I follow after Arianna, just a few st eps behind her, and goddamnit, it takes everything in me not
to stare at her ass. In my defense, her bikini barely covers her ass cheeks. In her defense, that
shouldn’t be an excuse, it’s the only one I’ve got at the mo ment, though. I wasn’t planning on
tubing. I’ve never been big on all that stuff. But when I see Arianna jump into Tyson’s arms so
easily, him taking the opportunity to cup her ass as he carries her to the boat, my plan changes.
My manwhore little brother should be k ept as far away as possible from Arianna. Not only is she
over seven years younger than him and Kelly’s daughter, she’s too good for him. She’s the kind
of woman that you’d want to settle down with, and Tyson is only interested in women for a
night or two at a time. He’ll hurt her if she lets him close enough, that’s a guarantee. Something
in me just can’t let that happen. Walking down the grassy hill that leads to the private dock, a
hand reaches out, snagging mine. I look down to see Kelly in a black thong bikini, her tits
literally spilling out of the top as she smiles up at me. Jesus, she really has no shame. “Where
are you going?” “I was gonna join Tom,” I say, tilting my head towards the boat, watching
Arianna and Tyson climb into the boat as the twins lay on their stomachs on the tube. Kelly
pouts. “But if you go, who is going to rub sunscreen on my back?” she asks, turning around to
wiggle her ass at me. I don’t even feel tempted to look at her as I pluck the bottle of sunscreen
from her hands, passing it to Marissa.
“I’m sure Marissa will help you.” I walk away before she can stop me again, and I hear her sigh in
irritation as my feet hit the dock. I know I can only push Kelly away for so long before she’ll
explode. She’ll demand to know why I came if it wasn’t to at least hook up with her, and I really
don’t have a good answer for that one. I should probably start coming up with something, and
fast. Tom gives me a head nod as I st ep on the boat. I return the greeting before my eyes lock on
Tyson and Arianna, both sitti ng on the side bench, looking far too cozy for my liking. “Are you
ready?” he teases, tickling her sides. She squirms in her seat, doing her best to hold in her
laugh. “Fuck! Stop! You know I’m ticklish,” she says with a smile that’s ready to explode into full -
blown laughter. Tyson grins at her and does it more. “Oh, are you? Must have slipped my mind,”
he says before full on attacking her. Arianna squeals and squirms as she laughs at the hands of
my baby brother. Bull fucking shit, he forgot. He used to c hase her around and torture her when
she was younger. He’d make her laugh until she was crying and made it his entire mission to
make her laugh as many times as he could when he was around. I take a seat across from them,
frowning. I was always so preoccup ied with Kelly that I never really noticed what Arianna was
up to, especially with Tyson. I didn’t realize how close they were or are. I don’t know. Tom
slowly pulls away from the dock, and Tyson and Arianna settle down, watching the twins as they
slowly s tart gliding across the water. I take the opportunity to watch Arianna. Her blue bathing
suit looks amazing against her skin, hugging her perfectly. Or maybe she’s just perfect. I take in
the graceful slope of her neck, in voluntary memories flooding me fro m our time at the club. The
way it felt in my hand, how smooth her skin was. Feeling her
pulse thunder in my palm, knowing this beautiful stranger trusted me so implicitly from the
start. It released something carnal, powerful. Now that I know that it was Arianna the whole
time... I still have those feelings, those cravings. Now that I know what she’s capable of, what we
are, I... A splash catches my attention, and I turn to see Brady has launched from the inner tube,
the loss of balance sending Melanie into the water as
well. Tom quickly slows down, making a wide loop as we swing by to grab the kids. They both
climb into the boat, teeth chattering as they wrap towels around themselves. Just because it’s
sunny doesn’t mean the lake is warm. It’s only April in Western Washington, and the water is
unbearably cold until July, but if you live here, you adapt, otherwise, you’d never have any fun.
