Accidentally Wild (The Wilder Brothers)

“Sometimes that’s the best form of education. Playing around until you get it right.”

His jaw chewed rhythmically on the piece of gum and it made me wonder how much playing around he had done with that tongue of his before getting that trick right. I shook the thought from my head. Contain yourself, Andrea. Move slowly.

“Well, maybe one day the opportunity will present itself,” I said.

“And if it does, will I get to hear you play?” he asked.

His eyes hooked with mine and I saw a genuine interest, something I’d never seen in anyone’s eyes regarding me. I took a second to take it all in. I took a moment to bask in what it felt like to have someone genuinely interested in something I could do. Not what I could give them and not what I could volunteer for, but something I did because I wanted to.

“For you? Okay,” I said.

And the smile the crossed Everett’s face caused my heart to slam against my chest.

TEN

Andrea

“And that’s when Cayden turned to me and said, ‘Everett, this thing is massive. What the hell were you thinking?’!”

I threw my head back and laughed as my hand came down onto Everett’s knee. My stomach hurt so badly from laughing that tears crested my eyes. I threw back the last of my appletini and wiped the tears away, holding my stomach and rocking back in my chair.

“Oh my gosh. I cannot believe you did that,” I said.

“The bear was way too big for public consumption. But I couldn't get the damn thing in the house!”

“I bet he hated you for that,” I said.

“For days. But it still remains today as the best practical birthday joke any of us have ever pulled.”

I wiped more tears away from my eyes before thunder sounded in the distance. I looked up to the sky and watch it quickly darken with clouds as they soared overhead. I looked over toward the pool and didn’t see anyone. No Jessica. No Lucas. No Flynn. No one.

“Where did everyone go?” I asked.

“I’m not sure, but I think we need to go. It looks like it’s about to—”

Before he could even finish his statement, the clouds unleashed. Lightning streaked across the sky and thunder crashed above our heads. I squealed as the rain drenched me, my legs running as fast as they could over to my things. My towel was soaked. My purse was soaked. My wide-brimmed hat was soaked.

“Come on! Let’s get inside!” Everett exclaimed.

“Did we pay the bartender!?” I asked.

“On our tab. But I tipped him. Come on. We’re going to get sick in this rain.”

He took my hand and began running with me toward the side entrance of the hotel. And the second the air conditioning system hit my skin, I began to shiver. He raced us to the elevator and slammed the button down, then he turned to me and took in my puckered skin.

“Here, let me try to help,” he said.

His hands fell to my arms and he began to rub them up and down. And the alcohol coursing through my veins didn’t make things any better. Fire flooded my veins as I watched his broad chest roll underneath his skin. My teeth began to clatter as my body dripped with the water that had come raining down upon us. The elevator door beeped before the doors drew open, and Everett guided me onto it before pressing the button for our level.

“We have to get you warm. You’ll get sick,” he said.

Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around me and drew me to him. And oh, how I sighed against his skin. I fell into his embrace, allowing the alcohol to dim all my inhibitions. His arm embrace and his soft skin pulsed with the thickness of his muscles. I closed my eyes and reveled in how he felt. He drew me close. His arms pulled me up and into his body, almost picking me up off my feet. Then, I realized why. The elevator doors opened and he began carrying me to my room. His long strides got us there quicker than I ever could have done running on my own two feet.

“Do you have your key?” he asked.

“I-I-It’s… in my… uh… m-m-my uh--.”

“Here. I’ll take you to my room. Come on.”