I—and the rest of our family—are going to have it out once and for all.”
“No, we’re...” But the other man was already gone. Hell. Vance let his head drop back, staring at the stars just starting to poke through the dark blue canvas of the sky. Fucking Perfect Fitz was like a dog with a bone, dammit, and for the next month he knew exactly where to find Vance. Which meant more potential confrontations...and that his impulsive Layla-lie might have unpleasant repercussions.
Cursing himself for his rash words, he squeezed her shoulder. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have involved you in that.”
“I went right along with you,” she said. “It was that Layla, Leila, Lila, Lola speech. If brothers are that judgmental, I don’t want one, after all.”
“It’s Fitz’s specialty,” Vance murmured, gazing down at his companion. There was something different about her now. She glanced up, looking decidedly more sober—which struck him as highly suspicious.
He frowned. “Did you really just arrive, or were you down there on the beach eavesdropping?”
“I was giving you privacy, not eavesdropping,” she said primly. “But then it sounded as if the conversation could use some redirection and you could use some backup.”
He stared at her. Right as Vance was about to haul back and slug his brother, thus exposing the dent in his own pride, Layla Parker had sensed the danger and come to his rescue. He, the Black Sheep Smith, had a champion.
Scarcely aware of moving, Vance turned into her body so they were chest to chest. He nudged her chin higher with the same knuckles she’d licked earlier. Her breath hitched, and her breasts brushed his chest as he crowded closer. “You’re not drunk, are you?” he asked, looking into those long-lashed eyes.
“Not even a little bit.” A small smile quirked the corners of her mouth. “Uncle Phil claims the Parkers are special. He knows this from forty years of surfing trips down the coast of Baja. Our constitutions have a natural resistance to tequila.”
“Unfortunately,” Vance murmured as his mouth lowered, “I don’t seem to have a natural resistance to this.”
If he’d been in the mood for lying again, he might have told himself he meant only to brush his lips against hers in gratitude. But there was nothing but naked honesty in the compulsion to have his first taste of her. Her lashes swept low and he touched the tip of his tongue to the center of her lush upper lip. A sharp tremor ran through her body, but her mouth opened on the smallest of sighs. Vance slid into the tart, sweet taste of her.
God.
Fire flashed over his skin. The half-casted arm slid around her hips to yank her closer. Her body molded to his and he lifted her onto her toes, his sex—already hard—pushing into the juncture of her thighs.
It was too hot, it was too fast, it was wrong for some reason he couldn’t quite dredge up now. Layla threw an arm around his neck and he angled his head to take the kiss in a different direction.
Harder. Deeper.
She stroked her tongue against his, sending his head spinning. His fingers slid over the curve of her ass, cupping her close and tight. She shuddered again, and he lifted his mouth, giving them both a moment to breathe. “Layla,” he whispered, then his lips were on her again, testing the softness of her cheek and the edge of her jaw.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he nuzzled the hollow behind her ear. He took her mouth once more, easier now, tickling the ridged roof, teasing her with soft touches to the slick inner surfaces of her lips. From deep in her throat came a frustrated noise and he smiled, amused by the sound of it.
Her nails bit once again into his skin, she thrust her tongue into his mouth, and nothing was funny anymore.
Under the influence of that deep, hot kiss, he caressed the bare skin of her arm to her shoulder, then flicked the thin strap of her dress toward her elbow. The back of his knuckles traced its path, then slid around to brush the top slope of her breast. Layla went breathless; he could feel her sudden stillness. Her anticipation.
He let her wait a moment, then used two fingers to catch the nipple jutting through the fabric. Her body sagged into him and her head fell back. Sweet God. Her response only made his fire jump higher. He dragged his lips down her neck while toying with the