The Bet (The Bet #1)(24)

He sighed, surely that would make this blinding attraction go away. God, it was hard enough watching the movie sitting next to her, breathing in her scent, let alone viewing her shapely legs.

He wanted to run his tongue up and down her thigh until…

Stop! He needed to stop, or he was going to have a serious problem staying comfortable during the stupid cartoon. And then she’d probably assume cartoons somehow turned him on. That’s just what he needed, for her to think Alice in Wonderland made him horny.

He reached for the wine bottle twenty minutes into the movie, only to find they had nearly finished it. He blamed Kacey. She was drinking it like water, not that he could blame her. One dinner with his family was likely to do that to a person, especially when Grandma had a tendency to flaunt her liaisons.

He still couldn’t figure out why Grandma seemed to be doing so well. She was supposed to be bedridden, ill! Instead she was sneaking across the street to see the neighbor.

Oh, that mental picture did wonders for his aroused state. Consider him officially turned off.

The music started up, and it was the part where the Cheshire cat appeared for the first time.

He looked at Kacey to gauge her reaction.

She closed her eyes.

“Kace,” he whispered. “Open your eyes. The cat isn’t going to magically float into the living room.”

She peeked behind her hands then reached for the last bit of her wine, downing its contents and handing him her glass. “More.”

Far be it for him to deny her anything. He went in search of another bottle.

The minute the cork was out, Kacey held out her glass, still not taking her eyes off the TV. She really did have a weird fear when it came to that dang cat. To her credit, she didn’t scream like the last time, which would have been when she was fifteen, but she did inch closer and closer to him until her thigh was touching his.

Sweet torture.

He began drinking to keep his hands and lips occupied, and as the credits flashed, he realized they had finished two bottles of wine.

Kacey, however, looked wired. “We have to watch something happy to get rid of those mental images.”

Travis shook his head, feeling way more relaxed than he should, his arm draped around her, pulling her closer. “What do you want then?”

What he meant to say was Well, what do you want to watch then? But he was slightly drunk and a little loose-lipped.

She shrugged, snuggling closer into his body. His arm, once on her shoulders, caressed her back, moving lower and lower until it grazed her butt.

“Kace?” he asked again. She hadn’t moved, and the room was spinning, partially from the wine and partially from his lust-filled state.

“Hmm?” She looked up. God, she was beautiful, and so damn close to him he could nearly taste the wine on her lips.

“Your call,” he said, lowering his head to hers.

“This means nothing,” she whispered against his lips. “We’re drunk, and it means nothing,” she repeated as her hands tangled in his hair.

With a moan he shook his head.

“Right, nothing.” He licked her lower lip, tasting the red wine then running his tongue along the bottom of her jaw.

She arched her back, and he pulled her closer. His control was hanging on by a single thread.

When his lips grazed hers, she opened her mouth to him. All hell broke loose. He hadn’t expected her to taste so good, to feel so ripe, to feel perfect in his arms, to moan his name.

His tongue tangled with hers. Kacey ran her fingers up and down his biceps then tucked her hands underneath his shirt, peeling it off his body.

“Told you naked slumber parties were more fun,” he said between kisses.

She giggled and reached for her own shirt. No way in hell he was going to miss watching this. He leaned back mesmerized as she began to strip, and then… the lights flipped on.

“Grandma!”

“Travis! Kacey!” She put a hand over her heart.

Oh God, this was it. His grandma had just seen him getting ready to screw his brother’s fiancée. He was going to be the reason for her death. He just knew it.

She tilted her head. “Kacey, that brassier is quite charming. Pink. Now why don’t I have any pink lingerie?”

Travis hid his head in his hands, praying to disappear.

Grandma shrugged. “You kids be sure to clean up now. Don’t want Jake coming home and seeing remnants of your lovemaking.”

There was something so wrong about his grandma saying lovemaking as a woman was straddling him.

She waved goodbye and turned the lights back off.

But the mood was officially gone.

“Do you think she was drunk?” Travis asked pleadingly.

“Either that or high.” Kacey pushed herself away from his chest and pulled her shirt back on. Sadly, he wanted to shed a tear of selfishness that their little party was over.

“I should, uh, go to bed…” Kacey got up, a little unsteady on her feet.

Travis grabbed her arm. “Let me help you. I’ll just throw away the evidence and help get you to your room, okay?”

She nodded and stretched her arms above her head.

He quickly tossed the wine bottles in the trash, put the glasses in the sink, folded the blanket, and turned off the TV.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes.” She didn’t look him in the eyes.