Takedown Teague (Caged #1)(25)

“Shut up,” I said softly. My hand moved back to her hip, but I didn’t release her. I didn’t want to. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”

“I got you all wet.”

“I was all wet before,” I told her. “Well, sweaty anyway. I’ve been running.”

“Mascara,” she muttered as she rubbed the side of her thumb over a tiny black smudge right next to my nipple.

She took a step away from me, and my hands dropped from her sides. The loss of contact was unsettling, and as my hands left her, it kind of felt like I was being peeled away from her—just like peeling a f*cking banana from its skin.

That thought made me think of my own banana, and I wondered if he might also be considered a comforting presence. Maybe tucked between her thighs for an hour or so would be beneficial to her mood.

Shit, I had to stop thinking like that.

“You gonna tell me what all that was about?” I asked her.

“No,” she replied.

A little battle broke out inside of my head. There was a part of me that said this was private and I should mind my own business, but most of me just wanted to know if I should go after that * and beat him down. I didn’t need much of an excuse to do so.

“You know, if you don’t tell me,” I said, “I’m going to come up with the worst possible scenario. If that happens, you won’t be able to stop me from running after him and beating the shit out of him.”

“No, don’t,” Tria said. She shook her head slowly. “We were just talking.”

“Talking? That’s some talk.”

“Keith and I don’t quite see eye to eye on the whole going to college thing,” Tria explained. “He thought I would be just fine going to the community college near home, but I was accepted here, and I wanted the best possible education. He didn’t want me to leave.”

“This is the boyfriend you don’t have, isn’t it?”

She looked at me and then away again. Her hand swept under her eyes once more.

“We broke up right before I left.”

I paused for a minute, trying to figure out if she left him or he left her. Considering he came all the way out here from Maine led me to believe she ditched him, which made me feel better.

“Okay.” I was certainly curious, but I also knew anything she said was going to make me want to run after him. I’d calmed down a bit, so I was all right with not knowing right now. “You sure you don’t want me to kick his ass?”

“Yes,” Tria said, cracking a little smile. “Besides, I have to get ready for work soon. I don’t have the time or the money to bail you out of jail.”

“I wouldn’t get arrested,” I assured her. “I’m not stupid.”

Tria looked at me with narrowed eyes but didn’t press for more information.

“You want me to stick around until it’s time for us to go?” I asked. “I need to run up for a shower…”

…for more than one reason…

I swallowed hard as images of Tria pressed against the tiles in my bathroom filled my head for a moment. She looked at me quizzically, and I rushed to continue on a less lecherous path.

“…but I could be back down here in fifteen minutes. If he came back or something…”

“No,” Tria answered immediately. “He won’t come back. Not today, anyway. I’ll be fine, and we’ll have to head off before too long anyway. I’ll tell you more on our walk.”

That would have to suffice.

“You sure you’re okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine, really.”

“I’ll be back in an hour to walk you to work.”

“Okay,” she said. She ran her hands through her hair and let out a big sigh. “Thank you. Again.”

“My pleasure,” I said with a smile. “Anytime you want me to beat the shit out of someone, you just say the word.”

“That’s what big brothers are for, right?”

“Exactly!” I answered her with a grin. My face held a smile, but inside me, that word—brother—made my guts twist up. Why the f*ck had I ever said that in the first place?

I practically ran upstairs to jump in the shower. Before the water had even soaked through my skin, I had my dick in my hand. It didn’t take more than a minute before I was grunting and spurting against the tiles.

I breathed heavily with one hand still against the cold wall. The shower and the jerk-off did nothing to sate my need to kick someone’s ass or f*ck my downstairs neighbor, and I wished I didn’t have to wait for the opportunity to do either. I thought about finding Keith while Tria was working, but I had the feeling she wouldn’t appreciate it. I had a pretty good idea she wouldn’t care for her “big brother” coming on to her, either.

At least I could pound that * without her ever finding out. I could hang around outside tonight. If I happened to see him, and we happened to have a little confrontation… Well, that would just be a coincidence, wouldn’t it?

I soaped myself down, rinsed off, and stepped out onto the threadbare hand towel that served as a bathmat. I dripped for a bit while I stared at my face in the mirror and ran my hand over my jaw. I needed a shave, so I pulled out a razor and shaving cream and stared at myself in the mirror some more while I worked on the stubble.