Noah

He swallowed and faltered for a second, then scowled.

"Pshhh! Don't listen to your uncle," Sophie told him. I made a face that Tennyson found funny. Julian merely chuckled. "I know his weaknesses," she added, and then she whispered something in his ear. Except, we all heard it. Mocking vegetarianism wouldn’t work at all. I was far from militant.

I rolled my eyes. "Brook, we gonna play or what?"

It took the youngsters some time to dick around and stall, but eventually Brooklyn threw the ball toward the middle of the pool, and Tennyson caught it.

It was completely dark at this point, and aside from lanterns illuminating the terrace, there wasn't much helping us.

"You can do some cardio while we set the record straight, Asher," Daniel said.

Ash flipped us off from the terrace, and the other spectators made bets.

As Sophie went for Tennyson, Zane tried to cover Daniel, and I dove underwater and swam between Julian and Sophie. I resurfaced behind their pathetic defense line, and Tennyson passed me the ball.

What I hadn't considered were Julian's abilities in the water. He turned out to be fast as fuck, and he reached me just as I slammed the ball onto the towel.

"Goddammit." Sophie glared as she clung on Tennyson's back. "This isn't going to work."

"No shit," I drawled. I eyed Julian. I'd definitely have to watch him.

"Well, fuck the rules, then." Brooklyn removed the flimsy wrap around her hips and pulled back her hair in a high bun. "Come on, Lucia. Shawn, you too. We're with Sophie and the boys."

My mouth twisted into a lazy grin. Now we're talking.

"What about me?" Ash frowned.

Brooklyn gave him a loud smooch. "You're our DJ and referee, of course."

*

"Do I gotta do all the fucking work?" I barked out. Grabbing Sophie by her waist, I pressed her against the wall of the pool as Daniel tried to get in between Shawn and Julian with the ball. "Cover Brook!"

"I'm free!"

Since Sophie was goddamn tiny, it didn’t take much effort to keep her in place while reaching out to wrap my fingers around Julian's wrist. I hauled him closer, panting from exertion, and positioned Sophie behind me, still pushed up against the tiles, and Julian in front of me. He was stronger, so I wrapped my arms around him.

"Let me go!" Sophie yelled.

"The fuck would I do that for?" I grunted, desperate for Julian to keep fucking still, so I bent down and bit his neck.

"Jesus!" he hissed.

"Daniel!" Tennyson held up his hand in the air, to which Danny passed the ball.

Lucia and Zane were on him like a leech.

"Motherfuck!" I snapped. Karma was a bitch with teeth, and it was my turn. Sophie's teeth sank into my shoulder blade, and I lurched forward enough so she could escape. "You better run, Sophie!"

"I've got her." Daniel swam toward her.

Julian kept squirming and pushing at my arms, and with only him around, it got…sexier. I couldn’t even blame alcohol for clouding my mind. It was all him.

His perfect little ass was distracting.

"Stop moving around," I growled in his ear.

He froze, the air around us becoming charged in an instant. My cock was pressed right fucking there. If I didn't let go soon, I'd have to think about baseball stats before I left the pool.

"Damn it," he whispered. "I can play unfair too, you bastard."

It hadn't been my intention to play unfair what-so-fucking-ever, but I couldn’t help myself now. It pushed me on to a new path and train of thought, and I wanted to be selfish. And greedy. I wanted a hit from my goddamn drug that was Julian.

I gripped his hips harder as arousal flooded south, and it was probably the worst time to taunt him. "You don't have an ounce of deviance in you. I doubt you could."

"Nailed it!" Daniel boomed out.

It broke the tension, but my mind was still foggy. Needing some clarity, I let go of him and dunked my head underwater.

Fuck.

When I reached the surface again, Julian was several feet away from me, and the dare was clear in his eyes.

Fuck, fuck.Chapter 14

At around two in the morning, I ordered car service for Julian and me. Neither of us was fit to drive my truck home, and I couldn’t be assed to deal with Uber or cabs tonight. Back when Nicky worked for me, he'd hooked us up with drivers contracted to the agency he was at, and it was convenient. Someone would be here soon.

Lucia and Shawn had gone home, and the others were staying at the beach house, but we had a fucking cat to go home to. First day in her new home, it was probably not a stellar idea to leave her alone too long.

Julian had named her Blue at some point tonight, for the color of her eyes.

Beats Fluffy.

After hanging up the phone, I returned to the living room. Brooklyn and Asher bid everyone goodnight before heading upstairs, and I sat down next to Julian in the loveseat. On one couch, Tennyson was sprawled out with his head on Sophie's lap, and Danny and Zane were on the other looking all lovey-dovey.