Beast Brothers 2

Before I can make my exit, Aidan moves in close again and takes a strand of my hair in his hand. Then he leans in and whispers in my ear, his voice deep and husky. “I wish I could haul you off to bed right now and fuck you ’til you scream.”

All my inner muscles tighten at his words, as if he’s already inside me and I’m trying to keep him there.

He draws back and looks at me with those amazing eyes. “But we’ve got classes, and work, and … life. So for now ... this’ll have to do.”

His gaze drifts down to my mouth and I close my eyes as he leans in. His lips touch mine, but just barely. I feel him hovering there; his warm breath tickling my skin, his delicious scent surrounding me. Then he brushes his lips softly against mine, his movements so tender in contrast to his filthy words. His kiss is lingering, teasing, and makes me weak in the knees.

He gently tugs my hair as he runs the tip of his tongue along my lip before deepening the kiss. Though I could easily lose myself again, I manage to remember that we’re outside where anyone can see us. I don’t resist him, though; I match his movements and am surprised at how long we carry on kissing.

When he finally pulls away, Aidan looks at me for a long moment, then flashes a wicked, devastating grin. “See you later,” he says, and strides off across campus.

Chapter 9

Aidan

There is nothing sexy about polymers, glass and ceramics, but try telling that to my cock.

Right here in the middle of an industrial design production lecture, it keeps twitching. Maybe if I were actually listening to the lecture, I wouldn’t be having this problem, but it’s impossible to focus.

I’m thankful for the partial cover the desk provides as I try to discreetly adjust myself. I take a few notes on material costs and sources, but it’s fucking hopeless. My mind is back in the study room with Amber, and my body keeps acting like it’s back there too.

I can’t believe she showed up at the tutoring center. At first I’d wondered if she’d tracked me down, but she was clearly just as surprised as I was.

God, there is just something about her I can’t resist, even though I probably should. I hope the tutoring situation won’t complicate things after we hook up. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea. Girls are great for fun, but I’m not looking for anything serious.

I find myself doodling circles, then ovals, and the shapes start to remind me of Amber’s wide eyes. She’s gorgeous, but she acts like she doesn’t even know it. Not like the girls I’m used to, who know exactly what their best assets are and don’t mind showing them to the world.

Amber isn’t trying too hard with me. In fact, she isn’t trying at all. I’ve never had trouble attracting women, but ever since Throwback started getting big there’s no end to them. They come to the shows, they like the music, and then they want to claim a piece of the excitement.

It was fun at first — a big perk of being in a band. But now … I don’t know. It’s like the girls all look the same, and it’s gotten kind of empty.

My phone vibrates, and I discreetly pull it out to see a text from Josh, our drummer. He’s going to be late to practice — again. His parents are getting divorced, and he’s dealing with their shit.

Mine split up when I was just a kid, after my mom decided life as an engineer’s wife wasn’t exciting enough. She ran off with a tattoo artist and now they’re married, riding Harleys and reliving the ‘60s or something. I’m sorry for Josh but I wish he’d get it together for practice, at least.

My oval doodles lengthen out into rounded curves, curves that remind me of Amber’s hips and ass.It must be the thrill of the chase that I miss. Amber responds to me, but she holds something back.

God, I loved getting her off today. She took me by surprise, and that doesn’t happen often. After her good-girl attitude I never expected her to come like that. It was all I could do not to take things farther, see how much we could get away with.

I want to make her scream. Sneaking around in the tutoring center was a thrill, but I want to get her alone, and naked, and make her yell so loud the neighbors can hear her.

All around me people start packing away their stuff and getting up. Shit! The class is over and my notes are nothing but sultry sketches.

I’ve never zoned out during an entire lecture before. I shove my notepad in my bag and look around. “Hey, Chris,” I say to the guy the next row over. “Can I get a copy of your notes?”

He looks at me strangely, and I give an embarrassed shrug. “I was distracted; I missed most of the lecture.”

Chris grins. “Girl trouble?”

“Something like that.” He lays his notes out for me, and I snap photos of them with my phone. “Thanks, man.”

Now I’ve barely got time to make it to practice, but damned if I’ll be late after I ragged on Josh, even just in my own head. I don’t know how I’m going to fit tutoring sessions with Amber into my schedule, but I will make it happen. Until I finish seducing her, she’s a permanent bullet point in my planner.

The more difficult challenge is how to stop thinking about fucking her long enough to help her study.

Chapter 10

Amber

I came really close to skipping my afternoon class. I have never cut a class and never even been tempted before, but after the morning’s events, I desperately needed time to think.

Maybe if I’d taken a long run, or just gone back to the dorm and stared at the ceiling for an hour or two, I might have been able to sort out my thoughts. Doubtful though.

Instead, I dutifully went to the sociology lecture and tried in vain to focus on other people’s problems instead of circling around my own confused brain. I wanted to think about the serious issues facing society today, but instead I kept trying to figure out what to make of Aidan’s kiss and the way he smiled right before he left me.

His behavior seemed so intimate, so personal. He made me feel special, but is he just good at making any and every girl feel like that? And after what happened, is he assuming we’re going to sleep together? He said he wants to, and when he said it, I wanted it too, but … I know it’s not a good idea.

My head tells me that I need to resist him and guard my heart, but my heart, and other very specific parts of my body, are sending completely different messages.

I know that even if I spend hours contemplating every detail of Aidan’s behavior, I still won’t be able to figure out a course of action, so I decide to call on an expert. I ask Megan to meet me at BFOC, a coffee shop in the middle of campus.

I need to confide in someone.

Once we’re there, Megan talks nonstop and I start having second thoughts. She’s not going to believe what I have to tell her, and if she does believe me, I’m afraid she’s going to be jealous. But I need to talk to someone.

I grab a yogurt and a granola bar from the case. My stomach still feels full of butterflies, and I can’t even think about eating something heavier. Megan orders a chef salad and I wait with her at the counter.

“Want to sit outside?” I say, when she pauses between topics. “It’s such a nice day.” I haven’t actually noticed if it’s nice or not, but I’d like us to have some privacy.

“Sure.” Megan takes her tray, and we pay and head out into the fresh air. It is a nice day, fortunately, with a handful of fluffy white clouds floating in a deep blue sky.

She’s still talking as we get settled at a table under a big pine. Megan’s the type who thinks out loud — about everything. Finally, I get my opening.

“How’s your day been?” she asks.

I pause, take a deep breath, and decide it’s now or never. “I had an interesting day,” I start.

Megan pauses in mid-motion as she’s about to take a drink of water. She can tell from my tone that something’s up. “Yeah?” she says, drawing out the word like a question.

“Yeah … um … there’s this guy …”

“What?!” Megan interrupts. “This is news! Since when is there a guy in your life?”

I peel back the lid from my yogurt, second guess my decision to confide in Megan, and then decide to dive in anyway. “Since you took me to that bar on Saturday.”

“No way! Is that where you disappeared to? Why didn’t you tell me?” She takes another swallow of water and picks up her fork, but all of her attention is on me.

“It’s … complicated.” Her eyes widen and I want to shrink under the table, though a little part of me is excited to have something juicy to share. “You can’t tell anyone, okay?”