peered up at him. “Maybe we should make the most of the time alone? Persuading you to stay in bed for the rest of the day shouldn’t be too hard, should it?”
“Generally no…” he remarked candidly, darting a dark gaze down at me before sitting up and swinging his feet to the floor. “But we need to make an appearance before they do.” He twisted at the waist and skated a hand along the top of my thigh. “Come on.”
“Gimme a minute.”
“Okay.”
As Ari moved about the room, my intrepid gaze followed. Well-defined muscles in his arms and back rippled, flexing underneath flawless skin with each fluid motion. He bent down to scoop up his discarded clothes off the floor, and my head tilted, highly appreciating the lovely sight of his rounded rear.
Slipping his shorts over his feet, he tugged them the rest of the way up wearing a knowing smile. “What’s the matter? Is my hair a mess?”
“You have seriously bad bed hair,” I teased, my amused gaze watching him as he approached the mirror and adjusted the thick strands, so they were just so. And here I thought I was terrible.
“Better?” he asked, swinging back to me.
“Much. Now come here.” I crawled to the foot of the bed and rose to my knees in full view of Ari’s searing gaze. Although slickened with his seed between my thighs, I couldn’t help but want him again. “Make love to me again.”
A long finger stroked my cheek as curious eyes studied me. “Demanding little thing, aren’t you?”
“Always,” I whispered, grabbing the edge of his shorts to haul him back to the bed. That time, my mouth and tongue commanding him.
Chapter Six
Ari
FRESHLY SHOWERED, and satisfied, Teddy and I eventually decided we needed to move past the bedroom and join everyone outside before someone came breaking the door down. Thankfully, no one hadn’t.
My steps slowly faltered in the doorway as I saw the reason why. My sister was otherwise preoccupied – with bloody Damien, my father’s new junior associate of all people. Won’t our father be pleased when he discovers their little dalliance?
My sudden stop caused Teddy to run directly into my back. Noticing my deathly glare, she circled me to my front, her chin jerking towards the unsightly view.
“Leave it,” she firmly whispered, hastily turning her irate gaze back on me.
“Yeah right, like that’s going to happen,” I scoffed stepping onto the patio to the sound of jeering wolf whistles and loud clapping, distracting us away from our little disagreement.
I slung an arm around Teddy’s shoulders, chuckling as she buried her crimson face in my shoulder. “Okay, settle down you bunch of degenerates. We’re aware you’re all just as delighted as I am, but please, my poor girls blushing like a tomato.” The poking comment earned me a smack to the chest. Feisty. I had better watch myself.
Snaking my other arm around her, I pulled her closer and pressed my lips to her temple as my narrowed gaze furtively observed the cosy couple over the top of her head. My jaw ticking tightly as the pet project whispered sickly-sweet nothings in her ear, leaving Dominique in a fit of riotous giggles.
“I’d need more wine for that,” she murmured, biting down on her lip, and looking at him like …. Ugh, I now had a ghastly image seared into my brain. I needed a drink, something stiff preferably. Oh Christ, another gruesome image worse than the last one just gave me third-degree burns.
“I’ll be right back,” I heard her say as she jumped off his lap, not before performing a lap dance much to the drooling idiots' delight. My watchful gaze following her as she sauntered into the kitchen, an opportunity that was well worth seizing.
“I’ll be back shortly.” Cupping Teddy’s cheek with my palm, I gently pressed my mouth to hers. Ever so slightly, I pulled back. With a well-shaped eyebrow raised questioningly at me, I simpered, “I need to take care of something.”
The shake of the head said it all; I was in the shit. Already.
Dominique’s happiness was apparent as she strolled back inside the house. She hummed, retrieving another two bottles of Pinot Grigio from the bar fridge in the butler’s pantry, twisting their lids off at the island bench.
“What do you want, Ari?”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I snorted; our mother certainly hadn’t raised a fool. “Is dad aware his new protégée came home with you last night?” I asked glowering at her over the marble counter.
“No, he doesn’t,” Dominique haughtily informed. “And you aren’t going to tell him either. Daddy doesn’t need to know,” she boldly added. Attitude plus that one. Whatever happened to my sweet, innocent baby sister?
I scowled. “What were you thinking, Dom? Bringing him home to screw his brains out hasn’t been one of your brightest ideas, has it?”
“I wasn’t…thinking – and anyway, I like Damien!” Defiant, she shrugged. “Regardless, daddy shouldn’t stop his staff from having a relationship with anyone, even if it is me.”
Frustrated with the blasé attitude, I scrubbed at my forehead. “Stupidly, I find myself agreeing with you, but please, try to be pragmatic here; what if there’s a lover’s spat? Or, god forbid, this ‘relationship’ doesn’t work?” One held out hope. I rounded the bench and inched closer. “The conflict would displease both our father and Uncle Garrett immensely, and you being his daughter is no exception; another reason as to why you shouldn’t pursue this so-called relationship. I’m just simply throwing caution to the wind, little sister.”
She held up a hand in front of my face. “Well, big brother, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m no longer a child! I’m now an adult and have been for the last four years! So, you and that wind you blew in on can fucking butt out!” Seizing both bottles by their necks, she angrily spun on her heel and stormed off outside.
I stiffly twisted at the waist and trailed after her, my head shaking in disgust as she perched on the pet project’s knee and kissed him passionately.
“Stubborn. Like mother, like daughter.” Exasperated, I ran my hands through my hair before reaching into the stainless steel fridge behind me, grabbing a stubby of Carlton Dry. I twisted the top and threw the lid in anger. Icy cold beer was just the ticket.
Laying my forearms along the marble island, I continued sipping, observing Damien closely from afar. Watching as he pushed his sunglasses down his nose and followed Teddy with a wide-eyed gaze the moment she left her chair and walked towards the pool with my sister, whom he was presumably dating. My jaw tightened; right, time for that little chat with the pet project.
“So, Damien, is it? Ari Jaeger, Dominique’s big brother.” He eyed me suspiciously before cautiously shaking my hand. I almost burst out laughing. A punctured balloon had a sight more grip.
“I have a question for you, Damien.” Self-assured, I took the seat beside him, and casually leaned back in the cane chair, resting an ankle on my knee. “What are your intentions with my sister? Are you only fucking her? Or do you intend to string her along under the pretence you want a relationship all the while lusting after my girlfriend?”
“That’s three questions, and I don’t believe it’s any of your business, Ari,” Damien retorted smugly, covering his eyes with his sunglasses. Wimp. “Dominique’s a grown woman who can make her own decisions.”
I glowered. “I didn’t realise you could count, you impertinent little shit. Did you happen to include jackarse on your résumé when you applied to my father’s firm?”
“Presume whatever you want, I don’t have to answer to you and quite frankly, nor does your sister,” he argued rising from the chair and