“Except Camilla doesn’t care about the business half as much as she cares about having fun with you,” Audrey told him, leaning into his casual caresses.
“Something like that,” he murmured. “So you see my problem.”
“You’re friends with billionaires,” she pointed out, her breath catching when his hand moved abruptly to her nipple and began to tease it. “Why not ask Cade or Logan to help you out?”
“Pride,” he told her bluntly. “Out of our group, only Cade and I came from nothing. I won’t be the one who asks for a handout.”
Our group? she wondered, but didn’t ask. It was like she was only getting half of the story, and he was distracting her with caresses instead. Not that she minded the caresses, but she wanted to help him, prove that she was different from the women he normally dated.
And then she wondered to herself why it mattered, but somehow it did.
“So why not approach Camilla’s father directly?” she asked him. “Tell him that his daughter’s not taking things seriously and you want a real business investment. Camilla will be mad at you but if her father truly wants to invest with you, then maybe he’ll understand.”
“Mmm,” he said again, his noncommittal response she was becoming all too familiar with. “We’ll see. I don’t want to think about Camilla right now.”
And his hand slid between her thighs, cupping her pussy.
Audrey rolled over in bed to face him, her mouth seeking his even as his fingers slid deeper, spreading her pussy and gliding over her clit. Even as she kissed him, she recognized the stalling tactic, and for some reason, it bothered her.
Why was it okay to talk business with brainless Camilla but not her? What made her different?
And why on earth did it bother her? She knew Reese was just a fling and had known that going into things. So why did she care now?
Chapter Ten
By the time Daphne and Cade returned from their long walk, Audrey had climbed out of bed with Reese, showered, and changed into new clothes. She read a book while Reese prepped dinner, and when that didn’t hold her attention, she gave up on the book and simply stared out the window.
Her mood was pensive. She should have been happy, or at least content. She’d just had mind-blowing sex with an amazingly hot guy who found her sexy and attractive. Her sister was on the way to recovery for the moment. Life should have been good.
But she was bothered by Reese’s confession about his finances. Had their fling ruined his business deal? If she hadn’t had sex with him, would he be romancing Camilla right now and securing his business’s future? Had she cost him a multi-million dollar contract simply because she’d been flattered that he wanted to have sex with her instead of Camilla?
She should have been an adult about things and turned him away, told him to go hunt down Camilla and woo her simply because that was what he’d wanted to do. Camilla clearly wasn’t the most logical person to reason with, and if his future depended on whether or not a flighty heiress was entertained, who was she to stand in the way?
But more than that, she was genuinely bothered by several aspects of it. And more than that, she was bothered by the fact that she’d cared so much. What had happened to her “nail and bail” plan? Reese was a player. She no more expected him to take this thing seriously than she expected Camilla to come waltzing back through the door again.
So why was it that she, Audrey, was acting like this was something real? Like it was more than wishful thinking on her behalf.
She was bound to get hurt if she let herself get tangled up into things too much.
As Daphne and Cade entered the house, laughing, Audrey forced a smile to her face for her twin. Even if Audrey was troubled, there was no question that things were looking good for Daphne. Her twin’s cheeks, so sunken previously, now had color in them, and her eyes were bright and snapping once more, not glazed like they were. Another few days and Daphne could be off the Xanax entirely, Cade had assured her, and that made her happy. “How was your walk, Daph?”
“Cold,” Daphne announced, putting her hands on her cheeks as if to warm them. “What did you do while we were gone?”
Audrey held up her book in answer. “Just sat around.” And had dirty sex in Reese’s bed.
Daphne continued to smile, but her gaze turned curious as she watched Audrey. “I think I’m going to go out and smoke another cigarette. You want to join me, Twinkie?”
Audrey gave Daphne a puzzled look. Twinkie was one of their code words from when they were teenagers and developed hints to each other that only they knew. Calling her sister Twinkie meant that they needed to have a private talk. “Sure. Just let me get my coat.”
They left the men inside and headed back out, Daphne clutching the pack of cigarettes in her hand. Neither sister said anything as they headed out to the dock at a leisurely stroll. When they arrived there, Daphne pulled out a cigarette and placed it between her lips, then lit it. Audrey said nothing at all, lost in thought.
Daphne glanced over at her. “So what’s bothering you?”
“I’m fine,” Audrey said automatically.
“Uh-huh,” Daphne said in a voice that said she knew it was bullshit. “You can lie to a lot of people, sis, but not your twin. Spit it out.” When Audrey hesitated, Daphne suggested, “Is it more man trouble?”
Audrey’s smile was faint. “Something like that. You know, when I first heard we were coming out here, I thought I’d be spending all of my time with Cade and you. And I have to admit, while I was determined to get you clean, part of me was really, really excited to get to reunite with Cade.”
