Kelly

RAIN PELTS THE WINDSHIELD, FALLING FASTER THAN the wipers can swipe the water away, as I rush across town. Sutton's scared voice is on repeat in my head, coaxing me to drive faster. My body is tense, on high alert, all my senses engaged in an effort to get me there as quickly as possible.

A flash of lightning throws a spotlight on the world right before thunder cracks. I'm on sensory overload, and I force myself to take a series of steadying deep breaths.

By the time I pull into Sutton's driveway, I've tricked myself into a state of calmness, but the tension buzzes below the surface.

Grabbing the metal baseball bat from the passenger seat, I tear out of my truck and run through the rain to the front door. Before I have a chance to knock, the door is ripped open to reveal the small form in the doorframe.

I push her gently inside, closing the door behind me, resisting the urge to scold her for not listening to me and staying inside. I give her a quick onceover, trying to ignore the way her body trembles before I ask her where she heard the noise. Once she responds, I tell her to stay inside with a stern voice while I go back outside to investigate, the bat gripped tightly in my hands.

Walking slowly between the two houses, my eyes scan the area, blinking against the steady rain. It isn't until lightning strikes across the sky again do I understand the noise Sutton must have heard from inside.

I lower my bat on a long exhale, my stiff body working overtime to relax my tense muscles.

I huff out a laugh at the scene before me—a pair of racoons rummaging through the neighbor's upturned garbage bin.

I chase them away with my bat, right the garbage bin, and trudge back to the house.

Sutton meets me at the door again, and I nudge her back inside with my hand on her stomach. Setting the bat aside, I shake myself like a dog, water flying off my soaked clothes and hair.

"Baby girl," I say with an edge to my voice. "You fucking scared me."

My breaths are coming out fast, my chest pumping up and down with the effort to regulate itself from the adrenaline rush.

"What was it?" She's biting her lip, arms crossed over her body protectively.

Now that the situation has de-escalated, I take my time in studying her. One of her bare feet is crossed over the other, and I follow the golden skin up her legs to the loose-fitting cotton shorts. A sliver of her flat stomach pokes out of the tight tank top, which is covered by my black and white plaid flannel. I brush aside the pangs of possessiveness that wash over me from seeing her in my clothes, and instead I focus on the unruly mane of white-blonde hair that frames her face. Finally, I end on her blue eyes that are wild with emotions.

I step directly in front of her, upsetting her balance, and I place a hand on her hip to steady her. I free her lip from her teeth, smoothing it out with the pad of my thumb. "It was just racoons, baby girl," I finally answer, looking into those stormy eyes.

Her breath leaves her mouth in a gush, breezing over my face since we're so close. I can feel the tension slowly ease from her body as I softly smooth my hands up and down her sides. Once her breathing has slowed to its normal speed, I tighten my grip on her hips, forcing her eyes to widen in a silent question.

"Sutton." I say her name with more authority than usual, and her brows lift, her attention solely on me. "I told you to lock yourself inside. This wasn't one of those times to be a brat. I tell you to stay inside, you listen. And I can help you with almost anything, but when it comes to situations like this, you need to call 911 first. What if it was a burglar or someone wanting to hurt you? How would I protect you? With my bat?"

The storm in her eyes turn the electric blue to a dark gray. I see the moment her fear turns to anger. She tries to break free from my grip on her, but I don't give her a single inch of space. "So you're saying I can't call you when I'm scared?"

I grit my teeth, trying to stamp down my own emotions. "No, I'm not saying that, Sutton."

"What are you saying then?"

I can feel the heat of the question on my face, taste the fruity flavor of her breath.

"When it comes to your safety, I can't be your first call. Call 911. Then me."

"You'll still come?"

I can hear the confusion—the insecurity—in her voice, and it pisses me off. "The fuck kind of question is that? I'm here, aren't I? Of course, I'll come, Sutton. I'll always come."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you care?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you care, Kelly?" Her voice rises with each question, her body growing tense under my hands again.

