Chapter 22

Emily closed her laptop and shook her head. How pathetic could she be? It was a Saturday afternoon in Southern California, all sunshine and gorgeous. Here she was, sitting alone in her dorm room, contemplating doing her Lit paper on Victorian women or watching streaming video. Meanwhile, the Phi Sigs were having a cookout and party. Lars and Chuy had each offered to come over and walk her to the frat house.

But after the ‘incident,’ as she was now calling it, frat parties had lost some of their luster.

From the hall, she heard muffled, excited voices. Then there was a knock at the door. She opened it and found Lars giving her his devil-may-care smile that had caused a stir among her dorm-mates. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him into her room before one of the girls decided to join them.

Lars strode in and sat in her roommate’s desk chair, then twirled it around so he could face her. She couldn’t help but think he looked like that guy who played Thor in the movies. The only difference was that he was thinner and better looking.

“As your big brother, it’s my job to make sure you’re not sitting around in your sweat pants and grungy t-shirt all weekend,” Lars said.

He’d just described her attire. But she wasn’t falling for it because she caught a whiff of beer on his breath. They must have gotten started early, but he didn’t seem drunk—just relaxed.

“I have homework to do.”

Even she heard the lie in her voice. She tried to convince herself that she had a life, but ‘doing homework’ didn’t sound like much of one.

“How did you get in here, anyway?” she asked, trying to change the subject.

“I have a class with Gigi from down the hall. She saw me in the lobby and escorted me through security.

“Anyway, everyone needs a break, even you. Come on over and let me grill you a burger,” he said.

“No.”

“No?”

He raised his eyebrows. Her heart was pounding as they locked eyes. After a minute or so, she finally broke the silence.

“Why are you inviting me over when you’ll have to babysit me the whole time?”

She found herself looking at her shoes.

“I’ve seen how you watch me,” Lars said, causing her to raise her head and look at him.

Blood rushed to her face.

“I don’t mean to. You’re my big brother,” she whispered.

“Your big sister is off with David. I won’t tell her if you promise not to, and we can have some fun. Now put on some sexy jeans.”

Emily blinked. He was probably used to ordering people around. She could imagine him telling girls what to do and them falling all over themselves to comply. The easy way he had made her worry. It wouldn’t take much for him to talk her into going.

“I ... I can’t.”

She shook her head.

“What do you mean?”

He crossed his arms, stood up, and came close to her, invading her space. Why did he have to do that? He had an unfair advantage with his broad shoulders and male scent with an undertone of cologne.

“Come have fun.”

“You don’t understand.”

“I think I do. Crystal put me in charge of making sure you’re safe. Chuy has also volunteered to look after you,” Lars said.

Oh. My. God. He gently rubbed her shoulders as she felt her desire come to life.

“I was raised to not trust guys ... and...”

“And?” Lars asked.

“I’ve never even kissed anyone, and then that happened,” came out in a rush.

Lars leaned forward and turned his head. His lips met hers in a gentle kiss.

“Now you have,” Lars said quietly.

“Not really. You’re my big brother. Besides, that was just a peck,” Emily found herself saying.

Lars slid his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her against his body. He was kissing her, and it wasn’t a little peck. His lips were soft, and it was much more arousing than she expected.

’Oh, God!’

His tongue pushed between her lips!

As quickly as it started, Lars stepped back and smiled at her.

“Come over,” he repeated. “Send me a message, and I’ll have someone give you a ride.”

“And you’ll take care of me?” Emily asked.

“We will.”

’We?’ she wondered.

He must mean him and Chuy.

“I’ll send you a message.”

Lars took his leave.

As soon as the door closed and automatically locked, she rubbed one out on her bed. She found her rabbit in her nightstand and pushed it inside her. When it was in place, she turned the vibrator on.

“Lars!” Emily cried out. “Fuck me hard.”

She waited until after ten before calling. From what she heard in the background, the party was in full swing. Lars said someone would be there in thirty minutes to pick her up.

She decided she needed a little pre-party action. Emily cranked her music and pulled her roommate’s bottle of lemon-flavored vodka out of their mini-fridge. Time was against her, so she just wrapped her lips around the mouth of the bottle and took a big swig.

Emily discovered that was a mistake as she gagged and almost coughed it up. It burned all the way down. When it didn’t kill her, she took another big gulp.

There was pounding on her door. Emily worried it was her RA coming to complain about her music. She turned it down and opened the door. Taking up most of the doorframe was Chuy.

“Estás bueno,” Emily said.

Chuy’s whole face broke out into a smile.

“You think so?”

Her face felt like it might combust. She’d believed she just thought he was hot. Reflecting back, she’d actually said it out loud. In Spanish, yet.

Chuy walked her down to Lars’ car, and they got in. During the drive, a tingling warmth spread out from her stomach to the rest of her body, and she started to relax. They pulled into the Phi Sig parking lot, and Chuy jumped out and ran around to open her door.

“My lady,” he said as he offered her his hand.

