Burning Desire by Marie Harte

Chapter Seventeen

Tex hadn’t wanted to seem like a horned-up jerk, so he’d decided to let Bree set the pace when it came to sex. But seeing her smile and hearing her laugh got him worked up, hence the teasing offer of a few orgasms.

And now, for dessert, he got to make his girlfriend come.

Naked and flat on her back on her bed, Bree looked like a centerfold. She had the best damn body. Those bright-blue eyes, those plump, rosy lips…

He groaned and joined her, naked, on the bed. “I love lookin’ at you.”

“You too, cowboy.” She ran her hands over his thighs as he straddled her waist and palmed her full breasts. “Oh.” She closed her eyes and tilted back her head. If she bit her lip, he’d…

She bit her lip.

He swore to himself and moved so he could lean down to kiss her, lost in her taste, the sweet scent of honey from the tea she’d had at dinner. He was addicted to the softness of her lips, the delicacy of her touch as she stroked into his mouth with her tongue.

Like steel, his body had little give, growing harder as she seduced him.

He pulled back to watch her while he caressed and kissed her breasts. He loved her body, and she liked when he touched her, especially when he kissed her nipples.

She moaned and arched up into his mouth as he sucked one bud into a taut point. Then he teased the other before kissing his way down her body.

He spread her thighs and looked up, loving the way she opened for him, not holding back.

Planting his hands on her legs to keep them wide, he nuzzled her folds and sought the very heat of her.

When she moaned his name and twisted her hands in his hair, he smiled and kissed her in earnest.

Giving Bree pleasure gave him pleasure in return. Her responses weren’t faked, and he liked knowing what made her feel good. He added a finger, caressed and thrust, and soon she was crying out as she climaxed, her tense muscles easing in repletion.

Tex kissed his way up her body, hungry for more of her but needing to see her smile once more.

She wound her arms around his neck and pulled him close as they kissed. He wondered if she liked tasting herself, because he found her sexy as hell.

“Mmm. I guess you do make good on your promises,” she whispered between kisses.

“Darlin’, one thing I can promise. You’ll never be disappointed in bed.” In other parts of their relationship, probably. But never between the sheets.

“Good to know.” The kisses went from easy to deeper, and he had a tough time not moving as she kept rubbing against him.

“Bree, honey, slow down.”

“Why, cowboy? You ready to explode?” she teased.

“Yes.” Not a lie. “You taste so good. Got me all riled up.”

She gently bit his lip and kissed her way to his ear. “Then what are you waiting for?” She nibbled his earlobe, and he jolted, close to coming.

“No condom?” He sounded gritty but couldn’t help it. He still had a tough time believing she trusted him enough to forego protection.

“Just you and me.” She tongued his ear, driving him wild. “Fill me up.”

“Fuck.” He kissed her, angled himself between her legs, then pushed.

She moaned into his mouth as he thrust inside her, the warmth his undoing.

Bree’s body clasped him tight when he stilled, reveling in the feeling of her. But then he had to move. He wanted to go slow, to savor the moment. Every time with Bree got better than the last, and knowing she’d already found her pleasure enabled him to let go and find his.

“That’s it,” she crooned as he sucked at her neck, riding her faster, plunging deeper. “God, Tex. That feels so good.”

They were both panting as the climb toward orgasm grew more intense. Her hands roamed over him, the strokes of her palms and the bite of her nails igniting trails of fire along his flank. When she gripped his ass and clamped him deep inside her body, he lost it.

He groaned her name as he jerked and poured into her, the release overwhelming.

She stroked his back and shoulders, planting kisses along his chin and jaw. He came back to himself and kissed her with thanks, then rolled them both over, still connected, and cradled her to him.

“So good,” she murmured, petting his chest.

“Oh, yeah.” He never wanted to move again. “I…you…”

“I know.” She sighed, still touching him. “Nothing matters but us in bed.”

“It’s the best.”

“Yeah.”

They lay in quiet for some time, but he could feel something bothering her.

“Bree, you okay?”

“I was just a few seconds ago. But now my brain is firing again, and I’m still annoyed with Carrie.” She vented, and he listened. “She and I have been friends forever. When we find someone new we’re dating, we can get distant. But it never lasts very long. Lately, I’ve been consumed with my project.”

He’d been hoping she’d been consumed with him.

“And you.”

“Yes, and me,” he said proudly.

