preston reach down and grab her just as she flung herself into his arms. Rock and his wife, Trisha, had adopted Preston’s little sister and brothers when their mother passed away, making this group of friends even tighter.

“I missed you,” the little girl said, planting a loud, smacking kiss on Preston’s cheek.

“I missed you, too,” he said.

“Sorry we’re late,” Rock said. “Trisha is bringing the boys after football practice. I had to go get Daisy. Jess was watching her at the house while we were at the boys’ practice.

My head snapped around at the name Jess. The name of the girl I’d rescued the other night.

“You’re letting Jess watch Daisy?” Willow asked, sounding surprised.

Rock looked over at her and frowned. “She’s my cousin. I know you aren’t a fan of Jess’s, but she’s good with Daisy.”

“She’s really not so bad, Low, Amanda piped up. “I know you had a bad experience with her, but Jess is loyal to a fault and she loves those kids.” That made me even more curious. If this was the same Jess who beat the hell out of her boyfriend’s truck, then I could understand Low’s concern. She didn’t seem like the babysitter type.

“She seems so flighty,” Willow said, frowning.

Dewayne walked back into the room with a handful of chips. “You’re just worried because Jess had her sexy ass set on Marcus. Don’t mean she’s a bad girl. Just a little misguided at times.”

Amanda shot an annoyed glare Dewayne’s way. “Don’t bring that up. It’s old news.”

“Don’t, dude.” Marcus’s voice sounded pleading.

“Jess does some things that are not well thought out, and she’s impulsive, but she’s still good with Daisy,” Rock said defensively.

“She bashed in Hank’s truck the other night,” Marcus pointed out.

This group had just won my complete and total attention. I couldn’t keep from grinning. I had to rub my hand over my mouth so no one noticed. They were talking about the hot blonde I’d helped escape.

“She did what?” Sadie asked in shocked horror.

Willow sighed and shook her head. “Her on-again, off-again boyfriend was cheating on her, and she took a bat or something and shattered his truck’s windows and apparently got a few dents in the side before she took off running.”

Preston let out an amused laugh. “Sorry. But it’s funny as hell. Every time I hear it, I can’t stop myself from laughing.”

Rock shook his head. “Crazy girl. Hank had it coming, but I still can’t believe she did it. Although, she’s claiming she didn’t, and the only proof is Hank saying he saw her running and chased her down. Then he says she jumped into a Porsche and took off. That right there is a lie. Ain’t no one in town with a Porsche. Then, when the cops got to her house, her momma said Jess had been with her all day and was in the shower. Cop said the hood of her truck was cool, so he couldn’t argue with Starla.”

I felt Jax’s eyes on me, but I didn’t turn around. I could almost hear his thoughts. He knew who owned a Porsche in Sea Breeze—he did.

“Knowing Hank, he was drunk or high. But it sure sounds like something Jess would do. No one else had motive. And we all know Starla probably entertains more than one of the cops in Sea Breeze at Jugs,” Preston said, still amused and grinning.

Jugs? What’s Jugs? I didn’t ask. Instead I stayed quiet. Luckily, Jax never mentioned the Porsche that he left parked in the garage here.

Chapter Three

JESS

I had lain low for a week. I was tired of staying at home. Keeping Rock’s little girl, Daisy May, earlier this week had been a fun distraction, but I needed some action. Thinking about Hank and all that wasted time just drove me crazy. It was almost if I was begging to end up like my momma. Not that I didn’t love my momma—I just knew her life was hard.

Besides, as much as I liked dressing to draw a guy’s attention, I did not ever want to think I had to strip for men to make ends meet. My momma seemed to take it in stride. I just didn’t think I ever could. I liked my body just fine. I just preferred to choose who I took my clothes off for. Balding, fat policemen were not gonna get to pay to see me naked. So help me God.

I slid my feet into my red cowboy boots and tugged my short black leather skirt down until it covered my butt cheeks. Apparently, leather was back in this season. I loved leather, so that made me happy. I reached for one of my Jackdown T-shirts. I was going to go listen to Krit and his band tonight at Live Bay. Krit loved it when I wore one of the band’s shirts.

Krit had also loved it when I took it off for him. But those days were over. His sister, Trisha, married my cousin. We were family now, even if he preferred to say that didn’t count. Besides, Krit was not gonna be the guy to save me from my momma’s life. He was just like me: born into a low-class situation and trying to find a way out. We also enjoyed trouble just a little too much. The two of us together had proved to be dangerous.

Momma had already left for work tonight, so I went to her room to spray a little of her Chanel on my cleavage. She used it sparingly, and I wasn’t supposed to touch it.

