Page 53 of Turn

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I didn’t know there were families like this outside of sappy holiday movies. Large tribes of loyal people who joked and teased and knew each other’s histories and celebrated every life event together. Maybe there really weren’t too many families like the Gentrys. If I hadn’t been living in their midst for over a week now I would have insisted they were too good to be real.

“My dad’s got you cleaning the grill, huh?” Cassie asked.

I hadn’t heard her exit the house and open the gate to the backyard. As always, something inside of me skipped a beat at the sight of her. I couldn’t control it anymore than I could control the rising of my dick.

“I volunteered,” I told her and switched on the hose to give me an excuse to turn away from the long legs packaged in a pair of cutoff shorts that would look a lot better puddled around her ankles.

“This thing is ancient, by the way,” Cassie said, peering down at the grate I’d removed from the gas grill and set on the patio tile so I could hose it off. She was closer now, close enough for me to inhale the floral scent of her shampoo. “I think my dad bought it when we were in kindergarten. It’s got a lot of history though. I can’t even guess how many family gatherings this bad boy has hosted.”

I turned off the hose and took my time rolling it back up. “Have you seen Brecken?”

“He was helping my mom set the table.” Her voice now sounded weirdly high and distant. I looked up and was surprised to see her scaling a ladder and reaching for the roof.

“What are you doing?” I asked, trying not to notice that I had a damn fine view of her ass as she climbed even as I had to remind myself it was out of my reach. Cassie and I ate meals together at the Gentry family dining table, we shared a bathroom, we worked together and we might be sort of friends at this point. She was the beloved daughter in a household I was lucky enough to be a guest in.

But she still had a hell of a great ass.

Cassie reached for a string of lights. “The patio lights got tangled up during the dust storm last night.”

“I’ll fix it.”

The ladder wobbled. “It’s fine, I’m already up here.”

I moved to hold the ladder steady. “You’re making me nervous.”

Cassie loosened the tangled lights and smiled down at me. “Why?”

I swallowed, unable to tell if she was flirting or not. Sometimes Cassie could be sarcastic, witty and even a little moody. Other times I would glimpse this wistful innocence about her that I wanted to protect.

Or corrupt.

God help me.

“I’ll finish that for you if you get down,” I offered.

“I’ve got it.” She shifted her weight and began straightening out the light string, in the process leaning back more than I was comfortable with. I was strong enough to catch her if she tumbled off the ladder but that was a level of contact I’d rather avoid.

Cassie got the light string sorted out and reattached to the hooks that had been screwed in along the eves of the roof. She looked down at me with a triumphant grin.

“Curtis?”

“Yeah?”

“I need to climb down and you’re in my way.”

I backed up only a little while still holding onto the ladder because I didn’t trust it not to shake and cause her to slip. Unfortunately I held on a little too long and when Cassie hopped off the last few steps her body skidded into mine, that ripe little ass sliding over my hard cock in a way that produced an involuntary groan.

“Oh shit.” She spun around and we were face to face, so close my chest was practically grazing her nipples. “Did I step on your foot or something?” she asked breathlessly.

Human willpower was an incredible force. It had to be because there was nothing else on earth that was stopping me from seizing her and getting my hands, mouth and cock all over every inch.

“No,” I said, letting go of the ladder and backing away. “I just thought you were about to fall.”

She tilted her head and gave me an odd look. “I wasn’t.”

The sound of squeaking hinges caught my attention and I swiveled around to see someone was entering through the backyard gate. She was someone I’d seen once before in the parking lot of Scratch but barely noticed because my attention had been focused on her sister at the time.

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