“Let’s go, Ari,” Tyson says as he stands up, reaching out for Ari anna’s hand. She takes it happily,
lacing her fingers through his. It takes not only me by surprise as Tyson looks down at her,
grinning before squeezing it lightly and leading her to the inner tube. Carefully, they both climb
on, and when they’re ready, T om takes off again. Leaning forward, I rest my forearms on my
thighs as I watch them. They laugh and smile at each other as they hold on for a surprisingly
long time. Tom begins swaying from side to side, forcing them to catch the wake from the boat.
They start to gain a little air with each wake until they launch. Arianna screams as Tyson laughs
before they land with a hard slap against the water that sends Arianna skimming across the
surface. I feel my chest clench as I watch her slip underwater. Leaning over the side of the boat,
I frantically look for her in the water before she resurfaces just to the side. Relief fills me until I
see her swimming awkwardly. Forcing half my body out of the boat, I reach a hand out for her.
She looks like she’s going to r efuse me, so I grab her, hauling her up and into the boat. She lands
in my lap, and when she tries to get up, I wrap an arm around her, ke eping her in place as I look
her over. Her right hand is cupping her left wrist as she winces. “What hurts?” I ask as my eyes
run over her in concern. She shakes her head before looking away. “I’m fine.” Frowning, I pinch
her chin, forcing her to look me in the eye and say that. “What. Hurts,” I r epeat. Her blue eyes
snap to mine, a million different emotions playing with in them. “I tried to hold onto the handle
too long. Probably just hyperextended it. I’m fine.” She squirms in my lap, and it takes
everything in me not to enjoy it.
Releasing her chin and unwinding my arm from around her, she stands as Tyson climbs into the
boat. “You good?” he asks, looking her over with worry. I frown, watching my brother carefully.
I’m not sure what he’s up to, but whatever it is, I can tell you I’ m not a fan. She smiles up at him
the way I wanted her to smile at me when I asked her what hurt. “My wrist got a little twisted
on my epic fail of a d eparture.” Tyson laughs at that, examining her wrist carefully. “I swear to
god, you were by my side one second, then in the clouds the next.” She chuckles softly, rolling
her eyes as he gently touches it. She winces when he moves it, and I have to physically restrain
myself from biting his head off and telling him to be more fucking careful. “We can wrap it with
some bandages when we get back to the house for support.” Arianna nods, a shiver running
through her as the breeze rolls in. I grab a towel almost instantly, handing it to her. She takes it
with a quick smile before Tyson snatches it from her and wrap s her up tightly. They both sit
down as the twins climb onto the tube again. When we take off, Tyson wraps his arm around
Arianna’s back. It’s a casual move, but I can see right through my brother. He’s fucking into her.
She looks up at him, and I wait for her to seem uncomfortable or offended, something that will
give me permission to knock his front fucking teeth in. She doesn’t, though. Instead, she smiles
and leans into him, causing my stomach to
sour as I roughly look away. After a day on the water, we decide to have a bonfire and barbeque.
I helped Tom do some baby back ribs, baked potatoes, and a salad, while Marissa and Kelly set
up the backyard. There is already a picnic table, but it’s not bi g enough for everyone, so they set
up a few extra chairs around the fir epit. The sun is beginning to dip down behind the tree line
when I decide to make a fire. Tom hands me several pre - cut logs from the woodshed to the
side, and it’s not long until we have a roaring fire that everyone is gathered around. I’m
currently sitting at the picnic table when Kelly comes over, dropping into my lap. I fight the
instinct to immediately push her off as she wiggles her jean shorts cl ad ass against me. “Well, hi,
stranger.” She giggles before a hiccup slips out of her. I lift an eyebrow as I stare at her. Kelly and
Marissa have been getting into margaritas all day, and it looks like they finally caught up to her.
