Four Kicks - Stephanie Brother Page 0,1

my senses by touching him and tasting him.

“Yes, hi.” I smile up at him. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name.”

He puts on a mock crestfallen look that somehow makes him sexier. “We met here last year. You were with your friend Maddy, I think it was?”

It all comes back to me instantly. He had approached us and I tried to set Maddy up with him before I knew about everything she had going on in her life. I was only able to talk with him for a few minutes before Maddy and I had to rush out that night. “Nathan?”

“That’s right.” His smile registers a stronger effect on me in the same place his voice had. God, my body is reacting as if he was touching me. I want him to touch me.

With a small shake of my head, I tell my lust to settle down. That’s not how we’re going to operate anymore. Insta-lust and insta-sex are not part of the new plan.

“Are you here alone?” Nathan asks. His hair is lighter than I remember – sun-bleached – and his skin is a darker tan. My guess is that he’s a fisherman. So many men come to the island on fishing trips.

I nod, and his widening smile works on me like foreplay. When Christine returns with his drink he looks down at mine. “Are you having a dirty screw again tonight?”

An image of him taking me up against the wall floods my mind before I realize he’s talking about my favorite drink. “Oh, yes, that’s right.”

“Ready for another?”

I nod again. “Sure, thanks.” I know Nathan isn’t a local or I’d have seen him sometime in the past several months. No doubt he’s on vacation and he’s looking to get lucky. Even though he’s not long-term life partner material, I can’t stop myself before the words fly out of my mouth. “Want to join me?”

Nathan looks over his shoulder, appearing conflicted for a moment. “Actually, I’m here with a friend. Would you like to join us?”

“A friend?” The place is pretty crowded. I cast an eye around the room, wondering if he’s here with a woman, but don’t notice anyone looking our way.

“Yeah, my buddy Ash. We have a table.”

I should say no. I need to focus on men who can offer the potential of something more. But that voice. And those eyes.

Christine sets my drink on the bar and Nathan scoops it up, tilting his head in the direction of the main room. “Ready?”

I have a plan, and bar hookups are definitely not part of it. But I can start my plan tomorrow.

2

We work well together

If I had extra cash I’d play the lottery, because luck is shining down on me tonight.

Nathan, with his broad shoulders, flat stomach, and tight ass that I may or may not have ogled as he led me to his table, is a fine specimen of a man. What are the odds that his friend would also be so good-looking?

Ash stands when he sees Nathan and I approaching, and I try to keep the drool from slipping out of the corner of my mouth. Ash has much darker features than Nathan. Nearly black hair, trimmed close, and from what I can tell under his snug jeans and shirt, a body that could earn him a living as a model.

He checks me out as I’m doing the same to him, and I’m pleased to see interest in his eyes.

Nathan’s hand is on the small of my back as we stand next to the table. “Ash, this is Lacy. I met her here last year, briefly.”

Ash nods and offers his hand to shake mine. His skin is rough but warm, and his eyes – green with dark lashes – are penetrating.

“Nice to meet you, Ash.”

“You too, Lacy.” His voice is even deeper than Nathan’s and smooth as top-shelf whiskey.

Nathan pulls out a chair for me at the small round table. My knees bump into Ash’s when my chair is pushed in, and heat radiates out from the points of contact.

After Nathan sits, he holds out his drink to make a toast. “To fate, in meeting you here again, Lacy.”

I smile and clink my glass against his and Ash’s. I wouldn’t call this fate. I’m at Rusty’s a lot but they don’t need to know that.

“How are you liking the island?” I ask after taking a sip of my drink.

Nathan’s eyes crinkle at the edges as he smiles. “It’s beautiful here.” He surveys my face, his