Forever After All - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,14
stretches, his muscles rippling, giving all new meaning to his name. It’s fitting. I wonder if that even crossed his parents’ minds when they were naming him.
I watch as he moves around the bed and tugs the covers off me as well. He offers me his hand to help me stand. Once I’m steady on my feet, he pulls me into his arms in a hug that rivals all hugs. I can feel his morning wood pressing into my belly, and I swallow hard. He’s not hiding it, and I can’t help but wonder is it more than just the “morning,” or is that rocket in his pocket for me?
“What do you think, Kenna? You’re the only one I’m worried about,” he says, pulling out of the hug, keeping his hands resting on my hips.
“What is this, Rip? What’s going on here?”
He smiles, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “This is us, Kenna.” His lips find their way to mine, and morning breath be damned, he kisses me like I’m his. “Now. Go get in the shower. I’ll send Laramie. Be thinking about what you want to do today.” He taps my hip and releases me.
I stay rooted to my spot as I watch him walk out of his room. Part of me wants to call Laramie and give her a heads-up. I know she and Colby are in one of the guest rooms. The other part of me just needs time to process this. I don’t know what’s going on. Rip has never acted this way with me before. Not that I’m complaining. I’ll take his attention, his hugs, and his kisses any day of the week. Then again, I remember when Laramie called me last night, and I told her I was in Rip’s room watching a movie. I believe her exact words were “Finally” before she hung up the phone.
“Knock knock.” I hear Laramie say before she pushes the bedroom door open. I’m still standing in the same spot, trying to process the last twenty-four hours. My best friend’s grin is huge as she wags her eyebrows. “The man of the house requested some clothes for his lady friend,” she says in an exaggerated Southern drawl.
“Stop,” I say, spluttering with laughter.
“What’s with this”—she waves her hand in the air around me—“statue look?”
“Nothing. Just needed some clothes to take a shower.”
“These?” She holds up a stack of clothes.
“Thank you.” I reach for them, but she pulls them away.
“First, let’s set some ground rules.”
“What kind of ground rules?” I wasn’t expecting rules from her. “Never mind, I should just go home to shower and change.”
“Oh, no, you don’t, sister. You’re staying.” She grins wickedly, and I brace myself for what she says next. “We have one rule and one rule only.”
My hands settle on my hips, and I mock glare at her. “Let’s hear it.”
“All future conversations regarding you and my brother, we shall refer to him as Hans. When it’s not directly related to what happened in this room last night, he can be Rip.”
“What?” I ask, holding in my laughter.
“I should have prefaced this with I love that you spent the night in his room, and I need all the details. But… he’s my brother, and eww, I don’t want to hear about his moves, so when you talk about your sexy times, he shall be referred to as Hans.”
“You’re crazy.” I shake my head.
“You love me,” she sings, dropping to the bed with a bounce. “Wait, maybe I shouldn’t be sitting here.” She scrunches up her nose.
“Stop. Nothing happened.”
“You mean to tell me you had my brother all to yourself in his bed, in his clothes”—she points to the shirt I’m wearing—“and nothing happened?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
“Mac,” she exhales. “I was kidding about the Hans thing. You know that, right? You can talk to me.”
“Nothing happened. Well, I mean, I woke up with his arms around me, and his, you know, pressed against my ass, but that’s it. We might have kissed a few times,” I confess. “Oh, and he hugged me before he went downstairs to make me breakfast.”
“He didn’t try anything?”
“Nope.” I’m not the least bit shocked. Rip has never been a player. He’s always respected the women he’s dated. Maybe he changed while I was away at school, but something tells me he didn’t. That’s just not who he is.
“Huh.”
“Huh? What do you mean, huh?”
“I just… thought that he would, that’s all. He’s always asking about you and just thought there might