When I was sure I was ready, I grabbed my truck keys and opened the front door. In my driveway sat a completely loaded black Hummer with dark-tinted windows. Who the hell was that? That wasn’t your average Hummer. It was the kind that was special-ordered. I closed the door behind me and walked down the two cinder block steps.

The driver’s door opened, and out stepped Mr. Porsche. In his hand was a baseball bat. Rock’s baseball bat. Oh damn, I’d forgotten it. Smiling in relief because Rock would’ve killed me had I lost it, I walked over to meet him halfway.

“You forgot something,” he said by way of greeting.

“Thank you,” I replied, taking it from him and sticking it behind my back in case someone drove by and caught me with a baseball bat. That was the last thing I needed after this week.

“Can I trust you with it? Or should I be available for any escape plans?”

Mr. Porsche had a dimple in his right cheek. I hadn’t noticed it before. “I think I’m hanging up my bat. Too much trouble,” I told him.

“Good to hear. Stories of your truck bashing made it all around town this week,” he said with an amused look. “Since the talk is that your escape vehicle was a Porsche, and no one believes Hank because they’re saying no one has a Porsche around here, I decided I’d better drive something else if I was coming over here.”

How did he know that? Sea Breeze was a small town, but it wasn’t that small. Locals didn’t share that kind of stuff with the summer people. He had to know someone with an in. “Who are you?” I asked.

“My name’s Jason,” he replied.

Jason. I didn’t know any Jasons. Other than Jason Condoy, who overdosed last year. I tilted my head and studied him a minute. “So, Jason, who do you know in Sea Breeze? I could have sworn you were right off the island. The Porsche and all gave that away.”

His grin grew and his dimple got deeper. I liked that dimple a lot. “My secret,” he said simply.

I glanced down at his designer clothing and reminded myself that guys like him were so out of my league. I was looking for a local with some potential. That was as good as I was going to get. This guy looked like he would fit in perfectly in Beverly Hills. “Yeah, well, thanks for this and for the other night. I appreciate it,” I said, deciding that prolonging this conversation was pointless.

“You headed somewhere?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m going out. A friend of mine is in a band,” I explained.

Jason didn’t make a move to leave. What was he doing?

“They’re playing at a bar,” I continued.

“You meeting someone there?”

Um … what? Was he actually about to ask to go too? No. I had to be reading this wrong. “Uh, friends will be there, I’m sure.”

“But no guy? Or is the friend in the band the guy?”

He was asking me if I had a date. Wow. For the first time in my life I felt at a loss for words. I just stood there, awkwardly staring at him.

“It’s okay. Really. Don’t look so panicked. I’ll see you around,” he said, then turned and started back toward his Hummer.

He was leaving. I had to say something. “No, wait. I’m not … There isn’t a guy. I’m just going to listen to the band and see some friends. If you want to come …” I trailed off, still having a hard time believing he wanted to be seen with me.

He stopped and glanced back at me. “You sure?”

Yes! I managed to nod and not act like an idiot.

His grin was back. “I’ll drive.”

Taking a steadying breath, I walked toward him and realized I still had the baseball bat in my hand. “Oh.” I stopped and held it up. “I need to put this away.”

“You can put it in the Hummer until we get back,” he said, walking over to open my door for me.

This was a first. No one had ever opened a car door for me. Ever.

“Thank you,” I said, looking up at him and deciding that I could get used to this.

“For what?” he asked with a confused look on his face.

“For opening my door,” I replied.

His eyes went wide and he stared at me a second, then leaned forward. “Jess, if guys don’t open doors for you, then they aren’t worth your time. No need to thank me.” Then he leaned back and held out his hand to help me up into the Hummer.

I was pretty sure I understood the word “swoon” finally. I slipped my hand into his, and he closed his larger one around mine and then helped me up. It was higher than my truck, but my legs were as long as my momma’s. Still, I liked having him help me.

When I sat down, I noticed his eyes on my legs before he lifted his gaze to meet mine. “Sorry,” he said with a slight blush on his face. Then he closed the door and I had a moment to compose myself.

Had I ever seen a guy blush? Other than my high school history teacher who I’d had a crush on and had made sure to let him know it. I felt very underdressed. My sexy little outfit now seemed … kind of cheap. Jason opened the driver’s door and climbed in. His biceps flexed, capturing my complete attention. I wondered what his abs looked like.

“Where are we going?” he asked as he cranked the engine.

“It’s called Live Bay,” I told him. “Ever heard of it?”

Jason smirked. “Of course.”