She laughed. “What an ego.” She paused. “It’s just… Carrie’s my best friend. We share everything.”

“Then I hope you tell her how big and amazing I am in bed.”

“Hush. I meant we share good times and bad, not all the sex stuff.”

“Too bad. She could learn a thing or two from me.”

As intended, his words had her laughing.

“It’s just, lately Carrie’s been quiet. She knows how I feel about Melissa. It’s petty of me, but I don’t want my best friend being friends with Melissa.”

“Wow, that is petty.”

She slapped his chest.

“Ow.”

“I’m sharing here,” she growled.

He trapped her hand beneath his. “Look, I obviously don’t know your sister or Carrie the way you do. But Carrie’s a grown-ass woman. A mean woman, I might add. She can more than hold her own with your sister.”

“Stepsister,” she corrected absently. “I always wanted a sister. Even more when my mom passed away. Then I got Charlie and Melissa, and it was so great. Charlie’s kind and lovely. Melissa was too. At first.”

“What happened, do you think?”

“I have no idea. She turned into a monster of a teenager and hated me.”

“You steal her boyfriend or something?”

“Not to my knowledge. But she stole mine. Twice, actually. It hurt at the time, but I got over it.”

Seemed to Tex like maybe she hadn’t.

“But Carrie. She’s mine.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s her own person.”

“Oh, you know what I mean.” She shifted, forcing him to leave her body. After cleaning herself up, she rolled to her side and propped her head on her elbow, watching him while she unloaded. “I hate feeling small and jealous. But Carrie’s my friend. Melissa has her own life. Hell, my parents drop everything when she needs something. She’s never wanted for anything.”

“Don’t they do the same for you?”

“They do, but I don’t need them the way she does.”

He hated to be devil’s advocate, but he found himself saying, “Maybe she needs Carrie more than you do right now.”

“Stop acting so sensible.”

He drew her close for a kiss. “Sorry, Bree. You’re happy, healthy, and hell, you got me. What does Melissa have?”

“A six-figure career in business, tons of men at her feet, and my parents who give her whatever she needs.”

“Yeah, but she ain’t happy. And you are, right?” He rolled to pin her under him.

“I guess when you put it that way, I’m worrying for nothing. My life is pretty great.”

“Huh. You don’t look too great.”

She crossed her eyes and made an awful face. “You mean, I look like this?” Ugly-cute.

He did his best not to laugh. “Then again, I only gave you two orgasms, and we did agree to three.”

She put her arms around his shoulders. “That’s true. Three is the magic number.”

He smiled down at her, pleased she seemed to be out of her mood and back into the fun they’d been having. “You really can talk to me about serious stuff. But tonight, I want you to be happy. You got a deal with that gallery and a great dinner I made myself.”

“You mean bought.”

“Same difference.” He kissed her. “And you’re fucking me dry. It’s a perfect night. Don’t let anyone ruin it for you.”

“You’re right.”

“Always.”

“Let’s not get cocky, cowboy.” She paused as he nestled himself between her legs. “Well, let me rephrase that…”

***

Bree didn’t know how he’d done it, but Tex had sexed her out of her funk Tuesday night. They spent their evenings together all week, enjoying themselves with or without sex. He liked movies, taking walks, and playing cards. Quite the card sharp, was Tex McGovern.

Since he went back to work Saturday, she’d rescheduled her Friday night movie with Carrie. Bree and Tex had been spending a lot of time together, but the few times Bree had reached out, Carrie had been busy, so she didn’t feel too badly for being preoccupied.

Saturday evening, as she stood in front of Carrie’s door, she kept going over her conversation with Tex about her best friend. Tex had been correct; Carrie was her own person. If she chose to ruin her life—strike that—if she chose to make odd choices in her friendships, that was Carrie’s business, not Bree’s. After all, Carrie had been dating a stream of women, many of whom Bree had never met, and it had never affected their friendship.

Why should Carrie’s new association with Melissa mean anything had to change with Bree? And there might not even be anything to worry about. Just because her friend and stepsister had talked and kissed meant nothing. Nope. Not a thing.

God.

When Carrie opened the door, Bree put Melissa out of her mind and gave Carrie a hug. “Hey, slacker. How have you been? Besides ducking my calls, I mean?”

“Ducking your calls? Please.” Carrie raised a brow. “I fear no woman. No man. No animal. Only roaches and pineapple on pizza, because both are just gross.”

