Irresistible: A Brother’s Best Friend Romance Read online

  My heart thuds and I force my eyes back to her mom. “Well, it’s all fantastic.”

  She smiles and nods. “I’m glad you could join us, Austin.”

  “Yeah,” Rob pipes up from across the table. “Isn’t this better than eating alone?”

  I laugh and nod. Meanwhile, though, I wonder how pissed Rob would be if he knew how I feel about his sister. I wonder how much he’d regret his decision to talk me into coming here. Rob doesn’t really show it, but I know he’s protective of Chloe. What older brother wouldn’t be?

  Later, we all help with putting away the leftovers and cleaning up. As pies are set out onto the table, we settle back into our seats with hot cups of coffee. Rob’s dad asks us how the business is going, and Rob gives his dad an update, me piping up every so often to add something to what he’s saying.

  The whole time, though, I’m also paying attention to Chloe in my peripheral vision. I’m watching those pretty lips of hers part every time she brings a forkful of pie to her mouth. And I’m thinking about how badly I want to kiss those lips. How badly I want to kiss every inch of her.

  Hey, a guy can dream.

  Chapter Four

  Chloe

  “And your room is right here, Austin,” I hear my mom say, two sets of footsteps going up the hall. I’m in the bathroom getting ready for bed. It’s close to midnight. After dessert, we all hung out for several hours in the living room, first listening to my dad play guitar, then just chilling out, several smaller conversations filling the room.

  I feel a little bad for avoiding Austin so purposefully this evening. But based on my reaction when he first showed up, I knew I had to.

  So much for outgrowing those old feelings, huh?

  I guess I should have known that a crush like that wouldn’t die. No, it’s just been lingering all these years, waiting for the perfect time to pop its lustful little head back up. And since I don’t know what else to do, my tactic has been to avoid thinking any thoughts about Austin and avoiding him as much as I can.

  If only the guest room wasn’t right next to my old bedroom.

  I press a cloth to my face, drying my skin. Then I grab my toiletry bag and head back to my room. I pass by the guest room on the way, and my eyes can’t help but glance in. Austin is standing in the room, unpacking his bag.

  He glances over his shoulder—maybe sensing my presence—and I quickly avert my gaze and rush into my room.

  My heart is racing as I step into my bedroom and shut the door behind me. I lean back against the door, close my eyes, and let out a breath. It’s just two nights. And I’m in my childhood home with my parents and my brother under the same roof—it should be enough to squash this desire.

  But it’s not.

  I flip off the light and dive into bed. The room sinks into darkness—although not complete darkness. Light from the moon angles in through my single window. I let my eyes drift over the soft light, then shut them tight.

  All I want is for sleep to wash over me. To find an escape from my feelings. This whole evening, it was a constant struggle to keep my eyes from drifting over to Austin—and the few times I let my guard down and did glance over, I caught his dark, beautiful eyes looking back at me.

  Austin can’t possibly feel the same way that I feel about him, though? Can he?

  No way. I’m probably just imagining things.

  And getting my hopes up for nothing.

  Sighing, turning onto my other side in bed, I try to push away thoughts of Austin. But they keep on slipping back into my mind. I keep thinking about how he’s right over there on the other side of the wall. Just a few thin inches separate us.

  Is he thinking about me, too?

  And then, before I can stop it, my imagination takes over. It gets realistic. And specific. I start imagining him opening up the door to my bedroom. Stepping inside my room. Locking the door behind him.

  Getting into bed with me, his big, warm body joining me beneath the sheets.

  Just standing near Austin downstairs made me feel small—I can’t even imagine what the sensation might feel like if he pressed his body against mine. And how would I feel to him? Would he like my short, curvy frame? Would he get hard the minute he touched me?

  Oh, God. Now all I can think about is him getting hard.

  Not that I actually know what a cock looks like hard. Or how one feels. Or how one tastes. The most I’ve ever done with a guy is kiss—and to be honest, I’ve never had a really great kiss. It’s always been too rushed. Too sloppy.

