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I leaned in, closing the small gap of space that was left between us until our lips finally met. She went completely still for about point-five seconds and then melted against me, opening her mouth and making a needy little sound that made me realize right then and there that I would do anything—anything—to keep her safe.
Her hands moved across my chest as I kissed her deeper, and my hard cock strained between us as she rolled her hips against mine. Fuck, I should have done this a long time ago. What had I been depriving myself for, anyway?
The sound of the front door creaking as it opened snapped both of us back to reality. She gasped and took a step back as I did the same. I was thankful for the cover of darkness as I turned away to adjust my insistent erection.
“Time for a shift change.” Boone’s voice was quiet as he stepped out onto the porch. I didn’t meet his gaze at first, but I could feel his eyes on me for several long seconds before he spoke again. “Hope I’m not… interrupting anything.”
I didn’t answer. What could I have said? He was interrupting something, as a matter of fact. If I’d had my way, he would have turned right back around and gone back inside while Janessa and I picked up where we’d left off.
But I already knew that was just wishful thinking. I could tell by the tone of his voice and the way he was still staring at me that he knew something had happened.
Janessa still hadn’t said anything, either. I turned to her, wanting to make sure she was okay, but she rushed past me before I could even reach out to her, nearly knocking me off balance. She disappeared inside the house and slammed the door behind her without saying a word to either of us.
So that was great. Now I had somehow pissed off both the people I cared about. Typical.
“You kissed her,” Boone said once we were alone. There was no hint of a question in his tone, so there was really no point in trying to deny it.
I nodded. “Yeah. I did.”
I wanted to say it was just a kiss. That it didn’t mean anything. That I could still stick to our agreement. But when I opened my mouth to force the words out, nothing happened. I couldn’t make myself say those things because that would have made me a liar. And I might be a hot-headed, immature asshole on the best of days, but I wasn’t a liar. Never had been and never would be.
“You like her.” Another statement rather than a question.
“Yeah.” I nodded again. “I do. But can you honestly stand here and tell me you don’t? Or are you going to pretend that you’re here for the second day in a row simply out of the kindness of your heart? Because you care so much about what happens at Justin Thoreson’s place?”
“That’s not fair and you know it,” Boone growled. I knew I was dangerously close to really pissing him off, but I couldn’t help it. It was time to have a damned honest conversation about this whole thing. “Of course I care what happens to her. She could be in real, serious danger here, so excuse the hell out of me for trying to stay focused on what we’re actually here for.”
“And you think I would just stand by and let something happen to her?” I asked. “Because you can go fuck yourself it that’s—”
“That’s not what I said,” he interrupted, holding his hands up. “And you know that’s not what I meant, either. But this is exactly why we agreed not to do this with her. Hell, we’ve barely even been here twenty-four hours and we’re already arguing over her. That’s the very thing I was trying to avoid. Can’t you understand that?”
It took me a minute to calm down enough to admit that he was right. We were already fighting like a couple of dogs over a bone, and I’d barely even kissed her. But even though fighting with Boone was the very last thing I wanted to do, I wasn’t sure I could go back to the way things were before.
Because if I was being totally honest? I’d one hundred percent kiss her again if I had the chance.
“We could share,” I offered, hoping to find a way for all three of us to be happy and to get rid of this feeling that I had to do things behind Boone’s back. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you. She’d be into it. And fuck, she’s so hot…”
He shook his head. “I can’t. I can’t go there with her. It would just complicate things.”
“How? It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just adults doing adult things and—”
“No,” he interrupted. “I know myself too well. I already care about her, Cade. When I’m around her, I feel… like I haven’t felt in a long, long time. And I don’t trust myself. I’m not ready for that yet.”
I felt like someone had just flipped the switch on a light bulb above my head. Boone was finally starting to make some sense. I’d just assumed he was hesitant because of her age or her uncle or some bullshit like that, but if he already had feelings for her—especially if they were half as strong as the feelings I was starting to have for her?
Then yeah, of course he’d be scared. Of course it would feel complicated when he compared his feelings now to what he’d felt with Maria. Fuck, I’d been an idiot for not realizing it sooner.
I walked over and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “I’m sorry, buddy. I should have figured all of that out before now. You should take as much time as you need to figure that shit out, man. But…” I hesitated, not wanting to put my foot in my mouth again or stick my nose where it didn’t belong. Still, Boone was like a brother to me, so I had to be honest with him. “I like her. You like her. She likes both of us. Those are all facts that we’re going to have to deal with at some point.”
“Yeah.” He nodded, walking past me to sit down in the chair I’d vacated. “I just don’t know what the right thing to do is. And I don’t think it’s something we’re gonna figure out tonight.”
“No, probably not,” I agreed. “Just… don’t let life pass you by while you’re trying to make sense of it, okay? Sometimes you just have to live in the moment and appreciate what’s right in front of you.”
He snorted. “That’s your field of expertise, man. Not mine. My brain just doesn’t work that way. But… yeah, I’ll try.”
“Good night,” I said, walking to the door. I didn’t want to push the subject any further tonight. “Come get me if there’s any trouble. I’m still ready to kick some ass over that whole poisoning thing.”
“You and me both,” he grumbled. “I’ll let you know if anyone turns up. Good night.”
