Page 59 of Study Buddies

Then a large hand brushed along my leg, deftly capturing the edge of the fabric and smoothing it back into place. I turned to thank Kyle, but he was staring straight ahead at the screen.

And his hand was still on my thigh.

His fingers were splayed wide, half on the dress and half on my bare leg. His hand felt big, and warm, and… surprisingly good.

At least it would have if we’d been alone.

I could’ve slapped his hand away, as I had when he’d reached for the mini taco cups before they’d cooled.

Or I could’ve leaned over and whispered my safeword in his ear.

I did neither.

My focus returned to the movie, but I’d lost the plot entirely. It didn’t matter because all I could think about was Kyle’s hand.

And then it slid higher. Just an inch, but I felt the fabric of the flowy dress shift.

I stilled for a long moment and then gulped in a breath of air, my pulse speeding up.

Which was dumb. He was just touching me lightly. It was a little inappropriate, given that Lucas and Jayden were nearby, but it was no big deal. Right?

Except I wasn’t doing a very good job of convincing myself of that. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He was staring at the movie, a neutral expression on his face. Aninnocentexpression—if such a thing was possible for him.

Breathing deeply and slowly, I tried to get my heart rate to slow. I deliberately relaxed the muscles that had tensed—including the ones in my thigh. And that’s when Kyle's fingers moved again, but not higher on my leg. This time, his long fingers curled around my thigh, sliding a little way in between them.

I gasped softly, and immediately clamped my mouth shut. Had they heard me? Hopefully the noise from the movie—where I hadn’t the slightest clue what was happening—had muffled it.

Kyle was still staring straight ahead, as if he didn’t have his hand high on my thigh, and for some reason, that made it more exciting. Blood pooled in my core, and I had to resist the urge to roll my hips forward.

I took a quick peek to my other side, and my breath caught in my throat. Jayden was staring at me. Or, more specifically, where Kyle was touching me.

Oh, shit. Embarrassment washed through me at having been caught. I expected Jayden to say something about it or give me a confused look, but he didn’t. He just kept staring at my lap. I wished I were able to see the expression on his face.

And then my wish came true. The scene on the TV changed to a white, sterile room. The sudden light from the screen litup Jayden’s face as he stared at my thigh. And the look wasn’t disapproval or disgust—far from it. He looked kind of… into it. His gaze flicked up to my face and I almost squealed in surprise. The look he gave me was knowing, and almost… lustful, and my arousal level went through the roof.

Embarrassment washed through me, but excitement was winning out. Especially when Kyle slid his fingers farther between my legs. He had a firm grasp on my inner thigh, and his long fingers were quite near my panties. The skirt of my dress hid part of his hand, but I could feel every single inch of where he was touching me.

God, his hand was hot… like his touch was searing my skin. My breathing grew shallow, and I was conscious of the way my chest was rapidly rising and falling. I wondered if Kyle and Jayden had noticed that, too.

Slowly, Kyle’s hand slid higher, and I held my breath, not sure how far he’d go. And not sure how far I wanted him to go. This was new territory for me, to be this turned on in a room surrounded by men… but I didn’t want it to stop.

Kyle’s little finger rubbed against the skin at the very top of my thigh, and then I froze. On my other side, Jayden had his eyes trained on the screen—where the hell had that green alien come from?—but his hand fell between us, the back of his knuckles casually grazing the bare skin of my other thigh.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit… how far were they going to take this? And why the hell wasn’t I telling them to stop? Kyle would respond to my safeword, and Jayden would get the message, especially if I clamped my legs together and pushed down my dress.

But I didn’t.

My breathing was so labored that it practically drowned out the noise from the screen, where there were now a whole family of green aliens.

Kyle’s grip tightened on my thigh, and I sensed he was going to move his hand upwards again. I think he was waiting to see if I was going to stop him.

I didn’t.

I should have, but god, it felt so good. And now Jayden was lightly stroking the outside of my thigh with one long finger. I wondered if Kyle could see that? Jayden’s hand was kind of hidden between our bodies.

Then a dark shape crossed in front of the screen and the coffee table jerked violently to the side with a loud thud.

“Knock it off,” a voice growled.

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