JASON

This was probably a bad idea. I wasn’t ready to tell Jess who I was. From the stories I had heard about Jess, I knew she was a troublemaker. I had intended to return the bat and leave. Although the things the group had said about her were amusing as hell, I got the impression that once she knew my brother was Jax Stone, that would be the only thing she’d care about. I’d be on her radar but for all the wrong reasons. And I was only here for a month to get some alone time before school started back up.

Seeing her walk out of the house in that tiny skirt that hardly covered her ass and that tight T-shirt had made me forget exactly why I hadn’t been planning to pursue getting to know her better. All those legs had made me weak. Rock had acted so protective of her when everyone was talking about Jess, and I could see the concern in his eyes when he explained her actions. He knew a Jess none of them had been given a chance to get to know.

I wanted to know that Jess. Because the sexy, half-dressed one who liked to use her body to make men buckle at the knees was pretty damn hot. I needed more, though. I was curious. That was it.

“You’ve been to Live Bay before?” she asked.

I glanced over at her. “Yeah, once,” I admitted.

“Surprising. Normally, the island people don’t make it over to our hangouts.”

The way she said “island people” didn’t sound appealing. “You got something against the island?” I asked, amused.

She shrugged. “Not really. Just a fact.”

She was right. Jax, however, had blown that out of the water. He had not only come off the island, he had chased a girl down and made her his. “You ever been on the island?” I asked. I turned into Live Bay, then glanced over at her.

She shook her head. “Nope.” She cut her eyes at me, and her long lashes fanned her high cheekbones. “Guys from the island don’t normally invite girls like me over for dinner.”

That was a shame. Guys from the island didn’t know just how entertaining Jess was. “Their loss,” I said, opening my door. I had to jog around the front of the Hummer to get to Jess before she jumped out all on her own with those boots on.

She raised her eyebrows. “You help girls out of cars too?” she asked.

Damn, what kind of guys had she been dating?

I held out my hand, and she grabbed it before stepping down. Her chest pressed against mine, and I sucked in a breath. Her tits were not only on the generous side, but they were soft.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling up at me with a knowing look in her eyes. I let her have her fun. She knew I liked feeling her chest, and she was keeping it right there for me to look down and see up close and personal.

I wasn’t going to look, though. She expected me to. She had already caught me checking out those legs of hers. I wasn’t going to ogle her tits, too. Instead I winked at her and stepped back.

“Ready?” I asked her.

The flash of disappointment in her eyes made me wish I had taken a look. I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t attracted to her. She may be flirty, but she was a female and she had feelings.

“Sure,” she said, forcing a smile and turning to head inside. I started to grab her arm and assure her that her body was perfect. But I didn’t. I had a feeling she was used to that. I didn’t want to be what she was used to. She viewed me as different, and I wanted to be. I wanted to stand out.

Why? I wasn’t sure.

I took several long strides to keep up with her and get to the door before her so I could open it. She stopped and watched me as I stood back and waited for her to walk in. A small smile touched her lips, and the flirty Jess was back.

I followed her inside. The music was already loud and the bodies were packing in closer to the stage. The band wasn’t playing yet, but it must have been getting close to time.

Several guys called out greetings to Jess, who waved at them in return. They all knew her. Even the bartender, who winked at her. This was not something I’d be able to deal with. Glad I was getting to witness it tonight.

I saw several male eyes shift from her to me. They were all wondering if I was with her. I could feel it. I didn’t move to touch her because she wasn’t mine. We had just come here together.

“Where’d you find this one, Jess?” a girl with dark brown curls and bright pink lipstick asked as she stared at me with open curiosity. Her eyes scanned my body slowly.

“He’s with me, Tiff. Pour ice water on yourself and move on,” Jess said, reaching back to grab my arm and tug me closer to her.

I was trying real hard not to grin.

“When you get tired of her claws, come see me. I’m sweet as a kitten,” the other girl called out as Jess pulled me through the crowd.

“Friend of yours?” I asked, amused by the stiffness of Jess’s shoulders.

She stopped walking and looked back at me. “Uh, no,” she snapped. “You stand out, island boy. It’s all over you. It’s gonna draw the gold diggers.”

“What, it’s not my good looks?” I asked, teasing her.

She started to say something and noticed the amused look on my face, and her shoulders relaxed. “You’re hot, island boy. I’ll give you that. So it’s the whole package. Just stick close to me because Tiff is only one of many.”

I nodded and she flashed me a real smile. The kind that made her eyes dance with amusement. “Come on. My friends are right over here,” she said.

I followed her through the crowd. I noticed Rock first. He was sitting at a table facing the stage. Beside him was Dewayne. No sign of Preston or Amanda. I took an easy breath. I could deal with Rock and Dewayne.

