Forbidden Love with the Marine(29)
“Hey, don’t panic – I mean, you can stop panicking,” Gina said soothingly. “That must be Blade.”
“You know him?”
“I should,” Gina said wryly. “He’s my stepbrother.”
“That’s your stepbrother?” Makayla squeaked, only just managing to remember to keep her voice down. It was the middle of the night after all. “And what’s he doing in my bed right now?”
“Look, I can explain if you’ll just calm down. I’m sure there must be some mistake,” Gina was saying with a thoughtful tone. “I mean, we both knew he was coming into town soon and you did agree he could stay for a few days while he hunted for a new place.”
“Yes, I remember now,” Makayla said impatiently. When Gina had asked if it was okay for her stepbrother – whom Makayla had never met, to move in for a few days on his arrival into the city, Makayla had seen no reason to refuse.
Hearing that Gina had a stepbrother who was in the army had intrigued Makayla and she’d had no cause to say no, not even though she knew that Gina would be away during his stay. It was a big place and the two rooms were on either end of the apartment ensuring ample privacy. Obviously, Gina’s stepbrother had picked the wrong end.
Gina’s next words confirmed Makayla’s suspicions. “I guess Blade must have thought your room was mine. That has to be it. I apologize for the inconvenience, honey. You must have had a bit of a shock.”
“Well, yeah,” Makayla said somewhat defensively. She realized she may have overreacted a bit as she should have known there’d be a reasonable explanation for everything. True, it had slipped her mind about Gina’s stepbrother showing up but still, she should have known better than to panic. But then nothing could have prepared her for the prospect of seeing that hot-bodied sex god lying beneath her covers.
“It’s okay though; I’ll call and clear things up with him tomorrow. You can just stay in my room for tonight, right?” Gina asked lightly.
“Sure,” Makayla said, sighing ruefully. “And sorry for freaking out. It’s just that, well...it has been a while since I’ve found a hunky man waiting in my bed – so to speak.”
Which was sort of true, considering Makayla’s current single status. She was probably the only one of her friends who wasn’t in a serious relationship or even dating. She was pathetically buried in her work as a management consultant and couldn’t remember the last time she’d set eyes on a man so gorgeously sexy - even in his sleep – that he’d made her mouth go dry just looking at him.
Gina let out a laugh at Makayla’s teasing words. “So, did you really see him naked? I thought he was over that habit! I never got a glimpse while our parents were married, but I knew he couldn’t stand to sleep with clothes on because his mom was always on his case about it.”
Makayla could recall that Gina had told her how Gina’s father, a widower, had remarried when Gina was in her mid teens. Apparently, her stepmother had a son from her former marriage who’d been five years older than the teenage Gina. Which made Blade to be around twenty-nine or thirty. With a hard-packed, drool-worthy body to boot.
She really needed to stop thinking about his body, Makayla scolded herself as she chewed on her bottom lip.
Trying to act nonchalant, she replied, “No, I didn’t really get to see much. I mean, he was half-covered with the comforter, thank goodness.” Makayla hoped her voice sounded relieved rather than regretful. After all, she had no hidden wish – none at all, to have been afforded the full frontal package of the undeniably hunk named Blade.
She was jolted out of her daydream when she heard Gina shriek as her fiancé laughed uproariously. Gina said quickly into the phone, “Sorry I have to rush, sweetie. I almost got run over by Ray and his new beach pals who happen to be built like freaking linebackers. Looks like I’m messing up their game of volley ball. So, you’re positive you’ll be okay sleeping in my bedroom tonight? Like I said, everything can get straightened out with Blade tomorrow.”
“Sure,” Makayla said with a yawn, even as she tried not to think about how much she’d prefer to go back to her dimly lit bedroom and join the gorgeous sleeping hunk underneath her covers. “Everything’s cool, trust me. I mean, aside from the fact that he’s your stepbrother, there’s also the fact that he served as a soldier in the army which makes him a hero in my book. Hell, he can sleep in my bed anytime. I mean...”
God! Makayla wanted to smack her forehead at that dumb comment. Even with her now raging hormones, she hadn’t meant for it to come out like that. But Gina was chuckling.
“He’s a handsome devil, isn’t he? All my girlfriends had massive crushes on him and I used to have to peel them off the poor guy. He never used to mess around though – bless him. So you see, he’s harmless. Well, mostly harmless.”
“Yeah, okay, I’ll take your word for it,” Makayla said as another yawn, bigger this time, overtook her.
“You sound dead on your feet. Go on and get to bed, okay? We’ll talk tomorrow,” Gina said.
“Thanks. ‘Night,” Makayla murmured drowsily, letting the phone slip back into its holder and then virtually sleep-walking to Gina’s bedroom, where a nicely cool – though otherwise empty, well made bed was waiting.