The Wrong Kind of Love (Boys of Jackson Harbor 1)
This is the moment when it would be good for me to remember her right to some privacy. It would be a great time for me to back the fuck out of this room and pretend I was never here. But I’m hypnotized by the rhythm of her hand moving between her legs, her thumb brushing her nipple.
“Nic,” I whisper softly. And though I’m sure there’s no way she could have heard me whisper her name, she must sense my presence, because her eyes open, and when they meet mine, she draws in a breath. She gasps, but not in shock. Pleasure.
She shuts her eyes again as she arches her back and moans, and holy shit . . . I get to watch her come apart.
Nicole
“Oh my God. First of all, I knew you could do it if you just believed in yourself,” Teagan says. “And second, you’re, like, a seduction genius!” Her grin stretches from ear to ear, and I’m pretty sure that my confession about last night’s bathroom discovery is the best thing she’s heard all day.
“Except I’m not trying to seduce anyone!”
She lifts her palms as if to say, That’s relevant how?
We’re at a table at the back of Jackson Brews, where Teagan agreed to meet me for lunch and where I’ve spilled my mortifying tale from last night. Because apparently even stories that end in amazing orgasms can be mortifying.
“So tell me,” Teagan says, “on a scale of one to shouting your ex’s name during sex, how awkward was talking to him after? Was he in his room, or did he just stand there and watch you get out of the tub?”
I scowl at her, too embarrassed by this whole conversation to merit her questions with a response.
“Was it, like, tit for tat? Did he whip it out and jack off in front of you?”
Apparently, the longer I sit here and scowl at her, the more cringe-worthy questions she’s going to recite. We’re all better off if I stop her now. “He was in the living room drinking when I got out of the tub,” I say. “And I don’t know exactly how awkward it’ll be to speak with him again, because I haven’t done it yet. I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for the awkward to blossom last night, and he was gone when I woke up this morning.”
“But you don’t know if it would’ve been. It could have just been zero to sexy. He could have finally sealed the deal. That’s the problem, you know. If you two would have just finished the business between you the night you met, you wouldn’t be walking around like giant throbbing balls of sexual tension.”
“Are you two talking about giant throbbing balls?” Jake asks, sliding our water glasses onto the table.
I point to Teagan. “She is. I am not.”
“Do you need advice?” He looks her over with a grin. “About giant throbbing balls?”
She rolls her eyes. “You wish. What’s on special today, Jake?”
“I’ve got a pastrami on rye or a fried chicken club.”
“Do you have anything that isn’t loaded with fat and sodium?”
Jake folds his arms. “Yeah. Beer. I’ve got lots of beer. It’s an American pub—what do you expect?”
She sighs and looks at me. “Want to share the fried chicken club?”
“Sounds perfect to me,” I tell Jake, because, come on, I grew up in Alabama. It wasn’t until high school that I learned there was a way to cook chicken that didn’t involve batter and a pan of hot oil.
Jake glares at Teagan and points a thumb at me. “Why can’t you be more like her?”
“Because she’s an angel and I’m just a little bit evil.” She thrums her fingers on the table. “That’s why I like her so much more than her evil twin. Need me some yin for my yang.”
Jake swivels his gaze back to me. “You have a twin? For real?”
I nod and swallow hard, shooting a glare in Teagan’s direction for bringing it up. Seriously, what am I supposed to say if he asks her name? “For real,” I say softly.
He drags his gaze down my body—or as much as he can with me seated in a booth. “Please tell me you’re identical. Lie if you have to.”
“We are,” I admit. Every piece of truth I give this family alleviates my guilt incrementally.
“And you kiss sometimes?” he asks. “On the lips? With a little tongue?”
I fold my arms. “No.”
“You’re disgusting,” Teagan says, but she doesn’t hold back her snicker. “Go make our food, pervert. We’re hungry.”
Jake winks at me and heads back to the bar.
“Don’t do that,” I tell Teagan when Jake’s gone.
“Do what? Flirt with Jake?” She shakes her head. “It’s harmless fun. Trust me, if we were going to hook up, we would have done it a long time ago.”