Although, I was a little nervous as to how Rock would react to this. I didn’t want to piss that dude off.

My secret would be out after Rock told Jess who I was. She already saw me as a rich boy who was out slumming it. I wasn’t sure her knowing that my brother was Jax Stone would change her view that much. Her not knowing had seemed important to me at first, but now I wasn’t sure she’d change like most girls did once they knew. I was used to girls going from interested in me to obsessed with me the moment they found out who my brother was. Having Jax as a brother normally got me any female I wanted for all the wrong reasons.

I’d know soon enough. If Jess began acting like one of Jax’s crazy fans and getting clingy, I was out of here. This would be our test. I really didn’t want this night to end. I had hopes Jess wasn’t a Jax Stone fan.

Chapter Four

JESS

How did he do it? One sexy, amused grin from Jason and I was completely over being ready to bitch slap Tiff. I wanted to thread my fingers through his, but I didn’t want to scare him off. He seemed to be waiting on me to do something stupid. Or mess up. He didn’t have to say anything—I could see it in his eyes.

“That’s my cousin Rock and one of his best friends, Dewayne,” I told him, not wanting him to think I only had guy friends. Even if that was true, it didn’t sound good. In reality they were Rock’s friends. I had flirted with most of them and pissed off all their women. Except for Rock’s wife, Trisha. She loved me. And then, of course, Amanda. She had never judged me or looked down on me. At school she had always gone out of her way to speak to me and act as if we were good friends. Then a little over a year ago she had decided to take a trip on the wild side and came to me for guidance. Our friendship had been cemented then.

Rock’s eyes met mine and he smiled, and then they shifted to Jason and his smile faded. Was it because he was so obviously not from around here? I would have thought he’d be happy to see me with someone so clean-cut. Actually, anyone other than Hank should have made him smile.

Rock stood up, and I wondered if I should step in front of Jason. Before I could decide what to do, Jason stepped up beside me. “Rock, Dewayne, good to see you both again,” Jason said with a familiar ease. I froze.

This didn’t make sense.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Dewayne said with a loud laugh.

Rock’s frown turned to a scowl. “Want to explain this?” he asked Jason.

“I’m the Porsche,” he replied simply.

Rock’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked at me, then back at Jason. He ran a hand over his shaved head. “Why didn’t I think of that?” he muttered.

I opened my mouth and was about to ask what the hell was going on, when Dewayne let out another hoot of laughter. “Motherfucker! That’s priceless. And you didn’t say a word about it the other night.”

The other night? I turned to Jason, and he gave me an apologetic smile. He knew who I was? He was with Rock the other night? How?

“I should be pissed that you didn’t say anything, but I’m kinda glad you didn’t,” Rock said. “The Porsche has been the only thing in that story that makes Jess look innocent.” He sat back down on his stool.

Finally I found my voice. “What are y’all talking about?” I asked, slamming my hand down on the table to get their attention.

Rock stared at me like I was crazy, then looked back at Jason. The question in his eyes only confused me more.

“She left the bat in my car. I took it back to her tonight. We ended up here. We haven’t really talked about much else. We haven’t even gotten as far as last names yet,” Jason explained to Rock, then glanced back at me as if he was waiting on something to click with me.

“So you didn’t know she was my cousin until the other night?” Rock asked.

“Didn’t have a clue,” Jason replied.

Rock sighed and nodded at me. “Dude, she’s not gonna take this well. You should have told her before she waltzed in here with you.”

I was done trying to read between the lines. “Who are you?” I demanded.

Jason opened his mouth, then closed it. How hard was it for him to tell me how he knew Rock?

“Meet Jason Stone, the only brother of Jax Stone, sweetheart,” Dewayne announced loudly.

“Seriously?” Rock said, glaring over at Dewayne.

“What? He was taking for-fucking-ever to say it. The suspense was killing me,” Dewayne replied.

Me, on the other hand—I just stood there and stared at Jason. How had I not seen it? He looked so much like Jax. I had seen Jason in tabloids and on television with Jax. He’d been seen with Star at the music awards. Everyone had talked about Star moving from one Stone brother to the next. Before that, I’d seen him in some tabloids with a girl from one of Jax’s newest music videos. They had been pretty hot and heavy at a club. I couldn’t believe this.

“I should’ve recognized you,” I said.

Jason shrugged. “I’m not Jax.”

Although his tone was void of any emotion, I could see it in his eyes. He was testing me. He hadn’t told me who he was because he assumed I would treat him differently. Truth was … he was probably right.