"Baby girl, you're going to have to explain to me what's going on in that pretty little head of yours because I can tell it's spinning but I don't have a clue what's going on. So fill me the fuck in already." In contrast to her rising voice, mine goes deeper, gruff with confusion and irritation.

"I call, you come running. Right? That's what you said."

"That's what I did, Sutton." I throw my arms out defensively, releasing my grip on her. Touching her suddenly feels dangerous. "I'm here, Sutton. What do you want from me?"

Water droplets from the soaked cotton of my shirt streak down my arms and I resist the urge to wipe them off. My compacity to process any additional sensory information is maxed out.

"But why, Kelly? Why are you here?" She mimics my outstretched hands. When I don't immediately answer, her hands fall to her sides on a dull thud. She shakes her head as if accepting defeat.

I get in her space again and grip the back of her neck under her hair. I'm breathing hard, the huffs blowing the flyaways away from her face. "What is going on, baby girl? Talk to me."

When she answers, her voice is quiet, almost a whisper. "Why are you here?"

"You know why."

She shakes head. "If I knew, I wouldn't keep asking."

In response, I stroke the pulse point on her neck. My mind is racing to catch up, a jumble of thoughts bombarding me at once. I blink at her, remaining silent.

"Kelly!" She breaks free of my hold, taking a few steps back. Her shirt is splotchy where moisture transferred from my clothing to hers. "Why are you here?"

Still, even in the face of her plea, I stand silent, like a damn statue.

"Is it because I'm your best friend's baby sister? Am I an obligation? Do you feel compelled to watch over me because of some loyalty you have to my brother? Am I just a job? Why are you here, Kelly?

When I still don't answer, she huffs and shoves my chest, her hand cold against the wet material. I barely move, the fact further upsetting her.

"You're an asshole. Take me off your list of obligations, Kelly. You're relieved of your duties. I'll call one of my actual brothers next time."

When she goes to walk past me, I stop her with a hand on her wrist—a feather light touch. "Baby girl." My voice is quiet and gruff. "You are not an obligation. And you will not call one of your brothers. You call me. That's what you do. You call, I come. That's my job. Not because you're J's baby sister. Or because of some sort of loyalty. I want to protect you. I need to protect you."

"But why, Kelly? Why?" She looks at me with glistening eyes, pleading to finally put words to what's going on between us.

I stare at her silently for a few minutes, my brain buzzing, screaming at me to make a choice. Do something! When she's about to pull away again, I finally whisper the words she's been begging me to say. The words burrowed so deep inside of me that they come out raspy when they're finally released. "Because I can't stay away. Even though I've tried. Even though I know I should. But I don't want to, baby girl. I don't want to pretend anymore."

When her mouth drops open, I pull her in front of me and cup a hand around her neck, caressing her soft skin with my thumb like I've done a thousand times before. Like she's been mine to touch this whole time.

"Sutton, I'm drawn to you. I wish it wasn't true. It'd be easier if I wasn't. But fuck if I can help it. I like being around you. With you. Even when you're a whiny brat driving me crazy."

"Shut up. I'm not whiny." She sticks out her lower lip in a pout and rolls her eyes when she realizes her actions are indeed whiny.

"You don't dispute the brat part, though?"

She pinches my stomach and I trap her hand, bringing it up to my mouth to brush my lips over the inside of her wrist. She sucks in breath and whispers, "Kelly."

"What, baby girl? This is what you wanted, right? What you were being a brat about? So don't go shy on me now." I kiss my way up her arm before hooking it behind my neck. Then I grab her other hand, kissing from her wrist to her shoulder and then wrap it around my neck. She locks her hands together behind my head, the moisture from my wet hair trickling down her arms.

We're almost chest to chest, only a few inches of air settling between us.

Once she's looking into my eyes, I ask, "Your turn. Why do you always call me?"

She blinks at me. "Huh?"

"You have plenty of brothers to choose from, yet you always call me. Why?"

"I thought it was obvious."

"Don't assume shit, Sutton. Tell me why."

"Because it's you. Duh."

