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Kassie opened Kaleb’s bedroom door a crack and peeked inside. The room had a little night light in the corner, and a soft lullaby playing. Her nephew was sound asleep. He might be a lot of work, but he is so darn cute. Her heart rate was finally calming, as well as her breathing.
Very quietly shutting the door, careful not to wake the baby, she turned towards the living room, smacking right into a very hard body.
“Sorry—” she whispered into the man’s chest.
When she looked up, she immediately got lost in those dark and devious eyes. Luc. Her body stiffened, and her heart jumped back into her throat. The sexy way he stared her down told her that he’d forgotten nothing from the other night. It took everything in her power not to quiver under the weight of his stare.
“Hey there, Kassie.” He reached up and twirled the end of her ponytail between his fingers. “You have squash in your hair.”
What? “What?” The exhilaration of literally running into him instantly drained from her.
“Maybe it’s beans. Or”—he messed with her hair and smirked— “both?”
Kassie put her hand on her hips and cocked her head. She found her voice and forgot all about the odd way he affected her. “It happens. Especially when babies don’t like lima beans, or if they laugh when they eat squash. I would guess you’re not around babies much.”
“No.” He laughed, still messing with her ponytail, even though they weren’t talking about the dry baby food any longer.
She may have had the butterflies under control, but her knees turned to jelly and threatened to buckle at his bellowing laugh. The way he towered over her had her under his spell.
“What are you two up to down here?” Kaden’s voice interrupted. “Kass?”
“Nothing.” Kassie shook her head and pushed by Luc, exiting towards the living room.
“Yep. Nothing going on here, K-man. Just chatting with your sis,” Luc answered.
Just Luc’s saying your sis made her stomach twist. She couldn’t have feelings like that for one of her brother’s teammates. And Luc made no mistake that she was still Kaden’s little sister.
“Luc was heading to the bathroom and I accidently ran into him when I was sneaking out of Kaleb’s room. Oh, and by the way, he’s still sound asleep. I think little guy is down for the count. No worries about him. Excuse me.”
Kassie hurried past the living room and into the kitchen. Kaden followed. His words were sharp with concern. “Kass, you good? Did he say something to upset you?”
“Luc? No!” Her breathing was hasty, and it took effort to calm down fast enough so Kaden wouldn’t notice. “No. You know better than I do how he’s all calm and slick with the ladies. He’s a big flirt. Tried that crap on me, but I don’t easily fall for it.”
“Okay. If you say so. But if he keeps it up, let me know. I’ll kick his ass.” Kaden was joking, but she could read his face, and he wasn’t amused. She knew the rules; his buddies did NOT mess with his sister. It’d been the same all their lives.
“Nah, it was nothing. I told you, I’m immune to that shit.” Kassie waved it off. She didn’t have any choice now. No matter how Luc made her feel, they could be nothing but friends, or her brother would kill him. But that wasn’t going to be easy.
***
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Luc
Seeing Kassie last night had put Luc in a fog all morning. He was slow in practice, got yelled at by Coach, who assumed he was hungover, which lead to his being forced to do laps. But taking the punishment for his faux hangover was better than admitting in front of Kaden that he was really just feeling the aftereffects of seeing Kassie O’Conner. She was on his mind all night, keeping him awake.
Now back in his townhouse, all Luc wanted to do was take a nap. Lying down on the couch with the television on for background noise, his brain relaxed. Unfortunately, it drifted right back to Kassie, and the way she had moved at the club the other night. He only hoped that she knew what she was doing and wasn’t as drunk as she was letting on, because he enjoyed all of it. Every bump and grind, every contact her body had with his.
He didn’t want to be attracted to her. She was Kaden’s sister. The guys didn’t mess with a friend’s or a teammate’s sister. Everybody knew that. It was an unspoken rule, and something he obeyed all these years.
Until Kassie O’Conner.
She had sass and spunk, yet was total class. Her body was tight in every place that it counted, and he loved watching her move. Last night, the way her shirt was tied, her midriff was showing. All he wanted to do was reach out and slide his hand around her bare waist. He knew he’d made her nervous just by standing close to her. And if he read that correctly, it meant she was as affected as he was. Just one problem: she was still his friend and teammate’s little sister.
Luc awakened to the music ringtone on his phone. His exhausted body must’ve finally given in to sleep. He didn’t make a conscious effort to move until long after the ringing stopped.
There was no voicemail, but he did have a text message from Sam.
Sam: Dinner at our house tonight? Be here at four.
