Take (Need #2)(26)

I pry her arms off me and turn to back away from her.

Kira’s panting, eyes lit up with the challenge, her hair a sexy mess. Instead of anger, I see what seems to be amusement glowing in her eyes.

Fuck, I want to eat her. Don’t know if I can control myself much longer.

She points her little finger menacingly at me. “Brayden . . .”

I throw my hands up and back away some more. “Go ahead. Shred me alive. But you know I’m not letting you go back over there.” Her annoyed huff makes me smile.

Her lips twitch in response. She’s fighting to hold back her own smile, and it only makes me smile wider. “You do know I’m very willing to shred you alive, right?” She starts coming toward me, almost like a predator stalking prey.

Fuck, yeah. That has to be one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen.

It takes all of my willpower to continue backing away. To remind myself that she’s drunk and I have no right to take advantage of that. “You do know I’ll probably end up liking it, don’t you?” I mumble, even more turned on by the idea of her clawing at me. Biting into me.

I’ll even let her draw blood. Whatever she wants.

A drunken giggle escapes her as her lips stretch involuntarily into a smile.

Those lips. God help me, I want them. Want to love on them. Fuck them. Come on them.

The air between us is suddenly hot and playful, and I don’t understand where the change came from. It’s so sudden that I’m left reeling, clueless how to deal with it.

Is she ready to give in to what she feels for me?

Does she want me to do every single thing I’m imagining myself doing to her?

We’ve made our way onto the driveway wrapped around the side of the house. Kira stops and tilts her head, staring behind me. “It’s still there. Forgot about that.”

I turn to see what she’s looking at—the large, dark outline of the tree house Ryan and I built almost ten years ago. The new owners of the house never took it down, and I think they even upgraded it for their kids at one point.

Kira rushes up to me and grabs my hand. “Come on.”

I let her lead me at first, too caught up in the feel of her small hand in mine. “Kira, wait. The neighbors.”

She doesn’t slow down one bit, her heels clicking on the pavement. “Driveway is empty. They aren’t here.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

Spinning around, she places her finger on my lips. “Shhh.”

I can’t help it. Groaning, I suck her finger into my mouth and Kira lets me, her lips parting, breaths speeding up. I watch her pupils expand, my dick pounding inside my jeans.

She swallows heavily and slides her finger out of my mouth. “Come.”

Shit. The way she says that, I almost do.

Christ, if she’s planning to take me up into that tree house to seduce me, drunk or not, I don’t think I’ll be able to resist her.

Kira stops next to where the driveway ends and bends down to slide off her heels. Just that simple act hits me like a punch to the dick. “Kira, this isn’t a good idea.”

She throws me a playful look over her shoulder. “Oh, shut up. You know you want to.”

Damn me, does she even realize how sultry and delicious she looks right now? Barefoot, in that tight-as-f*ck dress, that teasing expression making my dick twitch hungrily for her. “I want to do a lot of things I can’t do right now.” Most of them don’t even involve getting her up into that tree house.

Ignoring my murmured comment, she walks onto the grass, hips swaying with every step.

I’m helpless not to follow, my eyes glued to that perfect bubble butt of hers. She stops at the ladder leading up to the tree house. This ladder is brand new, definitely not the same one that snapped with her on it years ago.

It’s been ten years since that day, yet my chest f*cking tightens, like I’m experiencing it all over again. That feeling of almost losing her chokes me. A feeling I’ve felt too many times in my life.

Kira places her heels next to the tree and grabs onto the ladder.

I step closer. She’s drunk—not falling all over herself drunk, but I’m still worried.

Not that I should be. She climbs that ladder as expertly as she always did. Halfway up, she stops to check if I’m following her.

I’m not.

Her position allows me to see up her skirt clearly, and she’s either wearing the smallest thong on earth— Or she isn’t wearing anything under that dress.

My body tightens with more lust.

My blood heats with raw anger.

“You coming up?” she asks me, as if nothing’s f*cking wrong.

“Kira . . . tell me you’re wearing something under that.” Fists clenched, I struggle for some semblance of calm.

The insidious question nagging at the back of my mind bursts forward—did Kira dress up like that for Austin?

This motherf*cking pain, man. It’s the reason I’m willing to take whatever she throws at me. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this is what I did to her, what I made her feel for too damn long.

I’ll take all of it. Including this hit. I deserve it.

Exhaling, I grab on to the ladder.

She rushes up into the tree house, not answering my question.

Sure, go ahead, girl. Leave that knife shoved inside my chest. Fifty-fifty right?