I smirk down at her. "Always a brat." I turn my head slightly to the side to lick the water droplets off her arm and she squeals and squirms, but I hold her in place with hands on her hips. "But I'm going to need more than that. It's only fair."

She shrugs. "I guess I've always been drawn to you, too. I mean, you've made it almost impossible for me to pick up guys around here anyway with your overprotective bodyguard vibes. You know you're worse than my brothers, right?"

"Sutton," I warn.

"What?"

Gripping her tighter, I clench my jaw. Her eyes widen and she suppresses a laugh. "You were jealous. Not protective. You were cock blocking me?"

"Sutton." It's another warning.

"Shit," she says on a long exhale. "Jealous Kelly is HOT!"

I pull our bodies flush together, erasing the few inches of space between us. "Stop."

"Why?"

When I glare at her, she bites her lip and looks away from me. I bring her head back and pull her lip away from teeth. "Don't do that."

"What?"

"Pull away from me."

"Me? You're the one who was silently brooding."

"Thinking."

"What?"

"I was thinking." When she blinks at me, I explain, "Not everyone blurts out whatever pops in their heads. Some of us like to consider our words first."

"Oh pardon me. Take your take. Think away."

I grip her neck lightly. "Brat."

She smiles at me. "Brute."

"Sutton," I warn.

"Kelly," she mimics.

My head falls back with a deep groan, which makes her laugh. "You're so easy to goad."

"Maybe less goading and more behaving."

"Nah. Then I wouldn't be my charming, adorable, awesome self."

"You're far from adorable."

She tries to pull away from me again. "Rude."

I hold her firmer. "Sexy. That suits you more. Beautiful. Breathtaking. Frustratingly, hauntingly, maddeningly fucking gorgeous." I run a thumb over her bottom lip, unable to help myself. "All of those things are true, but not adorable, baby girl. You're far from adorable."

"Kelly," she breathes out.

"Sutton." I tip her chin up and look her directly in the eyes, brushing my thumb across her lips yet again. My gaze ducks down to her mouth before returning to her eyes. "I'm going to kiss you now. So if you have any objections, now is the time."

"Finally."

I chuckle softly before ghosting my lips over hers. "Final warning."

She fists my wet hair, arching into me. "Just do it already," she whispers into my mouth.

My mouth is soft against hers at first, dusting light kisses on her lips, the feeling familiar yet foreign. My entire body buzzes from the contact, but when it isn't nearly enough, I gradually increase the pressure until our mouths are in sync, moving together.

If I thought I'd hit max overload on my senses before, I just hit a new threshold. Having Sutton in my arms like this, feeling her body against mine, tasting her mouth is almost too much.

It isn't until I feel her tongue swipe innocently against the seam of my lips that I take charge. Suddenly, the kiss turns ravenous, my tongue invading her mouth, lips claiming and hands possessive, roaming up and down her body. Aimless touches that feel too much but yet not nearly enough.

I have a sinking feeling that, with her, it'll never be enough.

She moans into my mouth, digging her fingers into my scalp—a response to a question my body must have asked.

Finally, we break apart, breathless, and stare at each other. She falls back onto her heels, her hands unhooking from around my neck, fingers tickling down my arms. I clasp her hands to my chest, keeping her close.

"Fuck, baby girl. What are we going to do."

She blinks up at me as if she's incapable of words.

"I'm going to want more of that. Lots more of that."

She hums in response.

I smirk down at her. "Speechless? All I have to do to silence you is kiss the shit out of you?"

The smartass comment seems to awaken her and she smacks my chest. "You're a jerk."

"Seriously, Sutton. What are we doing?"

She fists my wet shirt to bring my mouth back to hers for a brief kiss—as if she can't get enough either—before she finally responds wearing a semi-dazed expression. "I don't know, but it sure feels good."

When I glare down at her, she sighs, growing serious. "Look, Kelly. It's no one's business what we do in our own time. Maybe we keep it quiet for now. See where it goes. Maybe we just need to flush it out of our systems and then move on. No sense starting a riot for no reason."

