Page 40 of Caught Stealing

“Leaving only the room with the bunk beds upstairs,” Kason says, brows furrowed. “Unless they got a bigger bed in there since we were down last summer?”

Bingo.

“Still the bunk beds,” I confirm, trying not to sound too elated by finally getting one up on Holden. Of course, I can’t help sneaking a glance at him, only to find him already watching me with an intensity that I feel down to my marrow.

“Damnit,” Kason mutters before he looks at the other guys. “Would any of you mind switching?”

Luca and Harrison glance between themselves before both decline, and Wyatt and Theo quickly follow suit.

“Sorry, man,” Theo says with a bout of indifference. “You snooze, you lose kinda thing.”

“Because we’re five now?” This comes from Holden, who shifts his attention from me to Theo.

Wyatt grins at him while filling a glass of water from the spout in the fridge. “Guess you should’ve driven faster.”

“Hadn’t realized getting down here was gonna be like racing in the Daytona 500,” he says, though the forced smile on his face doesn’t match the gritted tone his words take.

Kason blows out a breath. “It’ll be fine. It’s just to sleep, right?”

Holden nods in agreement, but from the way his eyes narrow on me after my gaze slides to him, he’s seeing right through this wholly inconvenient turn of events. But I just smile at him before heading upstairs to the king-size bed that awaits me.

Good luck getting laid now, asshole.

Thirteen

Phoenix

My hopes for things to be smooth sailing after the drive down are quickly snuffed out once Kason and Holden found out they’d be—quite literally—bunking together. I swear, Holden is going out of his way in retaliation for it, and by day two of this messed-up vacation I’ve found myself on, my frustration is at an all-time high.

I don’t even feel at home at my own vacation house, and it’s got everything to do with all those damn football players currently taking over the condo.

Well, four of them are fine. It’s mostly their quarterback I’m taking issue with.

I glance off the back balcony of my room—the master my parents usually take—and down at the idiots in the pool below.

Luca and Harrison are playing some weird version of chicken against Kason and Wyatt while Noah and Theo act as referees. Meanwhile, Holden is perched on the giant flamingo float my little sister loves, drink in hand, without a care in the world.

Fuck, I can’t stand him.

What’s more, I can’t stand the way my body wants him.Craveshim after that stunt I pulled in his bedroom. The feeling’s only gotten worse over the past few days, too. One, because I keep catching his gaze or find him watching me when I look his way. And two, because he’s always half-naked, making it impossible to ignore him and all his sinful glory.

Like right now.

My eyes trace over his shirtless form sprawled over the inflatable. Even in a pair of fucking light pink trunks with bananas all over them—a level of ridiculous that should make him look idiotic, not sexier—he nearly reaches God-like perfection. Especially the way they hang low on his hips, drawing my eyes down the smooth, lean muscles of his abdomen to focus on a sinful V carved from stone.

And soon enough, my mind starts thinking about him. Recalling memories it has no right to. Abouthimand how it felt to be inside him, his skin hot against mine as his ass clenches—

Shit.

The frustration I’ve already been feeling only grows into self-loathing when I glance down, noting the way my cock is straining against the zipper of my shorts. Of course, the asshole only amps up my irritation when he catches me staring down at the pool and raises a hand to his head, giving me a mock salute.

A growl rumbles from my chest as I storm back inside, letting the screen door slam closed behind me.

I’m so sick of him and his constant presence. Of the reminders of that night in May, which never ceases when he’s around. Especially with his body on display.

It’s infuriating.He’sinfuriating.

I need to release some of this tension coiled up inside me like a snake. If I don’t, who knows what I’ll be liable to do. Which is why I find myself stripping out of my board shorts and sprawling over the king-size bed before taking my aching cock in hand.

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