  Maybe I’m just being optimistic, but I get the feeling that Austin would kiss me the right way.

  And what else would he do, if he could? Touch me? Lick me? Take my virginity? It gives me warm tingles all over to think about it.

  I’ve never felt the desire to actually go all the way with anyone. Until now.

  Forcing my eyes open, I clench my teeth together. I can’t let my mind wander like this. It’s only going to make this whole thing worse.

  I swallow, trying to get rid of my thoughts. But all swallowing does is make me realize how dry my throat is.

  After debating it for a while—do I really want to drink water this late, when I know it’ll just wake me up in the middle of the night to pee?—I finally roll out of bed, deciding that I’ll only drink a small glass of water.

  As soon as I step out into the hallway, though, I run right into something.

  Startled, I gasp, stepping back.

  “Shit,” says a low voice. “Sorry, Chloe. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  It’s Austin. Of course it’s Austin.

  “What are you doing?” I ask quietly. The hallway is dark. Everyone else is in bed.

  “Just had to grab something downstairs.”

  “Oh.” My eyes adjust more to the darkness and I can make out his features more clearly now. God, he’s so handsome. So tall and built and handsome.

  We’re standing so close to each other in this dark hallway. Neither of us says anything more. It would be so easy for us to kiss. I wet my lips and look up at him. He looks down at me, breathing a little harder.

  “Chloe…” he murmurs.

  “Uh huh?”

  “Oh, fuck it.”

  As my heart starts racing, he leans down. I close my eyes, waiting for his lips to press against mine.

  And then a door opens down the hallway and we tear apart.

  Chapter Five

  Austin

  Fuck. Fuck.

  I can’t believe I almost kissed her.

  Why I let my guard down, I don’t even know. It was a moment of weakness that I couldn’t pull back from. Not with the darkness of the hallway. Not with the solitude of being alone with her. Not with the silence of the house that made it feel like it was just the two of us in the world. The moment I heard that door crack open down the hallway, I was filled with rage for our perfect moment being interrupted.

  In the clarity of the next morning, though, I couldn’t be more grateful for the interruption.

  Because whoever it was who opened that door saved the two of us from making a huge fucking mistake.

  Now I’m sitting at the dining room table, eating breakfast next to Chloe’s parents, pretending like I didn’t almost kiss their daughter last night. Chloe hasn’t come down to breakfast yet.

  Footsteps come down the stairs. But when I look up, it’s Rob, followed by Denise, who’s holding their son against her hip.

  “Morning,” Rob says, grabbing a box of cereal as he sits down.

  I nod in greeting and shove a spoonful of cereal into my mouth. Don’t think about how you almost kissed his sister, I think. Fuck, Austin. Stop thinking about it.

  A few minutes later, Chloe finally comes down. Her hair is wet from a shower and she brings in a light, perfumed scent with her.

  “Morning, everyone,” she says. She quickly glances around the table and sees that the only open seat is right across from me. Her reaction is barely discernible, but I can see it. She’s having
a hard time not thinking about last night, too.

  Chloe slides down into the empty chair and fills a bowl. We both avoid looking at each other. It feels like the room is heavy with our sexual tension, but I’m pretty sure nobody else has a clue, because everybody else’s demeanor is light and unsuspecting.

  “I was thinking we could go on a hike today,” says Chloe’s mom. “What do the rest of you think?”

  Words of agreement circle around the table. I chime in to blend in with the rest of them.

  Honestly, though? I’d rather have the rest of them go on their little hike and leave Chloe and I here at the house alone so I can taste that sweet mouth of hers.

  Fuck. I have to stop thinking like this. This impulse in me…it’s bad.

  Actually, getting out in the fresh air, going on a hike—that’ll probably do me some good.

  We take two cars to the hiking spot. Chloe rides with her parents and I go with Rob, Denise, and their kid. It really is perfect weather for something like this, and when we get to the hiking spot, there’s only a few other cars parked in the small gravel lot.