She sucked in her breath as Chuy bent down to kiss her cheek when she stood. Her hands came up and touched his chest, which was rippled with muscles under his shirt. They walked through the back door into the kitchen.

“You came.”

Lars had a big smile. Some sorority girl looked pissed when he left her to come over and give Emily a hug. Emily’s heartbeat accelerated when Lars sniffed the air, then his eyes locked on hers. Oh, God! Could he smell her arousal? She should have taken a shower after masturbating. He was suddenly standing much closer than he needed to.

“I would have come to get you myself, but drama happened, and we had to kick out some guys. Beer?”

“Do you have any leftover burgers? I forgot to eat,” Emily said.

“I could fire up the grill. I’m sure some of the guys would be up for eating again,” Lars said as he grabbed a plate of raw patties out of the refrigerator.

“I’ll get her a beer,” Chuy volunteered.

Emily spotted a bag of chips and an open jar of salsa, so she helped herself. Chuy came back with her beer. He put his large hand on the small of her back and guided her to the backyard, where Lars had just put some burgers on. Her breath caught as Chuy’s thumb stroked the small of her back, right above the waistband of her jeans. At least that stupid shot of vodka was helping. Her legs weren’t shaking now, even though her crotch was already damp again.

It didn’t take long before the burgers were ready. The three of them found a table out of the way. It felt good to be out with two guys she felt safe with. As they talked, someone announced that the after-party would be at Sig Ep, which caused the crowd to begin to clear out.

She stood up and set the empty beer bottle on the patio table. Chuy had to answer nature’s call, and Lars said he had to walk through the house to make sure nothing out of the ordinary was going down. She found a garbage can and began picking up empty cups in the backyard.

The music started up again, and her favorite song came on. Emily swayed her hips to the beat as she walked. Out of nowhere, someone came up behind her and wrapped their arm around her so their hand was on her stomach. She jerked away, but they held her tight.

“Lars...?” she asked.

“Chuy,” he said over her shoulder.

Emily groaned.

“What are you doing?” she asked, glancing down at his hand on her stomach.

“Dancing with you.”

“You’re too close,” Emily complained.

Chuy pulled her closer, and she felt his hot breath on her neck.

“I don’t think so. Just let yourself enjoy the music.”

His other hand found her hip and gave it a tiny push to get her hips swaying again. With his body rubbing against hers, she felt something poking into her lower back. Emily knew she should put some distance between them. Her whole body was hot now.

Chuy’s hands held her against him like he had every right to touch her. She felt his broad chest, rock-hard abs, and what felt like a crowbar rub against her back. Oh, God, what was happening? Chuy spun her around so she was facing him. Then he kissed her.

Emily was too shocked to resist. One of her three crushes was seriously kissing her, and he even growled, which was so hot. Like Lars had shown her, she opened her mouth, and Chuy’s tongue was added as he roughly made out with her.

Why was he doing this? Why was she doing this? And why was burning desire arrowing through her body along with fury? Confused, panting, and painfully aroused, Emily raked her nails down his back and bit his lower lip hard.

“Damn, girl,” Chuy said. “I suspected a tiger was lurking under your cool facade.”

He maneuvered her backward from the center of the patio until they were in the shadows. Emily could see his look of desire and feel his muscles as he pressed her back into a tree. Chuy moved them so they were partially hidden from prying eyes, and then his lips found hers again. She pulled her head back.

“Wait. You can’t really want someone like me. You go for the easy girls.”

He grabbed her hand and pressed it over the tire iron in his pants.

“Guys can’t fake that. I wouldn’t be so hard if I didn’t want you.”

Emily was so shocked that her hand remained on his cock after he released her. She could just make out his cocky grin right before he kissed her again. She moaned when his hand slid under her shirt and cupped her breast.

“You’ve got a banging hot body. If you dressed a bit sluttier, you’d give Wren a run for her money.”

He sucked in his breath when she squeezed his cock, but he turned his head. She followed his gaze and saw Lars standing beside them, smiling.

“So, she’s up for this?” Lars asked.

Emily sucked in her breath when he reached down for the hem of his shirt and peeled it off his hot body.

“Lars is right. We have on too many clothes,” Chuy said as he followed suit.

Lars had undone his jeans and was now standing there in only his boxers. She could see the thick outline of his engorged cock in the dim light.

“What’s going on?” Emily asked. “Why are you taking your clothes off?

Chuy lifted her shirt over her head to expose her braless breasts. He pinched her stiff nipple and rolled it between his fingers. Lars chuckled softly when she closed her eyes and moaned. She felt Lars take her hand and put it on his bare cock. He’d lost his boxers.

“We’ll make it a night to remember,” Lars said in almost a whisper.

While Lars distracted her, Chuy undressed. She knew because she felt his naked dick brush against her stomach.

“You need to learn to trust men again, and the best way to do that is with knowledge. We’ll show you what you’ve been missing.”

“We?” she sputtered.

“Me and Lars.”

“Together? At the same time? Are you serious? I’m not that kind of girl!”