“Now that’s just mean.” The smile on her face froze when she heard a toilet flush and Melissa walked into the living room and settled on the couch. In Bree’s spot.

She looked comfortable there, wearing dark yoga pants and a pink top that slid off her shoulder, exposing the strap of an athletic bra. “Hi. Don’t mind me. I’m here for girl time.”

Bree looked back at Carrie, who managed to avoid making eye contact as she shut the door behind Bree then scurried into the kitchen.

Bree walked with patience, not sure what the heck was going on. Carrie never moved as if nervous. She didn’t avoid confrontation. Yet she was acting totally out of character.

“What’s going on?” Bree asked, having pinned her friend in the kitchen.

“I’m just an innocent bystander.” Carrie seemed more like herself as she held up her hands. “Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m neutral ground, where you can come to a peaceable solution with Melissa. Get back together as sisters who don’t hate each other. Think of me as brokering a treaty.”

“Are you serious?”

“I know, right?” Melissa tossed her hair. “Imagine a real conversation between the two of us.” She tittered from her cozy seat on the sofa. “Maybe you should run back to Mom and John and tell them how hateful I am. Again. Or, I know, you can avoid me for another ten years.”

“Fine. Let’s cut out the middleman.”

“Thank God,” Carrie muttered.

Bree walked back to the living room and studied Melissa.

Her stepsister looked beautiful as always, not a hair out of place. If she’d been doing yoga earlier, she hadn’t been sweating or contorting in positions to affect her perfect hair and perfect outfit. Still striking, curvy, and a man-magnet. Or was it woman-magnet, now?

“Why are you here?” Bree asked.

Carrie watched from the kitchen, drinking a bottle of fruity water.

“Why is that your business?” Melissa studied her nails. “This is Carrie’s home.”

“And you and Carrie have never gotten along. So again, why are you here?”

“People can change, you know. I never hated Carrie.” Melissa shrugged. “I like talking to her. She’s real.” Her tone implied Bree wasn’t.

Carrie rolled her eyes and drank.

“Can you for once just say what you mean instead of being so passive-aggressive? What exactly is your problem with me? It’s been years of you being a bitch and me having no idea why.” Might as well get it all out in the open. “You want to know why I go out of my way to avoid you? Well, there you go.”

Melissa laughed, but the sound held little humor. “You’re kidding, right? The princess, the suck-up, the never-puts-a-foot-wrong daughter wants to know why I might have issues?”

“Seriously? It all boils down to jealousy?”

“I can’t believe you.” Melissa shook her head, finally sounding annoyed. “It all started at the end of eight grade, when you stole Kurt Johnson from me. And it got worse. All my friends flocked to the fire chief’s golden daughter. I was nothing but the pathetic stepsister.”

Bree gaped. “Are you kidding? First of all, I was dating Kurt, and you tried to take him from me.” Blasted Melissa had kissed the boy. Bree had broken up with him. Bree had also lost more than a few friends to her pretty, funny stepsister. “And you were more popular in high school than I was.”

“Because I put out, sure.” Melissa had no problem admitting it.

“You go, girl.” Carrie toasted her from the kitchen.

“I got what I wanted by doing what you wouldn’t. It never bothered me, not even when you’d call me a slut.”

Bree blinked. “What are you talking about?” Sure, she might have thought that, especially when Melissa had stolen Doug McKinney from her in tenth grade, but she’d never said it aloud.

“I know what you thought. And our friends told me what you said.”

“We didn’t have friends. Whoever you’re talking about lied. I might have hated you for being such a bitch, but I never talked about our family with anyone.” A firm rule her father had taught her growing up and laid down from day one of his new marriage. Family came before anything. A rule she’d tried to subscribe to, despite Melissa saying all manner of things. “I was also smart enough to figure out that if a guy would cheat on me with anyone—even you—he wasn’t worth having.”

“Point to Bree,” Carrie announced.

“Shut up, Carrie,” Melissa sneered.

To Bree’s surprise, Carrie didn’t respond.

“I had a horrible time in high school,” Melissa continued. “Then you left for modeling overseas, and my life got worse. John and Mom bragged about you all the time. I could never compete. And when you’d come back for brief visits, you always acted as if we were friends when I knew all along you hated me. Even when you came home for good, you put on a show, making me look like the bad daughter.”