“Hey, Kel,” I say, cas ually moving my arms as far away from her as possible. “I’m so glad you
came, like, I genuinely didn’t believe you’d show up. Thought you were screwing with me or
something.” I shrug, not sure what to say. My eyes move around the fir epit to see Melanie
roa sting a s’more while Brady taps away on his phone. Tom and Marissa are snuggling, and
Tyson and Arianna are standing around the fire, de ep in conversation. I hear her laughter, the
sound echoing around the backyard, and I wonder if anyone else can feel her stealing the
oxygen from the air around us or if it’s just me. Goddamnit, I can’t ke ep doing this. “What’s
wrong?” Kelly frowns. I look at her, shaking my head. “I think Tyson is into Arianna. I’ll talk to
him about it, though. Don’t worry.” She scoffs, l aughing softly. “Why would I care? She’s a grown
woman, she can handle herself, and Ty is a sweetie.” Now, it’s my turn to laugh, albeit
considerably less humorously. “Tyson is a playboy, and we both know it.” Kelly shrugs. “Ari could
use a little fun. She hasn’t had a boyfriend in years.” “And you think Tyson is boyfriend
material?” I ask dubiously. “I don’t know, maybe. Who really cares?” she shrugs as she lifts a cup
of what smells like straight vodka to her mouth. Who cares? You should. You’re her fucki ng
mother. How could you not care about your daughter? Of course I say none of that, but fuck, I
feel blindsided. I can’t believe I missed the true nature of Kelly and Arianna’s relationship for
years. I
always thought Kelly was a good mom, a little self - centered for sure, but what I’ve seen just
over the last forty hours or so has me really reevaluating how checked out I was in our marriage.
Or maybe how blinded I was by Kelly to notice the blatant disres pect she delivers to her
daughter. I should have paid better attention, intervened more. Arianna didn’t deserve to grow
up being treated like that, and she sure doesn’t now. My eyes naturally come to her, like I can’t
stop them from doing so, as I watch Ty son lean down, whispering something into her ear that
makes her grin up at him. He smiles down at her, and I suddenly can’t fucking stand it out here.
Roughly, I push to my feet, cupping Kelly’s hips so she doesn’t fall, but once she’s on her feet,
I’m gon e. I can feel my footst eps thundering against the grass until I reach the back of the
house. I slip inside the kitchen, heading for the fridge, before grabbing a beer. I don’t know if I
can do this. Maybe I should just pack up and go home. “There more?” Tyson asks as he st eps
inside the house, shutting the back door behind him. I pause for a moment, pointing my bottle
towards the fridge, before taking a much needed swig. He slips by me, g rabbing two beers. I
don’t have to ask who the second one is for. “She’s not old enough to drink,” I snap far more
aggressively than intended. “Uh, yeah, she is,” Tyson laughs. I frown. Fuck, I guess she is.
Otherwise, how would she have gotten into the cl ub? “I guess you’re right. Time flies.” Tyson
nods, an awkward silence settling over the room.
“What’s going on with you?” Tyson asks. I realize I’ve been staring at a blank wall, and I blink
quickly, shaking my head. “Nothing, why?” He laughs bitterly. “You’ve been a grumpy ass all day.
You seriously pissed that I showed up? Bro, I came to talk you out of whatever weird
reunification thing you and Kelly are trying. She hurt you, and she doesn’t fucking deserve you.
I’m sorry, but it’s true,” he says, lifting his hands in defense. I don’t dispute anything he says as
he continues.
“But imagine my surprise when I show up and notice that you spend more time looking at your
ex - st epdaughter than your ex - wife.” I feel my heart rate spike as I try to maintain my unaffected
demeanor. “What are you talking about?” Tyson just stares at me, l ike he’s waiting for me to
come clean. Fat fucking chance. He shrugs. “You just don’t seem to be spending much time with
Kelly, that’s all. I thought you wanted to get back with her?” “When have I ever said that?” “I
don’t know, why are you here then?” Shi t. He’s got me there. “It’s complicated,” I say cryptically.
Tyson narrows his eyes. “Uncomplicate it.” I shake my head. “C’mon, dude. I’m your brother,” he
says. Still, I stay silent. Tyson waits a few more seconds before shaking his head with a
disappoin ted sigh. He makes his way out of the kitchen and to the backdoor, beers in hand.
Running a frustrated hand through my hair, I huff in irritation before tipping back my bottle and
draining the last of my beer.