“Would you want to have some fun of your own?” Terrance taunts.
I swallow, letting my imagination wander for a split-second. We could do it now, I guess. Right here, on the beach. Probably for hours before anyone came to find me.
The guys get their fun. Why shouldn’t I?
I’ll never see this man after I leave, anyway.
He swims into me, backing me up and walking into me. When I get only waist deep, he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me in.
I plant my hands on his chest. No.
His eyes drop, and he smiles at what he sees, and I look down, noticing my breasts visible through my wet bra, my nipples hard, little points.
I pull my arms up, covering myself.
Unlike last night when I couldn’t even summon the will to stop Kaleb’s mouth.
Terrance takes my face and pulls me in, but before I can pull away, motorcycles whir from somewhere in the trees, and we both jerk our heads toward the sound.
Kaleb and Noah race up and stop just above the rocks, Noah immediately kicking down the stand and jumping off.
“Get the fuck out of there!” he growls at me. “Now!”
I jump.
Noah heads down to me, and I look over, seeing Kaleb climbing off his bike with a…
A… gun?
Is he kidding?
Kaleb stands by his bike, staring at Terrance with his head tilted and his expression calm. A shotgun hangs casually at his side in his hand.
A shotgun.
They’re all out of their minds.
I scramble out of the pond, dripping wet as I grab my backpack and shirt off the ground. But as I dive back down for the rifle, Noah snatches it up and takes my wrist, pulling me after him. I stumble over the rocks.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Terrance whines behind me, and I look back to see him walking out of the water with his arms outstretched at his sides in a challenge to my cousins. “What are you gonna do with that, Kaleb? Huh?”
He grins as Kaleb loads a shell.
Shit.
Noah pulls me to his bike to climb on behind him. “Get on now.”
But Terrance pipes up again, and I hesitate.
“You’re not gonna be able to keep her to yourself,” he tells Kaleb and Noah. “She’s the prettiest thing we’ve all seen in a while, and I’m just trying to get in there before all the dogs start barking at your front door for a piece of that sweet little snatch.”
I cringe and Kaleb cocks his gun.
“Now, Tiernan!” Noah barks.
And I climb on, hugging my backpack and shirt with one hand and holding onto Noah with the other.
Noah starts the bike and turns it around as I hear Terrance’s voice behind me. “See you soon, Tiernan.”
And Noah races off, taking us back down the mountain.
But as we speed away, I look behind me one more time and catch sight of Kaleb still standing in the same spot. Staring at Terrance as he clutches the gun at his side.
Tiernan
We haul ass back to the house, Noah screeching to a halt next to his father’s truck. I crash into him as the rear tire lifts off the ground.
What the hell is the matter with them? As soon as the bike lands again, I jump off and head for the house.
But Noah is quick behind me, grabbing my wrist again.
I jerk away. “Get off.”
“Where were you?” Jake demands, walking over to us.
But I keep walking, slipping the flannel back on to cover myself. “I need a shower.”
I did nothing wrong.
Jake doesn’t let me pass, though. He clutches my upper arm, demanding an answer.
“I need a shower,” I tell him again, slowly twisting out of his hold.
He towers over me, and I look up at him.
“What the hell would’ve happened if we hadn’t found you?” Noah bites out.
“What do you think would’ve happened?”
“You both looked pretty close,” he points out. Then he looks to his father. “She was up at the lake with Holcomb.”
“I told you to stay away from the local boys,” Jake tells me.
I shake my head, my backpack clutched in my fist. “I went for a hike,” I explain in a hard voice. “I didn’t invite him. He showed up. Are we done?” And then I glare at Noah. “I mean, Kaleb and the rifle? Really?”
I spin around, walking for the house again.
“You left the rifle on the beach!” Noah growls at me. “You left yourself unprotected.”
“What do you think he was going to do?” I ask, spinning around. “Attack me?”
Noah’s jaw flexes, and I can’t help myself.
“He might not have had to,” I tell him, slipping my backpack over my shoulder. “I was kind of liking him.”