Huh. Bree hadn’t realized Melissa had caught on to that. Still, Bree was tired of being blamed for so many other things she hadn’t done. “All this time, you’ve let your petty anger and bitterness turn you against me. I never did or said anything to anyone about you. Well, except for Carrie.”

“Oh, please. You might not have said anything, but you were just as passive-aggressive as you accuse me of being.”

“How’s that?”

Melissa stood and pointed an accusing finger at her. “You never included me in anything growing up. Mom had to make you invite me anywhere.”

“Yeah, because you stole my boyfriends and my friends!”

“See? You admit it. And when you could have helped me get a modeling contract, you didn’t. You kept me away from anything that might have given me a better life.”

“For fuck’s sake, I had no control over that.” She looked to Carrie for backup.

Carrie shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe you could have introduced her to Marcel or something.”

“Bull.” Bree saw red as she glared back at Melissa. “You’re too short, and that’s not me being passive-aggressive.”

“Short women model all the time.”

“But not for Marcel or the others I modeled for. If you wanted to do what I was doing, you should have gotten a contract on your own.”

“I couldn’t. John was heartsick missing you. And Mom asked me to stay around.”

“She did?” He was?

“So, for them, I stayed. And I took boring business classes.”

“And you’re a boring CEO.” Boring rich CEO.

“Who makes more than you.” Melissa gave Bree a smug smile.

Carrie cleared her throat. “For the record, Melissa, that’s a pretty self-satisfied tone you’re using.”

“I’m not done.”

Bree sighed. “What else are you going to blame on me? The fact that the sun set today? That your last relationship failed? And for the record, I’d never even met the guy.”

“No, none of that is on you. That’s all on me.” Melissa sounded bitter about that. “But once again, I came to dinner to be with Mom and John, and you were there. This time with a hunk of a fireman. Have you ever had a rough patch in your life? Ever had a tough time getting something you wanted? Jesus, I’ll bet when you get sick, you vomit rainbows and shit unicorns. You can do no wrong. Nothing bad ever happens to you.”

Bree knew she’d lived a charmed life. But how was that her fault? “But none of my good fortune had to do with you. I never stepped over you to get anywhere.” Now hurt, Bree shot back. “I wanted a sister so bad. From the first time I met you two, I loved Charlie and I loved you. We had good times before you turned on me and never told me why. How can I fix what’s broken if I don’t know what’s wrong?”

Melissa frowned. “I never thought you’d care.”

“Maybe if you’d talked to me, like you’re talking to me now, we could have salvaged our relationship. I would have worked harder to include you.” Though thinking back on it, perhaps Bree had held back a bit with Melissa. Even in high school, her stepsister had been popular with Bree’s friends. Had she, without realizing it, kept Melissa at a distance?

“Well, here I am, Saint Bree. Why don’t you, Carrie, and I be a new set of BFFs?” Melissa asked, her voice sickeningly sweet.

Bree turned to Carrie, wondering what her friend would say. Surely, she could see the venom beneath Melissa’s stupid request.

Carrie just watched them, saying nothing.

Bree turned back to her stepsister. “If I thought you really wanted to be friends, I would. But you can’t even apologize for being a shitty sister all these years. Everything is always about you. You can’t do anything in our family without clamoring for attention. And it’s just pathetic.”

Melissa’s cheeks flushed. “Fuck. You.”

“Oh, yeah.” Bree gave a hollow laugh. “You really want to make peace and be friendly. That ‘fuck you’ says it all.” She turned to Carrie once more. “Well? You’re the mediator here.”

Carrie looked sad but firm. “I’m glad you two got all that off your chests. But you’re nowhere near to finishing this.”

“Finishing what? The Melissa pity hour?” Bree snorted. When Carrie crossed the room and sat next to Melissa, Bree couldn’t believe it. “Oh my God. Don’t tell me you’re falling for her shit?”

“Come on, Bree. You know I love you. Let’s sit down and talk this out.”

“Great. Now I get a lecture from the lawyer.”

Carrie’s eyes narrowed.

“No thanks. Fine. Have your girl’s night with your new best friend. I guess I’ll talk to you whenever.” Hurt, angry, and unsure of how she’d lost her best friend to her manipulative stepsister, she slammed out of Carrie’s apartment and headed back home.

And if she cried a little on the way and wished she had Tex to talk to, that was no one’s business but her own.

***

Carrie sighed.