  I’ve never been to this spot before, so I’m not sure what to expect, but it turns out to be a pretty flat, easy, narrow trail. As we walk, Chloe’s mom leads the way, followed closely by her dad. Denise and Rob are behind them with Will. Chloe’s next, and I’m behind Chloe.

  The view of her gorgeous ass in those yoga pants she’s wearing is equal parts pleasing and torturous.

  We follow the trail for a few miles, stopping occasionally to admire the nature around us. The further we go, the more beautiful it all is. All the outdoor beauty in the world can’t fully distract me from the other beauty right in front of me, though. Does Chloe even know how tantalizing she is? How hard it is to walk behind her, watching her little ponytail swing and her ass sway?

  I force my eyes away from her again, looking out through the trees.

  You can’t have her, Austin, I remind myself. You just fucking can’t.

  After another mile, there’s a fork in the trail with a sign pointing toward a lake. Up in the front of the group, Chloe’s mom turns around and asks the rest of us what we think.

  “I vote yes for checking out the lake,” says Denise.

  “Either way’s fine with me,” says Rob.

  “Chloe?” her mom calls out. “Austin?”

  “Lake,” Chloe calls. She glances over her shoulder at me, her pretty eyes glittering.

  “Yeah,” I say, not looking away from Chloe. “I vote for the lake, too.”

  “The lake it is,” says Chloe’s mom. Beside her, Chloe’s dad clears his throat. “Hey, I don’t get a vote?”

  Everyone laughs. Everyone except for me, that is. I’m too busy studying the pretty curve of Chloe’s neck to respond.

  We reach the lake soon after. It’s a gorgeous, calm lake with houses dotted around it. Denise takes Will by the hand and walks him to the edge of the lake, where she crouches down and helps him pick out some rocks to toss into the water.

  Will throws a couple rocks, letting out excited yelps as the stones create expanding rings of waves.

  “Nice job, buddy,” says Rob. “You’ve got a good arm there.”

  Will throws another few rocks in. Then he bends down, picks up a few more, but doesn’t throw the new ones. Instead, he walks over to Chloe and holds one out.

  “Is that for me?” she asks.

  “Uh huh,” says Will.

  “Thanks, sweetie.” Chloe takes the rock from him and rubs her thumb over it. “Do you want me to throw it?”

  Will shakes his head. “No. Keep it, Auntie. It’s special.”

  “Ah,” says Chloe, smiling. “Gotcha.” Then she bends down and gives Will a kiss on the cheek. And seeing her act like that, so maternal and sweet…I don’t know. It does something to me. It makes me fall for her in a whole other way.

  I know this might sound crazy, especially considering my disinterest in marriage or kids, but in this moment it’s like getting a little flash of what life could be like with Chloe—with her as my wife. As the mother of my child.

  And it feels so damn perfect.

  After a little while longer, we all turn around and head back the way we came. The hike feels shorter on the way back. By the time we return to the house, there’s a collective happy exhaustion among all of us. Chloe’s mom fixes some warm drinks, puts out leftovers for everyone to graze on for lunch, and we all casually lounge around the house.

  The rest of the day is equally nice and relaxed. We play some board games, eat more leftovers, even play a game of freakin’ charades. And every time I look over at Chloe, I feel an overwhelming need to be with her.

  I want to kiss her. I want to pleasure her. I want to be with her in the most intimate of ways. But I want to protect her, too. Worship her. Be her one and only—and have her be mine.

  This whole time, I’d thought that love and marriage and all of that stuff wasn’t for me.

  But now I know I was wrong.

  I just hadn’t met the right girl.

  Chapter Six

  Chloe

  The knock on my door comes late at night, after everyone has gone to sleep. I instantly know it’s Austin. I can feel his big presence on the other side of the door. I can feel his need.

  I’ve been lying in bed, waiting for him. I knew there was a chance he wouldn’t come. We haven’t spoken all day. But I’ve felt his eyes on me. I’ve felt the heat of his gaze.

  Ever since Austin almost kissed me last night, he’s all I can think about. And those fantasies I had last night no longer feel so crazy.

