Page 21 of Pucked Into Position

“Incorrect,” Ryan’s deep voice rumbles. I feel him grin against the back of my head. He reaches out to tap my textbook. “That’s the equation for thermal conductivity, not convective heat transfer.”

I groan, dropping my head into my hands. “They both deal with thermodynamics, Ryan. Give me a break, my brain is fried.”

“Not until you can give me the correct answer, baby girl. You wouldn’t want whatever you’re making to fall apart under pressure, right?” he teases, wrapping his large hands around my waist and pulling me back against his chest.

“What if I’m already falling apart under pressure?” I groan, shivering as his lips brush against the sensitive skin behind my ear.

“Well, I did say there were penalties for wrong answers.”

He’s been home for less than twenty-four hours and has spent the last two torturing me—or, in his words, “helping” me study for my first major exam. Correct answers earn me passionate, breathless kisses that make my brain mush, and wrong answers result in slow, maddening torture that brings me right to the edge, then leaves me hanging and frustrated. It’s a Catch-22.

I turn around in his arms and grip the front of his shirt. My heart slams violently against my ribs and my breath catches when I look up to see him staring down at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

I’m about ready to tackle him onto the couch when he leans in and kisses me. All plans of sliding his pants down those thick, muscular thighs to take exactly what my body wants go right out the window.

Especially once the front door swings open unexpectedly and Ryan jerks away from me.

I freeze, my heart dropping into my stomach.

In the doorway is Tucker, glaring at Ryan and me.

“Tucker? I thought you were deployed?” I sputter.

He steps inside, his face red with fury. “I scheduled my R&R leave so I could surprise Ryan. It also worked out that I could come see how your semester was going.”

The betrayal in his voice breaks my heart, tearing me between my love for my big brother and my love for Ryan.

He looks between Ryan and me, both of us frozen in place, unable to form words.

The door slams shut, and I wince.

Tucker crosses his arms. I haven’t seen him this angry in a long time, not since before he left for basic training. Dread pools in my stomach like a lead weight.

“What the hell is going on?” Tucker demands, stepping right up into Ryan’s space. Their chests bump against each other. “Did you touch my sister?”

Ryan raises his hands desperately in a bid to defuse the situation. I watch, wide-eyed as my brother and his best friend go toe-to-toe. I shrink back on myself. I don’t want them to fight, especially not about me.

“Tucker, back off,” Ryan says, his expression hardening. “Lana and I are both adults. Whatever happened between us is between us.”

Tucker’s jaw clenches. “So something did happen.”

Ryan glances at me before turning back to him. “This started because of the PR situation. You know that. Lana agreed to help me out, and that’s all you need to know.”

This started because of the PR situation.

That’s all you need to know.

He doesn’t deny that something happened between us, but he doesn’t tell Tucker the truth, either. That somewhere along the way, this stopped feeling fake. Well, at least it did for me.

But maybe it never did for him.

The realization hits like a physical blow to the chest. Tears prick hot and fierce at the corners of my eyes. Am I really just a PR stunt to him?

The emotional whiplash is too much.

Choking back a sob, I slam my laptop shut, gather up my notebooks, and storm off down the hallway.

I shove my textbooks and laptop into my backpack, then toss a couple of outfits in my carry-on. The soft colors of my T-shirts blur into the teal bedspread. I dart across the hall to retrieve my phone charger from Ryan’s room and disappointment stings when I realize Ryan and Tucker are still arguing and haven’t noticed my absence.