Page 72 of Teasing

“I mean, I wouldn’t go for that as an icebreaker, but it’s not too bad.” I scream and throw my elbow back into Maverick’s chest before my brain registers it’s him and triggers my fight or flight instincts to chill out. But does Cujo get mad? Nope. He slides his arms around my waist from behind and runs his lips over the shell of my ear. “Relax, Em. It’s me.”

“Yeah,” I gasp as my racing heart tries to gallop out of my chest. “I know that now.”

“If you’d have locked your front door, I wouldn’t have been able to scare you.” He spins me in his arms to face him and starts swaying to music coming from my bedroom.

“Were you trying to scare me?” I poke his solid chest, already knowing the answer. He’s not cruel. He wouldn’t do that. Jerk—yes. Cruel—no. “What are you doing here?”

“Apparently, stopping you from talking to people about my monster cock.”

I cover my face with my hands and lean it against his chest. “You heard that, huh?”

“Oh yeah,” he laughs, his chest shaking against my face. “Quite the compliment.”

Mav peels my hands away and takes them in his. Wrapping one around his neck and covering the other one as he presses it over his heart, he starts humming along with the song. “Dance with me... It’s a good song.”

I lick my lips and get lost in his eyes as John Rzeznik sings about moments.

“It’s a great song,” I admit. “I’ve always loved this one.”

He presses his lips to the top of my head, and I relax and soak him in. “Don’t be nervous about tonight, Em. It’s just a few of my friends.”

“Your friend has won Grammys.”

“Yeah. But she used to run around the backyard, showing everyone the days of the week printed on her underwear when she was five, so she wasn’t always cool.”

“You’re terrible.” And I totally know what he’s doing. I also know it’s working. “She was five.”

“Yeah. And we’ve made fun of her for it for twenty years. Tink takes the brunt of our torture. She always has.”

I rest my head against his chest and sigh. “It must be nice.”

“What?”

My heart hurts as I think about it. “Having friends like that. Do you know how lucky you are to have Jamie?”

“Not sure I’d call that luck. He’s more like righting a wrong I did in another life.”

“You’re terrible.” But I still laugh. “He’s as much your brother as Ryker is. Don’t try and deny it.”

He runs his hand through my hair, then twists it around his fist and tugs until I’m looking up at him. Okay. That’s hot.

“He is. Him, Noah, Killian, and Lilah... It’s always been us. We’ve all been there through it all. The shit with Denae. The stuff that went down with Lilah and Killian, and don’t even get me started on Jamie and Noah. They might be quieter about their drama, but they’ve both had it.”

“But you had each other. I always wanted that. The kind of friends that are your family.” I don’t admit out loud that some days I wish for a family that’s like his family. The ones who talk every day, instead of leaving voicemails, or barely talk to each other, even though you live in the same house.

“You’ve got it now, Em. Ryker and Jamie and me. You’ve got us. And if I know Lilah like I think I do, you’ll have her in your corner in just a few hours. And let me tell you, she’s a whole lot of something to have.” His lips pull into a crooked smile. One I love seeing.

I don’t correct him.

I don’t want to.

Maybe this time will be different.

Maybe they won’t all leave.

“You know... I’ve got this fantasy about a ballerina.” Heat builds behind his blue eyes and pools in my stomach. That’s all it takes. One look.

I arch a brow. “Oh yeah . . . ? Anyone I might know?”

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