  He wants me. I want him.

  We shouldn’t. But I think we’re going to anyway.

  I slide out from beneath my bedsheets and quietly pad over to the door. Wrapping my hand around the doorknob, I slowly turn it and crack open the door. As soon as I see that it’s Austin, I open it further and he steps into my room.

  I hastily—but still quietly—close the door behind him. The moment the door softly clicks shut, Austin cages my body with his against the door. His warmth surrounds me. His mouth angles and dips to mine. Wordlessly, he presses his firm, smooth lips to my own.

  Time seems to stop as he kisses me. Then his tongue slides between my lips and into my mouth. I moan softly as he deepens the kiss.

  I run my hands up his chest, feeling his taut muscles through his shirt. I wish he would take his shirt off. No, scratch that: I wish he would take all of his clothes off. I want to feel his naked body against mine.

  Suddenly, though, Austin is pulling his mouth away from mine. He looks at me with dark, heated eyes.

  “Tell me to stop, Chloe,” he says.

  “No,” I pant. “Please, please don’t stop.”

  I lean forward, hungry for more of his kisses. But he doesn’t indulge me. He grabs my hand and leads me to my bed. I sit down on it and look up at him with lustful eyes. Then I cross my arms and grab the hem of my shirt and pull it up over my head. The limp piece of clothing falls onto the bed. Beneath, I’ve got nothing on, and Austin’s eyes cling to my bare breasts.

  He lowers himself, kneeling before me on the edge of the bed. His lips clasp over one of my nipples and his tongue swirls around it, bringing it to a hard nub. I let my head fall back and moan. When he moves over to do the same to my other breast, I arch my back, pushing my nipple harder into his mouth.

  He grazes his teeth against it and I let out another moan. I bring my head up and watch him as he sucks my tender flesh. He continues for another few seconds, then raises his head and kisses me, his tongue swirling into my mouth and making me warm all over.

  When I feel his hands on the waistband of my pajamas, that warmth turns to fierce tingling. I’m nervous but also so, so ready for this. Austin starts to tug down my pajama bottoms and I lean back and push my hips up so he can slide them all the way off. Then he grabs the sides of my panties and pulls those down, too.

  “This isn’t fair, Austin,” I whisper. “Now I�
�m naked and you’re not.”

  “Open your legs, Chloe.”

  The sternness in his voice sends desire shooting up my spine. I do as he says, parting my thighs. I can feel the dampness between my legs as I do. It feels so erotic, opening myself up to him like this. I’ve never shown myself to a man. But I’ll let Austin look at me like this for as long as he wants to.

  I watch, my heartbeat quickening, as Austin dips his head. Even in the dark, I can see the smile on his lips as he nears the most intimate part of me. And then his lips press to my clit, and the kiss he lays there sends a burst of pleasure up through me.

  “Oh,” I murmur. “Oh.”

  Austin kisses me again. And again. Then his kisses turn to long, luscious licks. It feels so incredible that I have to clench my teeth to not scream out. Oh, God. The feeling of his tongue on me…how can something even feel so good?

  I lie back on the bed, quietly moaning with pleasure. Every time I press my hips against him, he swirls his tongue harder over my clit, making the feeling more and more intense. I’m so soaked that I can feel myself dripping onto the bed sheets. I didn’t know it was possible to be this wet. Whenever I touch myself, it’s never like this. Not even close.

  I writhe beneath Austin as I feel an orgasm build. I almost want to make it go away, because I don’t want him to stop. But I would be crazy to stop him right now. I look down at him and pant out something about getting close. The words barely make it out of my mouth.

  He understands, though. Maybe he can feel it. I don’t know. I just know that all of a sudden he’s doubling down, licking me and sucking me like crazy, bringing me over the edge. My whole body goes tight and hot as the orgasm washes over me. I gasp and dig my fingers into the bed sheets. The orgasm lasts longer than any I’ve ever given myself. It sears through me, radiating all the way to the ends of my fingers and the tips of my toes.