"Is that what you think this is? Some curiosity? Some forbidden itch needing to be scratched?"

"It'd be easier that way."

"Yeah, but that isn't what I asked."

She sighs with a single shake of her head. "No, Kelly. I don't think that. At least it's not that way for me. Probably the opposite actually. I mean, it's you. Anyone else? Yeah, maybe, probably. But you've always been different. With you, yeah—I'm pretty sure I'd just end up wanting more." As soon as the words are out, she slaps a hand over mouth, her eyes wide and sparkling.

I grin, unable to help myself from teasing her. "See. Always spitting shit out before thinking."

"You're an ass."

"One you want more of."

"Shut up. You have a knack for ruining moments. I was just being honest with you and now you're making a joke of it."

"Because you took it back. You didn't own it." When she stares blankly, I explain, "You covered your mouth like you regretted the words. They don't feel as genuine if you take them back immediately."

"I wasn't taking them back, you idiot. I was trying to censor myself from giving too much away before I know how you feel. You're so closed off. You communicate with glares and one-word warnings, usually my name said all gravelly and authoritative and, frankly, hot."

"So you meant it?"

"Huh?"

"Jesus, Sutton! Having this conversation with you is frustrating as hell. Just spit it out. Do you want to be with me? Or is this some crush-fulfilling fantasy thing?"

"Yes, of course, I do, you big dumb idiot. It's you I'm worried about. Do you want to be with me or is this some forbidden love kink that's got you all hot and bothered?"

Her confession swoops through me like a kaleidoscope of butterflies, and I wrap my arms around her, running my nose along her neck, breathing in her smell. "I am hot and bothered, baby girl, but it's not some forbidden love shit or whatever. It's you. I'm fucking obsessed with you."

"Oh."

I straighten to look at her. "Oh?"

She grins. "Oh."

Before I can argue more, she pulls me down for a kiss. This one is slower as she leads—tentative swipes of her tongue and soft nibbles on my bottom lip. When I can't hold back any longer, I steal the control, my lips a firm pressure against hers, my tongue tasting the sweetness of her mouth.

When I pull away, she whispers, "Oh."

I nip at her lower lip before trailing kisses along her jawline to her ear. "So we're doing this?"

She nods, and I feel the movement against me.

I pull back to look at her. "Gonna need your words for this one, baby girl."

She nods again. "Ok."

I raise my brow. A silent demand.

"Yes. We're definitely doing this."

A smile curves my lips as her words sink in. Shit, is this real?

"Let's be clear, though, baby girl." I pause for emphasis, taking her chin in my hand. "This isn't just something we're doing to flush each other out of our systems. It may be secret for now, but it's real."

She nods. "I know."

"That means no more dating apps. No more flirting right in front of me. Or period. No flirting period. You know it drives me fucking crazy. And if you want to wear those sexy as fuck outfits for me, fine, but for my eyes only. And—"

Sutton slaps her small, cold hand over my mouth. "I get the picture. You're a possessive asshole who doesn't share. Noted."

I pull her hand away. "Noted?"

"Yeah, noted." She smirks. "I got the message loud and clear."

"Do you, though? Because it feels like you're mocking me."

She shrugs. "You aren't really the boss of me, Kelly. I won't flirt. That I can agree to. At least I won't initiate it. And I hated Tinder anyway so consider it deleted. But my clothes aren't really your jurisdiction. Pretty sure I can wear whatever I want."

"Wrong. It is my jurisdiction. Everything about you is my jurisdiction. I'm the fucking mayor of your jurisdiction."

She throws her head back and laughs. "This should be fun."

"Behave and we won't have a problem."

"You seem to be under the illusion that I'm a good girl. Sorry to break it to you, Kelly, but it's just not true."

I grip her neck roughly, bringing her mouth to mine for claiming kiss. "You will behave, baby girl."

"Or else what?" She's breathing heavily from the kiss, but she holds her ground.

"I guess you'll find out, won't you?"

"Most likely." The accompanying smirk is too much.

I groan. "Fucking hell."