Strange how that seemed so low on the priority scale now as Reese was looming in her thoughts..
Daphne looked stricken. “I’ve been kind of monopolizing him, haven’t I?” She took another drag on her cigarette and then pulled it out of her mouth and stared at it thoughtfully. “I should have left him in the house with you today. I know you wanted to spend time with him.”
And then she wouldn’t have been able to have wild, crazy sex with Reese. Twice. No, it was a good thing that Daphne was keeping Cade distracted.
“I’m concerned that I gave you some bad advice,” Daphne continued. “About nailing the hot bo-hunk and then forgetting about it after the fact.”
Audrey laughed.
“I’m serious. In retrospect, I’m the last person who should be giving advice.” She grimaced. “Here I am telling you to hit it with someone else when the man you love is in the house.”
“You meant well,” Audrey said calmly. “Don’t worry about it. I’m the one who decided to nail him.”
“Yeah, but . . .” Daphne scuffed one of her sneakers along the dock. “I didn’t want to come between you and the man you’ve been dreaming about for years, you know? You and Cade would be so good together.”
“That’s kind of what I always thought,” Audrey said absently. “Because we’re so alike.” Nothing like she and Reese. Their relationship seemed to thrive on mutual antagonism that ended up in a firestorm of lust. There was something so exhilarating about being with him. He drove her absolutely crazy, and she enjoyed every single moment of it.
“Oh, Audrey.” Daphne sounded so sad. “I’ve messed this up, haven’t I?”
“No, you haven’t.” Audrey reached out and squeezed her twin’s arm comfortingly. “I’m equally to blame. It’s funny, because I have dreamed about getting so much alone time with Cade again. Dreamed about it for years. And now that we’re here, he spends all his time with you.” She grinned. “Should I be jealous?”
She’d meant it as a tease, but for a moment Daphne looked stricken. She masked it quickly, and began to smoke her cigarette again, staring out over the lake.
“Well, I’m going to fix it,” Daphne told her. “No more monopolizing Cade. I promise. He’s your friend, too.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Audrey said, not wanting to seem too eager. She couldn’t exactly say Yes, please monopolize Cade so I can continue to crawl into the playboy’s bed. “We’re here for you, remember?”
“I’m fine,” Daphne said bluntly. She glanced back at Audrey. “We’re heading into town for a few things tomorrow morning. I think you should go.”
“Town?” Audrey echoed. “Oh?”
“Yeah. More cigarettes, some soda, things like that.” She shrugged. “It’d get you some time with Cade.”
“It would,” Audrey agreed absently. But if they were gone for most of the day, she’d be alone with Reese. And since she’d won the bet, he’d have to be her servant . . .
Heat flushed through her and she began to picture all the delicious ways she could torment him. Walk around the house naked and make her lunch? Do her laundry naked? Run her a hot bath?
Better yet, massage and hot tub?
She wanted to tell her twin that she’d rather stay home with Reese, who was like her own special addiction. She knew he was bad for her and she just didn’t care. But if she told Daphne that, it’d only make her twin more determined to keep them apart.
“Tomorrow morning, then,” Audrey said, knowing full well she had no intention of heading into town.
***
Bright and early the next morning, Daphne nudged her twin. “Come on, sleepyhead. Time to go to town.”
Audrey pulled the blankets over her head and gave a pained groan. “Can’t. Migraine.”
“Migraine?” Daphne looked concerned. “You want some of my Xanax? I can get Cade to give you some.”
“Ugh, no.” She was a little concerned that Daphne was so quick to offer her heavy-duty drugs at the sniff of a headache. Maybe her twin wasn’t as broken from her habits as she thought. Such an offhand suggestion for something so important? It was worrisome, to say the least. “I’ll be fine. Just let me sleep. And leave the lights off.”
Daphne didn’t seem all that unhappy that Audrey was bailing on her. “All right. Cade and I will bring you home some chocolate or something.” Daphne quietly got dressed and shut the door behind her, all the while Audrey kept the blankets over her head and pretended like she had the worst headache known to mankind.
Total fib, of course.
The house was quiet for a bit longer, and then she heard the unmistakable sound of tires on the gravel driveway. Leaping out of bed, she peeked out the curtains and saw Cade’s car heading down the road. Perfect. With a yawn and a stretch, Audrey dressed in her favorite leggings and oversized sweater, and then brushed her hair before pulling it into a tight bun, imagining how it’d drive Reese wild.
She was just about to head downstairs when there was a quiet knock at her bedroom door. On the off chance that it was her twin and she’d decided not to go to town, Audrey dove for the bed and pulled the covers over her head, feeling a bit like a naughty child. “Come in.”
The door opened and there was a rattle of silverware, followed by the scent of pancakes. “I brought you breakfast,” Reese said in a low voice. “Sorry about your head.”