The harsh sound of keys scraping in the lock startled her off Callum's lap and onto the matching leather lounge chair across the room.
Heart racing in her chest, Zoe tried desperately to rein in her hormones as Cal shifted comfortably on the couch. Dark eyes stared intently at her as he adjusted himself in his jeans, that wicked knowing grin back in place.
She hated how much she ached for him. She was addicted.
Jake had come home earlier than planned - stomping into the kitchen with takeout bags and fuming about his disastrous reunion with his ex. Cal followed behind, hands shoved into his jeans, looking maddeningly calm.
Except for the look he shot her when Jake had turned to retrieve a few plates from the cupboard. That look stoked the heat curling low in her belly all over again.
Now they were all crammed into the living room, the same leather couch suddenly feeling like enemy territory. Jake sprawled out on the recliner, oblivious, while Cal settled next to Zoe on the couch again, far too close for comfort. She curled up under a soft pink throw blanket and tried to pretend he wasn't so close she could feel the heat of his strong body bleeding into her petite frame.
"Pass me the remote, Zo," Jake said, mouth full of noodles.
Eyeing where it sat on the side table at Callum's end of the couch, her heart hammered in her chest when she realized he wasn't going to make it easy and pass it to her. The intensity in his eyes dared her to go for it as he relaxed back into his seat and spread his muscular thighs tauntingly.
Tucking her knees under her, she angled her body across his, careful where she placed her hands, until she was stretched out, hovering across his lap. She nearly toppled right off him when Cal's fingers brushed the smooth skin of her hip above her waistband - exposed as her t-shirt had ridden up in her stretched out position.
The contact burned right through her, and she flinched and sucked in a startled gasp. He didn't pull away. Instead, his hand stayed, thumb skimming over her heated skin in the barest whisper of contact.
Her pulse went wild. Jake didn't notice.
"You're jumpy tonight," Cal murmured under his breath, voice pitched so only she could hear. His thumb traced slow, lazy circles on her hip, skimming beneath the waist of her denim shorts. The heat from that tiny touch soaked into her core, igniting her desire and making it impossible to think straight.
"Maybe you should stop… doing that," she hissed back, forcing herself to keep hold of the remote as she slid back into her seat. The space between them was gone now, she was pressed firmly against his side under the blanket.
And Jake was still oblivious.
"Doing what?" His smirk was pure sin, his voice as smooth and dangerous as aged whiskey. "Touching what's mine?" he whispered, nose grazing the shell of her ear.
She sucked in a sharp breath, her body locking up. The word mine did something humiliatingly powerful to her.
Jake cleared his throat, completely unaware of the war going on behind him. "You two good? You're weirdly quiet."
"We're good," Cal said smoothly, the liar. His hand drifting to her exposed thigh under the throw.
Zoe bit her lip so hard she winced and stifled a groan as his warm, callused fingers shifted higher on her leg. Throbbing waves of want flowed from her centre and she was convinced everyone on her block could feel the heat coming off her.
"Cut it out," she snapped, glaring at Cal.
"Cut what out?" Cal shot back, his voice low, teasing. His fingers caressed her inner thigh, then drifted slightly higher, just enough to make her breath catch. "Go on. Use your words."
The bastard.
Jake laughed at something on the TV, completely missing the fact his best friend's hand was creeping up his little sister's thigh.
"Cal," she moaned, "Stop."
"Mmm," Cal hummed, but didn't actually listen. Instead, his knuckles brushed against the wetness of her panties, tracing slow patterns that had her heart beating out of her chest.
Every nerve in her body felt raw and alive. The room was too hot, the air too thin. She couldn't remember what show they were even pretending to watch.
Then Cal leaned in, his breath warm against her ear. "You're trembling," he murmured, barely audible over the TV. "Sweet, little Zoe."
Zoe swallowed hard, fighting the urge to snap her thighs shut. Jake was right there, for god's sake!
Breathing heavily, her eyes darting back and forth between her brother and his best friend. She buried her face in Cal's shoulder to disguise the soft noises he was pulling out of her.
"You think he'd notice?" Cal went on, sounding utterly amused. "If you came just from me touching you like this?"
Her breath stuttered. "You're an asshole," she whispered, but there was no bite behind her words.
His grin turned razor sharp. "But you love it."
She did. That was the problem. She'd been dreaming of this for four years.
Before she could retort, Jake stood, stretching and yawning. "Alright, I'm dead. I'm gonna crash."
Zoe's heart leapt to her throat. Jake gone meant Cal could...
But Cal's hand slid away, leaving her cold and aching. "Night, man," he called out easily, as if he hadn't just had his fingers inches from ruining her.
The silence that followed felt like the air before a lightning strike as Jake retreated upstairs, door clicking shut. She fisted the blanket on her thighs and tried to keep her hands to herself.
Callum turned back to her, slowly pulling the blanket down her legs, blue eyes dark, jaw tight. "Where were we?" he drawled, voice low and dangerous.
She didn't answer - she couldn't. His large hand was again wrapped around her neck, and the look in his eyes said he knew there was no way she would stop him.
--------
I kept going. I think I'll post one more chapter. Stay tuned for the final scene!
XOXO Zoe