Free Turn It Up by Vivian Arend Page B

them…shit. I’m sorry.”
    Damn it, no . “Back up two paces, sis. Where are you, and why do you need a ride?”
    “We went for coffee, Jamie and I, and I didn’t feel like… Well, I convinced him to leave me there. But my car won’t start, so I called Mom and Dad…”
    And since he normally would have no problems coming to his sister’s rescue, they’d immediately thought of him. “It’s okay. Where you at?”
    She told him, and even as he cursed his luck he was kind of grateful she’d had the sense to not go home with the guy. “I’ll come and get you. Give me a few minutes. Oh, and phone Mom and Dad and tell them to stop calling me.”
    “I’m really sorry.”
    “Me too.” He stared at Tasha. A frown marred her face, the bed sheet tucked under her arms. Her nipples poked against the front of the material and his body ached with the need to rip the thin fabric away and start all over again. “Later.”
    He hung up and groaned at the injustice of it. The woman of his dreams was in his bed, and he had to leave to rescue his sister. Life was hellish at times.
    “Maxine needs a ride?” Tasha scooted to the edge of the bed. “Do you want me to go get her?”
    He dropped beside her and pulled her back into his arms. “What I want is to have the phone never have been invented. I want to be making love with you, not doing a mercy drive.”
    There was no way to stop from kissing her, his hands automatically slipping under the sheet to caress her naked skin.
    She pushed him away.
    “Maxine will be waiting. You can’t leave her alone out there.”
    He swore. “I know.” He adjusted his cock, striving to find more room for the damn thing. He pulled on a T-shirt as he paced the room. Tasha’s gaze followed him intently.
    “Will you still be here when I get back?” he asked. Oh God, you have to still be here.
    Tasha paused. “I should go home, Max. I hate to leave, but you have no idea when you’ll get back. I don’t want to make you rush. Deal with Maxine, and we’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”
    Fuck. Talking was not what was on his mind. “I could come to your place.”
    She nodded slowly.
    He wasn’t an idiot, not even with his brain fogged with lust. Somewhere in the last two minutes the whole thing had broken down. Between the passion that had flashed between them and the damn phone calls, she’d started thinking again, not in a good way. Damn it all to hell .
    Dragging his brain back into working mode was rough. The raging fever in his body wanted nothing more than to order Maxine a taxi and spend the rest of the night in bed with Tasha. Yet, maybe—although his body thought he was an absolute idiot—maybe stopping before they went all the way wasn’t a bad thing.
    His body complained mightily— it’s a real bad thing.
    She’d said they were going to be friends only. He wanted more. Just because they’d started as friends didn’t mean they had to remain that way. A frantic first rutting wasn’t the kind of memory that would bring up romantic and heartwarming images, no matter how hot and bothered they both were.
    Although he was convinced he was absolutely and totally insane even to suggest this.
    He went for nonchalant. “How about we have lunch tomorrow? We can get all the details squared away that we have to. There’s got to be some dating involved in this as well as everything else, right?”
    The look of relief that crossed her face showed he’d made the right decision. “That’s probably the easiest way to break it to the Turner clan without raising a ton of suspicion. Can we make it dinner? I have a full slate of projects tomorrow.”
    Max hurried back to her side for one last brief kiss, just to torment himself. The touch of her skin and her hair as he cupped the back of her neck in his hand made it even harder to leave. “Keep my keys. I’ve got another set. Lock up when you leave, and I’ll call you in the morning.”
    Then he dragged himself from the room and out of the