Page 40 of Nailing Studs

He paused with his hands deep in the soapy water. “I can see the words on those pretty little lips of yours, Kayla, so spit it out,” he said, his eyes tracing my lips before licking his own.

I rolled my eyes. “I just didn’t peg you as the domestic apron in the kitchen type.”

He was about to protest but glanced down at his pressed suit and the silk tie thrown over his shoulder. “Okay, fair point,” he laughed. “I actually worked as a dishwasher as one of my many, many jobs to put myself through college.”

I was again surprised. I assumed Logan had a trust fund stored away by Mommy and Daddy.

“When I want something,” he continued, eyes tracing down my body. “I’ll fight hard, very, very hard for it.”

He moved to return a plate he dried to the cabinet above me and his groin shifted against my crotch. I nearly gasped at the pressure of his cock, half hard in his pants.

“I’m a go-getter,” he said casually, shifting back to the sink and grabbing another plate, leaving me breathless. “And once I see something I want within my grasp, I never, never stop pursuing.”

He again pressed against me as he put another plate away, and I felt the heat from his groin. I nearly whimpered when it disappeared and he dipped his hands back into the sink.

“I’m insatiable, really.” Logan whistled while he scrubbed a pan. He glanced over at me. “The phrase ‘give up’ isn’t in my vocabulary, Kayla.”

I had to stop my overly eager hips from bucking up against his cock when he slid along me, the friction delicious.

He paused, looming over me. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” I squeaked, worried my knees would give out.

God, I couldn’t take his green-eyed gaze. My lips parted as I looked at him and I nodded absently, agreeing to God knew what. His gaze flicked down to my mouth, and I wondered if he was thinking about pushing me back against the counter and slipping his tongue onto mine.

At that moment, Dom and Taylor came through the front door with all their gear, shuffling and jangling, creating a cacophony of metallic noises. Logan removed his hand from my side reluctantly. I was expecting Dominic to be glaring at his friend now, considering how he’d reacted at the diner when I’d first met Logan, but to my surprise, once again, he looked totally chill. Taylor, on the other hand, looked downright annoyed—or maybe jealous—which surprised me.

“Well, um, thanks again for your help with the dishes,” I said loudly, mostly for Taylor’s benefit, but my voice was breathy, throaty. I wasn’t sure who I wanted more at this very moment. Any one of them could’ve intercepted me in an upstairs hallway and banged me against the wall while the other two waited downstairs.

Logan took a step back, sliding his hand down my arm, letting his fingertips linger on mine for a second. Had I imagined that? Did Dom and Taylor see?

This can’t be happening. This simply cannot be happening. This moment was like one of those weird dreams that got weirder as the night wore on but there was nothing you could do to stop it. Nor did you want to wake up.

“Kayla, Dom and I are going to get started in here.” Taylor set down a tool bag and picked up his belt to sling around his waist, clearly marking his territory in a He-Man way.

Logan nodded, as if he knew he’d outstayed his welcome. He checked his phone and made a tsk sound. “Alright. Well, I have a few clients who’ll kill each other if I don’t arrive soon to referee them, so I’ll be taking off now.”

“Bye. We’ll miss you,” Taylor mumbled sarcastically around a few nails sticking out of his lips.

Dominic laughed and showed Logan out. It was nice to see Dom the easygoing one for a change and Taylor as the possessive, grumpy one. I felt good knowing he would get that way for me—because he wanted me all to himself.

After Logan left, I was tense, not knowing what to expect, but to my relief, Taylor took the nails out of his mouth and smiled at me. “That guy’s a character, but he’s a good dude.”

So, he wasn’t upset after all?

“Seems like it,” I said slowly. “I can easily see you all as friends in high school and college. Must’ve been some crazy times, huh?” I asked. Would he ever tell me precisely how crazy things got between them? Would I really want to know? Probably not. I was as possessive of them as they were of me.

“Crazy indeed,” Taylor mumbled, starting to hammer a piece of wood into the hole in the wall as filler before applying the new drywall they’d just brought in.

Dom came back inside and sighed, long and loud. “Well, that was interesting,” he said. I nodded in agreement.

They say if it gets too hot in the kitchen, get out. That was exactly what I was about to do. This part of the house was way too filled with testosterone for me. The lines between reality and fantasy were growing more blurred, and soon, I wouldn’t know the difference.

14

Dom

Good thing we were going to work on repairing holes in the drywall all day, because I needed something quiet and repetitive as I sanded the walls and smoothed the spackle over and over. Getting into a groove allowed me to think. Yeah, I was in agony. I wanted Kayla so fucking badly.

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