Melissa patted her on the shoulder. “That could have gone better.”

“Ya think?” Carrie glared at Melissa. Now that Bree had gone, she wouldn’t tiptoe around Melissa any longer. She’d tried to be impartial, hoping it would help her doofus of a best friend mend fences. Bree had been so happy lately. It had seemed the perfect time to heal old wounds.

Melissa glared back, her brown eyes sparkling and so darned pretty. “What did I do?”

“Please. You gave her your bitch-goddess-does-no-wrong impression.”

“To a T.” Melissa looked pleased with herself.

“Stop being such a selfish bitch.”

Melissa blinked.

“I tried to help you two meet in the middle. And you used tonight to get back at a girl who stole your middle school boyfriend? Get over yourself.”

“How’s that?” Melissa glared. “I said the truth.”

“Melissa, I’ve known Bree for years. She tells me everything.” Or at least she used to. Carrie could only hope this bad patch proved a mere bump in the road. “I can honestly tell you she had no idea why you stopped being friends—sisters—so long ago. She used to tell me how much she wished you guys could get along.”

Oddly, the stepsisters were more alike than they knew. Neither had close friends, were devoted to their careers, and loved their parents. They both wanted a closer relationship but would do nothing to fix the problems of the past.

And now that Carrie had developed…feelings…she needed this to work, damn it. Stupid Melissa! Stupid Bree! Argh. If her hair hadn’t been so wonderfully styled earlier by Giorgio, she’d have yanked at it in frustration.

The hard veneer faded from Melissa’s gaze. “She really wanted us to get along?”

Carrie sighed. “Before tonight, yeah. If she stole friends or guys paid attention to her, I doubt it was her fault. She’s gorgeous and oblivious. It’s one of the things I like most about her. Despite what you said, she’s real.”

“Maybe.” Melissa bit her lip. “But Carrie, she did used to shut me out. And it hurt.”

“Then why not say that instead of saying… What was it? That she vomits unicorns and shits rainbows?”

“No, other way around.”

“Still gross.”

They smiled at each other. And that tension between them rose again, pushing Carrie to let Melissa get closer.

Instead, Carrie leaned back, crossed her arms over her chest, and scowled. “You fucked this up.”

Melissa tried to look uncaring. Her face crumpled. “Crap. I know. I have been working really hard on not being the Melissa I used to be. But tonight, it was like everything came rushing back. Once again, Bree is the amazing one and I’m the bad one, and nothing I do really matters. I want to be nicer and apologize and not be so nasty.” Melissa sniffled, and her eyes welled. “I just don’t know how.”

“Geez, Melissa. You were the one who wanted to talk to her.” Not that Carrie had been against it, but she’d thought it best if they’d kept her out of it. But for Melissa to reach out to Bree meant someone had to make the first move. Carrie had tried to help. She couldn’t understand why it had gone so wrong.

Melissa groaned. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry has two syllables, not four.”

Melissa snickered and wiped her eyes, those shimmery brown orbs that sparkled in the light.

Carrie cleared her head. “Look, let me talk to her again. I’ll make her see reason.”

“Not if she cuts you out of her life too.”

“Me?” Carrie snorted. “Honey, you are out of your mind if you think Bree can hold out against all this.” She waved at her body. “I am sincerely amazing and smarter than both of you put together. You two need me.”

“We do, huh?” Melissa twirled a lock of her hair, her gaze soft and surprisingly needy with a vulnerability that hit Carrie right in the heart.

“Oh, and way to go sitting in Bree’s spot.” Which Carrie had asked her not to do. “Classy way to rile things up before they got started.” Carrie deliberately moved to the seat nearby. And ignored Melissa’s pout since her mask of strength was back in place.

“Okay, I was being a bitch.” At Carrie’s look, she amended, “Am still being a bitch. But she gets me so mad, acting all clueless.”

“She didn’t used to get you mad. Maybe you should remember those times, when you two got along. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. Now it’s time for Firefly.”

“Is this a rom-com?”

“Oh my God. You need help. It’s only the best cancelled science-fiction series on TV ever.”

“What?”

“Shut up and watch. And then we’re going to work on your people skills. Because they need a lot of work.” And I need a miracle to make my best friend not hate me.

“Yes, ma’am.” Melissa gave a mock salute with one finger.

“I’ll ignore the gesture, but the sentiment… First intelligent thing you’ve said all night.”