Bachelor Swap - Lacey Black Page 0,53

her naked and beneath me more than I want my next breath, but I want to make sure she’s ready.

That’s why we’re pants on until I hear those sweet words from her lips.

It only takes me a few minutes to wash up. I don’t really want to get dressed again in jeans, but I’m not a fan of slipping my brother’s lounge pants on to go back out there. I throw on my last pair of clean jeans, sans underwear, and button them. I opt to forego the shirt and head back to where I left Kyla.

She’s exactly where I left her, lying on her side on the couch. I know I should wake her, to make sure she gets home safe and sound.

But I don’t.

Instead, I do the exact opposite.

I slip onto the couch, sliding my arm beneath her neck, and curl around her body. We fit…perfectly. I feel her sigh against my neck as she tosses her arm over my side and snuggles in nice and close. It’s the most comfortable position I think I’ve ever been in.

One I’d love to repeat nightly.

For the rest of my life.

That’s a startling thought, yet it doesn’t scare me as much as it should. Deciding to ignore every red flag and alarm sounding, I opt to embrace her nice and close and hold on tight.

***

I spend the next week with Kyla every chance I get. We have dinner, snuggle on the couch at either her place or my brother’s, and sometimes even wake up cuddled together in the early morning light. But we never take it any farther than that.

My time is running out.

It’s Thursday night, leaving me three days before my brother returns and I head back home. But what if I don’t head back to Montana right away? What if I send the money I’m being paid to fill in for Matthew, pay off my debts, and hang around Boston for a while? Sounds like a great, easy plan, but I know it’s anything but.

Because in order to stay with Kyla, I’d have to tell her the truth.

With every day that passes and my feelings for her grow, that thought terrifies me, but I see no other choice. She needs to know. We’ll never be able to move forward until I tell her who I am and why I’ve lied to her. She’s a reasonable person, though. She’ll listen, right?

My throat goes dry as dread fills my entire body.

This could very well go badly. She could tell me to get lost, and honestly, who would blame her? She thought she was dating Matthew Wilder. Turns out, she’s been hanging out with his financially struggling twin brother. She has let him kiss her senseless, touch her body, and make her come numerous times. She’s smiled up at him, her eyes full of laughter and trust.

Totally forgivable, right?

Fuck, I’m a bastard.

I run my hand over my face, hating myself a little more with each passing second.

My phone rings, interrupting my self-loathing. When I grab the device from my pocket, I blanch when I see my brother’s name on the screen.

“Hey,” I say in way of greeting, pacing the room from one end to the other.

“Mason, how has it been going?”

“Fine,” I state, my agitation growing.

“What crawled up your ass?”

“Nothing, Matthew. Nothing at all.” The sarcasm is thick, but I can’t help it. Right now, I’m pissed as hell, and it’s all directed at my brother. The one who got me into this mess.

“Obviously, it’s something or you wouldn’t be acting like a complete asshole. What is it? Did something happen at the dinner with Jerald?”

I snort out a laugh. “That was over a week ago. You’re just now deciding to ask about it?”

“Well, I knew it went well, Mase. I’ve talked to him since. Is this about your dinner with Jerald?”

I close my eyes. “No. It went fine. For some unknown reason, he seems to like you,” I say. “This isn’t about Jerald or your precious business deal.”

“Then what’s this about?”

“Kyla.”

That’s met with silence on the other end of the line. “Kyla? I assume you’re grumpy because you finally fulfilled the third task on your to-do list.”

His light demeanor raises the heckles on every nerve ending I have. “No.”

“No?” he asks, pausing. “Well, I guess you have a few more days. Might as well let her help you pass the time.”

“Jesus, Matthew, do you hear yourself? She’s not something to just help pass time like a hobby. She’s a beautiful, intelligent