My momma didn’t raise an idiot. Sure, there were a lot of things in life I didn’t know. Like algebra, for instance. I sucked at it. But men—I knew men. I had been watching my mother manipulate them for years. Jason wanted to be normal. Fine. I’d treat him like any other guy.

“No, you’re not Jax,” I replied. I glanced over at Dewayne. “Get me a beer, please.”

I didn’t miss the way Dewayne’s pierced eyebrow lifted in surprise. I never said please. At least, not to him. That had been for Jason’s sake.

“Time to dance, island boy,” I said, shooting Jason a wink and walking toward the crowd, not waiting to see if he followed me. I had no doubt he would.

Suddenly a guy stepped in front of me and grabbed my hips. It was Will Fort, Hank’s best friend. “Hey, sugar, coming to see me?” he asked. I had only used Will once to make Hank mad. Wasn’t worth it. Will had one too many screws loose.

“Keep dreaming, Fort,” I replied, taking his hands off my hips with a shove. He stumbled backward and bumped into another couple. It wasn’t that I was that strong, it was that he was already that drunk.

He just cackled with laughter. The amusement on his face made me want to slap him. “I can play rough, sugar. Hank said that’s how you like it,” Will slurred.

I opened my mouth to tell him where I was going to kick his balls when a new hand settled on my hip. Startled, I turned to see Jason glaring at Will. This hadn’t been expected, but it sure was a nice turn of events. I was surprised he even cared.

“It’s probably best you step back and leave her alone. From the look in her eyes, the rough she’s planning on sticking you with is gonna leave you crumpled on the ground.”

Will shifted his gaze to Jason, and I could see the surprise in his eyes. It was obvious Jason wasn’t one of us. I mentally cringed. I needed to get Jason away from Will before he said anything humiliating. Normally, he went for jokes about my momma.

“Let’s go,” I said to Jason, turning to face him and move him back into the crowd.

Jason went willingly, but his eyes never left Will as he backed away. I liked the protective streak, but the truth was, even drunk Will could have beat his ass. Guys like Jason didn’t have the skills to take on a guy who had grown up being beaten by his father until he was old enough to start hitting back.

“Friend of yours?” Jason finally asked when we were deep enough into the crowd that Will was no longer in sight.

“Small town. The locals all know each other,” I replied, which wasn’t exactly true. But I didn’t want to give Jason a history lesson on my life.

There was a good chance Will would alert Hank to my being here with a guy. Hank still hadn’t paid me back for bashing his truck, and I wasn’t in the mood to face him. Especially with Jason here to see it.

“This was a bad idea,” I told him. “I have a better one.”

Jason didn’t reply, but he was curious.

“Can you swim, island boy?”

A crooked grin tugged at his lips. “Yeah.”

“Good,” I replied, grabbing his hand and pulling him through the bodies until we were at the door. “I know a place a lot less crowded.”

JASON

When Jess had asked me if I could swim, I hadn’t anticipated this. I wasn’t one for breaking the law.

I watched as Jess climbed a tall iron gate, and I considered the stupidity of what I was about to do. She knew I had a direct line of sight up her skirt, and she was using that to her advantage. Glancing back at the empty beach house, I wondered if this was a common thing with locals. This obviously wasn’t her first time doing something like this.

“You coming?” Jess asked as she threw a leg over the fence and grinned down at me. I wasn’t one to back down from a dare, but then I’d never been dared to scale the fence of a house that wasn’t mine. “Don’t let me down,” Jess said, and began her downward climb on the other side of the gate.

I glanced around to make sure we weren’t drawing attention before I reached up and grabbed ahold of the cool metal. The trip up was much easier than Jess had made it look, but she’d been wearing a short skirt and boots. Which, to be honest, was the selling point to this whole thing. It was hard to tell those legs no.

When my feet hit the ground on the other side, I turned to see Jess standing by the pool, dipping her toes into the water, wearing a pair of hot-pink panties that did little for coverage and a matching bra. She lifted her eyes and shot me a teasing grin. “Come and get me,” she taunted before diving into the water.

Knowing those pink strips of satin that did so little to cover up her centerfold body were nice and wet was all the incentive I needed to strip. Glancing up at the house in front of us, I really hoped she was right and this place was actually a rental that was currently empty.

I dropped my jeans and shirt over the closest lounge chair before turning back to see Jess watching me. The tip of her tongue peeked out as she licked the water off her bottom lip.

Hell. This might be worth the possible trouble we could get into. I saw her shiver and decided it was probably best that I dove on in. I needed some cold water at the moment.

When my head broke the surface, Jess was treading water and grinning. “I have to admit, I didn’t think you were gonna do it. I was afraid I might be swimming alone,” she said, then moved closer to me.